We Cannot Excuse You
If You Teach or Write Evidence Synthesis, You Need to Know the Deal
I hope you enjoyed our last episode, the one in which Tracy and I pontificated over inherent problems in evidence synthesis curriculum, in adopting systematic reviews for the classroom, and in the general lack of knowledge of even systematic and scoping review authors who get published (gasp!).
It never ceases to amaze me how someone can go all-in without reading much, or any, of the established guidance, of which there is a lot. And it is free.
Back in April we published a post on systematic review training opportunities. Those still stand — and most of them are great — check them out!
But in our episode, we never addressed *how* potential systematic and scoping review authors might really learn about the process, ideally before beginning at all!
Vintage Kitten School by Dorothe from Pixabay
The following sources are seen as best practice guidance documents whether or not you are publishing a review for that organization. In other words, it doesn’t matter that you aren’t doing a review for a JBI journal, you can and should still follow the JBI guidance where it is applicable to your review.
I know these might not make for a leisurely beach read, but they are absolutely essential to understanding the process you are about to undertake.
The great thing about understanding the process, and doing your best to teach your students/incorporate it into the classroom/write your own review, the higher quality your research will be, and the less you will have contributed to research waste or time waste for everyone else involved on your team.
These resources abound in links to articles, playlists, webinars, and more.
The Cochrane Collaboration
The Cochrane Collaboration’s tools and resources will guide your systematic review whether or not it is a Cochrane Review. Part 3 of the Handbook describes different perspectives, including qualitative research, economic evidence, patient-reported outcomes, and more.
Institute of Medicine, National Academies
In this manual, 21 standards are established for high-quality systematic reviews, addressing the entire review process.
JBI
The Manual for Evidence Synthesis provides guidance for all types of systematic and other expert reviews. JBI expands on the typical reviews of interventions to reviews of etiology/risk, incidence/prevalence, diagnostic test accuracy, and more. JBI is also seen as a leader in Scoping Review methods, which can be found in Chapter 11. The Manual is a rich source of templates and links.
The Campbell Collaboration
Campbell guidance is aimed at social and behavioral science. Make sure to read it if this applies to you.
The PRISMA Statement
PRISMA stands for Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. PRISMA has several extensions, including extensions for protocols, individual patient data, network meta-analyses, and more.
Other Various Reporting Guidelines
Realist And Meta-narrative Evidence Syntheses: Evolving Standards (RAMESES)
Reporting Standards for Systematic Evidence Syntheses in Environmental Research (ROSES)
Structured Approach to the Reporting in Healthcare Education of Evidence Synthesis (STORIES)
Bookmark them! Share them! Tell your friends, colleagues, and lovers! Do you have systematic or scoping review guidance that you like? Leave us a comment below.