Before beginning any type of review project, spend some time determining whether someone else has conducted or plans to conduct a similar review. This will save you time and disappointment in the long run!
To determine whether someone else is currently working on a similar review, search for registered or published systematic review protocols on your potential topic:
To determine whether someone has published a similar review, search for systematic reviews on your potential topic:
If you find a published systematic or scoping review or protocol on your exact topic, it may be possible to update the review.
See the Cochrane Handbook for information about updating a systematic review: Cumpston M, Chandler J. Chapter IV: Updating a review. In: Higgins JPT, Thomas J, Chandler J, Cumpston M, Li T, Page MJ, Welch VA (editors). Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions version 6.3 (updated February 2022). Cochrane, 2022: https://training.cochrane.org/handbook/current/chapter-iv.
You may also consider a modified research question for your topic. For example, revising the population, age group, intervention or inclusion/exclusion criteria may provide additional and valuable insights into the topic.
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