{
  "abstract": "Objective To inform the development of an evidence synthesis taxonomy, we aimed to identify and examine all classification systems, typologies or taxonomies that have been proposed for evidence synthesis methods.Design Scoping review.Methods This review followed JBI (previously Joanna Briggs Institute) scoping review methodology and was reported according to PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews). Resources that investigated typologies, taxonomies, classification systems and compendia for evidence synthesis within any field were eligible for inclusion. A comprehensive search across MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (OVID), CINAHL with Full-Text (EBSCO), ERIC (EBSCO), Scopus, Compendex (Elsevier) and JSTOR was performed on 28 April 2022. This was supplemented by citation searching of key articles, contact with experts, targeted searching of organisational websites and additional grey literature searching. Documents were extracted by one reviewer and extractions verified by another reviewer. Data were analysed using frequency counts and a basic qualitative content analysis approach. Results are presented using bar charts, word clouds and narrative summary.Results There were 15 634 titles and abstracts screened, and 703 full texts assessed for eligibility. Ultimately, 446 documents were included, and 49 formal classification systems identified, with the remaining documents presenting structured lists, simple listings or general discussions. Included documents were mostly not field-specific (n=242) or aligned to clinical sciences (n=83); however, public health, education, information technology, law and engineering were also represented. Documents (n=148) mostly included two to three evidence synthesis types, while 22 documents mentioned over 20 types of evidence synthesis. We identified 1010 unique terms to describe a type of evidence synthesis; of these, 742 terms were only mentioned once. Facets that could usefully distinguish (ie, similarities and differences or characteristics) between evidence synthesis approaches were categorised based on similarity into 15 overarching dimensions. These dimensions include review question and foci of interest, discipline/field, perspective, coverage, eligibility criteria, review purpose, methodological principles, theoretical underpinnings/philosophical perspective, resource considerations, compatibility with heterogeneity, sequence planning, analytical synthesis techniques, intended product/output, intended audience and intended impact or influence.Conclusion This scoping review identified numerous unique terms to describe evidence synthesis approaches and many diverse ways to distinguish or categorise review types. These results suggest a need for the evidence synthesis community to organise, categorise and harmonise evidence synthesis approaches and terminolog",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Health Evidence Synthesis, Recommendations and Impact (HESRI), School of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Danielle Pollock"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Health Evidence Synthesis, Recommendations and Impact (HESRI), School of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Sabira Hasanoff"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Health Evidence Synthesis, Recommendations and Impact (HESRI), School of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Timothy Hugh Barker"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Royal College of Surgeons Ireland, Dublin, Ireland"
      ],
      "name": "Barbara Clyne"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Queen’s Collaboration for Health Care Quality: A JBI Centre of Excellence, Queen’s University School of Nursing, Kingston, Ontario, Canada",
        "Knowledge Translation Program, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada",
        "Dalla Lana School of Public Health & Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "Andrea C Tricco"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Sheffield Centre for Health and Related Research (SCHARR), University of Sheffield, Sheffield, South Yorkshire UK S1 4DA, Sheffield, South Yorkshire UK S1 4DA, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Andrew Booth"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Queen’s Collaboration for Health Care Quality: A JBI Centre of Excellence, Queen’s University School of Nursing, Kingston, Ontario, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "Christina Godfrey"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "School of Psychology and Public Health, Department of Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Hanan Khalil"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "JBI, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Romy Menghao Jia"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Evidence Synthesis Ireland and Cochrane Ireland, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland",
        "University of Galway College of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, Galway, Ireland"
      ],
      "name": "Petek-Eylul Taneri"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Evidence Synthesis Ireland and Cochrane Ireland, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland",
        "University of Galway College of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, Galway, Ireland"
      ],
      "name": "KM Saif-Ur-Rahman"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Evidence Synthesis Ireland and Cochrane Ireland, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland",
        "University of Galway College of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, Galway, Ireland"
      ],
      "name": "Tom Conway"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Knowledge Translation Program, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada",
        "Institue of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "Menelaos Konstantinidis"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Knowledge Translation Program, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada",
        "Division of Epidemiology, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "Catherine Stratton"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Wales Centre For Evidence Based Care, School of Healthcare Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, South Glamorgan, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Deborah Edwards"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Scottish Centre for Evidence-based, Multi-professional Practice: a JBI Centre of Excellence",
        "School of Health Sciences, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Lyndsay Alexander"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Wales Centre For Evidence Based Care, School of Healthcare Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, South Glamorgan, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Judith Carrier"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, Waite Research Institute, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia",
        "Robinson Research Institute, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Nahal Habibi"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "Marco Zaccagnini"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "JBI, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Cindy Stern"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "JBI, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Chelsea Valenzuela"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Albert S. Cook Library, Towson University, Towson, Maryland, USA"
      ],
      "name": "Carrie Price"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "JBI, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Jennifer C Stone"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "JBI, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Edoardo Aromataris"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "JBI, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Zoe Jordan"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Health Evidence Synthesis, Recommendations and Impact (HESRI), School of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Mafalda Dias"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Health Evidence Synthesis, Recommendations and Impact (HESRI), School of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Grace McBride"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Health Evidence Synthesis, Recommendations and Impact (HESRI), School of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Raju Kanukula"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Clinical Epidemiology and Research Center (CERC), Humanitas University & Humanitas Research Hospital, Milan, Italy"
      ],
      "name": "Holger J Schuenemann"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, USA",
        "Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "Reem A Mustafa"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "JBI, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Alan Pearson"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Cochrane Czech Republic, Czech Republic: a JBI Centre of Excellence, Czech GRADE Network, Institute of Health Information and Statistics of the Czech Republic, Praha, Czech Republic",
        "Center of Evidence-Based Education and Arts Therapies: A JBI Affiliated Group, Palacky University Olomouc Faculty of Education, Olomouc, Olomoucký, Czech Republic"
      ],
      "name": "Miloslav Klugar"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Institut d’ Recerca, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain"
      ],
      "name": "Maria Ximena Rojas"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Institut de Recerca Sant Pau, Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain",
        "Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain",
        "Iberoamerican Cochrane Centre, Iberoamerican Cochrane Centre, Barcelona, Spain"
      ],
      "name": "Pablo Alonso-Coello"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK",
        "Evidence-Based Toxicology Collaboration at Johns Hopkins, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA"
      ],
      "name": "Paul Whaley"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Epidemiology and Data Science, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, Netherlands",
        "Methodology, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands"
      ],
      "name": "Miranda Langendam"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Adelaide Health Technology Assessment (AHTA), School of Public Health, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Tracy Merlin"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Medicine, University of Toronto and Knowledge Translation Program, St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada"
      ],
      "name": "Sharon Straus"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Med Tech Reimbursement Consulting, Hyderabad, India"
      ],
      "name": "Sandeep Moola"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Computable Publishing LLC, Scientific Knowledge Accelerator Foundation, Franklin, Tennessee, USA"
      ],
      "name": "Brian S Alper"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Health Evidence Synthesis, Recommendations and Impact (HESRI), School of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Zachary Munn"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Over 1000 terms have been used to describe evidence synthesis: a scoping review",
  "uid": "c5dc3daa-a8e2-54a0-8fb5-f944c4380a70"
}