How To Conduct A Systematic Review and Write-Up in 7 Steps (Using PRISMA, PICO and AI)
TLDRThis video is a comprehensive guide for those undertaking a systematic review. It outlines seven essential steps, starting with defining the research question using the PICO framework for both quantitative and qualitative research. The guide then covers developing a review protocol, conducting the literature search, screening studies for relevance, assessing the quality of papers, extracting and synthesizing data, and finally presenting findings. The video introduces helpful tools such as the PRISMA checklist, Methods Wizard for automating the methods section, and a flow diagram for visualizing the search process. It also emphasizes the importance of careful keyword selection and the inclusion of gray literature. The presenter offers a template to assist in organizing the review, highlighting the need for meticulousness to avoid missing crucial information.
Takeaways
- 📝 **Define Your Research Question**: Use the PICO framework to structure your research question for both quantitative and qualitative studies.
- 🔍 **Develop a Review Protocol**: Create a strategy for searching databases, including data extraction, limitations, and inclusion/exclusion criteria.
- 🔎 **Conduct the Search**: Input your criteria and search method into databases to find relevant papers for your systematic review.
- ✅ **Screen the Studies**: Assess the relevance and appropriateness of the papers you've found for your review.
- 📊 **Assess Quality and Extract Data**: Use checklists to evaluate the quality of papers and extract data for synthesis.
- 📈 **Synthesize and Present Findings**: Organize data into graphs, tables, and flow charts to illustrate the results of your review.
- 📚 **Use Tools and Templates**: Utilize resources like the PRISMA checklist and AI tools to assist in the review process.
- 🔑 **Identify Keywords**: Determine specific keywords and synonyms relevant to your research for an effective search strategy.
- 🧩 **Refine Your Search**: Test and adjust your search strategy to improve the relevance of the papers you retrieve.
- 📘 **Consider Gray Literature**: Include non-published but potentially relevant sources in your review.
- 🔍 **PRISMA Flow Diagram**: Use a flow diagram to visually represent the process of identifying and selecting studies for your review.
- 📝 **Write-Up Structure**: Organize your systematic review into sections such as Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, References, and Appendix.
Q & A
What are the seven steps for writing a systematic review as outlined in the video?
-The seven steps are: 1) Define the research question, 2) Develop the review protocol, 3) Conduct the search, 4) Screen the studies, 5) Assess the quality of the papers, 6) Extract data and synthesize, and 7) Present your findings.
What is the Pico framework and how is it used?
-The Pico framework is a tool used to define a research question by focusing on four components: Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome. It helps to structure the research question in a way that is clear and focused.
How can the Pico framework be adjusted for qualitative research?
-For qualitative research, the Pico framework is slightly modified by changing the 'O' to a lowercase 'o', which stands for 'context' instead of 'outcome', allowing for a more nuanced exploration of the research question.
What is the purpose of the review protocol in a systematic review?
-The review protocol outlines the exact method for searching through databases to find relevant papers and literature. It includes data extraction, limitations, exclusion and inclusion criteria, and other important aspects of the search process.
Why is it important to record the search strategy and limits during the systematic review process?
-Recording the search strategy and limits is crucial for transparency and reproducibility. It allows others to understand how the papers were selected and ensures that the review can be replicated or updated in the future.
What is the role of the Methods Wizard tool in the systematic review process?
-The Methods Wizard is an AI tool that helps to generate the methods section of a systematic review. By inputting details about the study selection, data extraction, analysis, and eligibility criteria, it can automatically compile this information into a structured methods section.
How can gray literature contribute to a systematic review?
-Gray literature, which includes non-peer-reviewed papers, conference proceedings, and government reports, can provide additional relevant information that may not be captured in published, peer-reviewed journals. It's important to assess the quality and relevance of gray literature before including it in a review.
What is the Prisma diagram and how does it help in the systematic review process?
-The Prisma diagram is a flow diagram that visually represents the process of identifying, selecting, and excluding studies during a systematic review. It provides a clear and standardized way to show the number of studies at each stage of the review process.
How does the risk of bias tool help in assessing the quality of studies in a systematic review?
-The risk of bias tool allows researchers to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of individual studies, including potential biases. It helps to identify which studies may be less reliable and ensures a more rigorous synthesis of the data.
What are the key differences between synthesizing data for qualitative and quantitative systematic reviews?
-In qualitative reviews, the focus is on generating themes, codes, and understanding non-numerical data, while in quantitative reviews, the emphasis is on statistical analysis, numbers, and often representing data through a forest plot.
What is the final step in conducting a systematic review and why is it important?
-The final step is to present the findings of the systematic review. This involves compiling all the information from the previous steps into a report that includes an abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, conclusion, references, and an appendix. This step is important as it communicates the research findings to the broader academic community and stakeholders.
Why is it essential to keep track of all the steps during a systematic review process?
-Keeping track of all the steps is essential for ensuring the accuracy, transparency, and reproducibility of the review. It helps to justify the methodology, avoid missing important results, and prevent incorrect reporting of findings.
Outlines
📚 Introduction to Systematic Review Writing
The video offers guidance on writing a systematic review, starting with defining a research question. It introduces a template and ebook that outline the steps and sections required for a systematic review. The Pico framework is presented as a tool for formulating the research question, with examples provided for both quantitative and qualitative research. The video also discusses the importance of developing a review protocol, including identifying keywords and setting search limits.
🔍 Conducting a Comprehensive Literature Search
The paragraph explains the process of conducting a literature search for a systematic review. It covers identifying keywords, using resources like Word Freak for keyword extraction, and setting search limits to refine results. The Methods Wizard tool is introduced as a means to streamline the development of the methods section. The paragraph also discusses the use of Boolean operators and the importance of recording and refining search strategies to ensure the most relevant papers are retrieved.
📈 Analyzing and Synthesizing Research Data
This section delves into the analysis of study quality using tools to assess bias and the CAST checklist for validity. It emphasizes the importance of extracting and synthesizing data to identify themes and patterns across studies. The differences between qualitative and quantitative approaches are highlighted, with qualitative research focusing on themes and quantitative research using statistical methods like forest plots. The paragraph also outlines the structure for presenting results, including sections like abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, conclusion, references, and appendix.
📝 Finalizing the Systematic Review Presentation
The final paragraph discusses the presentation of the systematic review, providing a template for organizing the content into sections such as abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, conclusion, references, and appendix. It stresses the importance of careful keyword selection and thorough documentation of the search process to avoid missing critical information. The presenter offers a template that incorporates all the discussed elements to assist viewers in their systematic review writing process.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Systematic Review
💡PRISMA
💡PICO
💡Research Question
💡Review Protocol
💡Data Extraction
💡Quality Assessment
💡Data Synthesis
💡Gray Literature
💡Flow Diagram
💡Risk of Bias
Highlights
The video provides a seven-step guide for writing a systematic review.
An ebook template is available to assist with structuring the review.
The PRISMA, PICO, and AI frameworks are discussed for defining research questions.
Developing a review protocol involves identifying keywords and setting search limits.
Conducting the search requires inputting criteria into databases and using Boolean operators.
Screening studies involves assessing relevance and quality using specific checklists.
Data extraction and synthesis involve creating visual representations like graphs and flow charts.
Presenting findings includes a structured format with sections like abstract, introduction, methods, results, and discussion.
The Pico framework is useful for formulating research questions in both quantitative and qualitative research.
The Methods Wizard is an AI tool that assists in generating the methods section of a systematic review.
Gray literature, such as unpublished papers and conference proceedings, can be included if relevant.
The PRISMA diagram is a valuable tool for illustrating the search process and results.
Assessing the quality of studies involves looking at potential biases and the validity of results.
Data synthesis for qualitative research focuses on thematic analysis and identifying patterns across studies.
Quantitative data can be represented through statistical methods like forest plots.
The final presentation of a systematic review includes a comprehensive report summarizing the findings.
The process of conducting a systematic review is meticulous and requires careful keyword selection and documentation.
The video offers a template to support the systematic review writing process, which can be accessed via a provided link.