Scoping Reviews Legacy Guide: How Can the Library Help?
Created by Health Science Librarians
Contact HSL About Your Review
Ready to start a scoping review? HSL Librarians can help!
Fill out the Systematic/Scoping Review Request Form and the best-suited librarian will get back to you promptly. Our systematic/ scoping review service is only available to faculty, staff, students, and others who are affiliated with UNC Chapel Hill.
Why should a librarian be on your team?
Research shows that the methodological quality of reviews improves when librarians are active members of the research team. Librarian participation in research teams results in:
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Use of recommended search methods (Koffel, 2015)
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Better reported search strategies (Bullers, Howard, Hansen, et al., 2018; Rethlefsen, Farrell, Osterhaus, Brigham, 2015)
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Less bias (Aamodt, Huuderman, Strømme, 2019)
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Contributions beyond just consulting on or developing a search (Bullers, Howard, Hansen, et al., 2018)
Partner with a librarian
Scoping reviews follow established guidelines and best practices to produce high-quality research. At UNC, librarian involvement in scoping reviews is based on two levels. In Tier 1, the librarian will collaborate with researchers in a consultative manner. In Tier 2, the librarian will be an active member of your research team and co-author on your review. Roles and expectations of librarians vary based on the level of involvement desired. Examples of these differences are outlined in the table below.
| Role | Tasks | Tier 1: Consultative | Tier 2: Research Partner / Co-author |
|---|---|---|---|
| Topic Development | Guidance on process and steps | X | X |
| Background searching for past and upcoming reviews | X | X | |
| Development of Eligibility Criteria | Development and/or refinement of review topic | X | X |
| Assistance with refinement of PICO (population, intervention(s), comparator(s), and key questions | X | X | |
| Guidance on study types to include | X | X | |
| Protocol Creation and Registration | Guidance on protocol registration | X | X |
| Searching | Identification of databases for searches | X | X |
| Instruction in search techniques and methods | X | X | |
| Training in citation management software use for managing and sharing results | X | X | |
| Development and execution of searches | X | ||
| Downloading search results to citation management software and removing duplicates | X | ||
| Documentation of search strategies | X | ||
| Management of search results | X | ||
| Study Selection and Extraction | Guidance on methods | X | X |
| Guidance on data extraction, and management techniques and software | X | X | |
| Writing and Publishing | Suggestions of journals to target for publication | X | X |
| Drafting of literature search description in "Methods" section | X | ||
| Creation of PRISMA diagram | X | ||
| Drafting of literature search appendix | X | ||
| Review other manuscript sections and final draft | X | ||
| Librarian contributions warrant co-authorship | X |