Systematic review

A systematic review is a method for gathering the best available evidence on a particular subject or question, through a thorough search process with selection criteria, a quality appraisal and a synthesis of the literature found. Systematic reviews are common in the health sciences, but they work just as well in other fields such as the social sciences, technology and economics. Use one to have your students judge the quality of the existing scholarly literature on a subject and identify the best available evidence.

Have your students write a systematic review on a specific subject or question. Put a health problem, a social issue or a technological challenge to them, for instance, and ask them to write a systematic review of the best available evidence for solving it. You can assess them on their search strategy, their selection criteria, the quality appraisal, the synthesis, the conclusion, the presentation and the sources they used.

A systematic review usually consists of:

• a clear research question with selection criteria;
• a rigorous and systematic search of the literature;
• a critical appraisal of the studies found;
• data collection and its management;
• analysis and interpretation of the results;
• a product or a text that communicates the outcome.

Find out more?

• Systematic Reviews - University Library, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
• Introduction to systematic reviews - Amsterdam UMC