Literature Review vs Systematic Review vs Metanalysis
As health professionals specialising in lymphoedema care, it is crucial for us to stay current with the latest research and evidence. One helpful approach is to explore publications that examine the body of research on specific subjects rather than attempting to delve into individual research papers. These publications can take different forms, such as literature reviews, systematic reviews, or meta-analyses, and they provide valuable insights into the existing body of knowledge.
A literature review, a systematic review, and a meta-analysis are distinct research methods used in academic and scientific contexts. They serve different purposes, involve varying levels of rigor, and use different methodologies:
- Literature Review:
- Purpose: A literature review provides a comprehensive summary and critical analysis of existing research on a specific topic. Its primary goal is to offer an overview of the current state of knowledge, identify gaps, and provide insights.
- Scope: Literature reviews can be broad in scope, including various types of research studies, theoretical papers, and more. They are not necessarily focused on answering a specific research question but aim to inform readers about the state of the field.
- Search Process: The search process in a literature review may be less systematic, and studies can be included based on the researcher’s judgment.
- Inclusion Criteria: Inclusion criteria may be less strict, allowing for the inclusion of studies based on relevance or the author’s discretion.
- Analysis and Synthesis: Literature reviews often involve a narrative synthesis of the included studies, summarizing findings and providing interpretations or insights.
- Publication: Literature reviews can be standalone research papers, book chapters, or sections within larger research works.
- Systematic Review:
- Purpose: A systematic review is a rigorous research method designed to answer a specific research question by systematically identifying, evaluating, and synthesizing all relevant studies on the topic.
- Scope: Systematic reviews have a focused scope, aiming to answer a particular research question using empirical research studies.
- Search Process: Systematic reviews follow a highly structured and exhaustive search process, including specific search terms, databases, and predefined inclusion/exclusion criteria.
- Inclusion Criteria: Strict inclusion and exclusion criteria are applied consistently to all identified studies to reduce bias and ensure high-quality evidence is included.
- Analysis and Synthesis: Systematic reviews often use statistical methods (meta-analysis) when appropriate to quantitatively combine and analyze data from the included studies. This provides an objective summary of the evidence.
- Publication: Systematic reviews are typically published as separate research papers and adhere to specific reporting guidelines (e.g., PRISMA for healthcare reviews).
- Meta-analysis:
- Purpose: Meta-analysis is a statistical technique used within systematic reviews to quantitatively synthesize data from multiple studies to derive a more robust and precise estimate of the effect size or outcome of interest.
- Scope: Meta-analysis focuses exclusively on quantitative data and aims to provide a numerical summary of the combined results from included studies.
- Methodology: It involves statistical procedures to calculate pooled effect sizes, confidence intervals, and tests for heterogeneity among studies.
- Publication: Meta-analyses are often included within systematic reviews but can also be standalone research papers focusing solely on the quantitative synthesis of data.
In summary, a literature review is a broader overview of existing research, a systematic review is a methodical and structured approach to answer a specific research question, and a meta-analysis is a statistical technique used to quantitatively combine data from multiple studies within a systematic review. These methods serve different purposes and have varying levels of rigor.
To explore this topic further watch the following video
What’s the Difference between a Literature Review, Systematic Review, and Meta-Analysis?
Cochrane Library
A useful place to look for systematic reviews is the Cochrane Library. It is a collection of databases that contain high-quality, independent evidence to inform healthcare decision-making.
Watch a video about the Cochrane Library
The Cochrane databases include:
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) is the leading resource for systematic reviews in health care.
To search the database go to
Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL)
The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) is a highly concentrated source of reports of randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials. In addition to bibliographic details (author, title, source, year, etc) CENTRAL records often include an abstract (a summary of the article). They do not contain the full text of the article.
Cochrane Clinical Answers
Cochrane Clinical Answers (CCAs) provide a readable, digestible, clinically-focused entry point to rigorous research from Cochrane Reviews. They are designed to be actionable and to inform point-of-care decision-making. Each CCA contains a clinical question, a short answer, and data for the outcomes from the Cochrane Review deemed most relevant to practising healthcare professionals, our target audience. The evidence is displayed in a user-friendly tabulated format that includes narratives, data, and links to graphics. Cochrane Clinical Answers were developed by Cochrane Innovations and Wiley.
Cochrane Podcast
The Cochrane Library also has useful podcasts such as
Podcast: Exercise interventions for upper-limb dysfunction due to breast cancer treatment
A review from the Cochrane Breast Cancer Group examines the evidence for arm exercises for women who have had surgery to remove their tumour. Margaret McNeely describes this research, done by the review team based in Canada.
Exercise interventions for upper-limb dysfunction due to breast cancer treatment | Cochrane
