Scoping Reviews aim to provide a preliminary assessment a body of literature and chart, or map, the the conceptual boundaries of a topic or field. They may give an overview of or clarify contested concepts in a field, identify and analyze gaps, or identify the nature and extent of research evidence on a topic. They may be done as a precurser to a systematic review, or in areas that are too 'messy' for a systematic review. They may result in a concept or policy map.
Note that a scoping review is not necessarily "smaller" than a Systematic Review - they can often be larger projects, if they are more broadly defined.
1) Formulate a solid research area
It is highly likely that, as you start to research the area, you will have to modify your topic and concepts. Keep track of any changes you make, and why.
2) Search Strategy - Find Search Terms and Make Search Concept Blocks
Some general search tips can be found on the Search tab of this guide. For a scoping review, the goal is to have a transparent and replicable search process. You are aiming to identify all of the results that are relevant to your topic (which is why defining the topic in step one is important). This requires designing searches that are well balanced in terms of precision and sensitivity. To achieve this you will need to design sophisticated searches that leverage controlled vocabularies and search syntaxes.
3) Search in a Structured Way and Document Your Searches
Refining your strategy:
From: Structured literature reviews – A guide for students CC-BY-SA 4.0
4) Determine Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria
Inclusion and exclusion criteria help create a replicable way to decide which articles are included or excluded from your review. They may include some of the key concepts, such as date of the study, population or location, that haven't been faceted out in your search. In a true Scoping Review, these criteria are a priori, and should be defined prior to search strategy, to reduce bias. They should be noted as part of the methodology.
See: https://libguides.jcu.edu.au/scoping/criteria and https://guides.library.utoronto.ca/c.php?g=713309&p=5088425
5) Develop a Protocol
A protocol documents your topic, rationale, hypothesis, and intended methodology. Most scoping review instructions/ checklists will include this step earlier in the process, and require that the protocol is made publicly available before the study runs. However, this may not be feasible for students.
Your protocol may include:
Example of a JBI Protocol Form for Scoping Reviews (will download an editable Word doc).
Adapted from: https://guides.lib.unc.edu/scoping-reviews/protocol
6) Locate Studies, Manage Citations
Now you get to run your searches, collect your articles, and screen which ones will be included in the study or not, based on your inclusion/ exclusion criteria.
To keep track of the articles that result from searches, take advantage of tools built into most library databases, such as exporting the bibliographic information from search results.
UWinnipeg Library does not currently have a subscription to Covidence, which is a tool frequently used to manage systematized search results between teams. We suggest using Zotero to manage citations, but there are limitations, as it automatically ‘dedupes’ results.
For more on citation management options, and how to import/ export references: https://guides.lib.unc.edu/scoping-reviews/manage-citations
7) Screen & Review Studies
Most scoping studies will involve an initial screening stage, where results are quickly eliminated by scanning the title and abstract, then a second screening stage where the ‘short list’ is compared to the inclusion/ exclusion criteria. See: https://guides.library.unisa.edu.au/ScopingReviews/HowToScreen
UWinnipeg Library does not have subscriptions for screening tools. You can use Excel to track screening decisions. See: Video: Rob Morissette and https://www.yopl.info/post/excel-workbooks-and-user-guides-for-systematic-reviews
8) Analyze and Synthesize – write it up!
- Scoping Reviews include original thought in how the analysis and synthesis of data is presented. You may use frameworks, matrices, maps, or other ways that are relevant to your discipline and topic. As well as synthesizing and analyzing the evidence, you should provide some discussion, which may include limitations and/ or conclusions.
- For guidance on data extraction, see: https://guides.library.utoronto.ca/c.php?g=713309&p=5104947 and https://guides.lib.unc.edu/scoping-reviews/extract-data and https://journals.lww.com/jbisrir/fulltext/2023/03000/recommendations_for_the_extraction,_analysis,_and.7.aspx
- include search decision flowcharts or tables, showing publications found and reviewed, and how the inclusion/ exclusion criteria were applied
- you can follow a checklist format, such as PRISMA or JBI – see: https://guides.library.unisa.edu.au/ScopingReviews/ReportAndWrite
- writing a Scoping Review should always conform to academic citation standards