A systematic review, as a type of evidence syntheses, follows a rigorous and structured method with a well-defined, transparent, and replicable process to identify, evaluate, and synthesize the findings of all relevant individual studies on a particular topic or research question.
Key Characteristics:
- Predefined Protocol: A systematic review is guided by a pre-specified protocol, which outlines the research question, inclusion/exclusion criteria, search strategy, data extraction methods, and analysis plan.
- Comprehensive Search: It involves a comprehensive and exhaustive search of multiple databases and sources to identify all relevant studies, including unpublished literature (grey literature) to minimize publication bias.
- Critical Appraisal: Each included study is critically appraised for methodological quality using standardized tools and criteria.
- Reproducibility: The process is transparent and reproducible, allowing other researchers to follow the same steps and verify the findings.
- Quantitative Synthesis: A systematic review often includes a meta-analysis, a statistical technique that combines the results of individual studies to provide a pooled estimate of the effect size.
What Are Systematic Reviews Used for?
Systematic reviews can be helpful for clinicians who want to integrate research findings into their daily practices, for patients to make well-informed choices about their own care, and for professional medical societies and other organizations that develop clinical practice guidelines. They are useful for:
- Recommendations and guidelines
- Benefit design, coverage and policy decisions
- Public Policy
- Performance Measures
- Research Agendas
- Individual Patient are
- Patient Decisions