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Students and staff of Radboud University can contact the NSM team for help with developing expert search strategies. We can partner with you on:
If you would like to make an appointment for systematic review support, you can fill in the form and email us at infofm@ubn.ru.nl. |
To get started with your review, follow these steps:
Aim of the review
Why do you want to do a review?
Before you begin, check that your research question has not already been addressed in an existing review. You should also check that no reviews on the topic are planned or already in progress. PROSPERO and OSF are two sources that list current protocols.
Types of reviews
Depending on your aim, you can choose from several review types. the most common review types are systematic reviews and scoping reviews.
Review team
A (systematic) literature review is not a solo project. You will need two screeners and a search specialist. Depending on your review type, a statistician may also be essential.
When you search for literature, you should think about your topic or research question. Depending on your research question and review type you will develop a search strategy.
Consider what type of literature (journal articles, books, case studies etc.) you are looking for, as the type of literature determines the database you should use. You will find databases in this library guide in the menu Find Literature, ordered by name and by publication type. Our Databases A-Z lists all available search sources.
You can also use grey literature to provide a broader evidence base.
Tips for identifying whether a source is relevant:
When performing an extensive literature search, don’t restrict your search to the key terms of your research question or topic.
For each key term, also think about:
To find alternative search terms:
Every database works differently. The NSM library team can help you with setting up search queries.
There are different approaches you can use to find relevant literature. The most systematic approach is the block search. Other search strategies include citation search, searching by journal or author, or asking experts in the field for recommendations.
Block search
You can organize your search terms into thematic groups (blocks), covering the various aspects within your topic. It will help to create an overview of potential search terms.
The search terms within a block are combined with OR; the blocks are combined with an AND operator.
Backward citation search
If you have found one journal article, you can consult the article's references to find out what sources were used. This will help you to find earlier literature.
Forward citation search
Forward citation search is snowballing forward. Look at sources where the article is cited. This will give you more up-to-date literature on your topic. The Web of Science or Google Scholar search engine, for example, let you do this easily.
Searching relevant journals
If you find many relevant articles in certain journals, it may be useful to search these journals to find other relevant articles. Find out more about journal search.
Author searching
If a lot of your key articles are written by the same author, you could carry out an author search. You can search by author in almost all databases or search engines. Make sure you search for all name variants.
Record your search activities including search strategy, search terms, search options, search filters and search operators.
Managing
Gather, store and organise your records.
Deduplication
Deduplicate records from multiple database searches and other information sources.
Selection
To select references:
Each reference should be reviewed by two people. Any disagreements can be resolved either between the two people or with a third party.
Think about inclusion and exclusion criteria e.g.:
The PRISMA flow diagram and generator might help you with this selection process.
Software tools for screening references
ASReview - Open source screening softare based on active learning techniques.
abstrackr - Abstract screening for systematic reviews.
Covidence - Software for screening, risk of bias tables and data extraction.
Rayyan - Rapid sifting of citations and sharing decisions. "Working with Rayyan" by J.Staaks.
Retraction check
Check retractions, corrections and expressions of concern of included references e.g. via Retraction Watch Database. Some reference managers (for example EndNote, Zotero) have been integrated with the Retraction Watch database.
Druing the critical appraisal process, you will assess each study's risk of bias based on quality measures.
Checklists:
This step involves selecting studies for each synthesis and preparing the data. Results are presented using tables or visual displays.
There are different tools and methods to analyse the included studies and synthesis the results, for example.
- coding the literature using software like Atlas.ti
- automated analysis of literature using text mining tools
The final step is to write up the results and cite your sources. PRISMA is a common reporting standard, and American Psychological Association (APA) is a common referencing style. However, check your target journal's guidelines for their specific requirements.
Reference management programs help you with managing references and citing literature in your documents. They offer ways to link and search full text and format your citations in many different citation styles.
Assembling the pieces of a systematic review: guide for librarians
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