Rapid Reviews
What is a 'Rapid Review'?
Study Skills help
A rapid review (RR) is an alternative to a systematic review (SR) when an analysis is needed quickly. RR timeframes are considerably shorter than SRs although the same methods and protocols are followed. To shorten the process, elements can be simplified or excluded depending on the topic or information required, which essentially means there is no single correct way to conduct a RR.
Welcome to Study Skills! Developing your study skills will help you to reach your potential.
Whether you're looking for online resources, want to ask a quick question or need more in-depth help - we've got you covered! Don't be shy...get in touch!
Six steps to conducting a RR:
- define a research question
- search for evidence
- critically appraise your sources
- synthesise your evidence
- identify application and/or transferability issues
- evaluate potential impact(s)
Stay critical! Reading and re-reading material is not an effective way to learn. You need to read actively! Challenge what you’ve been presented with - it’s better for your understanding of the topic and your ability to retain information.
How to do it
Engage with your sources
Step 1: define your research question
S: setting
What is the location or environment of the study?
P: perspective
Who is being studied?
I: intervention
What is the intervention you are evaluating?
C: comparison
What is the alternative strategy to compare to the intervention?
E: evaluation
What is the result or outcome of the intervention?
S: sample
What group of people are you studying?
PI: phenomenon of interest
What is the topic of your research?
D: design
How was the study conducted?
E: evaluation
What is the measurement of outcome of the study?
R: research type
Was it qualitative or mixed research?
P: patient/population/ problem What are the most important characteristics of the ‘P’?
I: intervention What is the main intervention?
C: comparison/control What is the main alternative to the intervention?
O: outcome What are you trying to accomplish improve, measure, effect?
Defining your research question is one of the most important factors in your review - so take the time to get it right! Your question needs to be clear, answerable and framed in a neutral way in order to allow you to identify all relevant research and avoid bias. A research question framework can help you structure and clearly define your research question and there are a number available, here are the three most common: PICO, SPIDER and SPICE.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
PICO
SPIDER
SPICE
Title
Title
Title
most suitable for clinical and interventionbased research questions.
useful for qualitative and/or mixed method research.
useful for qualitative research evaluating project, service or intervention outcomes.
Write a brief description here
Write a brief description here
Write a brief description here
Step 2: search for evidence
A full systematic review would require a comprehensive search for all available evidence – quantitative and qualitative, published and grey literature – however for RRs, this is often not feasible so you need an efficient process to identify relevant evidence. Determine the parameters of your literature search by thinking about the following questions:
You can download this Creating a Search Statement document from Australian National University here
Which resources will you search? What will be your inclusion/exclusion criteria? What will be your screening protocol? How will you appraise the quality of selected studies? Which tool will you use?
Step 3: critically appraise your sources
And...there are tools available to help you. Checklists are important to the critical appraisal process as they guide you systematically, step by step through the process and the CASP tool is one of the most effective. There are a number of checklists, covering the different research methods with each checklist split into 3 sections prompting you to ask:
'Critical appraisal is the process of assessing the quality of study methods in order to determine if findings are trustworthy and meaningful. Critical appraisal helps you answer the question: “Were the methods used good enough that I can be confident in the findings and apply these findings to [...] practice?”' (Dobbins, 2017, p.16) But how do you critically appraise your sources? The simple answer is to continually question them:
- did this study address a clearly focused question?
- did it use valid methods?
- are the results valid?
- is this study important?
- are the results applicable to my question?
Each of the sections includes questions prompts to highlight the important issues to consider - simply answer the questions! You can access the full list of CASP checklists here
Step 4: synthesise your evidence
Your synthesis is where you provide your overall summary of the evidence, the goal is to come to a conclusion about what is known about your research question based on the literature. This step involves extracting the relevant information from the documents, summarising their results and interpreting the conclusions. This is NOT a description of every source and its findings in turn, it's arranged in themes, (you can use your chosen question framework tool to help you out), for example:
Data Extraction table: This is an effective way to record the details from each of your sources to help you synthesise your findings. Record data such as: title, author(s), date of publication, type of publication, number/type of included studies, setting/population studied, interventions implemented, outcomes measured, results and, if relevant, whether results differed among subgroups.
- relevance, importance and/or rationale of the study
- your study design - how does it compare to the method most commonly used in previous studies of the topic?
- what are the most common elements you've identified?
- are there any significant aspects which are not well researched?
- have you identified any limitations and/or biases in your review?
- how will your findings benefit the population, increase knowledge or influence policy?
Drawing implications: Once you've extracted, categorised and considered your evidence, the next question to ask is based on the research, what should be done? By identifying the commonalities and differences across the studies and assessing their quality, it's possible to start making notes of recommendations which can be expanded upon in Step 6 of the RR process.
Stay critical! As you work through your review, continually assess the quality and relevance of your sources, the methods used and the conclusions reached. This will help to keep your work analytical.
Data extraction tables
A data extraction table can be a great tool to help you analyse and synthesise your sources. The key purpose of the table is to compare and contrast the different sources related to your research topic (basically, it’s a table or a chart with your sources in the rows and the key information from each in the columns!) Add as many columns and rows as you want – it’s your research!
Engage with your sources!
As you're reading, ask yourself things like:
- how does this compare with the other approaches you’ve read about?
- do your other sources agree? Why/why not?
- do you agree with the argument being put forward? Why/why not?
- what kind of research is the source based on?
- are there any alternative approaches?
- how does this help to answer the question?
More ideas here
Active learning just means engaging with the learning materials – rather than just sitting reading, you take the material you’ve been given and ‘play’ with it!
There are literally hundreds of ways and systems you can use to help you engage with your learning – everyone’s different so use whichever method works for you.
Rapid reviews have the following characteristics:
- a clear set of objectives
- pre-defined eligibility criteria for studies
- a precise, exact and replicable methodology
- a systematic search to identify all studies that meet the eligibility criteria
- an assessment of the validity of the findings of the included studies
- a systematic presentation and synthesis of the findings of the included studies
They can be used for:
- new and emerging topics
- updating previously completed reviews
- policy development, implementation or assessment
You'll find links to further information on almost every page - just look for prompts, movement or click the symbol in the top right corner.
To view in 'full screen', simply click the 3 dots in the bottom right corner and select the double-ended arrow.
DON'T * summarise and/or discuss sources one after the other ‘shopping list-style' * ignore any bias in current knowledge
It's not a shopping list!
DO * identify common themes * critique the research and the methods used * compare and contrast results and conclusions* identify limitations of the research
VS
This step helps to determine if your research can be used with your population.
Once you've completed your research, the final step is to briefly consider this question: based on the research, what recommendations can be made...and why?
- can the intervention work for us?
- will the intervention have stakeholder/target group support?
- does the intervention complement existing approaches?
- is the intervention ethical?
- are resources available?
- which barriers have been identified?
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
- no change of approach?
- modification of existing approach?
- termination of existing approach and complete new approach?
- are there any financial and/or resource implications to take into account?
Title
Step 6:
Title
Step 5:
Write a brief description here
evaluate potential impact(s)
Write a brief description here
identify application and/or transferability issues
References:
Dobbins, M. (2017) Rapid Review Guidebook: Steps for conducting a rapid review. Version 1.2. National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools. Available at: https://www.nccmt.ca/uploads/media/media/0001/01/ce4c0813b3639ccd87bb6e5ad716df144209109e.pdf (Accessed: 04/11/2025)
James Cook University Australia (2025) Rapid Reviews. Available at: https://libguides.jcu.edu.au/rapidreview (Accessed: 03/11/2025)
VCU Libraries (2023) Rapid Review Protocol. Available at: https://guides.library.vcu.edu/c.php?g=240398&p=1598530#s-lg-box-4893748 (Accessed: 12/11/2025)
Rapid Reviews
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Transcript
Rapid Reviews
What is a 'Rapid Review'?
Study Skills help
A rapid review (RR) is an alternative to a systematic review (SR) when an analysis is needed quickly. RR timeframes are considerably shorter than SRs although the same methods and protocols are followed. To shorten the process, elements can be simplified or excluded depending on the topic or information required, which essentially means there is no single correct way to conduct a RR.
Welcome to Study Skills! Developing your study skills will help you to reach your potential. Whether you're looking for online resources, want to ask a quick question or need more in-depth help - we've got you covered! Don't be shy...get in touch!
Six steps to conducting a RR:
Stay critical! Reading and re-reading material is not an effective way to learn. You need to read actively! Challenge what you’ve been presented with - it’s better for your understanding of the topic and your ability to retain information.
How to do it
Engage with your sources
Step 1: define your research question
S: setting What is the location or environment of the study? P: perspective Who is being studied? I: intervention What is the intervention you are evaluating? C: comparison What is the alternative strategy to compare to the intervention? E: evaluation What is the result or outcome of the intervention?
S: sample What group of people are you studying? PI: phenomenon of interest What is the topic of your research? D: design How was the study conducted? E: evaluation What is the measurement of outcome of the study? R: research type Was it qualitative or mixed research?
P: patient/population/ problem What are the most important characteristics of the ‘P’? I: intervention What is the main intervention? C: comparison/control What is the main alternative to the intervention? O: outcome What are you trying to accomplish improve, measure, effect?
Defining your research question is one of the most important factors in your review - so take the time to get it right! Your question needs to be clear, answerable and framed in a neutral way in order to allow you to identify all relevant research and avoid bias. A research question framework can help you structure and clearly define your research question and there are a number available, here are the three most common: PICO, SPIDER and SPICE.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
PICO
SPIDER
SPICE
Title
Title
Title
most suitable for clinical and interventionbased research questions.
useful for qualitative and/or mixed method research.
useful for qualitative research evaluating project, service or intervention outcomes.
Write a brief description here
Write a brief description here
Write a brief description here
Step 2: search for evidence
A full systematic review would require a comprehensive search for all available evidence – quantitative and qualitative, published and grey literature – however for RRs, this is often not feasible so you need an efficient process to identify relevant evidence. Determine the parameters of your literature search by thinking about the following questions:
You can download this Creating a Search Statement document from Australian National University here
Which resources will you search? What will be your inclusion/exclusion criteria? What will be your screening protocol? How will you appraise the quality of selected studies? Which tool will you use?
Step 3: critically appraise your sources
And...there are tools available to help you. Checklists are important to the critical appraisal process as they guide you systematically, step by step through the process and the CASP tool is one of the most effective. There are a number of checklists, covering the different research methods with each checklist split into 3 sections prompting you to ask:
'Critical appraisal is the process of assessing the quality of study methods in order to determine if findings are trustworthy and meaningful. Critical appraisal helps you answer the question: “Were the methods used good enough that I can be confident in the findings and apply these findings to [...] practice?”' (Dobbins, 2017, p.16) But how do you critically appraise your sources? The simple answer is to continually question them:
Each of the sections includes questions prompts to highlight the important issues to consider - simply answer the questions! You can access the full list of CASP checklists here
Step 4: synthesise your evidence
Your synthesis is where you provide your overall summary of the evidence, the goal is to come to a conclusion about what is known about your research question based on the literature. This step involves extracting the relevant information from the documents, summarising their results and interpreting the conclusions. This is NOT a description of every source and its findings in turn, it's arranged in themes, (you can use your chosen question framework tool to help you out), for example:
Data Extraction table: This is an effective way to record the details from each of your sources to help you synthesise your findings. Record data such as: title, author(s), date of publication, type of publication, number/type of included studies, setting/population studied, interventions implemented, outcomes measured, results and, if relevant, whether results differed among subgroups.
Drawing implications: Once you've extracted, categorised and considered your evidence, the next question to ask is based on the research, what should be done? By identifying the commonalities and differences across the studies and assessing their quality, it's possible to start making notes of recommendations which can be expanded upon in Step 6 of the RR process.
Stay critical! As you work through your review, continually assess the quality and relevance of your sources, the methods used and the conclusions reached. This will help to keep your work analytical.
Data extraction tables
A data extraction table can be a great tool to help you analyse and synthesise your sources. The key purpose of the table is to compare and contrast the different sources related to your research topic (basically, it’s a table or a chart with your sources in the rows and the key information from each in the columns!) Add as many columns and rows as you want – it’s your research!
Engage with your sources!
As you're reading, ask yourself things like:
More ideas here
Active learning just means engaging with the learning materials – rather than just sitting reading, you take the material you’ve been given and ‘play’ with it! There are literally hundreds of ways and systems you can use to help you engage with your learning – everyone’s different so use whichever method works for you.
Rapid reviews have the following characteristics:
They can be used for:
You'll find links to further information on almost every page - just look for prompts, movement or click the symbol in the top right corner. To view in 'full screen', simply click the 3 dots in the bottom right corner and select the double-ended arrow.
DON'T * summarise and/or discuss sources one after the other ‘shopping list-style' * ignore any bias in current knowledge
It's not a shopping list!
DO * identify common themes * critique the research and the methods used * compare and contrast results and conclusions* identify limitations of the research
VS
This step helps to determine if your research can be used with your population.
Once you've completed your research, the final step is to briefly consider this question: based on the research, what recommendations can be made...and why?
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Title
Step 6:
Title
Step 5:
Write a brief description here
evaluate potential impact(s)
Write a brief description here
identify application and/or transferability issues
References:
Dobbins, M. (2017) Rapid Review Guidebook: Steps for conducting a rapid review. Version 1.2. National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools. Available at: https://www.nccmt.ca/uploads/media/media/0001/01/ce4c0813b3639ccd87bb6e5ad716df144209109e.pdf (Accessed: 04/11/2025)
James Cook University Australia (2025) Rapid Reviews. Available at: https://libguides.jcu.edu.au/rapidreview (Accessed: 03/11/2025)
VCU Libraries (2023) Rapid Review Protocol. Available at: https://guides.library.vcu.edu/c.php?g=240398&p=1598530#s-lg-box-4893748 (Accessed: 12/11/2025)