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Nutrition and Exercise Physiology (NEP)

Library guide to Nutrition and Exercise

Definitions and Direction (Selected Approaches to Systematic and Scoping Reviews)

What is a systematic review?

"A systematic review attempts to identify, appraise and synthesize all the empirical evidence that meets pre-specified eligibility criteria to answer a specific research question. Researchers conducting systematic reviews use explicit, systematic methods that are selected with a view aimed at minimizing bias, to produce more reliable findings to inform decision making."  (https://www.cochranelibrary.com/about/about-cochrane-reviews)

"We propose that the most important consideration is whether or not the authors wish to use the results of their review to answer a clinically meaningful question or provide evidence to inform practice." (Munn et al. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 18:143, p. 3)

What is a scoping review?

"True to their name, scoping reviews are an ideal tool to determine the scope or coverage of a body of literature on a given topic and give clear indication of the volume of literature and studies available as well as an overview (broad or detailed) of its focus.  Scoping reviews are useful for examining emerging evidence when it is still unclear what other, more specific questions can be posed and valuably addressed by a more precise systematic review.  They can report on the types of evidence that address and inform practice in the field and the way the research has been conducted." (Munn et al. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 18:143, p. 2)

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