Systematic Review Reporting - Writing concisely and precisely

Patrick Chien; Khalid Khan

doi:10.12669/pjms.39.2.7428

Patrick Chien RCSI & UCD Malaysian Campus https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5998-9592
Khalid Khan https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5084-7312

DOI: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.39.2.7428

Keywords: Systematic Review, Reporting, Integrity

Abstract

Systematic reviews rank at the top of the evidence hierarchy. Concise writing implies drafting the systematic review article succinctly, i.e. using as few words to express as full an extent of the research effort as possible. Precise writing means drafting the text with accuracy especially with respect to the methodological and statistical aspects. The Abstract ought to be succinct and structured to allow for editors, peer reviewers and readers to get the gist of the key aspects of the systematic review with a quick read. The readership needs to be able to critically appraisal systematic reviews for their internal and external validity rapidly. The Abstract also needs to be standalone, representing an independent summary that can be fully understood without the need for reading the full paper. The standard structure of the main text of a scientific article called IMRaD (Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion) applies equally to systematic reviews in the same way as it does to any other kinds of research manuscripts whether related to laboratory experiments or clinical trials. Restricting the word count limits to those imposed by journals may at first seem difficult, even unfair, to systematic reviewers. However, with the availability of online appendices to transparently and fully report the details of the methods, results and other aspects of the work undertaken allows for a succinct print or PDF article. Writing a shorter manuscript is more effortful than writing a longer report. This commentary is aimed at novice systematic reviewers to help them learn the written and unwritten writing rules in order to assist them in producing impactful publications to support evidence-based medicine.

doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.39.2.7428

How to cite this: Chien PFW, Khan KS. Systematic Review Reporting - Writing concisely and precisely. Pak J Med Sci. 2023;39(2):317-322. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.39.2.7428

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Author Biography

Patrick Chien, RCSI & UCD Malaysian Campus

Recently retired from working as a Consultant in Obstetrics & Gynaecology at NHS Tayside, Scotland. At that time, my main clinical interest was in minimally access surgery in benign gynaecology, in particular the management of heavy menstrual bleeding and chronic pelvic pain. I was also the Clinical Director for the Scottish Hydatidiform Mole Follow up Service and Director of postgraduate gynaecological surgical courses at the Dundee Institute of Healthcare Simulation, University of Dundee.

Currently, appointed as Professor and Head of Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland and University College Dublin Malaysian Campus in Penang, Malaysia. Also serving as Deputy Editor-in-Chief for British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology (BJOG).

Has a research interest in integrity of randomised controlled trials and currently still sit on several research governance committees for clinical trials funded by NIHR HTA in the UK.