A systematic review is not structure like a traditional literature review but instead resembles a paper reporting an empirical study.  An introduction section typically positions the study within the field and outlines the review questions.  The methodology section provides precise details of how the review was conducted.  If you have completed all of the activities in this section you should be able to explain the search strategy, the selection criteria and the analysis and synthesis criteria.

There are typically three ways in which the finding of a systematic review are presented:

1. A descriptive and thematic analysis of the field
2. A presentation and discussion of what is known and not yet known
3. A full tabulation of ALL of the included studies (usually an appendix)

A descriptive and thematic analysis of the field

The findings and discussion section contains a summary of all the studies in terms of the data extracted from the studies such as the percentage of studies in the field that are philosophical/discursive/conceptual, literature reviews, surveys, case studies, evaluations or experiments/quasi experiments.  By cross tabulating the studies key issues can be identified. The thematic analysis helps identify the contending or complementary theories, the problems and questions addressed to date and key themes. The following figures illustrate a small number of possible descriptive findings.

 

A presentation and discussion of what is known and not yet known

The findings and discussion section also specifies precisely what is known and unknown about the questions addressed in the review.  Depending on the approach to synthesis undertaken, this will be presented in different ways.  The review may provide an aggregation of studies by means of meta-analysis.  In which case, the findings will comprise of a estimate of the overall effect of interest with numerous tables.  If the synthesis is interpretative, integrative or explanatory the findings may present rich descriptions of the data and the development of the conceptual model or working hypotheses drawn from the integration.  Whatever the approach to synthesis, the discussion of what is known and not yet known is centred on the review questions.   Where possible details of both the quantitative and qualitative evidence would be tabulated. 

A full tabulation of ALL of the included studies (usually an appendix)

At the end of a systematic review a full tabulation of all the included studies is displayed, providing a comprehensive summary of the field.  This provides and audit trail back to the evidence and allows the reader to judge warrants behind claims made in the review. The information that you choose to present will be determined by the aims of your review and the nature of the field.  If you have completed all of the exercises in this section you will already have a summary table -  see extract information from individual studies for more details.

 

The text on this page was created by Professor David Denyer, Professor of Organizational Change, Cranfield School of Management.