Health sciences and medicine
Creating a systematic or scoping review is a large project and may take many months to complete.
Searching for evidence happens towards the beginning of the project. The searching phase includes creating, testing, and refining a search strategy. A systematic search aims to be comprehensive and reproducible.
After the literature has been gathered, the next steps of the review, such as selecting studies and extracting, analysing and interpreting data, can progress.
The Library offers assistance with the searching phase and records management (such as using EndNote). Please get in touch with the HSM Faculty Librarian for assistance.
Guidelines
As topics and sources of evidence vary widely across disciplines, various approaches to searching exist. Some key publishers of systemic reviews have made guidelines available, listed below.
Registering a protocol
- Open Science Framework (OSF)
OSF is a free, open platform to support your research and enable collaboration. Set up a free account to register your protocol.
Reporting Guidelines
- PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses)
PRISMA is an evidence-based minimum set of items for reporting in systematic reviews and meta-analyses. PRISMA primarily focuses on the reporting of reviews evaluating the effects of interventions, but can also be used as a basis for reporting systematic reviews with objectives other than evaluating interventions (e.g. evaluating aetiology, prevalence, diagnosis or prognosis). Includes checklists and PRISMA flow diagram templates. - PRISMA for Scoping Reviews
The PRISMA extension for scoping reviews was published in 2018. The checklist contains 20 essential reporting items and 2 optional items to include when completing a scoping review. Scoping reviews serve to synthesize evidence and assess the scope of literature on a topic. Among other objectives, scoping reviews help determine whether a systematic review of the literature is warranted.
Example papers
Jackson, M., Kang, M., Furness, J., & Kemp-Smith, K. (2022). Aquatic exercise and mental health: A scoping review. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 66, Article 102820. https://doi-org.ezproxy.bond.edu.au/10.1016/j.ctim.2022.102820
Krzyzaniak, N., Forbes, C., Clark, J., Scott, A., Del Mar, C., & Bakhit, M. (Accepted Manuscript). Antibiotics versus no treatment for asymptomatic bacteriuria in aged care residents: A systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of General Practice, Article 0059. https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2022.0059
Tang, X., Patterson, P., MacKenzie-Shalders, K., van Herwerden, L. A., Bishop, J., Rathbone, E., Honeyman, D., & Reidlinger, D. P. (2021). Workplace programmes for supporting breast-feeding: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Public Health Nutrition, 24(6), 1501–1513. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980020004012
