Ten essential steps for performing a systematic review: A quick tutorial

Abstract

In recent decades, the volume of health publications has increased. A well-conducted systematic review (SR), with or without a meta-analysis, is considered the best reference for health care professionals to catch up with the best evidence. With the rapid increase in the number of published SRs, their study quality varies despite well established reporting guidelines and references. Understanding the process of producing SRs is critical to the execution and is not trivial due to the obstacles researchers may encounter. The aim of this article was to provide a step-by-step approach to help researchers (mostly novices) keep their SR up to standard. The steps presented here are a quick tutorial with reference to known and accepted international guidances and our expertise.