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Evidence Synthesis & Systematic Review Program @ SJSU

This guide is intended to link SJSU faculty to the Evidence Synthesis & Systematic Review Program @ SJSU Library, as well as point them to resources that support systematic reviews and other forms of evidence synthesis.

Help! I've been asked to work on a systematic review. What now?

Initial Consultation

After receiving a request to help with a systematic review or other evidence synthesis, the librarian should schedule an initial consultation with the researcher. During this meeting, you should cover the following points.

  • What are the goals or main objectives of this project? What is the researcher's expected timeline?
  • What is the research question? Is a systematic review the best methodology for the question and for the researcher's timeline?
  • Has this research already been done? Search the protocol registries and major databases to make sure their topic hasn't been published already or in-process. (You could either search the registries together during this consult or perhaps on your own afterwards.)
  • What is your (the librarian) capacity to work on this project? Do your expectations align with the researcher's?
  • Discuss authorship. Librarians who provide Tier 3-level support on evidence synthesis reviews should be included as a co-author in any presentation or publication arising from the project. Be clear about this expectation during the initial consult.

Afterwards, enter your stat into LibAnswers as you would a normal consult, but add #sysrev to the internal notes field.

 

Protocol

It's critical that all evidence synthesis projects, other than a narrative review, start with a protocol. The researcher will hopefully have already started creating a protocol before they reach out to the librarian. If not, you should devote time during the initial consult to discuss the need for a protocol. You may want to provide the researcher with a template and/or an example. You should also discuss whose responsibility it is to register the protocol once it has been finalized.

Draft Electronic Search Strategy

The protocol can't be finalized until you've finished creating the search strategy for at least one database. I've found it's easier to draft a search once I've seen a first draft of the protocol, so I don't search until then. 

The researcher should provide you with seed articles which you can test your search strategy against. The more the better. I try for 6-20 seed articles. Adjust the search as needed until your strategy returns all seed articles. This may require additional conversations with the researcher about refining the research question.

Peer-Review

You may want to ask another librarian to peer-review your search strategy. This would be a good time to do so. The PRESS Peer Review of Electronic Search Strategies 2015 Guideline provides guidance tor evaluating complex search strategies.

Non-Electronic Search Strategies

The protocol should also indicate if alternative search strategies will be used, such as handsearching journal issues, snowballing references, etc. You should discuss this with the researcher, so you all are in agreement who is responsible for performing those alternative strategies. 

 

Searching

Once the protocol has been finalized and registered, the librarian can start translating the original search to run across the remaining databases, websites, trials registries, etc. Once your searches have been finalized, run, and disseminated in the agreed upon way, don't forget to enter a stat in LibAnswers as a Level 6 READ scale and with #sysrev in the Internal Note field.

Documentation

It's absolutely critical you have a plan for documenting your searches. Some librarians use Word files with macros for the quick translation of syntax. Others use spreadsheets. Whatever method you use, make sure you document everything covered in the PRISMA-Search extension.

Import Files

Make sure you're exporting the citations in a file format compatible with the screening software and citation management software the team will be using. The files should contain at least title and abstract. If using Covidence, all other fields will be stripped automatically.

Establish a file-naming convention for the citation import files. I prefer the following: Lead author's last name - database name - date ran - number of references. For example: smith medline 06072024 1456 refs.

Deduplication

Deduplicate the files for the researchers before screening begins. I usually deduplicate twice: the first time in EndNote and the final time in the screening software. Document the number of records before and after deduplication. You'll need to report this number in the PRISMA flow diagram.

 

Screening

Set up the screening software for the team. You may want to schedule a training session to teach them how to use it. You can also establish a training set for the team to practice screening. Once the records have been deduplicated and added to the screening software, inform the team that the project is ready for the first round of screening, i.e. the title/abstract screening. You may want to periodically check with them to make sure they're on-track.

After the first round of screening is complete, you can help the team upload full-text articles for the full-text screening round. Screening can continue while ILL requests are pending. Note: EndNote can be set up to find full-text, where available. Even if it can only find a third of the articles for you, the time-saving is worth it. 

 

Data Extraction, Analysis, and Assessment

There's not much for the librarian to do during these sections of the evidence synthesis project. You may want to help them find templates or assessment tools. You may also want to periodically check in with the team to make sure they're still making progress. This is often where a project will stall.

 

Manuscript

As a coauthor and search expert, the librarian must be part of writing the manuscript. You should write the content in the methodology section that pertains to searching. Provide the team with the complete search strategies for all electronic searches; this should be submitted with the manuscript as supplemental material. If the journal doesn't accept supplemental material, you can make the searches available online via the protocol register, an institutional repository, searchRxiv, etc. You may also need to help the team fill out the PRISMA flow diagram.

 

Update Searches (optional)

All searches will need to be updated if they were originally performed more than a year before the intended date of publication. In fact, Cochrane refers searches to have been run within 6 months of the intended date of publication. Use EndNote (or other citation manager) to identify unique citations, by uploading the first search results and the new search results to the same library and deduplicating.

Searching Help for Expert Searchers

Tools for Search Strategy Development

Searching More Efficiently

Documentation

It's crucial that you keep detailed record of your information retrieval processes, including complete search strategies, numbers of results found, date(s) the searches were run, etc. Create and stick with a file naming convention for these records, including any import files you use.

Librarians should discuss expectations around data management with the team or team lead. Some important questions might include

  • what records need to be maintained after the project is complete,
  • who is expected to maintain them, and
  • how long must the records and files be archived.

Database Tips

Peer-Review

Even expert searchers can benefit from a second pair of eyes looking over their search strategies. Consider seeking a peer-reviewer for at least your primary search.

Sharing Search Strategies

Readings and Tutorials

Linking Find It to EndNote

EndNote X2 and later can automatically find and download PDFs of articles in your library. You can optimize EndNote's Find Full Text function with the following steps:

  1. On your desktop EN app, go to the Edit menu, then select Preferences.
  2. Select Find Full Text.
  3. Add the following URL to the OpenURL Path: https://csu-sjsu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/openurl/01CALS_SJO/01CALS_SJO:01CALS_SJO?
  4. Add the following URL to the Authenticate box: http://libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login?url=
  5. Click Apply and OK.

 

Activate the Find Full Text function with the following steps:

  1. On your desktop EN app, go to the References menu.
  2. Hover your mouse over Find Full Text, then select Authenticate. (You will need to authenticate before using the Find Full Text function.)
  3. Your EN window will now open to the SJSU Access to SJSU Resources page. Click the SJSU Student and Employee Login button.
  4. Log in with your One.SJSU credentials. Verify with Duo and close the window.
  5. Select up to 250 references in your library for which you want to find full text.
  6. Return to the References menu. Hover your mouse over Find Full Text, then select "Find Full Text."

 

EndNote will attempt to find PDFs or URLs for all selected articles. It can work in the background while you do other things. Any articles that EN can't find, you should look for in the library's OneSearch. If you still can't locate the full text, please submit an interlibrary loan request.

 

Note: Find Full Text will not automatically pull PDFs for the following vendors:

  • EBSCO
  • JSTOR
  • OpenAthens
  • Wiley
  • ScienceDirect