What is a systematic review?
The aim of a systematic literature review is to give an overview of what research has been done in a particular field. To do this, researchers gather and carefully study previous peer review articles using a specific method. This method helps in searching for, choosing, presenting, and analyzing research to answer a specific research question. Through a systematic literature review, researchers can see where there is consensus or disagreement among studies, and also pinpoint areas where more research is needed.
SBU – Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Assessment of Social Services
Process of the literature review
- Formulating the research problem
- Developing and validating the review protocol
- Searching the literature
- Screening for inclusion
- Assessing quality
- Extracting data
- Analyzing and synthesizing data
- Reporting the findings
(Xiao & Watson, 2019)
Typology of systematic reviews
Systematic reviews can be categorized by the purpose for the review. Xiao and Watson group literature reviews into four different categories: describe, test, extend and critique.
Describe
A systematic review that aims to describe and synthesize the included studies. Doesn't seek to analyze or otherwise expand upon the data extracted from the included studies.
Test
A systematic review that aims to test a hypothesis or answer a specific research question. A testing systematic review of quantitative literature uses statistical analysis, which is called a meta analysis.
Extend
A systematic review that extends and goes beyond summarizing the included studies. Seek to analyze and attempts to expand upon the included studies to create new higher order constructs.
Critique
A systematic review that aims to compare the included studies against a predefined set of criteria. Studies are not synthesized with respect to each other but rather against the predefined criteria. For example a systematic review examining the reporting practices for included systematic reviews, which then can be compared to a set of recommendations or standards for the reporting of systematic reviews.