This guide provides information for students and faculty involved in Knowledge Synthesis Projects
It is intended to offer guidance to researchers to help them make informed decisions about the type of review they want to pursue. In doing so, it outlines some of the issues to consider before starting a systematic/scoping review and the six basic steps involved in completing a systematic review (or the five steps towards a scoping review).
This guide is not a comprehensive step-by-step manual for conducting reviews of this type. For manuals on how to conduct knowledge synthesis reviews, please consult the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews or the Joanna Briggs Manual for Evidence Synthesis for more information.
CIHR defines knowledge synthesis as "the contextualization and integration of research findings of individual research studies within the larger body of knowledge on the topic. A synthesis must be reproducible and transparent in its methods, using quantitative and/or qualitative methods."
Knowledge syntheses include but are not limited to systematic reviews, scoping reviews, realist syntheses, narrative syntheses, meta-analyses, meta-syntheses, mixed-methods systematic reviews, and practice guidelines
The process involves a comprehensive literature search to find all available evidence that answers a research question, critical appraisal and evaluation of the results, and integration of the best available evidence in a synthesis that informs practice
The creation of this guide is a joint effort among Ilo-Katryn Maimets, MSc(Biol), BEd, MISt, Thumeka Mgwigwi BA, MLIS, and Esther Atkinson, MISt, PhD.