Ideally, a systematic review team comprises expertise from different fields. At a bare minimum, a team should include two researchers to enable independent abstract and full text screening as well as data extraction and risk of bias assessment to be in accordance with formal guidelines (see steps 5, 6, and 7). However, under ideal circumstances, the team should involve additional expertise:
- Librarians/information specialists: they can help you to refine your search strategy and usually know a great deal about the plethora of biomedical databases which should be searched for the systematic review. They can also support you in identifying additional sources of evidence such as grey literature (i.e., information produced outside of traditional publishing and distribution channels such as theses, clinical trial registries, or conference abstracts). At the University of Zurich, a team of information specialists can help you to conduct your comprehensive literature search for a small fee.
- Systematic review methodologists: They can help you to plan and organize your review as well as guide you through individual steps of the systematic review process. The CAMARADES Team in Zurich is here to help.
- Statistician: If you plan to conduct a meta-analysis, i.e., a statistical method pooling different study measures to create a single estimate of outcomes, a statistician can provide advice on which parameters should be extracted and how these can be pooled together. The Office for Animal Welfare and 3R does provide statistical consulting for animal researchers.
- Topic experts: Topic experts have a thorough understanding about the field in which the systematic review is conducted, e.g., multiple sclerosis animal models, electrophysiology, or in vivo microscopy.
- Project manager: They take the lead in overseeing the project, organizing proper storage of files, and version control.
It is important to get additional expertise on board as early as possible in the process.