UBC Library users can now benefit from unlimited access to Covidence, a web-based systematic review management software platform. With a new institutional subscription to Covidence, the library has made it possible for faculty, staff and student researchers at UBC to significantly cut down on the time it takes to complete a systematic or other comprehensive literature review.
In a systematic review, researchers set out to address a clearly defined question by consolidating all available evidence. The process involves multiple stages, including preparing the research question; searching for studies that relate to the question; screening those studies to see how well they match the question and assessing the quality of the studies; extracting the data; analyzing and synthesizing the results; and reporting on the findings.
Typically, systematic reviews will include published studies from electronic databases, as well as unpublished research and what’s commonly known as ‘grey literature,’ which are non-commercially published works like government reports, conference presentations and industry whitepapers. Sorting through the vast plethora of studies that are found during the search phase of a systematic review can be a daunting task. Not surprisingly, this type of review is time intensive, sometimes taking up to 18 months or longer to complete. Covidence can help speed up the process by streamlining citation screening, full-text review, risk of bias assessments, quality appraisal and data extraction. The software can also be useful in other types of comprehensive literature reviews, such as scoping reviews.
Screenshot of Covidence title and abstract screening page.
The systematic review methodology first started appearing in medical research publications during the 1970s and 1980s, gaining popularity into the 1990s as use became widespread across the health sciences. Since then, the methodology has found a place in many other fields including education, social sciences, psychology, forestry, engineering and more.
In the midst of the current COVID-19 situation, many research projects are being put on hold or delayed as UBC labs remain closed and fieldwork is not possible because of the need for physical distancing. “Researchers in healthcare are now focussing on systematic reviews or other knowledge synthesis projects,” notes Charlotte Beck, Reference Librarian at UBC’s Woodward Library and an administrator for UBC Library’s Covidence account. Beck says students who were set to embark on practica are bringing their Capstone projects forward this summer and revising their research topics accordingly. With this new tool available to all UBC faculty, staff and students, the review process can not only be accelerated, but the overall experience can be improved, particularly for users undertaking their very first review.
Get started by connecting to Covidence, or visit the library website for more information.
This project is part of UBC Library’s strategic direction to advance research, learning and scholarship.
Learn more about our Strategic Framework.
