A systematic review is a type of literature review that involves identifying, selecting and synthesizing all relevant studies on a particular topic. The goal of this process is to provide an accurate and up-to-date summary of the current state of knowledge about a specific research question or problem.
To conduct a systematic review, researchers follow a structured methodology that involves several steps: formulating a clear research question, searching for relevant studies in multiple databases, assessing the quality of included studies, and synthesizing the findings from these studies using statistical methods. The results of a systematic review are often presented in a narrative format or through a meta-analysis, which combines the results of several studies to provide a more accurate estimate of the effect size.
Systematic reviews are widely recognized as a reliable source of evidence for making informed decisions about healthcare and other policy issues. They are also an important tool for researchers who want to identify areas where further research is needed, or to summarize existing knowledge on a particular topic.