These handbooks for conducting systematic reviews and evidence synthesis will help you navigate the systematic review process.  Refer to them throughout your project.  The JBI Manual also provides guidance for scoping reviews.

• Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions, version 6.4 (updated August 2023). (2023). (T. J. Higgins JP, Chandler J, Cumpston M, Li T, Page MJ, Welch VA, Ed.). Cochrane.

• Aromataris E, Lockwood C, Porritt K, Pilla B, Jordan Z, editors. JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis. JBI; 2024. 

• National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2011. Finding What Works in Health Care: Standards for Systematic Reviews. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

Reporting guidelines for systematic, scoping, and other reviews help ensure that methods and findings are clearly and transparently reported in the final manuscript. PRISMA is the most commonly used guideline for systematic reviews.

• PRISMA Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses,
  • For more elaboration, see PRISMA 2020 explanation and elaboration

• PRISMA has a number of other extensions available, including reporting guidelines for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR) and searching

• The PRISMA Flow Diagram is a visual representation of the study selection process in a systematic review.

Covidence is an online platform designed to streamline the process of conducting systematic reviews.  Covidence streamlines the process of title/abstract and full-text screening, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment.

Strauss Library subscribes to and supports Covidence for use by faculty, staff, and students on campus. Set up an account here!

Learn more about Covidence:

• Covidence Knowledge Base - excellent tool for guidance throughout the review process.
• Video of the main steps in Covidence - provides a basic overview.
• Covidence recent webinars and upcoming webinars - for in-depth training.

These campus services can participate as partners or provide support for your research project:

• The Professional Literature Search service at the Strauss Health Sciences Library provides collaborative services and expertise in literature searching
• Center for Innovative Design & Analysis (CIDA) provides consultations and statistical support for meta-analysis
• Qualitative and Mixed Methods Research Core builds knowledge in rigorous qualitative and mixed methods research, including meta-synthesis