Evidence Synthesis: How Librarians Can Help

As you embark on your evidence synthesis project, librarians can help at either the consultant or co-author level.

Collaborating with a librarian as a:

As a consultant, a librarian can step in at different points of your systematic review and:

  • Provide background information and resources on the systematic review process.
  • Recommend databases, protocol registration platforms, and citation management software.
  • Suggest edits for your search strategy. As a consultant, your librarian can provide up to 4 hours of support throughout the project. (These hours may vary depending on the project).

A systematic review will typically require a year or more to complete, and librarians’ availability may vary, so please plan ahead and reach out to us as early as you can.

Co-authoring is a more substantial commitment, and a librarian will typically devote more than a year to partner with you on your systematic review. As a co-author, the librarian will be more hands-on and can:

  • Select databases and grey literature resources
  • Write the search strategy
  • Translate searches to syntax of all databases
  • Perform searches and export them to citation management software
  • Comment on the protocol
  • Perform de-duplication, or train your team on the process
  • Advise on the use of article screening software
  • Write a portion of the methods section specific to searching

A systematic review will typically require a year or more to complete, and librarians’ availability may vary, so please plan ahead and reach out to us as early as you can.

Below is a detailed chart that breaks down the steps of a traditional systematic review and the librarian co-author’s potential contributions. (Please note that these time estimates may vary depending on the project, and some steps may happen concurrently.)

Steps in a traditional systematic reviewEstimated time investmentPotential librarian contribution as co-author
1. Assemble systematic review team and select project managerVariesProvide guidance
2. Identify appropriate review methodology2 weeksProvide guidance
3. Define research question2 weeksProvide information on appropriate question frameworks (e.g. PICO)
4. Define inclusion/exclusion criteria1 weekProvide guidance
5. Select databases1 weekSuggest appropriate databases
6. Select grey literature resources1 weekSuggest grey literature resources
7. Write search strategy for “master” database1 weekLead writing of the search strategy
8. Write and register protocol (written compilation of previous steps)VariesProvide comments on protocol and guide protocol registration process
9. Translate search strategy to syntax of all databases (including grey literature)2 weeksTranslate search strategy
10. Search and export results into citation management software2 weeksPerform searches and export results
11. De-duplicate results2–4 weeksPerform de-duplication, or train your team on the process
12. Title and abstract screening2–3 months*Recommend article screening software and advise on use of software
13. Retrieve full-text articles1 month*Train team on full-text article retrieval
14. Full-text screening2–3 months*Provide guidance
15. Risk-of-bias assessment2–3 monthsProvide guidance
16. Data extraction2–3 monthsProvide guidance
17. Meta-analysis or synthesis of results2–3 monthsProvide guidance
18. Write the manuscript2–3 monthsWrite information retrieval portion of the methods section
* Timeframe can vary significantly depending on number of citations identified for screening.
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