Article type
Year
Abstract
Background: Systematic reviews are labour intensive and time consuming. Previous research describes the large variation of resources needed to conduct a good systematic review and the influence of various factors on the quality and time frame to complete the review. The diversity of available methods and tools and the exponentially increasing number of systematic reviewers will likely result in various research practices, with some being more efficient than others. To the best of our knowledge, a qualitative investigation of systematic review practices, as well as the perceived areas where a gain in effectiveness can be achieved, has not been conducted to date.
Objectives: The objective of this study is to understand why some steps in the systematic review production and update processes are perceived as resource intensive.
Methods: In-depth, semi structured interviews will be conducted with experts who have actively contributed to the production or update of systematic reviews on health-related topics including clinical, health services, public health and health policy research. The focus of the interviews will be to explore which steps in the systematic review production and update process are resource intensive and participants’ perceptions of potential methods and technologies to prioritize and expedite elements of the process. We will aim to conduct approximately 20 interviews and they will be audio-recorded, transcribed, coded and thematically analysed using a deductive approach, guided by 16 steps of a systematic review process. Ethics approval will be obtained.
Discussion: The results of our study will provide an overview of factors influencing resource intensity of different steps in the systematic review production and update process. Results of this project will feed into a Delphi study that aims to prioritize areas in the systematic review process and methods that are most relevant and promising for expediting the review process. This should guide future methods improvement and validity studies in this area and ultimately help accelerate systematic review production without compromising quality. We anticipate being able to identify functional insights about critical bottlenecks in conducting time-efficient and academically relevant systematic reviews. This qualitative evaluation of systematic review research efforts and challenges can increase the dissemination of high-quality health-related research evidence.
Patient or healthcare consumer involvement: As this is a methodological study, patients and healthcare consumers will not be involved directly. Participants will represent a wide range of stakeholders in the field of systematic review production. With the interview group we aim to create a diverse sample with respect to geographic diversity, experience, content area and types of reviews conducted that will allow us to thoroughly investigate all angles of the phenomenon.
Objectives: The objective of this study is to understand why some steps in the systematic review production and update processes are perceived as resource intensive.
Methods: In-depth, semi structured interviews will be conducted with experts who have actively contributed to the production or update of systematic reviews on health-related topics including clinical, health services, public health and health policy research. The focus of the interviews will be to explore which steps in the systematic review production and update process are resource intensive and participants’ perceptions of potential methods and technologies to prioritize and expedite elements of the process. We will aim to conduct approximately 20 interviews and they will be audio-recorded, transcribed, coded and thematically analysed using a deductive approach, guided by 16 steps of a systematic review process. Ethics approval will be obtained.
Discussion: The results of our study will provide an overview of factors influencing resource intensity of different steps in the systematic review production and update process. Results of this project will feed into a Delphi study that aims to prioritize areas in the systematic review process and methods that are most relevant and promising for expediting the review process. This should guide future methods improvement and validity studies in this area and ultimately help accelerate systematic review production without compromising quality. We anticipate being able to identify functional insights about critical bottlenecks in conducting time-efficient and academically relevant systematic reviews. This qualitative evaluation of systematic review research efforts and challenges can increase the dissemination of high-quality health-related research evidence.
Patient or healthcare consumer involvement: As this is a methodological study, patients and healthcare consumers will not be involved directly. Participants will represent a wide range of stakeholders in the field of systematic review production. With the interview group we aim to create a diverse sample with respect to geographic diversity, experience, content area and types of reviews conducted that will allow us to thoroughly investigate all angles of the phenomenon.