Evidence synthesis projects are conducted for specific purposes.

Some of the common methods and purposes are:

• Systematic review: comprehensively, methodically review all existing literature on a subject, with the goal of answering a specific question
• Scoping review: comprehensively, methodically review all existing literature on a subject, with evaluations of the quality of the literature being synthesized and notes of any gaps in coverage
• Literature review: thoroughly review the literature on a subject, to outline the main conversational threads; there is no expectation that the review is comprehensive, fully reportable, or replicable

Despite the differences in purpose, you can use the same searching techniques to develop the foundation of each of these types of review.

The basic approach is a four-step process:

1. identify the main concepts of the question you're trying to answer or the topic you're trying to outline
2. develop a search strategy
3. review the search results
4. discuss the relevant literature

The evidence synthesis searching setup worksheet walks you through the process of moving from an articulated problem or question, through concept identification and search strategy development.

To book an appointment with Elizabeth for individual assistance, please use the Book a Librarian bookings system.

PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) is an evidence-based minimum set of items for reporting in systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

PRISMA Statement

You can find information about the PRISMA checklist and flow diagram directly from the PRISMA website.

Looking for a copy of the checklist or the flow diagram?

Follow these links to download a copy of the checklist here, or get a copy of the flow diagram here.

The literature review in N520 requires students to use Rayyan to screen (organize and review) journal articles.

Sign up

Sign up for a Rayyan account using your choice of email and password (you will not already have an account linked to your TWU credentials, and you can choose to use your Trinity or personal emails). Make sure to click the link for the free membership in "to continue as free, click here" (shown in the screenshot below).

Set up

Tracking

Make labels to track each round of the screening process:

• ti/ab screen

• not retrieved

• fulltext screen

Each article must be labelled, and must have only ONE label to prevent double-counting.

Exclusion reasons

Look at the stock exclusion reasons and see if you need to add anything based on your particular question. Use these reasons to explain why articles are not included in your final set.

Get help

Watch the Rayyan Systematic Review Tutorial to get started.

Use the help centre's articles for specific guidance:

• Create a review
• Upload references
• Screen references