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Systematic reviews

A guide to systematic reviews for health and social sciences

Consult with a librarian

Before meeting with your Librarian

  1. Read through this guide and the search support we offer so you know which stages of the process librarians can assist with.
  2. Make sure you know your topic - scope it out to see if there are existing reviews. Information about how and where to 'scope' can be found in Step 1: Scope your topic. Scoping searches in can be conducted in sources like Scopus (multidisciplinary), Web of Science (multidisciplinary), the Cochrane Library (health), and the Campbell Collaboration (social sciences).
  3. Have a specific research question - further information on this is in Step 1: Construct a question.
  4. Consider what kinds of information you’ll need to answer your question and have a literature search plan.
  5. Have a (draft) protocol - further information on how to do this can be found in the Develop and Register Protocol stage of this guide.

If you need some one-on-one support, book a consultation with a librarian. 

General resources

Books and Manuals.

Included below are general as well as specific health and social science resources.

Aromataris, E., & Munn, Z. (2020). JBI Systematic Reviews. In E. Aromataris & Z. Munn (Eds.), JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis. https://doi.org/10.46658/JBIMES-20-02

Bettany-Saltikov, J., & McSherry, R. (2016). How to do a systematic literature review in nursing : a step-by-step guide (2nd ed.). Open University Press/McGraw-Hill Education.

Boland, A., Cherry, M. G., & Dickson, R. (2014). Doing a systematic review : a student's guide. SAGE.

Booth, A., Sutton, A., Clowes, M., & Martyn-St James, M. (2022). Systematic approaches to a successful literature review. (3rd ed.). Los Angeles: Sage Public.

Bramer, W. M., de Jonge, G.,B., Rethlefsen, M. L., Mast, F., & Kleijnen, J. (2018). A systematic approach to searching: An efficient and complete method to develop literature searches. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 106(4), 531-541. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.5195/jmla.2018.283

De Brún, C., & Pearce-Smith, N. (2014). Searching skills toolkit : finding the evidence (2nd ed.). Wiley.

Foster, M.J., & Jewell, S. T. (2017).  Assembling the pieces of a systematic review : A guide for librarians. Medical Library Association Books. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.

Gough, D., Oliver, S., & Thomas, J. (2017). An introduction to systematic reviews. (2nd ed.). SAGE.

Higgins, J.P.T., Thomas, J., Chandler, J., Cumpston, M., Li T., Page, M.J, & Welch, V.A.(eds.) (2020). Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of  Interventions version 6.1 (updated September 2020). Cochrane. 

Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, University of York. (2009). Systematic reviews: CRD's guidance for undertaking reviews in health care. https://www.york.ac.uk/crd/guidance/

Maniar, N., Duncan, K., & Opar, D. (2019). Chapter 5: Systematically searching and reviewing the literature. In S. Bird (Ed.), Research methods in physical activity and health (pp.28-44). Routledge.

Nelson, H. D. (2014). Systematic reviews to answer health care questions. Wolters Kluwer Health.

Petticrew, M., & Roberts, H. (2006). Systematic reviews in the social sciences a practical guide. Blackwell Pub.

Ridley, D. (2012). The literature review : A step-by-step guide for students. (2nd ed.) SAGE Study Skills.

Tod, D. (2019). Conducting systematic reviews in sport, exercise, and physical activity. Palgrave Macmillan.

Trainor, A., & Graue, E. (2013). Reviewing qualitative research in the social sciences. Routledge.

Webb, C. & Roe, B. H. (2007). Reviewing research evidence for nursing practice systematic reviews. Blackwell.

Zawacki-Richter, O., Kerres, M., Bedenlier, S., Bond, M., & Buntins, K. (2020). Systematic Reviews in Educational Research Methodology, Perspectives and Application. Springer.

Videos

Video Tutorial Series on Systematic Searching from Yale University Medical Library. Topics includes: how to do a systematic review; building search strategies; finding grey literature; and using filters to restrict to specific study designs. 

Video Guide to accompany Boland, A., Cherry, M. G., & Dickson, R. (2014). Doing a systematic review : a student's guide. SAGE.