Systematic ReviewsLynn Kysh, MLISkysh@usc.edu

Information Services LibrarianNorris Medical Library

Evidence Pyramid – Publication Types

Evidence-Based Guidelines

Systematic Review & Meta-

analysis

Randomized Controlled Trials

Cohort Studies

Case Control Studies

Case Series, Case Reports

S y n t he s e s

St

ud

ie

sHigher Quality of Information

Lower Quality of Information

Fewer Articles

More Articles

Agenda

• Distinguish a systematic review from a standard literature review• Locate the following in PubMed• Reviews• Systematic Reviews• Meta-Analyses

• Introduce Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

Source: Evidence-Based Living Blog (Cornell University) http://evidencebasedliving.human.cornell.edu/

Definition

Literature ReviewQualitatively summarizes evidence on a topic using informal or subjective methods to collect and interpret studies.

Systematic ReviewHigh-level overview of primary research that identifies, selects, synthesizes, and appraises all relevant high quality research evidence

Goal

Literature Review• Provide summary or

overview of topic

Systematic Review• Answer a focused clinical

question• Eliminate bias

Question

Literature Review• Can be a general topic or a

specific question

Systematic Review• Clearly defined and

answerable clinical question• Recommend using PICO as a

guide

Components

Literature Review• Pre-specified eligibility

criteria• Systematic search strategy• Assessment of the validity of

findings• Interpretation and

presentation of results• Reference list

Systematic Review• Introduction•Methods• Discussion• Conclusion• Reference list

Hormone therapy for preventing cardiovascular disease in post-menopausal womenMain Cm Knight B, Moxham T, Sanchez RG, Sanchez Gomex LM, Figuls MR, Cosp XB.

Hormone therapy for preventing cardiovascular disease in post-menopausal womenMain Cm Knight B, Moxham T, Sanchez RG, Sanchez Gomex LM, Figuls MR, Cosp XB.

Authors

Literature Review

• 1 or more

Systematic Review

• 3 or more

• Understanding of topic• Perform searches in one or

more database

• Thorough knowledge of topic• Perform searches in all relevant

database• Statistical analysis resources

(meta-analysis)

Literature Review Systematic Review

Skills

Time

Literature Review•Weeks to months

Systematic Review•Months to years• Average eighteen months

Value

Literature Review• Provides summary of the

literature on a topic

Systematic Review• Connects practicing

clinicians to high quality evidence• Supports evidence-based

practice

All Review Articles

Systematic Reviews

Meta-Analyses

Adapted from: Pai M, McCulloch M, Gorman JD, Pai N, Enanoria W, Kennedy G, Tharyan P, and Colford JM. “Systematic reviews and meta-analyses: An illustrated, step-by-step guide”The National Medical Journal of India (2004)

Finding review articles:Use “Article Type” filter

Finding systematic reviews:Use Basic Search

Agenda

• Distinguish a systematic review from a standard literature review• Locate the following in PubMed• Reviews• Systematic Reviews• Meta-Analyses

• Introduce Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

Lynn Kysh, MLISInformation Services Librarian

kysh@usc.edu(323) 442-1124

Questions?

Lynn Kysh, MLISInformation Services Librarian

kysh@usc.edu(323) 442-1124

Thanks!