Evidence Synthesis Collaboration
THSL Informationists are in high demand for evidence synthesis consultation and collaboration. Our collaboration process is based on years of experience with a variety of evidence synthesis projects, and is designed to create a stable foundation for your project's success. Informationist involvement can range from basic search advice to a full collaboration with your project team, depending on your needs.
If you are interested in working with an Informationist on an evidence synthesis project, please review the collaboration criteria below and complete the Evidence Synthesis Project Information form.
Once you have submitted your Project Information Form, an experienced Informationist will review your project submission and schedule an initial consultation within 10 business days of your submission.
Developing comprehensive search strategies can take several weeks to a month. Submit your Project Information Form well in advance of when you would like to start working with results. This lead time is important because new requests are balanced with our prior commitments (instruction, other evidence syntheses, etc).
Due to the volume of requests we receive, an Informationist may not be available in your timeframe.
Collaboration Criteria
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1. U-M Health Sciences Affilitation The requestor must be faculty, staff or student of the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) in one of the following:
All other U-M (Ann Arbor) requests are referred to the appropriate Librarian based on their affiliation.
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2. Project Team The requestor must be part of the project team, and the team should have sufficient methodology and topic expertise to complete the project.
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3. Protocol Draft To best inform potential collaborations, all teams submitting an Evidence Synthesis Project Information Form must include a protocol (draft or final) A protocol serves as a roadmap to the project. It’s the first step in creating transparency in the project's methodology, and it increases the chances of a successful publication or other product. All methodologies, including narrative reviews, benefit from having a protocol. There are templates and additional resources to help in developing your protocol on the Protocols page of this guide, though use of the templates is not required. Please do not fill out the sections related to the databases searched and the planned search strategies; if you work with a Search Expert, they will be responsible for those sections of the protocol.
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4. Project Timeline Requestors should consider an appropriate timeline for the selected project methodology:
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If you are a student (UROP, summer interns, undergraduate, graduate, health professions):
If you are a doctoral student working on an evidence synthesis project related directly to your thesis or dissertation:
If you are a visiting scholar (or similar) working on an evidence synthesis project with a U-M faculty member:
If you are proposing a project that will include multiple evidence syntheses:
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Project Information Form
To connect with a search expert from the Taubman Health Sciences Library about your project, complete the Evidence Synthesis Project Information Form.
If you are unable to access the form, please contact THSL-EvSynth-Core@umich.edu for the Word document version.
We receive a high volume of requests for consultation on evidence synthesis projects. After you submit the form your Informationist or a member of the Evidence Synthesis Core Team will contact you within 10 business days to discuss your project.
Recommended Readings
For more detailed information about evidence synthesis methods, see the Methods & How-to page.
Prior to your first meeting with a search expert, all team members should be familiar with these documents:
For more detailed information about evidence synthesis methods, see the Methods & How-to page.
Prior to your first meeting with a search expert, all team members should be familiar with these documents:
- PRISMA Scoping Review Checklist
- JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis - Scoping Reviews (Chapter 10 Section 2)
For more detailed information about evidence synthesis methods, see the Methods & How-to page.
Prior to your first meeting with a search expert, all team members should be familiar with these documents:
For more detailed information about evidence synthesis methods, see the Methods & How-to page.
If you plan to conduct another type of structured review, all team members should be familiar with these documents prior to meeting with a search expert:
For more detailed information about evidence synthesis methods, see the Methods & How-to page.
If you are unsure what type of review to conduct, all team members should be familiar with these documents prior to meeting with a search expert:
Authorship and Recognition
Follow the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors' (ICMJE) authorship criteria to appropriately credit review team members for their work.
Examples of search expert's work that meet the ICMJE authorship criteria:
- Contributions to design of the work via search strategy development
- Drafting the search methods for the manuscript
Examples of search expert's work that should be acknowledged:
- Search advice
- Search feedback
Appropriate recognition of our contributions is important to informationists at the Taubman Health Sciences Library. A memorandum of understanding can help document roles and expectations for recognition.