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Next Steps

Review Team & Roles | Steps to 3Complete | Writing the Protocol | Registering or Publishing the Protocol | Selecting Tools | Example Protocols

A clear plan and a protocol can hold you accountable and contribute to your success!  

Continue reading for guidance on steps of an evidence synthesis review, project management, and protocol writing and publishing.

Review Team & Roles

As you begin your evidence synthesis review, consider who on your team will:

  • Provide subject matter expertise and direction?  
    • Refinement of the research question, inclusion/exclusion criteria, and data to extract
    • This is a great role for your Principal Investigator (PI), someone who knows the field
  • Manage day-to-day operations?
    • Sharing files, scheduling meetings, keeping the team on time and on the same page
    • This role requires skills in organization, project management, and communication  
  • Conduct and document the literature search?
  • Conduct review steps: screening, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment?
    • Clear documentation and piloting the different review steps empowers team members to screen and extract data
    • Requires familiarity with Excel or other data collection, cleaning, and analysis tools  
    • Methodological, statistical, and clinical expertise is required for risk of bias assessment
  • Statistically analyze data, if conducting a meta-analysis?
    • Consult with a statistician  
  • Write the manuscript?
    • All co-authors should review, and agree to be accountable for, the final manuscript
    • Who is an author? [International Committee of Medical Journal Editors]
    • Some journals require description of Contributor roles according to CRediT

Steps to Complete

Evidence synthesis reviews involve a series of nine steps, presented in the table below.  

Duration of each step and evidence synthesis review varies by team, type of review, and topic.  

The nine steps of an evidence synthesis review are presented in the table below. The Librarian will be part of the review team and will participate at different steps.

StepDescriptionWho's Involved
#1: Assess & assemble

Assess the need for your evidence synthesis review and the resources available to conduct the review

Assemble your evidence synthesis review team

Librarian provides guidance on searching for previously published reviews and registered protocols  

Team assesses their skills and knowledge, as well as the resources and time available to conduct the review  

#2: QuestionDevelop and refine the evidence synthesis review question

Subject matter expert and persons with lived/living experience inform the development of a meaningful question

Librarian advises on frameworks for refining the research question  

Team discusses and operationalizes concepts in the research question for the purpose of the evidence synthesis review  

#3: ProtocolWrite and disseminate your protocol

Subject matter expert advises on overall direction for review process  

Librarian writes methods for search and provides feedback on protocol overall

Entire team reviews and agrees to protocol

Project manager submits or posts protocol

#4: Search

Work with a librarian to develop the search

Request an update from your librarian only if significant time (more than 6 to 12 months) passed since initial search 

Librarian develops methods for search, including database selection, then constructs and executes search

Team provides feedback on the search strategy and results

Librarian reruns the search, as needed  

#5: Screen

Test and refine the process for selecting articles in a small pilot

Update protocol to reflect any changes made during the pilot

Review all titles and abstracts according to predefined criteria

Retrieve full text for articles included by title and abstract  

Review article full text per protocol

Librarian advises on Covidence (evidence synthesis software)

Research team pilots process of screening at title/abstract and full text (this does not include the Librarian)

Project manager updates protocol, as needed to reflect changes made after pilot

Research team selects articles by reading titles and abstracts against eligibility criteria (this does not include the Librarian)

Subject matter expert or team resolves disputes  

NIH Library Document Delivery service retrieves documents unavailable in NIH Library collection

Research team selects articles based on reading full text against eligibility criteria (this does not include the Librarian) 

#6: Data collection

Test and refine the process for collecting data in a small pilot

Then, collect data in included studies

Librarian points to resources and tools for data extraction

Subject matter and methods experts guide data to extract  

Research team pilots the process of data collection (this does not include the Librarian)

Project manager updates protocol, as needed, to reflect changes made after pilot

Research team extracts data from included studies

#7: Risk of bias assessment

Test and refine the process for assessing study quality in a small pilot

Assess risk of bias in included studies

Not all evidence synthesis reviews include this step

Librarian points to resources and tools for risk of bias assessment  

Subject matter and methods experts guide selection of risk of bias assessment tool  

Research team pilots process of risk of bias assessment (this does not include the Librarian)

Project manager updates protocol, as needed, to reflect changes made after pilot

Research team members assess risk of bias in included studies

#8: Analysis & synthesisAnalyze and synthesize data according to protocol and research questionResearch team analyzes and synthesizes data from included studies (this does not include the Librarian)
#9: WritingDisseminate evidence synthesis review manuscript

Librarian writes methods and results for searching, creates PRISMA Flow Diagram, formats search strategies for supplemental materials

Team members draft manuscript following PRISMA reporting guidelines or the appropriate PRISMA extension  

Entire team agrees to final manuscript

Writing the Protocol

A good evidence synthesis review starts with a protocol. It serves as a road map for your review.

Selecting Tools

Protocols should identify the tools to be used in the evidence synthesis review. Many tools are available for conducting evidence synthesis reviews, and several are listed on Select, Collect & Synthesize webpage.

  • Ask your NIH Librarian about evidence synthesis review tools available via the NIH Library
  • Check with your IT department before using any external tools
  • Review tool documentation before use
  • Assess evidence regarding use of artificial intelligence in the review tool

Attend the NIH Library Training Developing and Publishing your Systematic Review Protocol and contact the NIH Library’s Evidence Synthesis Service for additional help and information.

Registering or Publishing the Protocol

Registering or publishing your review protocol is strongly recommended. Some journals (e.g. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Addiction, Advances in Nutrition, Journal of Advanced Nursing and Lancet) require it!

The NIH Library also assists NIH and HHS staff with free editing and publication consultation services.

Example Protocols Co-authored by NIH Librarians

Here are a few protocols co-authored with NIH Librarians on the Evidence Synthesis Service. Talk to the NIH Librarian working with you on your review for additional examples of registered and published protocols.