Cozette Comer, Evidence Synthesis Librarian, Liaison Librarian: Statistics and Computational Modeling & Data Analytics, cozette@vt.edu
Kiri DeBose, Head, Veterinary Medicine Library & Liaison to Animal Sciences, kdebose@vt.edu
Ginny Pannabecker, Liaison Librarian: Biochemistry, Biocomplexity Institute, Biological Sciences, Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, Neuroscience, and Systems Biology; Director, RCE, vpannabe@vt.edu
Overall - Your inclusion and eligibility criteria are a center feature of your protocol and 'a priori' design for your systematic review. These criteria guide which studies are selected for inclusion in your study during review steps: a. titles and abstracts; and b. full text review.
These criteria should be guided by your research question and objectives, by the outcome measures that you will be considering to answer your question, including study design, methodology, and analysis methods that may impact the usefulness of including studies in your review in order to include the in your study overall and to include in your data analysis. Your context may also influence your criteria, such as the population of interest for your research question/objectives, particular geopgrahpic locations (United States, global, regional, local), particular settings (schools, urban or rural areas), and by other relevant contextual aspects of your research question and objectives.
Example Inclusion criteria
Example Exclusion criteria - may be original, or may further clarify inclusion criteria
Consider the guidance and requirements included in any overall guidelines that you're using, such as PRISMA, IOM, Cochrane, or other guidelines being used.
2.1 Rationale for well-formulated questions
2.2 Aims of reviews of interventions
2.3 Defining the scope of a review question
2.3.1 Broad versus narrow reviews
2.3.2 'Lumping' versus 'splitting'
2.4 Ensuring the review addresses the right questions
2.4.1 Using priority-setting exercises to define review questions
2.4.2 Engaging stakeholders to help define the review questions
2.4.3 Considering issues relating to equity when defining review questions
2.5 Methods and tools for structuring the review
2.5.2 Changing review questions