Introduction to Systematic Reviews and Evidence Synthesis in Engineering: Getting Started

Searching a repository for existing systematic reviews on your research topic before starting your own is important for several reasons:

• Identify Research Gaps

• Avoiding Duplication

• Builds on Existing Work

• Ensuring Relevance

• Enhancing Credibility and Reliability

• Improving Methodology
  and Quality of Evidence

• PROSPERO
  A comprehensive database for systematic reviews, aiding evidence-based engineering practices

• Open Science Framework (OSF) Offers a generalized registration form suitable for various types of reviews, including systematic, scoping,

qualitative reviews, and meta-analysis.

• JBI (Joanna Briggs Institute): Provides access to systematic, scoping, as well as other forms of evidence synthesis to inform health care

and policy.

• Campbell Collaboration

Registered reviews such as systematic, scoping, and other reviews that inform education and social science interventions.

Databases are essential to forms of evidence synthesis such as narrative, scoping, systematic, and other types of reviews because they ensure comprehensive coverage of relevant studies, enhancing the reliability and validity of the review's findings.

• PubMed
• IEEE Xplore
• Web of Science
• Engineering Village
• Scopus
• ERIC
• Google Scholar

• Covidence

A web-based platform designed to facilitate systematic reviews by streamlining the study selection process and data extraction.

• DistillerSR

DistillerSR is an AI-enabled software platform that automates and manages literature reviews, reducing review times and ensuring accuracy for research organizations across various industries.

• EndNote

A reference management tool that helps organize and manage citations and references for systematic reviews.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has expanded these past few years to perform many functions related to Evidence Synthesis:

• Research Question Development
• Study Searching and Screening
• Data Extraction
• Quality Assessment
• Synthesis and Analysis

However, researchers must consider journal policies on the use of artificial intelligence tools in evidence synthesis publications with emphasis on transparency, human oversight, and whether AI use is allowed.

Evidence synthesis is the process of gathering, combining, and analyzing data from multiple studies to generate a comprehensive understanding of a particular topic or research question. It involves systematically reviewing and integrating findings from different sources to draw conclusions, identify patterns, and provide recommendations based on the collective evidence.

The history of evidence synthesis dates back over a century, with significant developments occurring in the last few decades. Initially, evidence synthesis methods like systematic reviews were primarily used in medicine to assess treatment effects. Over time, these methods evolved to incorporate statistical techniques, enhancing their scientific rigor. 

The 1990s saw a pivotal shift with the establishment of organizations like the Cochrane Collaboration, which standardized and promoted systematic reviews globally.

Today, evidence synthesis is widely used across various fields, including engineering, to provide comprehensive insights and inform decision-making.

Here are some of the more common methods of evidence synthesis used in engineering:

Evidence synthesis has traditionally been more common in fields like medicine, social sciences, and public policy. However, methods such as scoping reviews and systematic reviews are indeed becoming increasingly popular in various engineering fields.

• Literature Reviews: Comprehensive summary of existing research and knowledge on a particular topic, synthesizing insights from various sources into a coherent overview.

• Scoping Reviews: A type of research synthesis that maps key concepts, evidence, and gaps in a field to provide an overview of the available literature.

• Systematic Reviews: Rigorous evaluations of all relevant studies on a specific topic, following a standardized methodology.

• Meta-Analyses: Statistical techniques that combine the results of multiple studies to identify overall trends and effect sizes.

Question: Is My S/R a Manuscript for Publication Or a Graduate Assignment?

Producing a Systematic Review for Journal Publication:

• Scope and Depth: A systematic review intended for publication is a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of all relevant studies on a specific research question. It aims to provide a thorough synthesis of existing knowledge and identify gaps in the literature.
• Time Commitment: These reviews often take several months to years to complete due to the extensive literature search, detailed data extraction, and rigorous analysis required.
• Research Team: Typically, at least two researchers are required to ensure systematic reviews are thorough and less biased. A third researcher can help in tie-breaking on disagreements over selected literature.
• Methodological Rigor: High standards of methodological rigor are maintained, including the use of standardized protocols and quality assessment tools.
• Peer Review: The final review undergoes a peer-review process before being published in academic journals, ensuring the validity and reliability of the findings.

PI or Faculty Advisor Assigned Systematic Review Assignments:

• Educational Purpose: Assignments are designed to teach students the process of conducting systematic reviews. They focus on developing research skills rather than producing publishable results.
• Time Frame: These assignments are scaled to fit within a semester, often focusing on specific aspects of the review process, such as literature search or data synthesis.
• Researchers Needed: Typically, individual graduate students are assigned a systematic review without a team of other research graduate students.
• Simplified Process: While maintaining methodological principles, the process is simplified to make it manageable within the academic term.
• Assessment: The primary goal is to assess students' understanding and ability to apply systematic review methods, rather than to contribute new knowledge to the field

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  A Systematic Review on Lower-Limb Industrial Exoskeletons: Evaluation Methods, Evidence, and Future Directions

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  Systematic Reviews in the Engineering Literature: A Scoping Review

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  Towards more precise automatic analysis: a systematic review of deep learning-based multi-organ segmentation

• Journal of Engineering Education:

Publishes systematic reviews and other evidence synthesis methods related to engineering education.

• IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management:

Includes systematic reviews and meta-analyses on engineering management topics.

• Advanced Engineering Informatics

A peer-reviewed journal publishing research on advanced computing methods for engineering, including reviews to enhance decision-making and creativity.