"Systematic reviews attempt to bring the same level of rigour to reviewing research evidence as should be used in producing that research evidence in the first place... [and] should be based on a peer-reviewed protocol so that they can be replicated if necessary.
High quality systematic reviews seek to:
- identify all relevant published and unpublished evidence;
- select studies or reports for inclusion;
- assess the quality of each study or report;
- synthesise the findings from individual studies or reports in an unbiased way;
- interpret the findings and present a balanced and impartial summary of the findings with due consideration of any flaws in the evidence."
Source: Hemingway, P. and Brereton, N. (2009) What is a systematic review?, What is...? series [online]. Accessed 11.05.20