Support for Knowledge Syntheses

Why Involve a Librarian?

“Their deep knowledge of cutting-edge technologies and robust research strategies are a natural fit to strengthen the quality of evidence synthesis projects and evidence-based decision-making.”1

"Expert searchers are an important part of the systematic review team, crucial throughout the review process—from the development of the proposal and research question to publication."2

Conducting a thorough literature search is crucial for synthesizing knowledge, as the breadth and inclusivity of studies directly impact the reliability of conclusions. Librarians, with their expertise in research databases, search functionalities, and strategic search crafting, significantly enhance the quality of search strategies3-7, adherence to standards8, reporting3, reproducibility9, and minimize bias5. Consequently, some granting agencies and standards organizations, such as the Canadian Institute of Health Research10, The Cochrane Collaboration11, Campbell Collaboration12, Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI)13, and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Science's Standards for Systematic Reviews14, recommend involving a librarian in Knowledge Synthesis Grants.

Levels of Librarian Support

The role of the librarian in knowledge syntheses can vary from educator to consultant to collaborator or co-investigator. In addition to providing education for knowledge syntheses, Trent librarians offer three levels of support. Researchers may begin at Tier 2 consultation or may begin with Tier 1 consultation and follow to Tier 2. 

(Note: This support model is based on the models developed by Brock University, Ontario Tech University and Queen’s University.)

Available to: all Trent students, doctoral fellows, research assistants and faculty. 

Length of consultation: typically, 1 hour 

Number of consultations: typically, 1-2 consultations (maximum 2 hours total) 

Pre-consultation requirement: 

The introductory consultation may cover some or all the following: 

  • Overview of the purpose of evidence synthesis (and/or specific review type).
  • Advising on the type of review appropriate to the research question.
  • An introduction to the components of evidence synthesis and related timelines.
  • An overview of activities in the review process including:
    • Refining the research question.
    • Determining if an existing review or protocol on your topic already exists.
    • Creating and registering a protocol.
    • Preliminary searching to assess the feasibility of the review and for search term harvesting.
    • Selecting inclusion and exclusion criteria.
    • Resource selection – databases, grey literature, other resources.
    • Documenting and reporting search strategies and results.
    • Obtaining full-text articles at Trent and elsewhere.
    • Utilizing systematic review tools and citation managers.
  • Support needed beyond an initial single consultation may be considered as Tier Two: Extended Consultation.

Available to: upper year undergraduate students, graduate students, doctoral fellows, research assistants and faculty. 

Length of consultation: up to 6 hours of consultation may be provided (which may include in-person meetings, emails, as well as librarian preparation time). Support beyond 6 hours is at the discretion of the librarian. 

Attribution: Trent Librarians involved in Extended Consultation are to be acknowledged by name in any resulting published research including articles, reports, theses and dissertations. 

Pre-consultation requirement: 

  • Review Knowledge Synthesis Research Guide.
  • If you’ve skipped Tier 1, please submit your research question using this intake form. A librarian will be in touch with you within 2-3 business days to indicate availability and schedule a meeting.
  • Submit pages 1 & 2 of the Work Plan to librarian at least 2-3 business days in advance of the scheduled meeting. 

Please Note: All students conducting their own reviews are advised to complete the Work Plan with their supervising faculty member for a Level 2: Extended Consultation. 

Extended consultation may include: 

  • Fine-tuning a research question.
  • Selecting appropriate databases, grey literature sources and other information resources.
  • Developing a base search strategy: selecting appropriate keywords, subject headings and search operators and advanced searching syntax.
  • Developing a search strategy for a synthesis review project.
  • Strategies for advanced searching in specific databases/sources.
  • Advice on search filters/hedges to capture elements such as study designs, population groups, etc. Instruction on how to develop, test and translate search strategies for different databases.
  • Tips for gray literature searching, hand searching, and supplementary search methods.
  • Best practices for documenting the search in the final manuscript (e.g., Methods section, Appendix).
  • Guidance on how to export all search results to a citation management tool (e.g., Zotero, Mendeley, Endnote).
  • How to use a citation management tool to manage citations and remove duplicates.
  • Information about tools for screening citations and extracting data e.g. Covidence, Rayyan.
  • Information about quality assessment tools.
  • Information on how to report search methods according to the PRISMA-S guideline.
  • Options for dissemination of the published paper (e.g. Open access discounts - APCs).

Available to: Trent Faculty only. 

Eligible projects: Any knowledge syntheses study leading to original research, NOT for the purpose of assignments or course-related studies. 

It is at the discretion of the librarian(s) to choose to participate as collaborators based on their time and interest in the project. In addition, due to the time-intensive nature of this work, a librarian may not be immediately available to join your project. 

Please submit your research question using this intake form. A librarian will be in touch with you within 2-3 business days to indicate interest and availability. 

Before meeting with the librarian, researchers not familiar with knowledge synthesis processes are advised to review the Knowledge Synthesis Research Guide. 

Attribution: Collaborating librarians are to be acknowledged by name as co-authors in any resulting published research. Investigators and the librarian(s) must sign a Memorandum of Understanding outlining key responsibilities and timelines. 

Before meeting with the librarian for collaboration, researchers must also complete pages 1 & 2 of the Work Plan and submit it to the librarian at least 2-3 days in advance of scheduled meeting. 

A librarian may agree to participate in any or all of the following activities: 

  • Attend team meetings and provide relevant expertise.
  • Determining if a knowledge synthesis or protocol on the topic already exists.
  • Conducting a preliminary search to identify 3-5 eligible studies (seed articles to assess the feasibility of the review and for search term harvesting).
  • Assist with research question refinement.
  • Contribute to protocol development.
  • Arrange for peer review of electronic search strategies.
  • Design, test, translate and execute searches of bibliographic databases.
  • Assisting with search methods for locating grey literature.
  • Exporting search results in the desired format (Excel spreadsheet, text or IRS file, etc.).
  • Remove duplicate records from search results, record clean-up.
  • Importing search results into review software (e.g., Covidence, Rayyan).
  • Participate in screening.
  • Provide literature search documentation, including a PRISMA flowchart.
  • Author relevant portions of the manuscript (e.g. Methods section).
  • Editorial contributions to the final manuscript.
  • Other activities as negotiated. 

Note: Librarian responsibilities typically do not include data extraction, synthesis or analysis other than guidance where expertise allows or direction to supporting resources.

Librarians can provide education to students, faculty, and researchers on knowledge syntheses by offering comprehensive overviews of the various types, their purposes, and the processes. Please contact us if you wish to schedule a workshop(s). 

Alternatively, please see the Knowledge Synthesis Research Guide for lists of external, asynchronous, online courses and guides for self-directed learning.

Undergraduate Coursework

Assigning knowledge synthesis as course-based projects, particularly those requiring considerable resources and time such as systematic reviews, is generally not recommended, especially for undergraduate students. Librarians are happy to meet with students and their supervisors to discuss feasible options for incorporating knowledge synthesis methodologies into coursework. Here are some examples:

  • Critique an existing review
  • Update an existing review, but only use one database
  • Conduct a rapid review, depending on scope of question and literature
  • Write a protocol for a review

  1. Ghezzi-Kopel, K. et al. Making the case for librarian expertise to support evidence synthesis for the sustainable development goals. Res. Synth. Methods 13, 77–87 (2022).
  2. McGowan, J. & Sampson, M. Systematic reviews need systematic searchers. J. Med. Libr. Assoc. 93, 74–80 (2005).
  3. Meert, D., Torabi, N. & Costella, J. Impact of librarians on reporting of the literature searching component of pediatric systematic reviews. J. Med. Libr. Assoc. JMLA 104, 267–277 (2016).
  4. Koffel, J. B. Use of Recommended Search Strategies in Systematic Reviews and the Impact of Librarian Involvement: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Recent Authors. PLOS ONE 10, e0125931 (2015).
  5. Aamodt, M., Huurdeman, H. & Strømme, H. Librarian Co-Authored Systematic Reviews are Associated with Lower Risk of Bias Compared to Systematic Reviews with Acknowledgement of Librarians or No Participation by Librarians. Evid. Based Libr. Inf. Pract. 14, 103–127 (2019).
  6. Schellinger, J., Sewell, K., Bloss, J. E., Ebron, T. & Forbes, C. The effect of librarian involvement on the quality of systematic reviews in dental medicine. PLOS ONE 16, e0256833 (2021).
  7. Rethlefsen, M. L., Farrell, A. M., Osterhaus Trzasko, L. C. & Brigham, T. J. Librarian co-authors correlated with higher quality reported search strategies in general internal medicine systematic reviews. J. Clin. Epidemiol. 68, 617–626 (2015).
  8. Ramirez, D., Foster, M. J., Kogut, A. & Xiao, D. Adherence to systematic review standards: Impact of librarian involvement in Campbell Collaboration’s education reviews. J. Acad. Librariansh. 48, 102567 (2022).
  9. Koffel, J. B. & Rethlefsen, M. L. Reproducibility of Search Strategies Is Poor in Systematic Reviews Published in High-Impact Pediatrics, Cardiology and Surgery Journals: A Cross-Sectional Study. PLOS ONE 11, e0163309 (2016).
  10. Government of Canada, C. I. of H. R. A Guide to Knowledge Synthesis. https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/41382.html (2010).
  11. Lefebvre, C. et al. Chapter 4: Searching for and selecting studies. in Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions (2023).
  12. Kugley, S. et al. Searching for studies: a guide to information retrieval for Campbell systematic reviews. Campbell Syst. Rev. 13, 1–73 (2017).
  13. Aromataris, E., Lockwood, C., Porritt, K., Pilla, B. & Jordan, Z. 3.6.5 Search strategy. in JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis (2024).
  14. Chapter: 3 Standards for Finding and Assessing Individual Studies National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. in Finding what works in health care: standards for systematic reviews (eds. Eden, J., Levit, L. A., Berg, A. O. & Morton, S. C.) (National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2011).