Skip to main content
v2026.1714 entries · CC-BY 4.0
Dictionary termTrack AStablev2026.2

Systematic review

A literature review that follows a pre-specified, registered protocol to systematically identify, appraise, and synthesise all evidence relevant to a focused research question, using reproducible methods for searching, screening, data extraction, and quality assessment.

ByCASRAI Editorial Board
· Last updated 21 May 2026

Examples

Worked examples

  • Is an instance

    A Cochrane systematic review of trials of statins for primary prevention, with PROSPERO registration and PRISMA flow diagram

Counter-examples

Looks similar, but isn't

  • Not an instance

    A narrative summary of selected papers is not a systematic review even if labelled 'systematic'

Editorial commentary

Distinguished from narrative reviews by being protocol-driven (typically PRISMA-P registered in PROSPERO) and reproducible. Reporting standards include PRISMA 2020. Systematic reviews may or may not include meta-analysis. Cochrane reviews are the canonical exemplar in healthcare.

References

  • PRISMA 2020 (Page et al. BMJ)
  • Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions

Also known as

SR · Systematic literature review

Machine-readable encodings

Use in your systems

JATS XML <role> element
xml
<role vocab="credit"
      vocab-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/"
      vocab-term="Systematic review"
      vocab-term-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/systematic-review" />
Schema.org DefinedTerm (JSON-LD)
json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "DefinedTerm",
  "name": "Systematic review",
  "identifier": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/systematic-review",
  "description": "A literature review that follows a pre-specified, registered protocol to systematically identify, appraise, and synthesise all evidence relevant to a focused research question, using reproducible methods for searching, screening, data extraction, and quality assessment.",
  "inDefinedTermSet": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/domain/research-outputs-expanded/",
  "url": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/systematic-review",
  "sameAs": [
    "SR",
    "Systematic literature review"
  ],
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
}

Adopted by research universities worldwide

University of Cambridge logoColumbia University logoUniversity of Edinburgh logoHarvard University logoMassachusetts Institute of Technology logoUniversity of Oxford logoPrinceton University logoStanford School of Medicine logoUniversity College London logoUniversity of Cambridge logoColumbia University logoUniversity of Edinburgh logoHarvard University logoMassachusetts Institute of Technology logoUniversity of Oxford logoPrinceton University logoStanford School of Medicine logoUniversity College London logo
  • University of Cambridge logo
  • Columbia University logo
  • University of Edinburgh logo
  • Harvard University logo
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology logo
  • University of Oxford logo
  • Princeton University logo
  • Stanford School of Medicine logo
  • University College London logo

View CASRAI adoption →