Carrying out systematic literature reviews: an introduction

British Journal of Nursing : BJN
Alan Davies

Abstract

Systematic reviews provide a synthesis of evidence for a specific topic of interest, summarising the results of multiple studies to aid in clinical decisions and resource allocation. They remain among the best forms of evidence, and reduce the bias inherent in other methods. A solid understanding of the systematic review process can be of benefit to nurses that carry out such reviews, and for those who make decisions based on them. An overview of the main steps involved in carrying out a systematic review is presented, including some of the common tools and frameworks utilised in this area. This should provide a good starting point for those that are considering embarking on such work, and to aid readers of such reviews in their understanding of the main review components, in order to appraise the quality of a review that may be used to inform subsequent clinical decision making.

References

Jul 29, 2006·BMC Medical Research Methodology·Mary Dixon-WoodsAlex J Sutton
Jul 12, 2008·BMC Medical Research Methodology·James Thomas, Angela Harden
Jul 22, 2009·PLoS Medicine·David MoherUNKNOWN PRISMA Group
Dec 27, 2011·International Orthopaedics·Dario Sambunjak, Miljenko Franić
Jun 25, 2016·Evidence-based Medicine·M Hassan MuradFares Alahdab
Jun 15, 2017·Journal of Medical Internet Research·Julia MuellerChris Todd
Jul 25, 2017·Irish Journal of Medical Science·Y Bashir, K C Conlon

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Citations

Aug 11, 2020·International Journal of Medical Informatics·Alan DaviesGeorgina Moulton

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Software Mentioned

Review Manager ( RevMan )
Endnote
PROSPERO
PICO
Mendeley
R
SPIDER
RevMan
PICOS
PRISMA

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