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What are Systematic Reviews (SRs)

A systematic review (SR) is a type of research project which:

  • Has a clearly defined research question - actionable, precise, and answerable through the data/literature you gather
  • Has a methodology with limits and exclusions, e.g. publication dates, types of research, specific location, specific group of people, etc.
  • Uses a transparent and reproducible process – states which search terms and which databases were used
  • Avoids bias
  • Analyses and interprets the results
  • Can be used to inform evidence-based decisions or policy

But, it also has limitations, such as:

  • Time and resource requirement – High
    • to do a systematic review can take 6 to18 months, and some might be even longer (e.g. 12-18 months). The duration varies depending on the research such as research scope, available resources, and the research team.
  • Specific, limited scope – Provides specific answers to specific questions
    • the research question is narrow, specific, and focused.

FAQ: What if a systematic review is not appropriate and suited to my research topic?

  • SRs in Supply Chain Management (Journal of Supply Chain Management)

  • SRs and Researching Education Industry (University of Glasgow)

PRISMA (current main reporting guideline)

ROSES (for environmental management research​)

  • Do all systematic reviews use meta-analysis (MA)?

Not all SRs include meta-analysis for evidence synthesis. There are alternative synthesis methods.

Synthesising is an essential part of the systematic review process. Generally, there are two different types of approaches for synthesising: quantitative or qualitative synthesis. 

Meta-analysis is a quantitative (statistical) technique for synthesising evidence, summarising and analysing the data from multiple separate studies. Meta-analysis requires sufficient heterogeneity across the included studies and therefore, although desirable to make the findings of a review stronger, it is not always possible.

If a qualitative method is not appropriate or if your research question is not only focusing on the effectiveness of interventions, you can consider employing non-statistical synthesis methods, for instance, narrative synthesis, a quantitative (non-statistical) approach to explain your findings and make a descriptive summary.

For more information, please consult with your supervisor or more experienced researchers for advice. 

Useful Resources:

Question Formulation & Frameworks

Getting Started

  • Start with some background searches in your field of research in databases and review registries, to justify the need of your review
    • to avoid duplication and can help you with identifying your research question
  • Have a look at conducting guidelines and standards for SRs in different disciplines
  • Construct review questions using a framework (logic)
FAQ: What if a systematic review on the same topic already exists
Here are some points for your reference:
  • revise your question - methodology, review criteria, scope of research (e.g., on a specific type of organisation or field), etc
  • date of the existing review - consider conducting a review with recent publications for providing new insights into the research field

Frameworks 

  • A logic or approach that can be used to specify the critical parts of a well-build systematic review 
  • A method to refine your question
  • There are many different frameworks, such as PICO, PEO, CIMO, etc. 
  • Consult your supervisor or more experienced researchers
FAQ: My topic does not seem to fit an established framework

You might consider:

  • adapting or modifying an established framework/model to make it work for your topic according to research type, by adding or removing components/elements to address the needs of your research. Please be sure to:
    • clearly provide information of the established framework/model that yours is derived from in your review, and
    • clearly provide details on any changes made to the established framework/model
  • And consulting with your supervisor or more experienced researchers for advice.

Example Research Question: What are cognitive outcomes of Game-based intervention in healthy adults?

Component Description 
or Questions to ask		 Example

Population,

or Patient,

or Problem

 What are the population demographics such as age, gender, and ethnicity? 
What is the problem type? 
In engineering related topics, it might be the subject or object being studied.		 neurotypical healthy adults 
(more than 18 years old without any kind of impairment)

Intervention

or exposure,

or events

 Interventions, actions, activities being investigated   Game-based intervention

Comparison

or Control

 Is there a comparison treatment to be considered? Non-game-based intervention
Outcome Effects of the intervention, what effects are not wanted, etc. Cognitive outcomes

Watch the video on how to frame research questions with PICO framework (by Yale University)

Research Question: What is the relationship between strategy making in the small tourism firm context and their performance outcomes

Component Description
or Questions to ask 		 Example
Context  Social setting, organisational setting, industries, wider infrastructural systems, individuals, relationships, etc. tourism organisations
Interventions Actions, events, programmes, activities being investigated   strategy making
Mechanisms What is about the intervention acting in a context that leads to the outcome
Why are mechanisms activated or not activated		 management innovation?
Outcomes  Effects of the intervention, measurement of effects, primary and secondary outcomes, etc  firm performance – time, cost, quality, etc.

This framework is useful for questions relating to health policy and management issues.

Expectation encourages reflection on what the information is needed for, i.e. improvement, innovation or information.

Impact looks at what you would like to achieve e.g. improve team communication

  • Expectation - what does the search requester want the information for
  • Client group 
  • Location 
  • Impact - what is the change in the service, if any, which is being looked for? What would constitute success? How is this being measured?
  • Professional involved 
  • Service - for which service are you looking for information? For example, outpatient services, nurse-led clinics, intermediate care

The SPIDER research question frameworks for qualitative and mixed methods evidence.

  • Sample - who is the sample or population of interest?                                                                                   
  • Phenomenon of Interest - what is the phenomena of interest? A defined event, activity, experience or process?
  • Design - what types of study methods are you interested in?
  • Evaluation - what are the evaluation outcomes? (May be subjective - opinions, feelings etc.)
  • Research type  -  what type of research are you interested in? Qualitative or mixed method (qualitative & quantitative)?

PECO is a variant of PICO. In some cases, it may take the form of PECOTS. It can be used in exploring effect of an exposure or evaluating dimensions in risk assessment (hazard identification). 

Populations: the exposure group of interest, e.g. children, industrial workers 

Exposures: the compounds or exposure scenarios of interest, e.g. exposure scenario, dose ranges, etc.

Comparators, e.g. exposure to chemical X compared to  low exposure to chemical X

Outcomes: a deleterious change or marker thereof hypothesised to be brought about by the exposure, e.g. a type of cancer

Timings, e.g. after X months, during X situation, etc.

Settings of interest, e.g. in X environments, in X communities

Examples & case studies in fields of BGL

Here are case studies written by researchers and PhD students analysing how they conducted their systematic reviews for their research projects in different research fields.

  • SRs in Supply Chain Management (Journal of Supply Chain Management)

  • SRs and Researching Education Industry (University of Glasgow)