When writing your final report, you and your team should keep the research community in mind. They are your targeted audience. Other researchers may want to explore the details of your search process while others my want to replicate your review in order to follow up on your presented findings. To facilitate this information exchange, you should be mindful to report every detail of your search methodology.
Throughout your report, your search methods should be explained in a clear an concise manner, one that will ultimately support the content covered in your Findings and Discussion sections. The following three sections will serve as opportunities for you to present your methods.
Abstract
Within your paper's abstract, you will have an opportunity to briefly summarize your search methods. Disclose the databases used and the timeframe of your search. You can also include a short description of your research question, search criteria, and the search process.
Methods
As the name implies, this section is dedicated to discussing the search methodology used to complete your review. This is the section where you can elaborate upon the search methods outlined in the abstract. In detail, discuss your search strategy, your inclusion and exclusion criteria, the number of search results from each phase of the process, the screening procedures utilized, and how the data was extracted and analyzed.
Appendix
The appendix is where you can include documents such as your search strategy, PRISMA Diagram, and PRISMA Checklist. Includes these materials will assist other researchers who may wish to reproduce your review.
Adapted from Dalhousie University Dalhousie Libraries: Systematic Reviews: A How-to Guide.
Page MJ, McKenzie JE, Bossuyt PM, Boutron I, Hoffmann TC, Mulrow CD, et al. The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ 2021;372:n71. doi: 10.1136/bmj.n71.
For your systematic review, has a librarian, statistician, or other methodological expert contributed to the overall work of the team? If that contribution is significant, your team should should formally acknowledge the individual in the final manuscript, or possibly list them as a co-author.
The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors proposes the following criteria for determining authorship:
Adapted from Dalhousie University Dalhousie Libraries: Systematic Reviews: A How-to Guide.
