Other types
Systematic Reviews
"A systematic review attempts to identify, appraise, and synthesize all the empirical evidence that meets pre-specified eligibility criteria to answer a given research question. Researchers conducting systematic reviews use explicit methods aimed at minimizing bias in order to produce more reliable findings that can be used to inform decision making."
--Cochrane Collaboration
Literature review
Literature/narrative review is a "comprehensive study and interpretation of literature that addresses a specific topic."
Aveyard H. Doing a literature review in health and social care: A practical guide. McGraw-Hill Education (UK); 2014.
Scoping review
"A scoping review or scoping study is a form of knowledge synthesis that addresses an exploratory research question aimed at mapping key concepts, types of evidence, and gaps in research related to a defined area or field by systematically searching, selecting, and synthesizing existing knowledge."
Colquhoun HL, Levac D, O'Brien KK, Straus S, Tricco AC, Perrier L, Kastner M, Moher D. Scoping reviews: time for clarity in definition, methods, and reporting. Journal of clinical epidemiology. 2014 Dec 1;67(12):1291-4.
Guidance for scoping reviews:
Peters MDJ, Godfrey C, McInerney P, Munn Z, Tricco AC, Khalil, H. Chapter 11: Scoping Reviews (2020 version). In: Aromataris E, Munn Z (Editors). Joanna Briggs Institute Manual for Evidence Synthesis, JBI, 2020. Available from https://synthesismanual.jbi.global. https://doi.org/10.46658/JBIMES-20-12
Peters MD, Godfrey CM, Khalil H, McInerney P, Parker D, Soares CB. Guidance for conducting systematic scoping reviews. International journal of evidence-based healthcare. 2015 Sep 1;13(3):141-6.doi: 10.1097/XEB.0000000000000050.PMID: 26134548
von Elm E, Schreiber G, Haupt CC. Methodische Anleitung für Scoping Reviews (JBI-Methodologie). Zeitschrift für Evidenz, Fortbildung und Qualität im Gesundheitswesen. 2019 Jun 1;143:1-7. German. doi: 10.1016/j.zefq.2019.05.004.PMID: 31296451.
PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR): Checklist and Explanation. This reporting standard for scoping reviews contains 20 essential items and other resources such as a fillable checklist and flowchart.
Rapid review
"Rapid reviews are a form of knowledge synthesis in which components of the systematic review process are simplified or omitted to produce information in a timely manner."
Khangura S, Konnyu K, Cushman R, Grimshaw J, Moher D. Evidence summaries: the evolution of a rapid review approach. Systematic reviews. 2012 Dec 1;1(1):10.
Guidance for rapid reviews:
Tricco AC, Langlois E, Straus SE, World Health Organization. Rapid reviews to strengthen health policy and systems: a practical guide. World Health Organization; 2017.
Realist review / synthesis
"A synthesis of complex social interventions to explore how contextual factors influence the link between intervention and outcome (summed up in the question "what works, how, for whom, in what circumstances and to what extent?")..."
Wong G, Greenhalgh T, Westhorp G, Buckingham J, Pawson R. RAMESES publication standards: realist syntheses. BMC Med. 2013 Jan 29;11:21.
Umbrella review (a review of reviews)
"An umbrella review allows the findings of reviews relevant to a review question to be compared and contrasted. An umbrella review's most characteristic feature is that this type of evidence synthesis only considers for inclusion the highest level of evidence, namely other systematic reviews and meta-analyses."
Aromataris E, Fernandez R, Godfrey CM, Holly C, Khalil H, Tungpunkom P. Summarizing systematic reviews: methodological development, conduct and reporting of an umbrella review approach. International journal of evidence-based healthcare. 2015 Sep 1;13(3):132-40.
Guidance for umbrella reviews:
Aromataris E, Fernandez R, Godfrey C, Holly C, Khalil H, Tungpunkom P. Chapter 10: Umbrella Reviews. In: Aromataris E, Munn Z (Editors). Joanna Briggs Institute Manual for Evidence Synthesis, JBI, 2020. Available from https://synthesismanual.jbi.global. https://doi.org/10.46658/JBIMES-20-11