Topic: Scoping Reviews

Abstract

This presentation provides a practical overview of the later stages of conducting a scoping review following PRISMA guidelines, focusing on final screening, data extraction, synthesis, and manuscript development. Building on earlier steps such as literature search and initial screening, the workflow advances to full-text evaluation, where studies are rigorously assessed against predefined Population, Concept, and Context (PCC) criteria and explicit exclusion rules. The presentation highlights the importance of eliminating ambiguity by resolving “maybe” cases through stricter rule interpretation and ensuring proper alignment between study populations and data sources. Data extraction is conducted using standardized templates to capture consistent information across studies and often occurs concurrently with final screening to improve efficiency and decision-making. The synthesis phase is characterized as an analytical process aimed at identifying patterns, trends, inconsistencies, and research gaps rather than merely summarizing findings. Preliminary insights include heterogeneity in study design, lack of standardized benchmarks, and temporal clustering of research outputs. The presentation concludes by detailing how prior methodological steps directly inform manuscript writing, including the development of PRISMA flow diagrams and structured reporting of methods and results, while reflecting on the substantial effort and learning involved in completing a scoping review.