“A systematic review attempts to identify, appraise and synthesize all the empirical evidence that meets pre-specified eligibility criteria to answer a given research question. Researchers conducting systematic reviews use explicit methods aimed at minimizing bias, in order to produce more reliable findings that can be used to inform decision making.”
- Cochrane Library
Systematic reviews should be done:
Time: The length of time needed to complete a systematic review ranges from 6 months to 2 years, with an average mean project length of 67.3 weeks (Khangura et al., 2012; Borah et al., 2017)
Teamwork: A systematic review cannot be done alone. Results must be screened and appraised by a minimum of two reviewers, ideally with a third available to settle any disagreements.
Tools: Access to a citation management tool with sharing capabilities (i.e. EndNote).
Systematic reviews require a lot of time and effort to complete; a reasonable time frame is rarely under one year. The Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions suggests the following timeline to complete a Cochrane Review:
| Month | Activity |
| 1 - 2 | Preparation of protocol |
| 3 - 8 | Searches for published & unpublished studies |
| 2 - 3 | Pilot test of eligibility criteria |
| 3 - 8 | Inclusion assessments |
| 3 | Pilot test of 'Risk of bias' assessment |
| 3 - 10 | Validity assessments |
| 3 | Pilot test of data collection |
| 3 - 10 | Data collection |
| 3 - 10 | Data entry |
| 5 - 11 | Follow up of missing information |
| 8 - 10 | Analysis |
| 1 - 11 | Preparation of review report |
| 12 - | Keeping the review up to date |
This guide was created by Ontario Tech Libraries and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License, except where otherwise noted.
