Work With a Librarian

Are you planning, or already conducting, a research study that employs evidence synthesis methods? Consulting a librarian can advance your progress. After you decide which specific service is best, please let us know about your review and the kind of support you are interested in receiving by filling out the following:

About Evidence Synthesis

Evidence synthesis is a systematic research method used to integrate multiple studies on a topic and extract a summative analysis. Results are most often published in the form of a review article, of which there are several varieties. Reviews are useful for identifying research gaps, informing policy or practice through a comprehensive evaluation of evidence, or aggregating conflicting findings in the literature. A quality review should be unbiased, transparent, and reproducible.

The use of evidence synthesis originated in the health sciences, but it continues to grow in other fields, such as education, psychology, economics, physical and life sciences, business, and engineering. Harvard Library advances evidence synthesis scholarship in disciplines across the sciences, social sciences, and professional and applied fields.

Harvard Library Services for Evidence Synthesis

Consultation with expert librarians is a hallmark of evidence synthesis best practices. To help your review meet the rigorous standards characteristic of this method, Harvard librarians offer services for the following affiliates:

  • Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) - Harvard faculty, staff, and graduate students affiliated with the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (in disciplines across the sciences and social sciences) are eligible for Introductory (Tier 1) and Comprehensive (Tier 2) evidence synthesis support through Harvard Library, free of charge. To utilize Tier 2 services, please note that staff and graduate students must have a faculty member place the request on their behalf, and the faculty member is expected to participate in meetings where key aspects of the project are discussed.
  • Harvard Medical School (HMS) and T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH) – Researchers from HMS and HSPH should use the Countway Library’s review service for evidence synthesis support in medicine and public health, free of charge. The Countway Library at the Longwood campus specializes in systematic review services for these fields. Support can be requested by any full-time Harvard faculty member.
  • Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) – HGSE faculty, staff, and graduate students may request evidence synthesis support, free of charge, through Harvard Library. Librarians can assist with systematic and scoping reviews in education and related social science research areas.
  • Harvard Business School (HBS) – HBS faculty, staff, and doctoral students may seek evidence synthesis assistance through Baker Library’s Research & Data Services. Please note that Baker Library’s in-depth research services for HBS faculty projects operate on a cost-recovery basis. (Undergraduate students seeking help with evidence syntheses should consult the services available through their school or program library.)

Tier 1. Introductory Support

Tier 1 provides foundational consultation and training for researchers new to evidence synthesis or those who need guidance in the initial stages of their review. Librarians will help you understand the evidence synthesis process, develop a plan for your review, and make sure your research question and methods are on the right track. Tier 1 services include:

  • Explaining evidence synthesis methods and review types: Librarians will outline the different types of evidence synthesis (e.g. systematic reviews, scoping reviews, etc.) and help you determine which approach is most appropriate for your project’s goals.
  • Scoping and refining the research question: Receive help formulating a clear, well-scoped research question that fits with your objectives and is neither too broad nor too narrow. Librarians can assist you in applying frameworks (such as PICO, SPIDER, etc.) to identify key concepts and ensure your question is structured effectively.
  • Guidance on protocol development: Librarians provide advice on developing a review protocol and can discuss options for protocol registration (for example, registering a systematic review protocol in PROSPERO). This ensures you have a roadmap for your methodology before you begin the review.
  • Identifying existing reviews: To avoid duplication of effort, Tier 1 support includes help with finding and evaluating any existing systematic reviews or evidence syntheses on your topic. Librarians will guide you in assessing how your proposed review fits into the current literature and whether it addresses a genuine gap.
  • Methodological resources: Librarians can point you to key methodological handbooks, guidelines, or standards relevant to your chosen review method (such as the Cochrane Handbook, JBI Manual, or other field-specific guidelines). They will also recommend best practices for documentation and record-keeping (e.g. using citation management tools like Zotero for organizing references).
  • Research Resource Recommendations: Librarians will advise on appropriate databases to search (including subject-specific databases and sources of grey literature).
  • Search Strategy Overview: While a detailed construction and critique of your evidence synthesis search strategy falls under our Tier 2 services, we can provide a very general overview of what goes into developing a comprehensive, reproducible search that balances sensitivity and precision while reducing the risk of bias.
  • Methods section overview: Librarians are available to share with you the hallmarks of a high quality methodology section and provide examples from the published evidence synthesis literature.

> Request Tier 1 (Introductory) Support.

Tier 2. Comprehensive Support

Tier 2 offers full, in-depth support and collaboration on your evidence synthesis project. In addition to all the guidance provided in Tier 1, a librarian will partner with your research team as an active collaborator, undertaking substantial portions of the evidence synthesis work. This high level of service is intended for rigorous, advanced projects (such as formal systematic reviews or meta-analyses) and closely mirrors the support model used in the health sciences. Tier 2 is a collaborative partnership where the librarian will work alongside you through the process, and their contributions may qualify them for co-authorship on resultant publications (following ICMJE authorship criteria). Tier 2 services include:

  • Comprehensive literature searching: A librarian will design and execute comprehensive, reproducible searches across multiple bibliographic databases (and relevant grey literature sources) to ensure a thorough capture of the literature on your topic. This includes crafting complex search queries and then translating/adapting those searches for different databases or platforms as needed to retrieve all pertinent studies.
  • Systematic search documentation: All search strategies and results will be meticulously documented by the librarian. You will receive detailed search histories, a log of databases and platforms searched (with dates), and other documentation to ensure transparency and reproducibility of the review’s search process. This documentation can be used for your PRISMA flow diagram and to facilitate future update searches.
  • Results management and screening setup: The librarian will assist in managing the search results and can help prepare them for the study selection process. For example, they can provide the results in a preferred format or help import citations into an article screening tool (such as Covidence or Rayyan) to streamline the screening of titles and abstracts. (While librarians will facilitate the setup, the research team remains responsible for conducting the screening and selection of studies.)
  • Full-text retrieval support: When it comes time to obtain the full-text of articles identified for inclusion, the librarian can help by locating and advising on access to these materials through Harvard’s collections or interlibrary loan. (Please note that librarians will guide you in obtaining documents but will not directly obtain materials on your behalf.)
  • Quality appraisal tool guidance: To support the critical appraisal stage of your review, the librarian will suggest appropriate Risk of Bias assessment tools and checklists (or other quality appraisal instruments) that align with your study design and discipline. They will provide guidance on available tools (for example, Cochrane Risk of Bias tools, ROBINS-I, CASP checklists, etc.) so your team can systematically evaluate the credibility and relevance of included studies.
  • Contribution to writing the review: Librarian collaborators at this tier will contribute to the writing of the information retrieval components of the review. This may include writing or editing the search methodology portion of your methods section (detailing how the literature search was conducted), and preparing supplementary materials such as an appendix of full search strategies for each database. The librarian will ensure that these sections meet the expected standards for publication and adhere to reporting guidelines.
  • Reporting and publishing advice: You will receive advice on meeting reporting standards like PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) or other relevant guidelines, to guarantee that your final review manuscript fulfills professional and publisher expectations. Additionally, librarians can provide guidance on identifying and evaluating suitable journals or publication venues for your completed review, taking into account the scope and audience of your work.
  • Ongoing project support: Throughout the life cycle of the project, the librarian remains available for consultation and troubleshooting. They will participate in project meetings as needed, address any questions that arise regarding the literature search or reference management, and offer continued guidance to keep the review process on track. This collaborative engagement ensures that you have expert support at each step, from inception to manuscript submission.

Authorship: Librarians who provide evidence synthesis support at Harvard have adopted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) definition of authorship. If a librarian helping with a review meets the defined criteria, that person will be listed as an author on articles and other resulting scholarly dissemination.

Open Access (OA) Publishing: Librarians typically do not receive research funding and are not able to pay publication fees should authors decide to pursue open access options. However, this does not preclude librarians from authorship should their intellectual contribution match the ICMJE authorship criteria.

> Request Tier 2 (Comprehensive) Support.

Workshops

Workshops on evidence synthesis methods and best practices for review projects at Harvard Library:

Getting Started with Evidence Synthesis: Best Practices for Literature Review Projects

Are you planning or currently conducting a systematic review, scoping review, or meta-analysis? Drop-in for a workshop on evidence synthesis methods and best practices for literature review projects. We’ll explore:

  • Defining and refining a clear research question
  • Developing a structured, reproducible search strategy
  • Managing references and screening studies efficiently
  • Extracting and synthesizing data transparently
  • Reporting findings using established guidelines (e.g., PRISMA)

Librarians from the Evidence Synthesis Service will walk you through the key steps of conducting a high-quality evidence synthesis, offering tips, tools, and resources tailored to your research needs.

Library Experts in Evidence Synthesis

If you're seeking assistance for a new project, please use the Service Request Form, rather than reaching out to experts individually. We will triage your request according to your needs.
 

Sciences (Faculty of Arts and Sciences)

Social Sciences (Faculty of Arts and Sciences)

Harvard Business School

Service: Research and Data Services for HBS Faculty (limited to faculty, charged to faculty research budgets at an hourly rate)

Harvard Graduate School of Education

TBD
 

Harvard Medical School

Service: Countway Library Review Service (limited to faculty)
Guide: Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis