Late last year we delivered a series of lectures on how to conduct and publish a systematic review to pre- and post-doctoral fellows at the MSKCC Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences.
This opportunity would normally never have taken place, but it did, and it happened because someone asked us about the possibility of developing a workshop to support their interest on this topic.
Antonio DeRosa, Marisol Hernandez, Sarah Jewell, Isabel Sulimanoff, and Donna Gibson worked to develop four workshops that were given each Friday in October 2012. The sessions built on one another and included:
- Overview: History, Structure, and Characteristics of a Systematic Review
- Formulating the Question and Developing the Search Strategy
- Conducting the Research
- Investigator’s Analysis and Assessment of Literature
Attendees’ feedback from our sessions exceeded expectations and comments during and after the course were overwhelmingly positive. More importantly, the sessions were timely and provided key learning opportunities for both pre- and post-doctoral fellows. Quotes shared with the Library staff which made us realize the value these workshops delivered:
“I have never seen librarians give a presentation of that caliber at any other institution. They are an unparalleled team”
“I learned a great deal about the library resources and other resources available to conduct systematic reviews and general literature reviews.”
“This course is an excellent educational opportunity, not only for fellows conducting SRs, but for RSAs and other research staff.”
What marked a successful outcome is that these sessions provided the impetus for a number of attendees to form small teams with the explicit intent to conduct their own systematic review. The partnerships developed also included the reference librarians as part of the systematic review team, allowing them to further contribute their searching expertise and knowledge.
If you are thinking about a workshop that you know the Library can help facilitate — call us and we will work together to deliver a unique session based on your information needs. You never know what’s possible until you ask!
If you are interested in learning more about systematic reviews, please visit our Systematic Review LibGuide. Better yet, we would be happy to schedule a Systematic Review workshop, all you have to do is Ask Us!