Systematic Reviews

"A review of a clearly formulated question that uses systematic and explicit methods to identify, select, and critically appraise relevant research, and to collect and analyze data from the studies that are included in the review. Statistical methods (meta-analysis) may or may not be used to analyze and summarize the results of the included studies." - The Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions

Core characteristics include:

• A clearly stated set of objectives with pre-defined eligibility criteria for studies.
• An explicit, reproducible methodology.
• A systematic search that attempts to identify all studies that would meet the eligibility criteria.
• An assessment of the validity of the findings of the included studies.
• A systematic presentation, and synthesis, of the characteristics and findings of the included studies.