Library Guides: Public Health Portal: Scoping and Systematic Reviews

Review Types: Which one meets your information needs?

A typology of reviews: An analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies

In the 2009 article, A typology of reviews: An analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies, authors Grant & Booth present a table of format types and methods.

Grant, M. J., & Booth, A. (2009). A typology of reviews: An analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 26(2), 91-108. doi:10.1111/j.1471-1842.2009.00848.x

Developing a search strategy

Steps in Planning and Implementing a Literature Search
Detailed instructions on thinking through moving from a research question to a search for scholarly literature.

How to develop a search strategy based on the Peer Review of Electronic Search Strategies (PRESS) criteria*
Cochrane. Effective Practices and Organization of Care (EPOC)
PRESS Peer Review of Electronic Search Strategies
McGowan, J., Sampson, M., Salzwedel, D. M., Cogo, E., Foerster, V., & Lefebvre, C. (2016). PRESS peer review of electronic search strategies: 2015 Guideline Statement doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2016.01.021
Reporting the search method: Are the searches clearly explained, systematic and reproducible?
Mullins, M. M., DeLuca, J. B., Crepaz, N., & Lyles, C. M. (2014). Reporting quality of search methods in systematic reviews of HIV behavioral interventions (2000-2010): Are the searches clearly explained, systematic and reproducible? Research Synthesis Methods, 5(2), 116-130. doi:10.1002/jrsm.1098 [doi]

Types of Searches

A Systematic Review includes these types of searching:

Preliminary: Identify existing reviews on the topic, assess the volume of potentially relevant reviews and locate a minimum of two-four articles to use as exemplar articles.
Exhaustive searches: Used to identify as many publications as possible which meet the study requirements
Hand searching: Find the grey literature: conference proceedings, poster abstracts, un-indexed conference presentations.
Cited reference searching: Review the references cited by included and highly-relevant articles
Finding unpublished and about-to-be published articles:Contact organizations, listservs and even the authors

Preliminary Searches

PubMed This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Millions of citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and eBooks. Click on TU LINK within a record to explore full text options.
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) This link opens in a new window
The Cochrane Reviews in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews are prepared by authors who register titles with one of 52 Cochrane Review Groups. Each Cochrane Review Group focuses on a specific topic area and is led by a Coordinating Editor(s) and an editorial team including a Managing Editor and an Information Specialist. The Cochrane Review Groups provide authors with methodological and editorial support to prepare Cochrane Reviews, and manage the editorial process, including peer review. These systematic reviews differ from other types of review in that they adhere to a strict design in order to make them more comprehensive, minimizing the chance of bias, and ensuring reliability. Rather than reflecting the views of the authors, or being based on a partial selection of the literature, (as is the case with many articles and reviews that are not explicitly systematic), they contain all known references to trials on a particular intervention and a comprehensive summary of the available evidence.

Exhaustive searches

MEDLINE (OVID) This link opens in a new window
Biomedical journal articles on medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, pre-clinical sciences, and more. Widely recognized as the premier source for bibliographic and abstract coverage of biomedical literature. 1946-present.
EMBASE This link opens in a new window
Biomedical, pharmaceutical and medical device research including Medline + 5 million records not covered in Medline. Indexes 7500+ current, mostly peer-reviewed journals. Includes proceedings and conference abstracts.
CINAHL Complete This link opens in a new window
Full-text for nursing & allied health journal literature.

Grey Literature Searching

Subject-specific professional association websites and the bibliographies of all included studies.

Scoping Reviews

The Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewers’ Manual Chapter 11 Scoping reviews
2019 © Joanna Briggs Institute. All Rights Reserved

Systematic Review Books

Assembling the Pieces of a Systematic Review by Sarah T. Jewell (Editor); Margaret J. Foster (Editor); Margaret J. Foster (Editor); Margaret J. Foster (Editor)
Call Number: W 20.5 As844 2017 (Matas Commons)
ISBN: 9781442277014
Publication Date: 2017-03-03
Written for librarians, it can be helpful to anyone.
Doing a Systematic Review by Angela Boland; Gemma Cherry (Editor); Rumona Dickson (Editor)
Call Number: W 20.5B635.2 2017 (Matas Commons)
ISBN: 9781473967007
Publication Date: 2017-11-23
Provides answers to all review-related questions, including: How do I formulate an appropriate review question? What's the best way to manage my review? How do I develop my search strategy?
Health Sciences Literature Review Made Easy, ed.6 by Judith Garrard
ISBN: 9781284211177
Publication Date: 2020-12-23
via Library Catlog
Introduction to Health Research Methods, ed.3 by Kathryn H. Jacobsen
ISBN: 9781284197563
Publication Date: 2021
Print available Matas Library - Chapter on systematic review

Public health systematic review guidance

Guidelines for Systematic Reviews of Health Promotion and Public Health Interventions
These guidelines have been developed for the purpose of advising and supporting systematic reviews of health promotion and public health interventions within the Cochrane Collaboration.
Reviews in Public Health and Public Health Promotion
See Chapter 21 which This provides an overview of issues specific to health promotion and public health not discussed elsewhere in the Handbook
Evidence-Informed Public Health
Describes steps in finding, using and sharing what works in public health. National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools (NCCMT)
Searching for studies
Cochrane
The Importance of Transparent Reporting of Systematic Reviews
Brooks, D., & McNeely, M. (2013). The importance of transparent reporting of systematic reviews. Physiotherapy Canada.Physiotherapie Canada, 65(1), 1-3. doi:10.3138/ptc.65.1.GEE [doi]

References

Five steps in conducting a systematic review
Uses a public health search example. Khan, K. S., Kunz, R., Kleijnen, J., & Antes, G. (2003). Five steps to conducting a systematic review. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 96(3), 118-121.
Centre for Review and Dissemination (CRD)
Guidelines for those with an understanding of health research but who are either new to systematic reviews or have some experience but who want to learn more.
Finding What Works in Health Care: Standards for Systematic Reviews (2011)
Prepared by the Institute of Medicine Committee on Standards for Systematic Reviews of Comparative Effectiveness Research.
Johanna Briggs Institute Reviewers Manual
From the Joanne Briggs Institute, "It is designed to assist researchers and practitioners in fields such as health, social sciences and humanities to appraise and synthesis evidence of feasibility, appropriateness, meaningfulness and effectiveness; and to conduct economic evaluations of activities and interventions."
Systematic reviews, meta-analyses and real world evidence: an introduction
An introduction to systematic reviews and meta-analysis, based on a real-life clinical example
Training Modules for the Systematic Reviews Methods Guide
AHRQ Guide created to support their Effective Health Care Program
Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis
Uman, L. S. (2011). Systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry = Journal De l'Academie Canadienne De Psychiatrie De l'Enfant Et De l'Adolescent, 20(1), 57-59.

Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions by Julian P. T. Higgins & James Thomas (Editors)
ISBN: 9781119536628
Publication Date: 2019-10-28
Online handbook (free access)

SR protocol development and registry

Registering an a protocol reduces the likelihood that there is more than one systematic review on a topic. They function to reduce duplication and promote transparency.A registered review protocol provides the rationale for the review and describes a pre-planned, methodological and analytic approach prior to embarking on a review.

Registering Systematic Reviews
Straus, S., & Moher, D. (2010). Registering systematic reviews. CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association Journal = Journal De l'Association Medicale Canadienne, 182(1), 13-14. doi:10.1503/cmaj.081849 [doi]
PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses)
PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses)
Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC)
Resources which provide guidance for authors of EPOC reviews. Includes instruction for developing a protocol. Intended as a supplement to the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions
PROSPERO
An international database of prospectively registered systematic reviews in health and social care, welfare, public health, education, crime, justice, and international development, where there is a health related outcome
Trials Register of Promoting Health Interventions (TRoPHI)
Use Boolean Operators to find focused coverage of trials of interventions in health promotion and public health worldwide
What is a protocol?
From PRISMA : A Transparent Reporting of Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis.

Featured Public Health Databases

Psychology

PsycINFO This link opens in a new window
Citations and abstracts of journal articles, book chapters, books, dissertations and technical reports, in psychology. Also includes psychological aspects of related disciplines such as medicine, psychiatry, nursing, sociology, education, pharmacology, physiology, linguistics, anthropology, business and law.

PubPsych
PubPsych is a free information retrieval system for psychological resources. It offers a comprehensive and balanced selection of resources from a growing number of international databases with a European focus, covering the needs of academic and professional psychologists.

Biomedical

CINAHL Complete This link opens in a new window
Full-text for nursing & allied health journal literature.

LILACS (Latin American Caribbean Health Sciences Literature

Web of Science Core This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Interdisciplinary database includes: Arts and Humanities Citation Index, Science Citation Index Expanded, and Social Sciences Citation Index, Journal Citation Reports. Includes citation searching (see how many times a paper has been cited). Coverage: 1976 - present. NOTE: Use your Web of Science/Endnote username and password or create a new username and password to access InCites, Journal Citation Reports, and/or EndNotes from Web of Science.
PubMed This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Millions of citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and eBooks. Click on TU LINK within a record to explore full text options.
EMBASE This link opens in a new window
Biomedical, pharmaceutical and medical device research including Medline + 5 million records not covered in Medline. Indexes 7500+ current, mostly peer-reviewed journals. Includes proceedings and conference abstracts.

Sociology

Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new window
This database abstracts and indexes the international literature of sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. Cited references are included for many journal articles.

Education

ERIC (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
The Educational Resource Information Center (ERIC) is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education to provide extensive access to educational-related literature. Access 14,000+ documents and over 20,000+ journal articles per year. Coverage from 1966-present.

Transportation

Repository and Open Science Access Portal (rosap)
An all-digital library program, National Transportation Library (NTL)’s collections in Repository and Open Science Access Portal are full-text electronic publications, datasets, and other resources. National Transportation Information Library.

Health Promotion

BiblioMap, the EPPI-Centre database of health promotion research
The Compass
A curated collection of social and behavior change (SBC) resources
DARE (Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects)
Database of promoting health effectiveness reviews (DoPHER)
Database of focused coverage of systematic and non-systematic reviews of effectiveness in health promotion and public health worldwide
Trials Register of Promoting Health Interventions (TRoPHI)
Use Boolean Operators to find focused coverage of trials of interventions in health promotion and public health worldwide

Population

PopLine (Site Retired) This link opens in a new window
POPLINE was a valuable resource to the population, family planning, and reproductive health community for over 40 years (1973-2019). Site now home to links for alternative access to journal articles that collectively meet the majority of POPLINE user requests.

Environmental Health

Environment Complete This link opens in a new window
EBSCO’s Environment Complete database offers coverage in the areas of agriculture, ecosystem ecology, energy, and affiliated areas of study. The resource includes more than 1,200 full-text journals and monographs, nearly 4 million records, indexing for more than 2,000 domestic and international journals dating back more than 100 years and more than 180 full-text monographs. Offering full text and indexing for these journals, books and monographs, it is an invaluable resource for students and scholars across all environmental disciplines.
Health and Safety Science Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Articles on public health, safety, and industrial hygiene, 1981 – present.

Economics

EconLit This link opens in a new window
Indexes and abstracts economic periodical literature. Citations and abstracts to economic research dating back to 1969 covering topics including accounting, capital markets, econometrics, economic forecasting, government regulations, labor economics, monetary theory, urban economics and much more.

Latin America

LILACS (Latin American Caribbean Health Sciences Literature

Data collection instrument and procedure

Data Collection Instrument and Procedure for Systematic Reviews in the Guide to Community Preventive Services
Zaza, S., Wright-De Aguero, L. K., Briss, P. A., Truman, B. I., Hopkins, D. P., Hennessy, M. H., . . . Pappaioanou, M. (2000). Data collection instrument and procedure for systematic reviews in the guide to community preventive services. task force on community preventive services. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 18(1 Suppl), 44-74.

Critical Appraisal: Is the evidence good enough?

An Introduction to Evidence-Informed Public Health and A Compendium of Critical Appraisal Tools for Public Health Practice
National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools (NCCMT)
more...less...
A background paper which defines and summarizes the concept of Evidence-Informed Public Health (EIPH) recognizing that, to use evidence in public health practice and policy development, one must first critically appraise the available research that provides the basis for that
evidence

Resources for locating systematic reviews

The Campbell Collaboration Online Library
The Cochrane Library
A collection of databases that contain different types of high-quality, independent evidence to inform healthcare decision-making. Includes: The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) -- Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) -- Cochrane Clinical Answers.
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Cochrane Collaboration - https://www.cochrane.org/
The Guide to Community Preventive Services (The Community Guide)
A collection of evidence-based findings of the Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF). It is a resource to help you select interventions to improve health and prevent disease in your state, community, community organization, business, healthcare organization, or school. In most recommended programs you can find systematic review search methods (but quality varies).
Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness (DARE)
A resource to find out if reviews and economic evaluations have already been done before embarking on new projects, and in providing brief critical reviews and bottom line statements of these. University of York Centre for Reviews and Dissemination

Journals that publish Systematic Reviews

PLoS ONE
Systematic Reviews
The journal publishes high quality systematic review products including systematic review protocols, systematic reviews related to a very broad definition of health, rapid reviews, updates of already completed systematic reviews, and methods research related to the science of systematic reviews, such as decision modeling.

Cool tools

Yale MESH Analyzer
Enter a string of PMIDs connected by OR and retrieve the MESH terms. Used to identify similar MESH terms in the preliminary search
Comparison of Reference Management Software
Wikipedia
Finding the Evidence: Literature Searching Tools in Support of Systematic Reviews
See PRESS Peer Review of Electronic Search Strategies
PubMed Reminer
Detailed analysis of PubMed Search results and other cool tools like viewing top-ranked authors, finding research interests of an author, determine a journal in which to submit your work AND convert your publications to a real-time CV
An Introduction to Evidence-Informed Public Health and A Compendium of Critical Appraisal Tools for Public Health Practice
National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools (NCCMT)
more...less...
A background paper which defines and summarizes the concept of Evidence-Informed Public Health (EIPH) recognizing that, to use evidence in public health practice and policy development, one must first critically appraise the available research that provides the basis for that
evidence
Rayyyan.QCRI
A FREE web application. Authors create systematic reviews, collaborate on them, maintain them over time and get suggestions for article inclusion

Database Tutorials

EMBASE video tutorials

EMBASE This link opens in a new window
Biomedical, pharmaceutical and medical device research including Medline + 5 million records not covered in Medline. Indexes 7500+ current, mostly peer-reviewed journals. Includes proceedings and conference abstracts.

Ovid Online Training

MEDLINE (OVID) This link opens in a new window
Biomedical journal articles on medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, pre-clinical sciences, and more. Widely recognized as the premier source for bibliographic and abstract coverage of biomedical literature. 1946-present.

Meta Analysis

MetaAnalysis as a Topic:

1. A type of research

2. A quantitative method of combining the results of independent studies (usually drawn from the published literature) and synthesizing summaries and conclusions which may be used to evaluate therapeutic effectiveness, plan new studies, etc., with application chiefly in the areas of research and medicine.

MESH database, National Library of Medicine