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Key Features and Limitations

Key Features of a systematic review:

  • A clearly stated objective or review question
  • Predefined inclusion/exclusion criteria for studies
  • Transparent, reproducible methodology
  • A systematic search for studies meeting the inclusion criteria
  • Quality assessment of the studies located, including risk of bias assessment
  • A synthesis of the findings from the studies
  • Interpretation or evaluation of the results emerging from the synthesis

Some limitations to consider when thinking of conducting a systematic review:

  • Systematic reviews require a considerable amount of time and a team of participants
  • There must be an existing body of primary literature covering the research question
  • The reporting quality of previous systematic review methods may vary
  • Databases and other resources used to conduct literature searching may be limited by institutional access