OT Capstone Project

This page will provide some basic overview information about systematic and scoping reviews. 

However, we also have a guide dedicated to systematic reviews available that can provide more in-depth guidance.

A systematic review is a literature review, performed using a rigorous and clearly documented search strategy and selection process, that attempts to find and synthesize all evidence that fits predetermined criteria in order to answer a specific clinical question.

A systematic review is a scientific investigation in itself. It requires:

• A clearly defined research question and research plan.
• A comprehensive, transparent, and reproducible methodology, designed to minimize bias.
• Critical evaluation and assessment of bias of all included studies.
• An in-depth report outlining the process of finding and appraising literature, extracting data, measuring bias, and analyzing results.

Systematic reviews can be used to:

• Provide high level summaries of the available evidence.
• Inform health care decision-making.
• Keep clinicians updated.
• Serve as the basis of clinical practice guidelines.

A scoping review is a literature review, performed using a rigorous and clearly documented search strategy and selection process, that attempts to map and summarize the existing literature in an area, as well as identify potential gaps in the research.

A scoping review is a scientific investigation in itself. It requires:

• A clearly defined research question and research plan.
• A comprehensive, transparent, and reproducible methodology, designed to minimize bias.
• An in-depth report outlining the process of finding literature, extracting data, and summarizing results.

*Unlike a systematic review, a scoping review is not intended to answer a specific clinical question. As such, it does not typically require: Critical evaluation and assessment of bias of all included studies (though this can be done optionally)

Scoping reviews can be used to:

• Identify the types of evidence available
• Identify gaps in the current research
• Clarify key concepts and/or definitions
• Examine how research is done in a field
• Determine if a systematic review is feasible