The Research Office at Charles Sturt provides academic literacy support for Higher Degree by Research (HDR) students in the form of writing programs, professional development sessions, individual consultations and the Research Writing Resources Interact2 site.

How you write a review article depends on the audience, your discipline and the type of review you are writing.

• The Cochrane Handbook and the Joanna Briggs Institute Manual for Evidence Synthesis provide detailed, high-standard styles for systematic reviews, but you may not need to provide this level of detail.
• For other discipline-related guides, check back to the Guidelines and Standards page in this guide.
• The PRISMA checklist is a handy place to refer to at all stages of your review, and AMSTAR is a helpful methodological guide.
• Again, examples of systematic reviews from a similar field of research published in well-regarded journals can be a useful model.

• Check the guidelines and instructions to authors in the specific journals or organisations where you aim to submit your work. If you can’t find the information you are looking for, write to the journal or organisation for advice.

For suggestions on how to choose journals for publication (and ones to avoid), see the Library's Where to Publish guide.

Your systematic reviews may require updating if new research comes along which could impact the findings and recommendations of the review, or if a study included in your review is later retracted.

This article details the reasons and methods in a health setting: 

• Garner, P., Hopewell, S., Chandler, J., Maclehose, H., Schünemann, H., Akl, E., Beyene, J., et al. (2016). When and how to update systematic reviews: consensus and checklist. BMJ, 354. doi:10.1136/bmj.i3507