Here’s how Subject Librarians can help with your systematic review:

– Help formulate your PICO question

– Assist with developing search strategies across appropriate databases

– Provide advice on how to document the search for the methods section of your review

– EndNote support

– Research data management

A meta-analysis utlises statistical methods (as differentiated from systematic reviews) to quantitatively evaluate pooled data from single studies. 

Systematic reviews aim to find and evaluate all studies, published and unpublished, relevant to a research question. They use systematic methods to minimise bias and they also use transparent methods that allow for replication and verification

Key characteristics

• a clearly stated set of objectives with pre-defined eligibility criteria for studies;

• an explicit, reproducible methodology;

• a systematic search that attempts to identify all studies that meet the eligibility criteria;

• an assessment of the validity of the findings of the included studies, for example through the assessment of risk of bias

• a systematic presentation, and synthesis, of the characteristics and findings of the included studies.

(Cochrane handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions, 2019, p.xxiii)