Systematic & Advanced Evidence Synthesis Reviews

For the 8 major types of reviews this website has details and links to peer-reviewed journal manuscripts on (a) the epistemological and ontological underpinning of the synthesis approach and (b) how-to guidelines for conducting and adjudicating the rigor of each review type. We also created (c) an executive summary infographic for each review type.

A flow chart that helps researchers and authors determine what type of review is appropriate based on time, scope, and collaborators.

A 5-question form to determine what kind of quantitative knowledge synthesis you may want to do. Focused on health sciences but applicable outside that discipline.

This tool is designed to provide guidance and supporting material to reviewers on methods for the conduct and reporting of knowledge synthesis.

This tool assists in making a decision about what type of review is right for you based on your research question(s)
and the required parameters of each type of review. It links out to a comparison chart on the different review types.

The last decade has witnessed increased recognition of the value of literature reviews for advancing understanding and decision making. This has been accompanied by an expansion in the range of methodological approaches and types of review. However, there remains uncertainty over definitions and search requirements beyond those for the ‘traditional’ systematic review. This study aims to characterise health related reviews by type and to provide recommendations on appropriate methods of information retrieval based on the available guidance.

This article describes 14 different types of reviews that are common in health research - it gives strengths and weaknesses of each type with examples form health and health information domains. Very helpful when deciding what type of review your research topic may fit into.