GSU Library Research Guides: Writing Systematic Reviews for the Health and Social Sciences: Examples, Tutorials and "How to" Articles

BMJ's How to Read a Paper series

Getting your bearings (deciding what the paper is about) Trisha Greenhalgh
Assessing the methodological quality of published papers Trisha Greenhalgh
Papers that summarise other papers (systematic reviews and meta-analyses) Trisha Greenhalgh
Papers that tell you what things cost (economic analyses) Trisha Greenhalgh
Papers that report diagnostic or screening tests Trisha Greenhalgh
Papers that report drug trials Trisha Greenhalgh
Statistics for the non-statistician. I: Different types of data need different statistical tests Trisha Greenhalgh
Statistics for the non-statistician. II: "Significant" relations and their pitfalls Trisha Greenhalgh
Papers that go beyond numbers (qualitative research) Trisha Greenhalgh, Rod Taylor
The Medline database Trisha Greenhalgh

http://www.bmj.com/about-bmj/resources-readers/publications/how-read-paper

Other "How to" Articles

An Introduction to Systematic Reviews
Joanna Briggs Institute for Evidence Based Nursing and Midwifery, 2001 An Introduction to Systematic Reviews, Changing Practice Sup. 1.
Five steps to conducting a systematic review
Khan KS, et al. J R Soc Med. 2003 Mar;96(3):118-21.
How to read a systematic review and meta-analysis and apply the results to patient care: users' guides to the medical literature.
Murad MH. et al. JAMA. 2014 Jul;312(2):171-9.
Learn to read and write systematic reviews: The Belgian Campbell Group
Hannes, Karin. Research on Social Work Practice; Nov2007, Vol. 17 Issue 6, p748-753.
Learning how to undertake a systematic review: part 1.
Bettany-Saltikov J. Nurs Stand. 2010 Aug 18-24;24(50):47-55; quiz 56.
Learning how to undertake a systematic review: Part 2.
Bettany-Saltikov J. Nurs Stand. 2010 Aug 25-31;24(51):47-56; quiz 58, 60.
Methods Guide for Medical Test Reviews (AHRQ)
Reporting guidelines and the American Journal of Public Health's adoption of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses.
McLeroy KR, et al. Am J Public Health. 2012 May;102(5):780-4.
Standards for Systematic Reviews - Institute of Medicine
This report recommends standards for systematic reviews of the comparative effectiveness of medical or surgical interventions.
Systematic reviews for informing rehabilitation practice: an introduction.
Dijkers MP, et al. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2012 May;93(5):912-8.
Systematic reviews in nutrition: standardized methodology.
Wanden-Berghe C, Sanz-Valero J. Br J Nutr. 2012 Jun;107 Suppl 2:S3-7.
Systematic reviews and meta-analysis of preclinical studies: why perform them and how to appraise them critically.
Sena ES, et al. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2014 May;34(5):737-42.

Examples

*GOOD EXAMPLE showing SR criteria selection process
Interventions to improve therapeutic communications between Black and minority ethnic patients and professionals in psychiatric services: systematic review
Kamaldeep S. Bhui, Rabeea'h W. Aslam, et al.. The British Journal of Psychiatry Aug 2015, 207 (2) 95-103.
Atrial fibrillation associated with ivabradine treatment: meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.
Martin RI, Pogoryelova O, et al. Heart. 2014 Oct;100(19):1506-10.
The attitudes of undergraduate nursing students towards mental health nursing: a systematic review.
Happell B, Gaskin CJ. J Clin Nurs. 2013 an;22(1-2):148-58.
Common themes of resilience among Latino immigrant families: A systematic review of the literature.
Cardoso, J.B. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services. Vol. 91 (3) 2010. p257-265.
Complex interventions to improve physical function and maintain independent living in elderly people: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Beswick AD, et al. Lancet. 2008 Mar 1;371(9614):725-35.
Death Anxiety in Persons with HIV/AIDS: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Miller, Audrey K. Death Studies, Aug 2012, Vol. 36 Issue 7, p640-663.
Effect of treatment delay, age, and stroke severity on the effects of intravenous thrombolysis with alteplase for acute ischaemic stroke: a meta-analysis of individual patient data from randomised trials.
Emberson J, Lees KR, et al. Lancet. 2014 Nov 29;384(9958):1929-35.
Effectiveness of computerized decision support systems linked to electronic health records: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Moja L, Kwag KH, et al. Am J Public Health. 2014 Dec;104(12):e12-22
Interventions to reduce prejudice and enhance inclusion and respect for ethnic differences in early childhood: A systematic review.
Aboud, Frances E., et al. Developmental Review, Vol 32(4), Dec, 2012. pp. 307-336.
Pain management with acupuncture in osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Manyanga T, Froese M, et al.. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2014 Aug 23;14:312.
Parental smoking cessation to protect young children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Rosen LJ, Noach MB, Winickoff JP, Hovell MF. Pediatrics. 2012 Jan;129(1):141-52.
Psychosocial factors and adjustment to chronic pain in persons with physical disabilities: a systematic review.
Jensen MP, et al. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2011 Jan;92(1):146-60.
Retention of front-line staff in child welfare: a systematic review of research.
DePanfilis, D. Children and Youth Services Review. Vol. 30 (9) 2008. p995-1008.
A systematic review of medical treatments for children with autism spectrum disorders.
McPheeters ML, et al. Pediatrics. 2011 May;127(5):e1312-21.
Unexplained Fractures: Child Abuse or Bone Disease? A Systematic Review
Pandya NK, et al. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2011 March; 469(3): 805–812.

Research Logs

Evidence Analysis Log
You can use this log to help analyze individual citations.
Literature Search Tracking Log
You can use this log to keep track of your search strategies.

Feel free to modify these Excel files to suit your needs.

Online Tutorials

Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions
See Part 2: General methods for Cochrane reviews
Systematic Searches (Yale)
Using PubMed's Clinical Queries to Find Systematic Reviews

Evaluating Systematic Reviews

Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement. David Moher, Alessandro Liberati, Jennifer Tetzlaff, Douglas G. Altman, the PRISMA Group. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2009 Aug;151(4):264-269.

The PRISMA Statement for Reporting Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses of Studies That Evaluate Health Care Interventions: Explanation and Elaboration. Liberati A, Altman DG, Tetzlaff J, Mulrow C, Gøtzsche PC, et al. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2009 Aug;151(4):W-65-W-94.

2009 PRISMA Checklist
27-item checklist that may help you evaluate systematic reviews and meta-analyses. A well-conducted & well-written systematic review or meta-analysis will have most/all of these components.

At a loss for words?

Academic Phrasebank
Check out this phrasebank of terms and phrases to use in your research papers.

RevMan Systematic Review Software

Review Manager 5.1 Tutorial

RevMan (Cochrane Review Manager) - This is a professional level software application that can be used to prepare systematic reviews. It is recommended that you review the tutorial to see if the level of training needed to use the system is beyond your time commitment.