What is a systematic literature review?
A systematic literature review (SLR) is a type of literature review that summarizes all available research about a subject or a research question.
The literature search is the data collection of the systematic literature review method. This type of literature search can be very time-consuming.
When searching for literature in an SLR, you do comprehensive searches in multiple databases and information sources. The goal is to systematically go through all the literature related to a subject, or a specific research question, in order to collect all relevant literature.
Read more about systematic literature reviews:
Handbooks and manuals for systematic literature reviews:
- Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews
- Joanna Briggs Institute Manual for evidence synthesis
- The Campbell Collaboration
Databases with systematic literature reviews:
- Epistemonikos database: A multilingual database of health evidence
- The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews: Systematic reviews in health and human medicine
- Prospero: Protocols for ongoing systematic reviews, primarily in health and social care
Resources
- PRISMA - protocols: What is a protocol? How to write a protocol?
- PRISMA Checklist: 27 item checklist
- PRISMA Flow Diagram: Flow of information through the different phases of a systematic review
- Rayyan: Screening tool