Systematic Reviews: Methodology
Many systematic reviews follow the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. The PRISMA site includes the following documents:
- PRISMA 2020 Checklist
- PRISMA 2020 flow diagram
- PRISMA 2020 Statement
- PRISMA 2020 Explanation and Elaboration
There is a useful introductory article (from 2009) on the PRISMA guidelines here: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.b2535 (Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., & Altman, D. G. (2009). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. BMJ-British Medical Journal, 339, Article b2535.)
Other systematic review guidelines
Choose the right methodology for the type of review you're doing. Below are some of the main ones, which cover each step in the process:
-
Finding what works in health care : standards for systematic reviewsInstitute of Medicine (U.S.). Committee on Standards for Systematic Reviews of Comparative Effectiveness Research. Jill Eden. 2011
Also available in print -
Methods Guide for Effectiveness and Comparative Effectiveness ReviewsRockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US). 2008
-
SCIE systematic research reviews: guidelines (2nd ed.)Guidelines for systematic reviews in social care.
-
Systematic Reviews : CRD's guidance for undertaking reviews in health careUniversity of York, NHS Centre for Reviews & Dissemination. 2009.
Also available in print
There are guidelines on how to report your research methods and findings (including the EQUATOR Network Introduction to Reporting Guidelines).
- Introduction to reporting guidelinesWith links to checklists for CONSORT, TREND, STARD, STROBE, PRISMA, COREQ, SQUIRE & REMARK.
- What guidance is available for reporting research studies?Includes PRISMA (for reporting systematic reviews) and MOOSE (for meta-analyses of observational studies.
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.