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Systematic reviews

A systematic review is not a long literature summary. It is a structured method that begins with a focused question and follows a transparent process for identifying, selecting, appraising and synthesising evidence.

PRISMA screening flowRecords narrowing through four stages: identification, screening, eligibility, and the studies finally included.
PRISMA screening flow

What you receive

  • Protocol and eligibility criteria

  • Search strategy documentation

  • Screening and extraction structure

  • Risk-of-bias tables

  • Synthesis tables and PRISMA flow content

  • Manuscript text, figures and appendices

How it works

  1. 01

    Question and scope

    We clarify the population, intervention or exposure, comparator, outcomes, eligible designs and the intended use of the review.

  2. 02

    Protocol

    Methods are defined before results are known: eligibility criteria, databases, screening process, extraction variables, bias tools and the synthesis plan.

  3. 03

    Search and screening

    A transparent, documented search and screening workflow using appropriate review tools.

  4. 04

    Extraction and appraisal

    Data extraction and risk-of-bias assessment, so the synthesis rests on decisions that can be inspected.

  5. 05

    Synthesis and reporting

    Narrative synthesis, tables and figures, and where appropriate meta-analysis and certainty-of-evidence interpretation.

Who this is for

  • Researchers planning a review and unsure whether the question is reviewable
  • Teams that started screening and need the method tightened
  • Postgraduate researchers whose review has to withstand examination

What you need to provide

  • The clinical question, even in rough form
  • Any protocol, search strategy or included studies you already have
  • The intended use of the review and any deadline

Frequently asked questions

Do you run a meta-analysis inside the review?

Where pooling is methodologically appropriate, yes. We will also tell you when a pooled estimate would be misleading.

What if my question turns out to be unsuitable?

We say so. If the question is too broad, the evidence base too thin, or the real objective is scoping, we recommend a more suitable approach before work begins.

Do you guarantee publication?

No. We help prepare a transparent, defensible review; the journal decision remains outside anyone’s control.

Related reading

  1. 01How to build a systematic review search strategyA search is reproducible or it is not a systematic search. Here is how to build one that another researcher could run and get the same results.
  2. 02GRADE: what certainty of evidence means and how it is decidedA pooled estimate says what the evidence shows. Certainty says how much the estimate is likely to change when better evidence arrives — a separate and often more useful question.
  3. 03Risk of bias: choosing a tool and using it properlyRisk of bias is an assessment of whether a study's result can be believed, not a score of how well it was written up. The distinction changes how the assessment is done.

Tell us about your study

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