What is evidence synthesis?
Cochrane defines evidence synthesis as “a way of combining information from multiple studies that have investigated the same thing, to come to an overall understanding of what they found.” The goal is to find and synthesize all scholarly research on a given topic, including published and unpublished studies. Evidence syntheses are conducted with strict methodologies and must be reproducible, transparent, and unbiased. The findings from evidence syntheses can help determine the effectiveness of interventions, illustrate the scope of current research on a particular topic, or provide guidelines for the management of certain diseases or issues. Systematic reviews, scoping reviews, and practice guidelines are all examples of evidence synthesis.