From: The Global Evidence Mapping Initiative: Scoping research in broad topic areas
Method | Definition | Purpose | Breadth | Depth of process |
---|---|---|---|---|
Systematic Review | "an overview of primary studies which contains an explicit statement of objectives, materials and methods and has been conducted according to explicit and reproducible methodology." [22] | Summarise overall quality and results of a body of research; inform clinical practice | Addresses a focused clinical question [13] | In depth searching, quality appraisal and synthesis of studies relevant to the identified clinical question |
Scoping Study | Overview of "the key concepts underpinning a research area and the main sources and types of evidence available" Mays et al. 2001; cited in [3] | Examine the extent, range and nature of research activity; identify research gaps [3] | Covers a broad topic area | Identifying boundaries and context of the area under study, followed by searching, collation and summary of study characteristics and results with no quality appraisal or synthesis |
Evidence Mapping | The systematic organisation and illustration of a broad field of research evidence [3, 5] | Characterise the breadth, depth, methodology of relevant evidence and make this readily accessible [5]; identify research gaps | Covers a broad topic area | Identifying boundaries and context of the area under study and providing a description of yield, interventions, study design and study characteristics |