WSU Health Sciences Library offers an evidence synthesis service for any WSU health sciences faculty and students who are working toward  publishable secondary research. This service allows you to add a librarian to your research team, who will guide the creation, implementation, and write-up of the literature search methodology. 

Why should you consider adding a librarian to your team?

Evidence synthesis projects that include a librarian have been shown to be of higher quality than those without a librarian. Therefore, adding a librarian is a way to improve the quality of your evidence synthesis research. This is because librarians are experts at conducting comprehensive literature searches. Creating a strong methodology is essential to the success of the study, and librarians have extensive experience creating and using search strategies that identify all of the relevant literature.

What does a librarian do on an evidence synthesis team?

The librarian is responsible for the methodology of the literature review. This includes:

• Meeting(s) to discuss the research question, scope, inclusion/exclusion criteria, and refine the strategy
• Iterative, interactive process to draft and refine search string
• Interactive process to determine which databases to search, and translation of the final search string into relevant databases
• Running and documenting the search itself
• Importing the citations into evidence synthesis software (Covidence)
• Writing the methods section relevant to the search, both for the protocol and published paper

Illustration of evidence synthesis process

This diagram illustrates the evidence synthesis process, which would then culminate in the preparation of a manuscript for publication. 

Who does the librarian work with?

The Principal Investigator must work with the librarian through the identification and refinement of the research question and strategy. Future meetings that get into greater detail regarding search terms may be with other research team members, so long as the PI is kept abreast of the progress of the work. 

What acknowledgement is required for the librarian's role?

This level of involvement in the research team is consistent with co-authorship. Specific placement within the list of authors is negotiated based on the details of the project. 

Can you meet with a librarian about your evidence synthesis search without including them on the team?

Yes, you may choose to meet with a librarian to discuss your research and learn more about search strategies. This type of consultation can take place over the course of one or two meetings, and should be documented in the published article as an acknowledgement. However, it's important to note that the librarian's role on an evidence synthesis team cannot be replicated by discussing search strategies or techniques. While there is extensive instruction on search techniques freely available online, the expertise to conduct a reproducible search takes a great deal of time and effort to acquire. This guide focuses on adding a librarian to the research team as co-author, but we encourage you to request a meeting for consultations or learning more about the service.

What if you are not a member of the health sciences?

WSU faculty who are not part of the health sciences (i.e. College of Medicine, College of Nursing, or College of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences) are not currently eligible for the Health Sciences Library's Evidence Synthesis Service. We recommend that you consider meeting with your subject librarian to identify their subject-specific recommendations for a successful search.

Meta Analysis