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There are many different types of research study, all with different evidence requirements, strategies and outcome measures. To help decide which is best for your research, here are a few questions to ask yourself:
Your Subject Librarian can advise you when planning your research.
Cochrane Interactive Learning is a new resource that provides a range of learning opportunities for those conducting, editing or reading a systematic review and new way to learn about Cochrane systematic review methodology & processes. |
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Systematic Review (SR) aims to find the highest-quality evidence on a certain topic. Although they can be conducted in any field, they are most often used to assess the benefit of a medical intervention as a basis for funding decisions. A specific set of pre-defined exclusion criteria is applied to all available literature. Results are filtered to the best-quality sources from which a judgment can be made as the the efficacy of the intervention. Several sources must be used to triangulate results and ensure a comprehensive picture is formed of the topic.
More help with Systematic Review can be found on our Evidence Based Practice and Systematic Review guide.
Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) - also called Rapid Review - aims to find high-quality, comprehensive evidence on a topic within a short period of time. The techniques used are similar to Systematic Review in that a specific set of pre-defined exclusion criteria are applied to the literature to come to a conclusion regarding an intervention, problem or practical issue. As the name suggests, the literature search is less comprehensive and often only focuses upon published literature from fewer sources. However, because there is less emphasis on quantitative, empirical data it is better suited to Business and Management topics.
There is a wealth of information online about conducting a REA. Here are a few authoritative sources:
The SAGE Handbook of Organizational Research Methods
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Systematic Searching refers to the application of pre-defined exclusion criteria in several different sources (similar to Systematic Review), but without the obligation to find 'everything'. It can be used for general or specific topics and is very useful for cross-disciplinary research.
Narrative Review is intended as a summary of the literature published on a specific topic, based on a search with no restrictions on the type of evidence required. It's the type of enquiry most often employed by Undergraduate and Postgraduate Taught students for the 'Literature Review' element of their research project. It is often used to explore a theme and can be subjective, nuanced and based on an individual author's expertise. There are no restrictions on evidence sources, although peer-reviewed and scholarly literature is preferred in the academic sphere.
This type of study works well with attitudinal and qualitative material and can be used effectively in Business and Management when an element of critical analysis is used.
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