Getting Started with Systematic Reviews: Generic steps

The following is a generic set of stages that "draws on" manuals and published guidelines that discuss the sequence of activities used to complete what have come to be known as "systematic reviews".  Some organizations that have manuals are listed under SR Organizations on left of screen.

1. Begin to (or actually) formulate and state a focused research topic or question.

2. Initial “scoping” activity.  What and where are the possible information sources ? Clarify topic.  

3. Clarify criteria to use to select sources and information to use (inclusion/exclusion criteria - IE). Some of your IE criteria may be used in searches that you run. Some IE criteria may be used as you first look at search results (see step 6). Some IE criteria may be used as you examine the full text of information sources chosen from the initial screening (this is noted in step 7).

4. Design a comprehensive or targeted search.  Attempts at comprehensive searching has been widely viewed as supporting goals to reduce bias. Librarians can be consulted for search strategies. Also consult the manuals of organizations.  Consider apriori documentation of the steps that "will be used" in the review. This has been called a protocol, and it has been viewed as a means of guarding against subjectivity, reducing bias, and supporting transparency. 

5. Do searches.  This step includes combining the results from all searches and removing duplicates from that combined set of results.

6. Initial screening.  This is a first look at and choice of information sources for possible use. 

7. Second screening.  Use your IE criteria with resources that pass initial screening. Looking at the full text of items, you decide which items to keep. These have the information you will "synthesize" etc. in your review.

8. Evaluate the quality of the items chosen for use. 

9. Identify and “extract” useful information from resources selected. This is the "actual information" you will use in your "synthesis", etc.

10. Actually construct the arguments, picture, integration, or “answer”, etc. that seems to grow out of the information that you have chosen.  

11. Create a document that can be shared that contains the “results” of steps 1-10.  Present this report in a manner that allows others to clearly ‘see’ and ‘reproduce’ steps 1-10.