Systematic Review Services

What is systematic review?

Systematic review is a comprehensive review method of answering a specific research question, commonly used in clinical research and disciplines of medical science and global health. It focuses on a specific question, uses explicit, pre-planned scientific methods to identify, select, appraise and summarize simiar but separate studies.

What can librarians do to support your systematic review projects?

  • Deliver an overview of process of systematic review for your research team
  • Recommend appropriate literature databases
  • Help develop search strategies to identify all relevant studies in both Chinese and English literature
  • Guide to document search process and deliver search results formatted for citation management software and systematic review tools
  • Implement best practices for removing duplicate results, screening and note taking
  • Guide the methodology section of the review according to PRISMA guidelines or other standards

Librarians play a substantial role in the process of systematic review but it is advisable for members of the authoring team with expertise in the subject matter and quantitative methods to oversee specific critical steps. When librarians contribute to drafting the search methodology section of a systematic review, their contribution warrants co-authorship. If a librarian is involved in devising the search strategy and/or managing references, their contribution should be recognized in the acknowledgments section of the published work.

If you need a systematic review consultation, please fill in the Systematic Review Request Form. Our librarians will contact you within 3 business days. If you have any other questions related to systematic review, please contact Mengjie Zou, Research and Instruction Librarian, mengjie.zou@dukekunshan.edu.cn.