Evidence Synthesis

Librarians can be heavily involved in the evidence synthesis process, however it is recommended that the disciplinary experts on the author team manage certain steps that require specific content-area and quantitative methods expertise. Librarians who write the search methodology section of the synthesis should be included as a co-author. Librarians who collaborate on search strategy formation and/or citation management should be acknowledged in the final publication. See Defining the Role of Authors and Contributors by The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors to learn more about the role of authors and contributors.

The following tabs listed below describe each evidence synthesis step in more detail, as well as provide resources and guidance.

0. Develop a Protocol 

1. Draft your Research Question 

2. Select Databases 

3. Select Grey Literature Sources 

4. Write a Search Strategy 

5. Register a Protocol 

6. Translate Search Strategies 

7. Citation Management 

8. Article Screening 

9. Risk of Bias Assessment 

10. Data Extraction 

11. Synthesize, Map, or Describe the Results