This is the complete guide on how to conduct a systemic review. The goal of this lesson is to teach you how to analyze and give a detailed review of existing literature on a given topic in response to a specific research question.
Often significant in evidence-based medicine, a systematic review should start with a protocol, which defines design, objectives, and possible outcomes of the study. In addition to following the PRISMA guideline, the systematic review should be part of a recognized protocol registry.
It’s important to understand that a systematic review should:
- Be based on a correctly formulated research question
- Identify relevant studies in the field of investigation
- Use explicit methodology to not only summarize evidence but also appraise the quality of the research
This post focuses on everything you need to know about systematic review, from what it is to how to conduct one yourself.
What is a Systematic Review Exactly?
A systematic review is an evaluation of the evidence on a clearly defined subject that employs systematic and explicit techniques for identifying, selecting, and critically appraising relevant primary research, as well as extracting and analyzing data from the included studies.”
Reproducible and transparent approaches must be employed in a systemic review.
Types of Systematic Reviews
- Qualitative reviews: This review focuses on synthesizing the results of previous research on a subject.
- Quantitative reviews: This review makes use of several studies’ statistical data or results. The objective is to organize two or more numerous studies in order to obtain relevant results.
- Meta-analysis is the process of combining data from systematic reviews. This is a preparatory step following systematic reviews.
How to Conduct a Systemic Review in 7 Steps
The following is a step-by-step guide to help you conduct a systemic review:
1. Formulate of a Research Question
To perform an effective systematic review, you must first develop a primary research topic. This initial phase is critical because it establishes a clear direction for your project, which someone can follow to achieve the desired outcome.
Numerous pertinent questions can be addressed in order to further elaborate on any problem. For instance, the question can address the origin of the disease, the results of various diagnostic techniques, or the occurrence of disease.
In this respect, formulating a key research topic provides a solid foundation for conducting your systematic review.
2. Criteria for Study Selection
It is critical to locate relevant studies that you can use to supplement your study. Conduct considerable study on the many levels of studies that are available regardless of language restrictions.
While some researchers may find collecting data from multiple languages tedious and hard, incorporating studies from other languages can significantly expand the scope of your study.
After collecting a large amount of data, it is vital to filter it according to your study selection criteria. Your criteria should try to identify studies that are very effective for your subject and to omit those that are less pertinent.
3. Develop an Effective Research Protocol
Creating a study protocol is critical since it enables you to create an outline of your research objectives. It is a succinct yet complete statement of your literature objectives, and so plays a critical role in arranging the data and material.
Nowadays, journals request submission of the protocol in addition to the manuscript. Authors conducting systematic reviews are expected to format their procedure according to the EQUATOR or PRISMA statements, or comparable other principles. The PRISMA Statement is comprised of a checklist (27 elements) and a flow chart.
It is strongly advised that once your systematic review protocol is complete, you register it with one of the existing protocol registries (e.g. Cochrane Collaboration or PROSPERO).
4. Data Extraction
Data extraction is critical since it assists in the development of valuable conclusions. The most often used way of data extraction is using a standardized electronic or paper form. This is by far the most efficient way of data extraction and is widely employed.
A standardized data extraction form must include some necessities, such as the study’s citation.
Additionally, it discusses the study’s purpose and the population type chosen for the study process. Additional variables such as demographic analysis, intervention control, and outcome are described in the standardized data extraction forms.
5. Data Analysis
This step polishes the information you’ve gathered for your systematic review. Additional strategies that may be beneficial include quality appraisal and research quality assessment. The most efficient way to analyze data is to give your study’s evaluation in tabular format.
The study’s table of contents aids in the comprehension of the data’s outcomes. The data analysis should include all interventions, control and study groups, as well as outcomes and other pertinent information.
6. Results Interpretation
The quality of a systematic review is determined by how well the results are interpreted, and this must be done with care. Poor interpretation of results is always indicative of a low-quality study, which might be characterized by imprecise conclusions.
Once sufficient quantitative data has been gathered, it is recommended that it be subjected to a thorough meta-analysis utilizing statistical methods.
If you are unsure, please consult a statistician prior to beginning the review.
To begin, a straightforward tip is supplied. If you are doing a study to determine a drug’s cumulative efficacy across all trials in the literature, an appropriate way for combining diverse outcome measures is to utilize uncertain ratios but with a high level of confidence intervals for each outcome.
Then conduct a statistical significance analysis to determine the magnitude of effect and heterogeneity across all studies. The data might then be shown in a ‘forest-plot’ in order of effect size.
Get Help from Help for Assessment
Conducting a systematic review maybe overwhelming for you, but we are here to help.
A systematic review is frequently written in collaboration with others due to the breadth of information, skills, and experience required.
We have even created practical tools to streamline and simplify the review process.