Campbell Mhairi, Egan Matt, Lorenc Theo, Bond Lyndal, Popham Frank, Fenton Candida, Benzeval Michaela
MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
Syst Rev. 2014 Oct 13;3:114. doi: 10.1186/2046-4053-3-114.
Review of theory is an area of growing methodological advancement. Theoretical reviews are particularly useful where the literature is complex, multi-discipline, or contested. It has been suggested that adopting methods from systematic reviews may help address these challenges. However, the methodological approaches to reviews of theory, including the degree to which systematic review methods can be incorporated, have received little discussion in the literature. We recently employed systematic review methods in a review of theories about the causal relationship between income and health.
This article discusses some of the methodological issues we considered in developing the review and offers lessons learnt from our experiences. It examines the stages of a systematic review in relation to how they could be adapted for a review of theory. The issues arising and the approaches taken in the review of theories in income and health are considered, drawing on the approaches of other reviews of theory.
Different approaches to searching were required, including electronic and manual searches, and electronic citation tracking to follow the development of theories. Determining inclusion criteria was an iterative process to ensure that inclusion criteria were specific enough to make the review practical and focused, but not so narrow that key literature was excluded. Involving subject specialists was valuable in the literature searches to ensure principal papers were identified and during the inductive approaches used in synthesis of theories to provide detailed understanding of how theories related to another. Reviews of theory are likely to involve iterations and inductive processes throughout, and some of the concepts and techniques that have been developed for qualitative evidence synthesis can be usefully translated to theoretical reviews of this kind.
It may be useful at the outset of a review of theory to consider whether the key aim of the review is to scope out theories relating to a particular issue; to conduct in-depth analysis of key theoretical works with the aim of developing new, overarching theories and interpretations; or to combine both these processes in the review. This can help decide the most appropriate methodological approach to take at particular stages of the review.
理论综述是一个方法不断进步的领域。在文献复杂、跨学科或存在争议的情况下，理论综述特别有用。有人提出，采用系统综述的方法可能有助于应对这些挑战。然而，理论综述的方法，包括系统综述方法可纳入的程度，在文献中很少受到讨论。我们最近在一项关于收入与健康因果关系理论的综述中采用了系统综述方法。
本文讨论了我们在开展该综述时考虑的一些方法学问题，并分享了从经验中获得的教训。它审视了系统综述的各个阶段，以及如何将其适用于理论综述。借鉴其他理论综述的方法，考虑了收入与健康理论综述中出现的问题及采取的方法。
需要采用不同的检索方法，包括电子检索和手工检索，以及电子引文跟踪以追踪理论的发展。确定纳入标准是一个反复的过程，以确保纳入标准足够具体，使综述具有可行性和针对性，但又不至于过于狭窄而排除关键文献。在文献检索中让主题专家参与很有价值，以确保识别出主要论文，并在理论综合过程中采用归纳法时，有助于深入理解各理论之间的关系。理论综述可能自始至终都涉及反复和归纳过程，一些为定性证据综合而开发的概念和技术可以有效地应用于这类理论综述。
在理论综述开始时，考虑综述的主要目的是梳理与特定问题相关的理论；对关键理论著作进行深入分析以形成新的总体理论和解释；还是在综述中结合这两个过程，这可能会有所帮助。这有助于决定在综述的特定阶段采取最合适的方法。
