Finding Existing Evidence Syntheses
Finding Existing Evidence Syntheses
Searching for existing evidence syntheses on a topic related to your own research question can be a good place to start your evidence synthesis process. These evidence syntheses may provide a model for approaching your own review of the literature, including recommended search strategies and resources. Below are links to online libraries of evidence syntheses and evidence documents for health and other areas of policy-making.
Existing Evidence Synthesis Databases
- Cochrane LibraryA collection of published Cochrane systematic reviews and protocols in medicine and healthcare.
- Joanna Briggs LibraryA journal of systematic reviews published by the Joanna Briggs Institute, an international nonprofit organization that focuses on researching evidence-based healthcare.
- PROSPEROAn international registry for prospective systematic reviews with health-related outcomes.
- TRIP DatabaseA clinical research evidence library that allows searching by PICO.
- Systematic Reviews for Animals & Food (SYREAF)A repository for review protocols and systematic reviews in any area related to food, food production, food safety, animal health, and animal welfare. SYREAF also provides information about carrying out systematic reviews.
- Campbell CollaborationA collection of published reviews and protocols by the Campbell Collaboration, which focuses on reviews outside of clinical medicine.
- Health EvidenceA database of systematic reviews on public health interventions.
- EpistemonikosA multilingual evidence library for decisions in health care and health policy.
- 3iE (International Initiative for Impact Evaluations) DatabaseAn international evidence hub for policymakers and researchers looking for evidence on what works, what doesn’t, and why in agriculture, fishing, forestry, education, energy and extractives.
- The Community GuideA free database of systematic reviews to help practitioners choose programs and policies to improve health and prevent disease in their community.
- Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre (EPPI-Centre)A centre conducting systematic reviews in education, health promotion, public health, social welfare and international development.
- The Collaboration for Environmental EvidenceAn open community of scientists and managers working towards a sustainable global environment and the conservation of biodiversity. They provide evidence syntheses concerning environmental policy and practice.
- Library Catalog DatabasesAny scholarly database with published research in your discipline may include evidence synthesis. Log in through Cornell University Library and include “systematic review” as a search term to see what’s been published in your field.
Appraising Evidence Syntheses
Appraising Existing Evidence Syntheses
Just because a review has been published, it does not imply that the review was rigorous, reproducible or exhaustive. There are a number of criteria by which you can assess the quality of an evidence synthesis. Below are the two most common tools used for this purpose.