| Systematic Review | Narrative Review | |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Rigorous, highly structured, and comprehensive synthesis of evidence. | Broad overview of the literature on a topic. |
| Research Question |
Stated as a well-defined, answerable question. Clearly focused and structured according to PICO or other question format. |
May have a broad topic rather than a structured and focused research question. |
| Goal | Synthesize | Summarize |
| Purpose | Inform, Guide, Develop | Explore, Explain, Comment |
| Scope | Specific | Broad |
| Number of Authors | Minimum: Three | Minimum: One |
| Value | Synthesizes the results of multiple primary research studies | Provides overview of evidence base |
| Limitations | Time and resource intensive. | Lacks rigor and reproducibility. |
What is a systematic review?
A systematic review is a type of evidence synthesis, or, a study of studies. Conducting a systematic review requires deliberate and transparent research methods to identify the totality of a body of evidence, to critically appraise it, and to synthesize the results across multiple studies, and to present/disseminate your findings.
What is meta-analysis?
Depending on the review question, a systematic review may include a meta-analysis (a quantitative analysis), which uses statistical methods to combine results from two or more studies. Meta-analyses can provide insight into study heterogeneity and can also resolve controversies between conflicting studies. A meta-analysis can only be conducted if a systematic review includes studies with appropriate data. Results of a meta-analyses are typically presented in a forest plot.