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Systematic Reviews

This guide is intended for students, research assistants and faculty who are planning to undertake a systematic review, or who are interested in applying systematic research methods to a current project.

Online Course

Created by librarians from the Toronto Metropolitan University Library and the McMaster University Health Sciences Library, Advanced Research Skills: Conducting Literature and Systematic Reviews, 3nd ed. (2024), will help students and researchers advance their proficiency in conducting research for literature and systematic reviews.

After taking the short course, students and researchers will understand how to conduct their review, how to execute appropriate searches, manage their results and demonstrate strategic reading skills.

  • Module 1 provides a quick overview of the different types of academic reviews and the steps involved in conducting them.
  • Module 2 demonstrates how to formulate a research question and how to search for sources.
  • Module 3 discusses how to select and organize sources, and
  • Module 4 outlines techniques for reading and assessing the quality of sources.

The course contains interactive H5P activities for students to test their learning. Students have access to a workbook of reflective activities to document their research process. 

The intended outcome is to ensure students and researchers understand how to conduct and manage their own research for their academic success and future careers.