Stages for Undertaking a Systematic Review

There has been an increase in the use of systematic review as a research methodology to compile and analyze large datasets of existing studies. With this increase, the recommendations to conduct this type of research also increased. The aim of this article is to provide a guide for understanding and/or undertaking a systematic review for publication across all stages of the review process. When doing a systematic review of the literature the authors become knowledgeable of the subject and, although time-consuming, they can develop a set of skills including literature research and scientific writing. A systematic review, compared to primary research, requires relatively few resources, allowing clinicians not normally involved in research to produce clinically relevant, high-quality articles.