A Step-by-Step Approach to Systematic Reviews in Educational Research
Norma Ghamrawi
,
Tarek Shal
,
Najah A.R. Ghamrawi
,
Abdullah Abu-Tineh
,
Yousef Alshaboul
,
Manar A. Alazaizeh
This article provides a comprehensive guide to conducting and documenting systematic reviews (SRs) in educational research. While SRs are increasingly.
- Pub. date: April 15, 2025
- Online Pub. date: March 24, 2025
- Pages: 549-566
- 174 Downloads
- 841 Views
- 0 Citations
Abstract:
This article provides a comprehensive guide to conducting and documenting systematic reviews (SRs) in educational research. While SRs are increasingly recognized for their value in synthesizing and evaluating literature on specific research questions or topics, there remains a notable scarcity of research-based papers that guide their development within the field of education. Systematic reviews, distinguished from traditional literature reviews by their standardized processes—including systematic searching, selection, and critical appraisal of relevant studies—offer a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of the research landscape by integrating findings from multiple sources. This paper underscores the importance of adhering to established methodologies and guidelines to ensure the quality and reliability of SRs. Essential elements discussed include defining research questions, developing search strategies, applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, and synthesizing results. The paper also highlights the role of frameworks such as the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) in enhancing transparency and methodological rigor. By following this structured approach, researchers can produce systematic reviews that provide valuable insights into educational practices and policies, thereby supporting evidence-based decision-making and advancing the field of education.
Keywords: Educational research, evidence-based design, PRISMA, systematic reviews.
References
Abu-Shawish, R. K., & Ghamrawi, N. (2025). Sense-making and middle leaders: Analyzing perceptions of role in the development of teacher leadership. Management in Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/08920206251315629
Adams, R. J., Smart, P., & Huff, A. S. (2017). Shades of grey: guidelines for working with the grey literature in systematic reviews for management and organizational studies. International Journal of Management Reviews, 19(4), 432-454. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12102
Al-Jammal, K., & Ghamrawi, N. (2013). Teacher professional development in Lebanese schools. Basic Research Journal of Education Research and Review, 2(7), 104-128.
Borenstein, M., Hedges, L. V., Higgins, J. P. T., & Rothstein, H. R. (2021). Introduction to meta-analysis (2nd ed.). Wiley.
Borrego, M., Foster, M. J., & Froyd, J. E. (2014). Systematic literature reviews in engineering education and other developing interdisciplinary fields. Journal of Engineering Education, 103(1), 45-76. https://doi.org/10.1002/jee.20038
Butler-Henderson, K., & Crawford, J. (2020). A systematic review of online examinations: A pedagogical innovation for scalable authentication and integrity. Computers and Education, 159, Article 104024.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2020.104024
Callahan, J. L. (2014). Writing literature reviews. Human Resource Development Review, 13(3), 271-275. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534484314536705
Chalmers, I., Hedges, L. V., & Cooper, H. (2002). A brief history of research synthesis. Evaluation and the Health Professions, 25(1), 12-37. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163278702025001003
Chapman, K. (2021). Characteristics of systematic reviews in the social sciences. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 47(5), Article 102396. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2021.102396
Cochrane. (n.d.). About us. http://cochrane.org/about-us.
Dalton, M. (2019). How individual consultations with a librarian can support systematic reviews in the social sciences. Journal of Information Literacy, 13(2), 163-172. https://doi.org/10.11645/13.2.2621
Davies, P. (2000). The relevance of systematic reviews to educational policy and practice. Oxford Review of Education, 26(3/4), 365-378. https://doi.org/10.1080/713688543
Farquhar, C., & Vail, A. (2006). Pitfalls in systematic reviews. Current Opinion in Obstetrics and Gynecology, 18(5), 433-439. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.gco.0000233939.44178.4b
Gessler, M., & Siemer, C. (2020). Umbrella review: Methodological review of reviews published in peer-reviewed journals with a substantial focus on vocational education and training research. International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training, 7(1), 91-125. https://doi.org/10.13152/IJRVET.7.1.5
Ghamrawi, N. (2013). Never underestimate the power of the sandwiched: Middle leaders and school culture. Basic Research Journal of Educational Research and Review, 2(2), 29-41.
Ghamrawi, N., Abu-Shawish, R. K., Shal, T., & Ghamrawi, N. A. R. (2024). Destructive leadership behaviors: The case of academic middle leaders in higher education. International Journal of Educational Research, 126, Article 102382. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2024.102382
Ghamrawi, N., & Abu-Tineh, A. (2023). A flat profession? Developing an evidence-based career ladder by teachers for teachers–A case study. Heliyon, 9(4), Article e15037. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15037
Ghamrawi, N., & Al-Jammal, K. (2014). Leaders and servants: Antonyms or synonyms? Investigating servant leadership in Lebanese schools. Asia Pacific Journal of Research, 1(14), 207-221. https://bit.ly/4bvvK9K
Ghamrawi, N., Shal, T., & Ghamrawi, N. A. (2024a). Cultivating teacher leadership: evidence form a transformative professional development model. School Leadership & Management, 44(4), 413-441. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2024.2328056
Ghamrawi, N., Shal, T., & Ghamrawi, N. A. (2024b). Department heads’ professional agency: investigating self-perceptions and deans’ perspectives through vignette-based analysis. Studies in Higher Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2024.2405559
Gough, D., Thomas, J., & Oliver, S. (2019). Clarifying differences between reviews within evidence ecosystems. Systematic Reviews, 8, Article 170. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-019-1089-2
Grant, M. J., & Booth, A., (2009) A typology of reviews: an analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Health Info Libraries Journal, 2(91-108). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-1842.2009.00848.x
Hammersley, M. (2019). Reflections on the methodological approach of systematic reviews. In O. Zawacki-Richter, M. Kerres, S. Bedenlier, M. Bond, & K. Buntins (Eds.), Systematic reviews in educational research (pp. 23-39). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-27602-7_2
Higgins, J. P. T., Thomas, J., Chandler, J., Cumpston, M., Li, T., Page, M. J., & Welch, V. A. (Eds.). (2019). Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
Hooijmans, C. R., IntHout, J., Ritskes-Hoitinga, M., & Rovers, M. M. (2014). Meta-analyses of animal studies: an introduction of a valuable instrument to further improve healthcare. ILAR Journal, 55(3), 418-426. https://doi.org/10.1093/ilar/ilu042
Hu, T., Zhao, X., Wu, M., Li, Z., Luo, L., Yang, C., & Yang, F. (2022). Prevalence of depression in older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychiatry research, 311, Article 114511. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2022.114511
Idnay, B., Dreisbach, C., Weng, C., & Schnall, R. (2022). A systematic review on natural language processing systems for eligibility prescreening in clinical research. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 29(1), 197-206. https://doi.org/10.1093/jamia/ocab228
Koffel, J. B. (2015). Use of recommended search strategies in systematic reviews and the impact of librarian involvement: a cross-sectional survey of recent authors. PLOS One, 10(5), Article 0125931. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0125931
Lame, G. (2019, July). Systematic literature reviews: An introduction. Proceedings of the Design Society: International Conference on Engineering Design, 1(1), 1633-1642. https://doi.org/10.1017/dsi.2019.169
Littell, J. H. (2018). Conceptual and practical classification of research reviews and other evidence synthesis products. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 14(1), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.4073/cmdp.2018.1
Mancin, S., Sguanci, M., Andreoli, D., Soekeland, F., Anastasi, G., Piredda, M., & De Marinis, M. G. (2024). Systematic review of clinical practice guidelines and systematic reviews: A method for conducting comprehensive analysis. MethodsX, 12, Article 102532. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mex.2023.102532
Moore, R. L., Lee, S. S., Pate, A. T., & Wilson, A. J. (2025). Systematic review of digital microcredentials: Trends in assessment and delivery. Distance Education, 46(1), 8-35. https://doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2024.2441263
Newman, M., & Gough, D. (2020). Systematic reviews in educational research: Methodology, perspectives and application. In O. Zawacki, M. Kerres, S. Bedenlier, M. Bond, & K. Buntins (Eds.), Systematic reviews in educational research: Methodology, perspectives and application (pp. 3-22). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-27602-7_1
Paez, A. (2017). Gray literature: An important resource in systematic reviews. Journal of Evidence‐Based Medicine, 10(3), 233-240. https://doi.org/10.1111/jebm.12266
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., Chou, R., Glanville, J., Grimshaw, J. M., Hróbjartsson, A., Lalu, M. M., Li, T., Loder, E. W., Mayo-Wilson, E., McDonald, S., … Moher, D. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. The BMJ, 372, Article n71. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71
Page, M. J., Moher, D., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., Chou, R., Glanville, J., Grimshaw, J. M., Hróbjartsson, A., Lalu, M. M., Li, T., Loder, E. W., Mayo-Wilson, E., McDonald, S., … McKenzie, J. E. (2021). PRISMA 2020 explanation and elaboration: Updated guidance and exemplars for reporting systematic reviews. The BMJ, 372, Article n160. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n160
Patel, J. J., Hill, A., Lee, Z.-Y., Heyland, D. K., & Stoppe, C. (2022). Critical appraisal of systematic review: A Concise Review. Critical Care Medicine, 50(9), 1371-1379 https://doi.org/10.1097/ccm.0000000000005602
Pati, D., & Lorusso, L. N. (2017). How to write a systematic review of the literature. HERD: Health Environments Research and Design Journal, 11(1), 15-30. https://doi.org/10.1177/1937586717747384
Paul, J., Khatri, P., & Duggal, H. K. (2023). Frameworks for developing impactful systematic literature reviews and theory building: What, why and how? Journal of Decision Systems, 33(4), 537-550. https://doi.org/10.1080/12460125.2023.2197700
Pellegrini, M., & Vivanet, G. (2020). Evidence-based policies in education: Initiatives and challenges in Europe. ECNU Review of Education, 4(1), 25-45. https://doi.org/10.1177/2096531120924670
Petticrew, M., & Roberts, H. (2006). Systematic reviews in the social sciences: A practical guide. Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470754887
Polanin, J. R., Maynard, B. R., & Dell, N. A. (2017). Overviews in education research: A systematic review and analysis. Review of Educational Research, 87(1), 172-203. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654316631117.
Popay, J., Roberts, H., Sowden, A., Petticrew, M., Arai, L., Rodgers, M.,Britten, N., Roen, K., & Duffy, S. (2020). Guidance on the conduct of narrative synthesis in systematic reviews: A product from the ESRC methods programme. Lancaster University. https://doi.org/10.13140/2.1.1018.4643
PRISMA. (n.d.). PRISMA 2020 statement. https://www.prisma-statement.org/
Rethlefsen, M. L., Farrell, A. M., Osterhaus Trzasko, L. C., & Brigham, T. J. (2015). Librarian co-authors correlated with higher quality reported search strategies in general internal medicine systematic reviews. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 68(6), 617-626. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2014.11.025
Riegelman, A., & Kocher, M. (2018). A model for developing and implementing a systematic review service for disciplines outside of the health sciences. Reference and User Services Quarterly, 58(1), 22-27. https://doi.org/10.5860/rusq.58.1.6837
Sánchez-Martín, M., Gutiérrez-Sánchez, M., Olmedo-Moreno, E. M., & Navarro-Mateu, F. (2024). A systematic review to evaluate the risk of bias of meta-analyses reporting experimental educational interventions focused on academic performance. Cogent Education, 11(1), Article 2385785. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186x.2024.2385785
Seftor, N., Monahan, S., & McCutcheon, A. (2016). The what works clearinghouse: New strategies to support non-researchers in using rigorous research in education decision-making. ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED567053
Shal, T., El Kibbi, I., Ghamrawi, N., & Ghamrawi, N. (2018). Principals' differentiated learning through social media: Practices and obstacles. International Journal of Education and Applied Research, 8(1), 19-29.
Sterne, J. A. C., Sutton, A. J., Ioannidis, J. P. A., Terrin, N., Jones, D. R., Lau, J., Carpenter, J., Rucker, G., Harbord, R. M., Schmid, C. H., Tetzlaff, J., Deeks, J. J., Peters, J., Macaskill, P., Schwarzer, G., Duval, S., Altman, D. G., Moher, D., & Higgins, J. P. T. (2021). Recommendations for examining and interpreting funnel plot asymmetry in meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials. BMJ, 343, Article d4002. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d4002
Suri, H. (2019). Ethical considerations of conducting systematic reviews in educational research. In O. Zawacki, M. Kerres, S. Bedenlier, M. Bond, & K. Buntins (Eds.), Systematic reviews in educational research: Methodology, perspectives and application (pp. 41-54). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-27602-7_3
Taylor, R., Reeves, B., Ewings, P., Binns, S., Keast, J., & Mears, R. (2000). A systematic review of the effectiveness of critical appraisal skills training for clinicians. Medical Education, 34(2), 120-125. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2923.2000.00574.x
Tsertsvadze, A., Chen, Y.-F., Moher, D., Sutcliffe, P., & McCarthy, N. (2015). How to conduct systematic reviews more expeditiously? Systematic reviews, 4, Article 160. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-015-0147-7
University College London. (n.d.). Evidence for policy and practice information centre (EPPI-Centre). https://bit.ly/4iC665N
University of York, Centre for Reviews and Dissemination. (n.d.). PROSPERO homepage. https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/
Verhagen, A. P., & Ferreira, M. L. (2014). Forest plots. Journal of Physiotherapy, 60(3), 170-173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphys.2014.06.021
Yulyani, V., Iswanto, I., Daniel, D., Kusumaningrum, F. M., & Dewi, F. S. T. (2025). Successful open defecation-free intervention in low-and middle-income countries: a qualitative synthesis systematic review protocol. BMJ Open, 15(1), Article e091478. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2024-091478
Zawacki‐Richter, O., Cefa, B., & Bai, J. Y. H. (2025). Towards reproducible systematic reviews in Open, Distance, and Digital Education-An umbrella mapping review. Review of Education, 13(1), Article e70031.
https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.70031