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This guide provides a starting point for students conducting a systematic review. As the approach to conducting reviews varies between disciplines, Bond's Faculty LIbrarians have compiled discipline-specific resources, listed within this guide.
Please make an appointment with your Faculty Librarian for guidance on searching for literature and managing the records within a review project.
What is a systematic review?
Systematic reviews seek to collate evidence that fits pre-specified eligibility criteria in order to answer a specific research question. They aim to minimize bias by using explicit, systematic methods documented in advance with a protocol. -- Chandler et al., 2022
General steps in creating a review
The steps within a review follow this general order:
General introductory articles
Elliott, J. H., Synnot, A., Turner, T., Simmonds, M., Akl, E. A., McDonald, S., Salanti, G., Meerpohl, J., MacLehose, H., Hilton, J., Tovey, D., Shemilt, I., Hilton, J., Akl, E., Pestridge, C., Horsley, T., Armstrong, R., Plovnick, R., Arno, A., … Bagg, M. (2017). Living systematic review: 1. Introduction—the why, what, when, and how. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 91, 23–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2017.08.010
Harris, J. D., Quatman, C. E., Manring, M. M., Siston, R. A., & Flanigan, D. C. (2014). How to write a systematic review. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 42(11), 2761–2768. https://doi.org/10.1177/0363546513497567
Leite, D. F. B., Padilha, M. A. S., & Cecatti, J. G. (2019). Approaching literature review for academic purposes: The literature review checklist. Clinics, 74, e1403–e1403. https://doi.org/10.6061/clinics/2019/e1403
Poklepović Peričić, T., & Tanveer, S. (2019). Why systematic reviews matter: A brief history, overview and practical guide for authors. Elsevier Connect. https://www.elsevier.com/connect/authors-update/why-systematic-reviews-matter
Reference
Chandler, J., Cumpston, M., Thomas, J., Higgins, J.P.T., Deeks, J. J., & Clarke, M. J. Chapter I: Introduction. In: Higgins JPT, Thomas J, Chandler J, Cumpston M, Li T, Page MJ, Welch VA (editors). Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions version 6.3 (updated February 2022). Cochrane, 2022. Available from www.training.cochrane.org/handbook.