By Christine Willis, MLIS, AHIP, Noble Learning Resource Center, Shepherd Center
Systematic reviews have been daunting to me in theory and practice, so for a challenge and an opportunity to expand my understanding of them I signed up for the SC/MLA CE class, Systematic Reviews: The Role of the Librarian. The instructor, Margaret Foster, MS, MPH, AHIP, from Texas A&M University provided many pointers from her 500+ systematic reviews she has participated in with students, faculty, and staff. Defining the question to be answered with the proposed systematic review was key. It didn’t hurt that in her slides she presented many of the phrases that people think are systematic reviews along with an image from The Princess Bride. She shared how to conduct the reference interview for a review article. She provided tools to help establish that the project framework is well designed before jumping into searching databases. Reminders on the recognized protocols was helpful as well.
There were several resources for organization and writing that were intriguing to me and I have added them to my own toolbox to share. They include: PRISMA Flow Diagram Generator, Rayyan, and a book titled, An Introduction to Systematic Reviews by David Gough, Sandy Oliver, and James Thomas. The course was well organized and the time flew by with activities and lecture. I can say with confidence that I am no longer daunted by the thought of working on a systematic review. After this course, I feel much more equipped in knowledge and resources for such a project.
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