Assessment of what is already known about a policy or practice issue, by using systematic review methods to search and critically appraise existing research.

SEARCH is determined by time constraints.

APPRAISAL is a time-limited formal quality assessment.

SYNTHESIS is narrative and tabular.

ANALYSIS includes quantities of literature and overall quality/direction of effect of literature.

Source: A typology of reviews: an analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Grant MJ & Booth A. Health information and Libraries Journal year: 2009 26(2):91 -108. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-1842.2009.00848.x.

What is the focus of the review?

Consider depth versus breadth

• Deep - an in-depth analysis of a small set of evidence literature
• Broad - a brief overview of a larger number of studies that address the topic

What is the scope of the review?

• Consider depth - will the scope be very narrow but deep or will the scope be broad by more shallow?
• What limits would be applicable? - geographic or other setting, range of years, types of studies

How many studies?

• What would be a reasonable number of studies to consider based on time and resources?
• Consider narrowing or broadening your search accordingly

What outcomes are you most interested in?

How will studies be assessed for quality and what data will be collected?

Will data be analyzed qualitatively (Meta-analysis) or quantitatively through narration?