Subject & Study Guides: Nursing: Systematic Reviews

Some tutorials

Where to search for Clinical trials: Medline, Embase, Cochrane, Web of Science, Scopus (EMBASE 90), Science Direct, CINAHL , Clinical trials registers, Grey Literature, Subject Specific Databases

How to report a study: PRISMA, EQUATOR, CONSORT

How to access a study: GRADE, Newcastle-Ottowa, JADAD

A systematic review attempts to collate all empirical evidence that fits pre-specified eligibility criteria in order to answer a specific research question. It uses explicit, systematic methods that are selected with a view to minimizing bias, thus providing more reliable findings from which conclusions can be drawn and decisions made. The key characteristics of a systematic review are:

a clearly stated set of objectives with pre-defined eligibility criteria for studies;
an explicit, reproducible methodology;
a systematic search that attempts to identify all studies that would meet the eligibility criteria;
an assessment of the validity of the findings of the included studies, for example through the assessment of risk of bias; and
a systematic presentation, and synthesis, of the characteristics and findings of the included studies.

(Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions, 2011)

Literature search for Systematic Reviews

Systematic Reviews

Systematic Review

More Information

Summary points

A systematic review is an overview of primary studies that used explicit and reproducible methods

A meta-analysis is a mathematical synthesis of the results of two or more primary studies that addressed the same hypothesis in the same way

Although meta-analysis can increase the precision of a result, it is important to ensure that the methods used for the review were valid and reliable

In contrast, a systematic review is an overview of primary studies which contains an explicit statement of objectives, materials, and methods and has been conducted according to explicit and reproducible methodology