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A Guide to Conducting Reviews: Types of Reviews

This LibGuide outlines some of the common types of reviews including literature, systematic, and scoping reviews, and lists some ways by which University Librarians can assist in conducting such reviews.

Comparison charts between different types of reviews:

Process pathway for systematic and literature reviews A chart prepared by the University of British Columbia Library listing the differences in stages and processes of literature reviews versus evidence-synthesis reviews.


     

Source: Yale University


What type of review should you use?

Knowledge Translation Tool This tool is designed to provide guidance and supporting material to reviewers on methods for the conduct and reporting of knowledge synthesis.

What Type of Review Is Right for You? This static guide from Cornell University Library helps you in selecting the right type of review for your research project.

Which Review is Right For You? This interactive survey developed by the University of Manitoba Libraries will help you determine what type of review is suitable for your project.


Further reading: Types of reviews           

Grant, M. J., & Booth, A. (2009). A typology of reviews: An analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 26(2), 91-108. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-1842.2009.00848.x

Kastner, M., Antony, J., Soobiah, C., Straus, S. E., & Tricco, A. C. (2016). Conceptual recommendations for selecting the most appropriate knowledge synthesis method to answer research questions related to complex evidence. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 73, 43-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2015.11.022

Moher, D., Stewart, L., & Shekelle, P. (2015). All in the family: Systematic reviews, rapid reviews, scoping reviews, realist reviews, and more. Systematic Reviews, 4(1), 1-2. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-015-0163-7

Munn, Z., Peters, M. D., Stern, C., Tufanaru, C., McArthur, A., & Aromataris, E. (2018). Systematic review or scoping review? Guidance for authors when choosing between a systematic or scoping review approach. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 18(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-018-0611-x

Sutton, A., Clowes, M., Preston, L., & Booth, A. (2019). Meeting the review family: Exploring review types and associated information retrieval requirements. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 36(3), 202-222. https://doi.org/10.1111/hir.12276