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Scoping Review
- Identifies the size and nature of the evidence base for a particular topic area- a preliminary assessment or preparatory process.
- Differs from a systematic review in that a synthesis of the literature is not usually undertaken.
- Usually undertaken to assess the feasibility of conducting a Systematic Review or to identify the nature of evidence.
- Not appropriate to answer a clinical question.
- Scoping reviews are therefore particularly useful when a body of literature has not yet been comprehensively reviewed.
- Scoping reviews are exploratory, and they typically address a broad question.
- Researchers conduct them to assess the extent of the available evidence, to organise it into groups and to highlight gaps in the research.
