Systematic Reviews: Useful resources

Now that you have reached the end of this subject guide, you may be interested in reading more about systematic reviews.

On this page you will find lots of resources to enhance your understanding of what a systematic review is, the stages involved, and how you can perform high-quality searches. 

Happy reading!  

More books on the following topics can be found on our Systematic Reviews: Useful Resources reading list

• Study skills
• Academic writing
• Evaluating information sources
• Research methods
• Critical appraisal 
• Literature review
• Dissertation
• Referencing

Journal articles

• Meeting the review family: exploring review types and associated information retrieval requirements by Anthea Sutton; Mark Clowes; Louise Preston; Andrew Booth
• Systematic review or scoping review? Guidance for authors when choosing between a systematic or scoping review approach by Zachary Munn; Micah D. J. Peters; Cindy Stern; Catalin Tufanaru; Alexa McArthur; Edoardo Aromataris
• Reviewing the literature by Joanna Smith and Helen Noble

Blog

• How to write the methods section of a systematic review by Laura Mellor

Below are links to videos explaining the purpose and stages of a systematic review. Please note, these are discussing full systematic reviews, therefore some elements may not apply to university level.

• ▶️ The steps of a systematic review - Center for Evidence Synthesis in Health
• ▶️ What are systematic reviews? - Cochrane
• ▶️ What is a systematic review? - Research Masterminds
• ▶️ An introduction to systematic reviews (for Life Sciences students)

The library does not hold examples of past students' work. Please check on your Aula page/with your supervisor if they have any available.

Examples of full systematic reviews can be found on most literature databases. Below you will find examples from the Cochrane database, and details of how to find them on PubMed.

Examples from Cochrane Library

• Non‐opioid analgesics for procedural pain in neonates

• Effects of a gluten‐reduced or gluten‐free diet for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease

• Injection therapies for Achilles tendinopathy

PubMed filter

There is a systematic review filter which you can apply to your results to view these types of studies on a topic. Search for your topic and click 'Systematic Review' on the left hand filter.