Synthesis Review Toolkit
Researchers, graduate students, and healthcare professionals at some stage of knowledge inquiry may need to conduct a synthesis review. Whether the method is in the form of a systematic review or a meta-analysis, embarking upon a synthesis review is no walk in the park - it is a marathon.
This toolkit was developed to guide individuals from various academic backgrounds through their journey of conducting a synthesis review.
Synthesis reviews follow a predetermined, yet flexible design, and are an iterative process. This process is provided through seven guides, each of which depict a key stage of common synthesis reviews. Click on the "Stage" to navigate to the guide.
To guide you through your journey are seven research guides which are categorized according to each key stage. Click on the "Stage" to navigate to the guide.
Stage 1 - Getting Started: Choosing what type of synthesis review is right for your research, developing your research question, scoping the literature, and writing and registering a review protocol
Stage 2 - Developing your Search: Identifying search terms, selecting databases, and creating a plan for documenting the search strategy
Stage 3 - Screening: Conducting initial waves of screening, choosing inclusion and exclusion criteria, and planning for citation disagreements
Stage 4 - Extracting Data: Organizing your data
Stage 5 - Assessing Quality: Assessment of individual quality and cumulative evidence of included sources
Stage 6 - Analysis & Synthesis: Choosing the type of data analysis to synthesize and analyze your included studies
Stage 7 - Writing your Review: Disseminating your research and structuring articles according to reporting standards
