Abstract
BackgroundThe scoping review has become an increasingly popular approach for synthesizing research evidence. It is a relatively new approach for which a universal study definition or definitive procedure has not been established. The purpose of this scoping review was to provide an overview of scoping reviews in the literature.MethodsA scoping review was conducted using the Arksey and O'Malley framework. A search was conducted in four bibliographic databases and the gray literature to identify scoping review studies. Review selection and characterization were performed by two independent reviewers using pretested forms.ResultsThe search identified 344 scoping reviews published from 1999 to October 2012. The reviews varied in terms of purpose, methodology, and detail of reporting. Nearly three-quarter of reviews (74.1%) addressed a health topic. Study completion times varied from 2 weeks to 20 months, and 51% utilized a published methodological framework. Quality assessment of included studies was infrequently performed (22.38%).ConclusionsScoping reviews are a relatively new but increasingly common approach for mapping broad topics. Because of variability in their conduct, there is a need for their methodological standardization to ensure the utility and strength of evidence. © 2014 The Authors. Research Synthesis Methods published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Highlights
The scoping review has become an increasingly popular approach for synthesizing research evidence
We agree that there is a need for consistency in terminology; we argue that the term ‘scoping review’ should be adopted in favor of ‘scoping study’ or the other terms that have been used to describe the method
We argue that scoping reviews should include all relevant literature regardless of methodological quality, given that their intent is to present an overview of the existing literature in a field of interest without synthesizing evidence from different studies (Arksey and O’Malley, 2005)
Summary
The scoping review has become an increasingly popular approach for synthesizing research evidence. A scoping review of a body of literature can be of particular use when the topic has not yet been extensively reviewed or is of a complex or heterogeneous nature (Mays et al, 2001) They are commonly undertaken to examine the extent, range, and nature of research activity in a topic area; determine the value and potential scope and cost of undertaking a full systematic review; summarize and disseminate research findings; and identify research gaps in the existing.
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