Biomedical Literature Reviews and Research: Home

Research Assistance

The Eskind Biomedical Library Reference Librarians can assist the Vanderbilt community by assisting with literature searches, consulting on literature searches, and training on biomedical information resources and citation management programs. Contact us by calling the Information Desk at (615) 936-1410 or using one of our contact forms:

• Ask Biomedical

• Literature Review Search Request

What's the difference between a literature review and a systematic literature review?

According to the Cochrane Collaboration, a systematic review summarises the results of available carefully designed healthcare studies (controlled trials) and provides a high level of evidence on the effectiveness of healthcare interventions. Judgments may be made about the evidence and inform recommendations for healthcare.

These reviews are complicated and depend largely on what clinical trials are available, how they were carried out (the quality of the trials) and the health outcomes that were measured. Review authors pool numerical data about effects of the treatment through a process called meta-analyses. Then authors assess the evidence for any benefits or harms from those treatments. In this way, systematic reviews are able to summarise the existing clinical research on a topic. 

http://consumers.cochrane.org/what-systematic-review

For more information and to better understand the differences between a traditional narrative review and a systematic review, see: Systematic reviews: synthesis of best evidence for clinical decisions.