What are common exclusion criteria for a systematic review?
Answer
Language is one of the most common exclusion criteria. For example, if your review team can only read English, you may decide to exclude articles written in non-English languages. Keep in mind that excluding based on language can create bias within your review by over-representing research from English-speaking countries.
In some cases, your review team might use the publication date or the study type as exclusion criteria. For example, you may decide to exclude non-randomized studies.
For more support on systematic reviews, advanced reviews, or evidence syntheses, please visit our Systematic Reviews and Evidence Syntheses Research Subject Guide.