This guide is aimed at master's and medical students who have been asked to complete a systematic or scoping review as part of their studies. If you are a DPhil student or a researcher working on a systematic or scoping review please see our full systematic review guide.
A systematic review is a high-level overview of primary research on a particular research question. It tries to identify, select, synthesise and appraise all high-quality research evidence relevant to that question in order to answer it. Full systematic reviews usually take a minimum of 12 months to complete, and require a team of at least 2 people. This is generally not feasible for a master's-level or medical student project.
This page provides guidance on how to complete a systematic literature review. This is a type of literature review that draws upon systematic review methods to ensure it is more rigorous than a traditional literature review. If you are unsure about what sort of review you've been asked to do please discuss it with your supervisor or course team.
| Does it include.... | Literature Review | Systematic Review | Systematic Literature Review |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clearly defined research question? |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Written plan or protocol for project? | No | Yes - a registered protocol | Yes - an informal plan |
| Systematic search of the literature? | No | Yes - usually 4+ databases | Yes - 2-4 databases |
| Screening of search results? | No | Yes - at least 2 screeners required | Yes - one screener required |
| Risk of bias assessment? | No | Yes | Optional |
| Data extraction? | No | Yes | Optional |
| Synthesis of findings? | Yes | Yes | Yes |