Systematic review has become somewhat of a buzz word in academia.

From 1995 to 2017, there was a more than 4,500 per cent increase in the number of systematic reviews registered in PubMed, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association.

At Brock, interest in this type of evidence synthesis research method is also rising, with a growing number of researchers in multiple disciplines requesting support from Brock University Library.

An upcoming information session will review the key steps and tools in conducting a systematic review, present alternative review types and discuss how to identify the review type most suited to a research question.

So, you want to do a systematic review? will take place Tuesday, Nov. 30 from noon to 1:30 p.m. via Microsoft Teams as part of the Building Better Research professional development workshop series offered jointly by the Brock University Library and the Office of Research Services.

“A systematic review is a form of evidence synthesis, which is this idea of collecting all research evidence on a specific and focused research question,” said Elizabeth Yates, Liaison and Scholarly Communication Librarian, who will be leading the webinar alongside Chelsea Humphries, Liaison and Collections Librarian.

Researchers use rigorous and comprehensive strategies to methodically search databases to gather studies that are then evaluated and summarized into one powerful synthesis of research data.

“Once it is critically appraised, researchers can come to conclusions about what the weight of the research indicates,” said Yates. “Systematic reviews are good for resolving areas of research where there might be conflicting evidence or getting a good overall picture of what the research is saying.”

Yates said the process requires specialized expertise in comprehensively gathering relevant research and data, which can be challenging to learn — knowing which databases to search and how they operate, being familiar with search language, knowing which combination of search terms to use and making sure the overall search strategy can be reproduced by others.

Humphries added that the search is only one part of the process.

“Researchers are developing a really sensitive search — gathering a lot of material that needs to be sifted through — so there’s also a lot involved in determining inclusion and exclusion criteria as part of a robust screening process,” she said. “There are layers and layers of evaluation that happen.”

Humphries said there are also steps throughout the process focused on reducing bias and increasing rigour. Usually, a team of two or three researchers work on the systematic review project together for one or two years.

“It’s a very long and involved process to exhaust the places they’re searching,” she said. “They’re being rigorous in how they’re searching those places and examining their results, making their work as unbiased and reproducible as possible along the way.”

Sometimes, a systematic review is not possible due to time, resource, or capacity limitations, or it might not be the appropriate method for the research question being asked.

Humphries explained that while a systematic review is good at answering a very narrow research question, a scoping review might be more appropriate for a broader question. Alternatively, a rapid review is useful when research needs to be completed more quickly to help inform urgent decisions; however, it often requires concessions, such as a smaller research team, a tighter time frame or limited searching.

The Brock Library has developed a research guide to evidence synthesis and systematic reviews and has created a dedicated web page explaining how the Library can help support systematic reviews. In addition to Yates and Humphries, the Library’s Systematic Reviews Support Team includes Colleen MacKinnon, Liaison and User Experience Librarian, and Jennifer Thiessen, Acting Head of Liaison Services.

Faculty and student researchers interested in attending the webinar can register via ExperienceBU. Anyone unable to attend the live session can watch a video recording that will be posted on the Research Enterprise SharePoint site shortly after the session.

Upcoming Building Better Research Series workshops

So, you want to do a systematic review?
Tuesday, Nov. 30 from noon to 1:30 p.m.
Presented by Chelsea Humphries, Liaison Librarian, and Elizabeth Yates, Liaison and Scholarly Communication Librarian.

Insights into Insight Development Grants
Thursday, Dec. 9 from noon to 1 p.m.
Presented by Sharlee Cranston-Reimer, Research Officer; Kyle Rich, Assistant Professor of Recreation and Leisure Studies; and Asma Zafar, Assistant Professor of Strategy.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Research Proposals
Friday, Dec. 17 from noon to 1 p.m.
Presented by Sharlee Cranston-Reimer, Research Officer.

An Introduction to Research Metrics and the Dimensions Database
Tuesday, Jan. 18 from noon to 1 p.m.
Presented by Chelsea Humphries, Liaison Librarian, and Elizabeth Yates, Liaison and Scholarly Communication Librarian.

Introduction to Proposal Writing
Friday, Jan. 21 from noon to 1 p.m.
Presented by Project Facilitator Julie Gregory and Research Officers Vincent Annibale, Sharlee Cranston-Reimer, Karen Espiritu, Danusha Kalinga, Suramya Mihindukulasuriya, Monika Ovsonka and Laura Smithson.

Hands on Introduction to Text Analysis
Wednesday, Jan. 26 from noon to 1 p.m.
Presented by Tim Ribaric, Acting Head of Brock’s Digital Scholarship Lab and the Map, Data and GIS Library.

Community Engagement in Research
Wednesday, Feb. 16 from noon to 1 p.m.
Presented by Julie Gregory, Project Facilitator, and Jayne Morrish, Knowledge Translation Officer.

Harvesting Social Media Data
Wednesday, Feb. 23 from noon to 1 p.m.
Presented by Tim Ribaric, Acting Head of Brock’s Digital Scholarship Lab and the Map, Data and GIS Library.

Establishing and Maintaining Your Research Team
Tuesday, March 1 from noon to 1 p.m.
Presented by Michelle McGinn, Associate Vice-President, Research.

Knowledge Mobilization — The Basics
Wednesday, April 13, noon to 1 p.m.
Presented by Jayne Morrish, Knowledge Translation Officer.

All Building Better Research sessions are listed on the Building Better Research web page.

To suggest topics for the series, contact Nicole Nolan, Associate University Librarian, at nnolan@brocku.ca or Sharlee Cranston-Reimer, Research Officer, Social Sciences and Humanities, at scranstonreimer@brocku.ca