Getting started
Definitions and types of reviews
Understanding what type of reviews exist and the aim of the review type will help you determine what type of review you should conduct. There are 14 types of reviews, including systematic reviews.
What is a systematic review?
A systematic review gathers evidence that aligns with specific eligibility criteria to answer a specific research question. It aims to minimize bias by using explicit and systematic methodology that have been determined using a protocol.
Systematic reviews often include:
- An extensive search of evidence to find relevant studies,
- Inclusion and exclusion criteria,
- A validity assessment of the included studies, and
- Recommendations for future practice
Source: Chandler J, Cumpston M, Thomas J, Higgins JPT, Deeks JJ, Clarke MJ. Chapter I: Introduction. In: Higgins JPT, Thomas J, Chandler J, Cumpston M, Li T, Page MJ, Welch VA (editors). Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions version 6.3 (updated February 2022). Cochrane, 2022. Available from www.training.cochrane.org/handbook.
Other Review Types
In addition to systematic reviews, there are other types of knowledge synthesis projects that you can conduct. These other types of reviews include, but are not limited to:
- Scoping Reviews aim to identify the type and the extent of the research that currently exists on a topic. They provide researchers a way of assessing the size and scope of existing literature.
- Meta-Analysis is a technique that consists of conducting a comprehensive search of existing research and combine the numerical results of existing studies in order to provide a concise statistical summary of findings.
- Narrative Reviews (also referred to as literature reviews) aim to examine the existing/current literature that exists on a particular research area. They may or may not be comprehensive.
- Umbrella Reviews are reviews of systematic reviews or meta-analyses; they do not rely on primary sources. They will often put the findings of multiple reviews in one document and focus on a broad research question or problem.
For more detailed information on review types, refer to A Typology of Reviews: An Analysis of 14 Review Types and Associated Methodologies.
Not sure what review is right for you? Try the Right Review tool, provided by the Knowledge Translation Program, which is designed to help you determine which type of review would be best for your knowledge synthesis project.
