There are two types of guidance documents necessary for conducting systematic reviews and other evidence syntheses. The two resources serve different purposes and you need both to successfully navigate the process from planning to publication.
Handbooks and manuals provide practical methodological guidance for undertaking a systematic review. They contain detailed steps on how to plan, conduct, organize, and present your review. This is the best place to go if you have any questions about the best practices for any of the steps in the process.
Reporting guidelines aid in the transparent and accurate reporting, in your manuscript for publication, the steps you performed when conducting your review.
A reporting guideline is a simple, structured tool for health researchers to use while writing manuscripts. A reporting guideline provides a minimum list of information needed to ensure a manuscript can be:
Systematic
The PRISMA Statement notes that you should document the total number of studies you reviewed, including those you excluded from your systematic review.
Guidelines for producing a Campbell Systematic Review. The Campbell Collaboration is an international research network that produces systematic reviews of the effects of social interventions. Look for the Methodological Expectations of Campbell Collaboration Intervention Reviews (MECCIR) documents on this page.
Scoping
Comprehensive chapter from the Joanna Briggs Institute on how to conduct a scoping review.
Includes the statement and explanation, as well as the checklist.
The Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions is the official document that describes in detail the process of preparing and maintaining Cochrane systematic reviews on the effects of healthcare interventions.
The National Academies Press (formerly IOM) standards address the entire systematic review process, from locating, screening, and selecting studies for the review, to synthesizing the findings and assessing the overall quality of the body of evidence, to producing the final review report.
This guide was developed to improve the transparency, consistency, and scientific rigor of those working on Comparative Effectiveness Reviews.
This manual summarizes the processes used by the AAFP to produce high-quality, evidence-based guidelines.
