A research method used predominantly in health sciences to synthesize a wide range of information is increasingly finding its way into the social sciences — and Northwestern Libraries is poised to help Northwestern students, faculty, and postdocs make the most of this opportunity.
The method, known as evidence synthesis, is all about identifying, selecting, and combining results from multiple studies with the goal of answering a single research question.
“Think of those times you’ve seen a news report that suggests red wine is good for your health,” said librarian Lauren McKeen McDonald. “But then you might read another article in a week that suggests the opposite. That’s an opportunity for a systematic review to help a researcher identify what’s really going on. A systematic review relies on evidence synthesis, and that’s where librarians come in.”
In other words, by comparing and analyzing existing studies on a research question, a researcher conducting a systematic review can create a brand-new study that provides a more complete picture of the scholarly conversation around a topic — and if that sounds like a lot of work to get there, librarians are ready to step in and help carry the load.
While similar to a literature review (a common methodology in humanities and social science research), evidence synthesis is a rigorous and structured process, said librarian Jason Kruse. Systematic reviews follow protocols and frameworks to produce a comprehensive analysis of the body of work on a research topic. “This isn’t just a process of finding 10 articles that back up my point,” he said. “Studies come out all the time, and one might contradict 150 others. Evidence synthesis requires that you examine the conversation in whole, be systematic in the approach, and be transparent about the whole process. It is a highly-structured way to conduct an analysis.”
For example, McKeen McDonald said, because traditionally published research has a bias toward reporting positive results, some research with negative or inconclusive results may go unpublished except in less-visible places like conference proceedings or working papers. By itself, such research may be indicative of nothing in particular; but when considered as part of a whole body of scholarship, it may inform a research question in a whole new way.
Arriving at that place can require months of work, and librarians are in position to help every step of the way. At the base level, the work draws on typical librarian skills — keyword selection, database selection, finding full text, organizing information, assisting with citation management — but can expand to be even more integral. If the researcher’s timeframe is limited, evidence synthesis techniques can be scaled down to fit. But for full evidence synthesis projects like systematic reviews, librarians may be more involved in the process, crafting the entire search strategy or writing a methods section of a review, McKeen McDonald said.
The Libraries provide two levels of evidence synthesis research support:
Consultation
During a consultation, researchers meet with a librarian to get an overview of the review process, such as discussing the research question(s), designing a search strategy and going over relevant database selection. Librarians assist in developing search terms and advise on which sources to search. Consultations typically take one hour.
Collaboration
With the collaboration model, librarians can develop the search strategy, translate searches to the syntax of all databases, identify existing reviews, execute the search and deliver results to a citation management software, document the search, and write the search methods section. Co–authorship is expected for collaborations.
To set up a consultation to discuss a project, please complete the Evidence Synthesis Support Request Form.
In addition to individual and team support for evidence synthesis projects, librarians also provide presentations and workshops on systematic review methods. Visit the Libraries’ event calendar for a full listing of events or reach out to the Evidence Synthesis Support Team at NUL-EVIDENCESYNTHESIS@LISTSERV.IT.NORTHWESTERN.EDU to request a presentation for a class or group.
For more information, see the Libraries’ guide on evidence synthesis.