Additional Guidance for Conducting Systematic Reviews
Here listed below are additional sources of supporting information and guidance for finding, planning, producing, reporting and disseminating a systematic review (organized by subject area/discipline):
General/Multi-Disciplinary
Introduction to Systematic Reviews (Gough, 2017). A broad and comprehensive guide that addresses variations in methodology and approach, depending on different user goals, subject areas and disciplines.
Assembling the Pieces of a Systematic Review : Guide for Librarians (Foster & Jewell, 2017). Provides detailed and comprehensive guidance for all members of the systematic review project team, including librarians.
PRISMA Statement & Extensions: A set of reporting guidelines, checklists, protocols and other guidance based on "Transparent reporting of systematic reviews and meta-analyses," and including multiple variations ('Extensions") that accommodate differences in systematic review methodologies, components, stages, subject areas and fields of research.
Systematic Reviews and Related Evidence Syntheses (Texas A&M). This excellent library research guide from Texas A&M University provides more comprehensive guidance for decision making on the most appropriate type of knowledge synthesis and for selecting and using the most appropriate tools for your subject area or discipline (includes information & links that are specific to Texas A&M users only).
Searching the Grey Literature: A Handbook for Searching Reports, Working Papers, and Other Unpublished Research (Sarah Bonato, 2018). Text providing authoritative, detailed and comprehensive guidance for identifying and searching different sources of gray literature, with an emphasis on supporting research in the social and health sciences. Specifically includes the role of gray literature searching as part of the systematic review process.
Health & Medicine
Comprehensive systematic review for advanced practice nursing (Holly, Salmond & Saimbert, 2022). Nursing-focused text covering systematic review organization, planning, methodology, clinical question development, supporting resources, search skills, critical appraisal tools, meta-analysis and other types of review, use in development of clinical guidelines and at the point of care, and aspects relating to report writing and dissemination.
Systematic Reviews in Health Research: Meta-Analysis in Context (Egger, Higgins & Davy Smith, 2022). This text provides a comprehensive and authoritative guide to systematic review and meta-analysis methodologies for clinical and public health interventions, including descriptions of multiple tools and study designs.
Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions (2018). In addition to informing and setting standards for the production of Cochrane Systematic Reviews, this text provides high quality guidance on systematic review and meta-analysis methodologies that can be applied or adapted to various types of health-related research questions (not just those involving a health intervention).
Ensuring Rigor in Systematic Reviews (Alexandria Brackett & Janene Batten, 2021-2022). A series of seven articles published in “Heart & Lung” covering systematic review preparation, searching, screening, appraisal, synthesis, reporting, & quality assessment.
How to Perform a Systematic Literature Review: A Guide for Healthcare Researchers, Practitioners & Students (Edward Purssell & Niall McCrae,2020). Text providing guidance across all stages of the systematic review process and according to the different needs and resources of healthcare researchers, students and practitioners.
PROSPERO: Database of existing and prospective systematic reviews where there is a health related outcome relating to health and social care, welfare, public health, education, crime, justice, or international development. Searching & registering in PROSPERO avoids review duplication and reduces opportunities for reporting bias by enabling comparison of the completed review with what was planned in the protocol. Produced by the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, University of York, UK and funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).
ClnicalTrials.gov (National Library of Medicine): For clinical & other health-related research, this is one of several key databases for finding unpublished ongoing and prospective clinical studies, including clinical trials. The website includes valuable "How to read a study record" guidance on interpreting and using details and results of individual studies.
Finding What Works in Healthcare: Standards for Systematic Reviews (National Academy of Sciences--formerly "Institute of Medicine," 2011). An openly accessible report with guidance of continuing usefulness for conducting systematic reviews in clinical and other health-related research, produced by the former Institute of Medicine Committee on Standards for Systematic Reviews of Comparative Effectiveness Research.
EQUATOR Network EQUATOR ("Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research") is an international collaboration that seeks to improve the reliability and value of published health research literature by promoting transparent and accurate reporting and wider use of robust reporting guidelines (to ) Network is an international initiative.
Information on how to conduct systematic reviews in the health sciences (Taubman Health Sciences Library, University of Michigan) Library research guide providing additional detail, guidance and links to supporting information on conducting systematic reviews and meta-analyses in the health sciences. Access Note: Links to online subscription resources will only be accessible to University of Michigan users).
Psychology
APA Style Journal Article Reporting Standards (APA JARS) Website providing up-to-date American Psychological Association reporting standards and guidelines for conducting and reporting quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods psychological research.
Social Sciences & Education
Campbell Collaboration An international social science research network that produces high quality, open and policy-relevant evidence syntheses, plain language summaries and policy briefs published in the open access journal Campbell Systematic Reviews. Subject scope includes but is not limited to social welfare, crime & justice, international development, and education.
EPPI-Centre Based in the Social Science Research Unit at University College London, EPPI-Centre supports the development and use of systematic review methods, and their website provides guidance on the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ of conducting systematic reviews in the social sciences.
Systematic Reviews in Educational Research: Methodology, Perspectives and Application (Zawacki-Richter et al, 2019). Text providing detailed guidance on systematic methodologies in education, including reflections and practice examples.
Methodological Guidance Paper Series: A series of four articles published in Review of Educational Research to support prospective authors or reviewers of systematic reviews and other types of knowledge syntheses submitted for publication in that journal.
Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review (
Finding and evaluating evidence : systematic reviews and evidence-based practice (Bronson & Davis, 2012).
Environmental Sciences
Collaboration for Environmental Evidence An international collaboration of environmental scientists and researchers for the promotion of evidence syntheses (systematic reviews and systematic maps) on issues of concern for environmental policy and practice.
Draft Systematic Review Protocol Supporting Toxic Substances Control Act Risk Evaluations for Chemical Substances Openly accessible EPA document released December 2021 and currently undergoing revisions based on evaluation and feedback from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), the EPA Toxic Substances Control Act Scientific Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC), and the public.
Software, Computing, Engineering
Evidence-Based Software Engineering and Systematic Reviews (Kitchenham, Budgen, Brereton, 2016). Text examining the use of primary empirical software engineering studies and other inputs to a systematic review, along with practical methodological guidance, an extensive glossary of terms and a catalog of example reviews for future reference and study.
The APISSER Methodology for Systematic Literature Reviews in Engineering. IEEE Access, vol. 10, pp. 23700-23707, 2022, doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2022.3148206. Article describing the development and use of a new systematic review protocol designed and adapted from the PRISMA reporting standards and checklists for conducting evidence syntheses in engineering.
Additonal Sources
Use the LibrarySearch tool to find additional books, book chapters & articles providing guidance on the systematic review process.
For a sample of what you can find, click the following links to see results of searches for recently published Books & Articles.