Types of Advanced Reviews
Systematic Review
- Exhaustive review of primary evidence on a clearly formulated question.
- Methods must be transparent, reproducible and follow an established protocol.
Scoping Review or Evidence Map
- Systematically and transparently collect and categorize existing evidence on a broad question of policy or management importance.
- Seeks to identify research gaps and opportunities for evidence synthesis rather than searching for the effect of an intervention.
- May critically evaluate existing evidence, but does not attempt to synthesize the results in the way a systematic review would. (see EE Journal and CIFOR)
- May take longer than a systematic review.
- See Updated methodological guidance for the conduct of scoping reviews, 2020.
Rapid Review
- Applies Systematic Review methodology within a time-constrained setting.
- Employs methodological "shortcuts" (limiting search terms for example) at the risk of introducing bias.
- Useful for addressing issues needing quick decisions, such as developing policy recommendations.
- See Evidence Summaries: The Evolution of a Rapid Review Approach
Umbrella Review
- Reviews other systematic reviews on a topic.
- Often defines a broader question than is typical of a traditional systematic review.
- Most useful when there are competing interventions to consider.
Meta-analysis
- Statistical technique for combining the findings from disparate quantitative studies.
- Uses statistical methods to objectively evaluate, synthesize, and summarize results.
- May be conducted independently or as part of a systematic review.
Systematized (Literature) Review
- A broad term referring to reviews with a non-standardized methodology, but may include many, but NOT ALL, of the elements of a systematic review.
- Search strategies, comprehensiveness, and time range covered will vary and do not follow an established protocol.
- May be used for post graduate assignments.
Literature Review (also known as Narrative Review or Critical Review)
- [Synthesizes primary studies and explores this through description rather than statistics.]
- A broad term referring to reviews with a wide scope and non-standardized methodology.
- Search strategies, comprehensiveness, and time range covered will vary and do not follow an established protocol.
Integrative Review
- A broad term referring to reviews that are a key component of any advanced research project and are not self-contained projects, such as PhD dissertations with extensive literature reviews integrated into each section or comprising one or more chapters of the dissertation.
- with a wide scope and non-standardized methodology, and may include many, but NOT ALL, of the components of a systematic review.
- Search strategies, comprehensiveness, and time range covered will vary and do not follow an established protocol.
The above was adapted from Cornell University LIbrary's A Guide to Evidence Synthesis: Types of Evidence Synthesis, https://guides.library.cornell.edu/evidence-synthesis/types
