What is a Systematic Review?
A systematic review is a “scientific investigation that focuses on a specific question and uses explicit, planned scientific methods to identify, select, assess, and summarize the findings of similar but separate studies. It may or may not include a quantitative synthesis of the results from separate studies (meta-analysis).”
Source: Finding What Works in Health Care, published by the Institute of Medicine in 2011.
From Cochrane, this short video provides an introduction to systematic reviews.
Finding Systematic Reviews
- Cochrane Library This link opens in a new windowThe Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews is an important resource for high-quality systematic reviews in health care, including all reviews and protocols, as well as systematic review methods handbooks prepared by Cochrane Review Groups.
- Joanna Briggs Institute EBP Database (JBI) This link opens in a new windowJoanna Briggs Institute (JBI) EBP Database allows healthcare providers to search across a wide range of summarized and appraised evidence to inform their clinical practice.
- PubMed for UC Davis This link opens in a new windowPubMed is a subject index from the National Library of Medicine which includes over 30 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and e-books.
TIPS:
Although PubMed is freely available, access to many full-text articles is not.
Use the special PubMed link for UC Davis, which enables "Get it at UC" links to display in search results.
- Systematic Reviews GuideThe UC Davis Library Systematic Review Guide includes a list of subject indexes for systematic reviews in a variety of disciplines, including nursing, physical therapy, public health and the social sciences.
- TRIP Database [Pro] This link opens in a new windowTRIP (Turning Research Into Practice) Database is a free clinical search engine with filters that enable clinicians to quickly find answers to clinical questions based on the best available evidence. The Library has licensed the professional version of TRIP with added features -- see Access VPN for off-campus access.
The following UC Davis Library Guides provide detailed guidance about systematic review methods and tools.