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Systematic and Other Reviews

What is a systematic review?

A systematic review is a protocol-driven, rigorous and comprehensive synthesis of existing research, designed to answer a well-defined question. It involves following methodological guidance, and reporting in accordance with specific guidelines. A systematic review requires a substantial time commitment typically taking between 12-18 months to complete. Before undertaking a systematic review, you should strongly consider if you and your team can commit to the time required. 

Key characteristics:

  • Address a need for health decision makers to be able to access high quality, relevant, accessible and up-to-date information.
  • Aim to minimize bias through the use of pre-specified research questions and methods that are documented in protocols, and by basing their findings on reliable research.
  • Are conducted by a team that includes domain expertise and methodological expertise, who are free of potential conflicts of interest.
  • Have good data management, project management and quality assurance mechanisms

The above has been adapted from the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions version 6.5