Skip to Main Content

Systematic Reviews

Information on how to conduct systematic reviews in the health sciences.

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 download the Evidence Synthesis Project Information Form (Word, 17 KB) and send the completed document to Your Informationist, or to SystematicSearch-Core@umich.edu.

Considerations for Working with a Search Expert

Depending on your needs and the Informationist's availability, Informationist involvement can range from full collaboration with your systematic review team to basic search advice.

Since developing comprehensive search strategies can take several weeks to a month, complete the Evidence Synthesis Project Information form and draft your protocol well in advance of when you would like to start working with results.

If the Informationists at the Taubman Health Sciences Library are unable to meet your time frame, consider hiring a search expert from the Association of Independent Information Professionals.

Required Readings

Prior to your first meeting with a search expert, all team members should be familiar with these documents:

Prior to your first meeting with a search expert, all team members should be familiar with these documents:

Prior to your first meeting with a search expert, all team members should be familiar with these documents:

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:

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.

Protocol

A protocol is required for most evidence synthesis projects.

To learn about systematic review protocols and scoping review protocols, see these guidelines:

Requirements

Most evidence synthesis methodologies require a team. If you have not formed a team yet, consider reaching out to:

  • Colleagues from your professional network
  • U-M researchers that publish on your topic, whom you can identify by searching Michigan Research Experts

Teams seeking a search expert must have one or more members currently affiliated with the University of Michigan.