Addressing challenges with systematic review teams through effective communication: a case report

Every step in the systematic review process has challenges, ranging from resistance by review teams to adherence to standard methodology to low-energy commitment to full participation. These challenges can derail the project and result in significant delays, duplication of work, and failure to compl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the Medical Library Association 2021-10, Vol.109 (4), p.643-647
Main Authors: O'Dwyer, Linda C, Wafford, Q Eileen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Case Report
Case reports
Collaboration
Communication
expectations
Humans
Librarians
Libraries
Management
Medical libraries
Medical research
Methods
Organizational communication
Peer review
process management
project management
Systematic review
Systematic Reviews as Topic
team management
Teams
Citations: Items that cite this one
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Summary:Every step in the systematic review process has challenges, ranging from resistance by review teams to adherence to standard methodology to low-energy commitment to full participation. These challenges can derail the project and result in significant delays, duplication of work, and failure to complete the review. Communication during the systematic review process is key to ensuring it runs smoothly and is identified as a core competency for librarians involved in systematic reviews. This case report presents effective communication approaches that our librarians employ to address challenges encountered while working with systematic review teams. The communication strategies we describe engage teams through information, questions, and action items and lead to productive collaborations with publishable systematic reviews. Effective communication with review teams keeps systematic review projects moving forward. The techniques covered in this case study strive to minimize misunderstandings, educate collaborators, and, in our experience, have led to multiple successful collaborations and publications. Librarians working in the systematic review space will recognize these challenges and can adapt these techniques to their own environments.
ISSN:1536-5050
1558-9439
DOI:10.5195/jmla.2021.1222