A systematic review is a review of a clearly formulated question that uses systematic and explicit methods to identify, select and critically appraise all relevant research, and to collect and analyze data from the studies that are included in the review.

Reference

Undertaking Systematic Reviews of Research on Effectiveness. CRD’s Guidance for those Carrying Out or Commissioning Reviews. CRD Report Number 4 (2nd Edition). NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, University of York. March 2001.

The Holman Biotech Commons offers a two-tiered level of service for Systematic Reviews (SR) assistance.

For the Basic Service, we offer:

• Consultation on SR process and guidelines
• Assistance on refining research topics and initial search strategies
• Assistance on inclusion and exclusion criteria
• Recommendations for databases and other resources to search
• Advice on identifying controlled vocabulary and keywords
• Advice on citation management methods and tools

For the Advanced Service, we offer to: 

• Gather appropriate controlled vocabulary & keywords in conjunction with team members 
• Conduct literature searches across multiple databases
• Advise on gray literature resources
• Provide assistance with citation management
• Advise on retrieving full-text articles
• Refine and update searches
• Write the methodology section for publication
• Review manuscript
• Maintain communication with other team members