ABSTRACT
Examples of research questions from quantitative systematic reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Examples of research questions from qualitative systematic
reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Examples of research questions from mapping studies . . . . . . . . . . 47 Examples of research questions from tertiary studies . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
4.4 Developing the protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 4.4.1 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 4.4.2 Research questions(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 4.4.3 Search strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 4.4.4 Study selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 4.4.5 Assessing the quality of the primary studies . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 4.4.6 Data extraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 4.4.7 Data synthesis and aggregation strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 4.4.8 Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 4.4.9 Reporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 4.4.10 Review management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
4.5 Validating the protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
We and other researchers have found that undertaking a systematic review or mapping study is an extremely time-consuming activity requiring a great deal of attention to detail (Babar & Zhang 2009). As with any complex project, planning is a key factor in achieving a successful outcome.
