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How to Find and Conduct Systematic Reviews

Step-by-step instructions on how to find and conduct systematic reviews, intended for students in the health sciences.

Before You Begin...

Database Basics

Systematic reviews require expert database searching. See the following resource if you would like a refresher on using databases:

Do you really want to do a systematic review?

A systematic review is a document that provides a comprehensive review of all relevant studies on a particular, clearly formulated question, usually on a health-related topic. The systematic review is created after identifying, selecting, and critically appraising relevant research on the topic, then combining the research and summarizing the findings.

(Definition from the Cochrane Collaboration and The Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library.)

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Reuse Information


Barbara M. Sorondo, FIU Libraries

This LibGuide is provided with an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike Creative Commons license. If you would like to reuse any part of this LibGuide for noncommercial educational or instructional purposes, please contact and credit the guide's creator, Barbara M. Sorondo, Health Sciences Librarian at the FIU Libraries, and include a link to this guide.

WELCOME TO THE FIU SYSTEMATIC REVIEW LIBGUIDE

Image Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic License by rosefirerising

As the pace of research continues to increase ever more rapidly, systematic reviews have emerged as an increasingly popular way of answering research questions by critically and methodically examining existing research. Use this guide to find existing systematic reviews or follow the steps to create your own.

This guide is intended for students in the health sciences, especially students who are conducting a systematic review (or similar assignment) for the first time. As a result, the guide is meant to be easy-to-follow but not necessarily comprehensive.

Although the resources included in this guide may help faculty and researchers, as well as students of other disciplines, please note that expectations for systematic reviews intended for publication and/or other disciplines may differ. See the Other Systematic Review Resources page of this LibGuide for additional resources, including books, articles, and publication guidelines.

If you would like to learn about systematic reviews in-depth, take this free online course offered by Johns Hopkins University:

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