# How to choose a review type

A literature review, a systematic review, a scoping review, and a meta-analysis answer different questions.

Use a literature review to map a field. Use a systematic review when you will name the search, the screen, and the exclude reasons. Use a scoping review to map what exists before you narrow the question. Use a meta-analysis only when the included studies report numbers you can combine. Do not call a narrative summary a meta-analysis.

## Steps

1. **Name the decision.** Do you need a map, a reproducible screen, or a combined number?

2. **Write the search rule.** A systematic review names the databases and the date. A literature review may not.

3. **Write the exclude rule.** If you cannot say why a paper is out, you are not running a systematic review.

4. **Stop at the number.** Combine results only when the outcomes are the same measure. Otherwise stop at the table.

## ScholarIQ at this step

ScholarIQ keeps the search and the screen. It does not compute a pooled effect. If you need a meta-analysis, export the table and run the statistics elsewhere.

## How long does this take for one person?

Count the records first. A literature review, a systematic review, a scoping review, and a meta-analysis answer different questions. The time follows the count, not the size of a team.

## What do I write down before I stop?

The rule, the date, and the count. Use a literature review to map a field. Use a systematic review when you will name the search, the screen, and the exclude reasons. Use a scoping review to map what exists before you narrow the question. Use a meta-analysis only when the included studies report numbers you can combine. Do not call a narrative summary a meta-analysis.

## Do I need a second reviewer?

Not to start. ScholarIQ does not score a second reviewer. If the protocol asks for dual review, a second person sees the same record.

## What is the usual error?

A file with no reason. Use a literature review to map a field. Use a systematic review when you will name the search, the screen, and the exclude reasons. Use a scoping review to map what exists before you narrow the question. Use a meta-analysis only when the included studies report numbers you can combine. Do not call a narrative summary a meta-analysis.

## How do I know this step is done?

The count matches the records. If a flow-diagram box would not match, the step is not done.

## What goes in the methods?

The rule, the date, and the count. A reader must be able to open the same record.

## Can I skip this step?

No, if you will call the work a systematic review. If you skip it, write what you did. Do not hide the gap.

## What if I cannot finish?

Stop. Write how far you got. Records you did not screen are not exclusions.

## What does a supervisor check?

The rule, a sample of decisions, and the passage.

## What is outside this step?

A guideline panel, a CRO, and a GRADE meeting. ScholarIQ keeps the search and the screen. It does not compute a pooled effect. If you need a meta-analysis, export the table and run the statistics elsewhere.