'Scoping the scope' of a cochrane review

Systematic reviews use a transparent and systematic process to define a research question, search for studies, assess their quality and synthesize findings qualitatively or quantitatively.A crucial step in the systematic review process is to thoroughly define the scope of the research question.This requires an understanding of existing literature, including gaps and uncertainties, clarification of definitions related to the research question and an understanding of the way in which these are conceptualized within existing literature.This information is often acquired in an ad hoc fashion, however a useful and increasingly popular way to collect and organize important background information and develop a…