A research synthesis overview

Abstract

The volume of research literature is enormous, so keeping up with the latest studies is difficult. Systematic reviews are a form of research that pools the results of multiple studies. Quantitative reviews statistically pool results, and qualitative reviews narratively pool results. Reviews are becoming common, but some nurses may be unaware of what a systematic review is and how to conduct one. The aim of this overview is to acquaint nurses with qualitative systematic reviews (research syntheses) by providing information about where to begin a synthesis, the stages of the synthesis process, and how to write a manuscript to report synthesis results.