Systematic Reviews

DML librarians are trained in systematic/scoping review standards and methodologies. Our basic consultation service will familiarize you with best practices for conducting a review. You can also add a librarian to your review team through our full systematic review service. To get in touch with us, submit a request using our Ask DML form.

This level of service usually provides 1-2 hours of support from the librarian*, which includes:

• Provide an overview of the systematic/scoping review (SR/ScR) process. 
• Inform researcher of SR/ScR methodology and reporting standards (PRISMA, Cochrane, JBI, National Academies).
• Provides limited feedback on the research question and search strategy. 
• Recommend databases and possible grey literature sources to search. 

*If more time is required from the study team, it will be up to each librarian's discretion to encourage the transition to the full service level.

• Provide overview of the systematic/scoping review (SR/ScR) process.
• Check for in-process reviews on the topic in registries like PROSPERO, OSF, etc.
• Inform researcher of SR/ScR methodology and reporting standards (PRISMA, Cochrane, JBI, National Academies).
• Advise research/study team with completing the protocol.
• Advise research/study team with submitting the protocol, if required.
• Advise research/study team with refining the research question.
• Recommend databases and possible grey literature sources to search.
• With the PI/team lead, design the main search strategy.
• Have the main search strategy peer-reviewed (dependent on timing/staff availability).
• Translate and run the search across multiple databases. Study team may be responsible for searching and tracking citations in grey literature resources.
• Save all database search strategies and document citation count data.
• Merge and deduplicate the citations.
• Provide basic guidance on the screening process and potential screening tools, such as Covidence.
• Advise team on methods for obtaining the full-text of the articles.
• Advise research/study team with exporting citations from screening platform to citation manager (e.g. EndNote, RefWorks, Zotero, etc.).
• Provide research/study team with several documents to include in publication (partially completed PRISMA Flow Diagram and search strategy appendices).
• Assist in writing Methods section for publication.
• Run update of searches prior to publication (as required by standards).
• Conduct a final review of publication manuscript.
• Librarian co-authorship is required for this option.