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Time to challenge the spurious hierarchy of systematic over narrative reviews?
Author(s) -
Greenhalgh Trisha,
Thorne Sally,
Malterud Kirsti
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
european journal of clinical investigation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.164
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1365-2362
pISSN - 0014-2972
DOI - 10.1111/eci.12931
Subject(s) - spurious relationship , narrative , hierarchy , narrative review , psychology , medicine , computer science , intensive care medicine , political science , literature , art , machine learning , law
Systematic reviews are generally placed above narrative reviews in an assumed hierarchy of secondary research evidence. We argue that systematic reviews and narrative reviews serve different purposes and should be viewed as complementary. Conventional systematic reviews address narrowly focused questions; their key contribution is summarising data. Narrative reviews provide interpretation and critique; their key contribution is deepening understanding. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.