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. 2019 Nov 4;19(1):203.
doi: 10.1186/s12874-019-0855-0.

Definition of a systematic review used in overviews of systematic reviews, meta-epidemiological studies and textbooks

Marina Krnic Martinic  1 , Dawid Pieper  2 , Angelina Glatt  2 , Livia Puljak  3
Affiliations

Definition of a systematic review used in overviews of systematic reviews, meta-epidemiological studies and textbooks

Marina Krnic Martinic et al. BMC Med Res Methodol. .

Abstract

Background: A standard or consensus definition of a systematic review does not exist. Therefore, if there is no definition about a systematic review in secondary studies that analyse them or the definition is too broad, inappropriate studies might be included in such evidence synthesis. The aim of this study was to analyse the definition of a systematic review (SR) in health care literature, elements of the definitions that are used and to propose a starting point for an explicit and non-ambiguous SR definition.

Methods: We included overviews of systematic reviews (OSRs), meta-epidemiological studies and epidemiology textbooks. We extracted the definitions of SRs, as well as the inclusion and exclusion criteria that could indicate which definition of a SR the authors used. We extracted individual elements of SR definitions, categorised and quantified them.

Results: Among the 535 analysed sources of information, 188 (35%) provided a definition of a SR. The most commonly used reference points for the definitions of SRs were Cochrane and the PRISMA statement. We found 188 different elements of SR definitions and divided them into 14 categories. The highest number of SR definition elements was found in categories related to searching (N = 51), analysis/synthesis (N = 23), overall methods (N = 22), quality/bias/appraisal/validity (N = 22) and aim/question (N = 13). The same five categories were also the most commonly used combination of categories in the SR definitions.

Conclusion: Currently used definitions of SRs are vague and ambiguous, often using terms such as clear, explicit and systematic, without further elaboration. In this manuscript we propose a more specific definition of a systematic review, with the ultimate aim of motivating the research community to establish a clear and unambiguous definition of this type of research.

Keywords: Definition; Research methodology; Systematic review.

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Conflict of interest statement

Livia Puljak is the section editor of the BMC Medical Research Methodology, but she was not involved in handling of this manuscript in any way. The remaining authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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