A systematic review has a number of features distinguishing it from merely searching systematically.
It is:
It aims to identify as many relevant studies as possible, even if some will be later excluded on technical grounds.
It is also:
The inclusion and exclusion criteria may be based on participant recruitment and follow-up, randomisation, sampling or other details of methodology, and validity. In critical appraisal the significance and generalizability of findings are also assessed.
Step 2: Identify Resources and Build a Search Strategy
Step 3: Analyze and Report the Results
The frameworks below can help you clearly define your research question. A clear and focused question will guide you through each stage of your review, from establishing your inclusion and exclusion criteria, developing your search strategy to composing your findings.
Patient/Population, Intervention, Control Group/Comparison, Outcome (Health-based)
Population, Exposure, Comparator, Outcomes (Environmental science)
Problem, Constraints, Systems (Computer Science)
Product/Process, Impact/Interest, Flow, and Type of lifecycle assessment (Lifecyle assessment)
Guidelines and standards help to ensure that a systematic review provides results that are valid, transparent, and reproducible. The rise of systematic reviews in disciplines other than health has called for new guidelines to be developed. Some of these guidelines are listed below as well as articles by researchers in different fields who have identified the need for discipline specific systematic review guidelines, and which outline examples.
A protocol is a plan for your research which details every stage of your process. Your protocol should then be registered, so that other researchers are advised that someone is already conducting research on the topic. Refer to the guidelines and reporting standards relevant to your research, as they may contain information on how to develop a protocol.