Evidence Synthesis & Systematic Reviews

The National Academy of Medicine Standards for Systematic Reviews (NAMS Standard 3.1.1 and 3.1.3) states that authors should “work with a librarian or other information specialist trained in performing systematic reviews to plan the search strategy.” Multiple research studies have found that systematic reviews with librarian co-authors or team members have higher reproducibility, higher quality search strategies, improved documentation reporting, and better meet reporting standards (Meert et al, 2016; Rethlefsen et al, 2015).
 
At IUB, librarians can work with you on your systematic review or evidence-based synthesis as a consultant, facilitator, or co-author.

Consultant

As a consultant, librarians:

• provide background information and resources on the evidence synthesis process,
• recommend databases, tools, and resources, and
• suggest edits for your search strategy.

This option is limited to approximately four hours of librarian time, or between two and three meetings.
 
Facilitator

As a facilitator, librarians:

• advise on review type,
• walk you through how to create a search strategy using best practices,
• suggest edits for your search strategy,
• provide guidance on translating a search string for use in different databases, and
• advise on tools for citation management and project management.

This option requires acknowledgement in your final manuscript. This option allows for more granular guidance from our search experts, but not to exceed approximately 8 hours of work.

Co-author

As a co-author, librarians take on the full responsibility of authorship, including reviewing the final manuscript, and will additionally:

• provide several, ongoing consultations as needed with the research team,
• advise on review type, protocol development, and tools for citation management and project management,
• develop and run comprehensive search strategies according to best practices,
• document and manage search results,
• perform document retrieval, and
• write the methods section of the final manuscript according to PRISMA guidelines or other appropriate standards.

Due to the large time commitment necessary for co-authorship, librarians at IUB have limited capacity for this level of involvement. We also require co-authors read and agree to our MOU. Please contact us if you are interested in pursuing a co-authorship model.

[Consultant, Facilitator, & Co-author information from Ruth Lilly Medical Library, Systematic Reviews and other Evidence Syntheses]