EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS TAXONOMY INITIATIVE

Evidence synthesis and meta-research are fields that are undergoing radical transformation and expansion due to the need for policy makers, practitioners and the community to have access to summarised and trustworthy evidence to guide decision making.

This explosion in types of evidence synthesis, methods, methodologies and approaches has presented confusion for researchers, policymakers, funders and others when choosing the appropriate evidence synthesis approach. This has led to scenarios where inappropriate evidence synthesis types have been used to inform a particular policy or knowledge needs, potentially resulting in misleading findings, which in turn may provide a weak or inadequate evidence base to inform decision-making.

We understand the importance of ensuring evidence has been developed by transparent methods to ensure that policy and practice recommendations are informed by the best available evidence. To address these challenges, we are developing a comprehensive, evidence-based, and community-driven living evidence synthesis taxonomy.

Our taxonomy will provide some much-needed clarity and structure to this burgeoning field. It will improve the ability of potential evidence synthesisers to navigate through the complexities of evidence synthesis. It will reduce redundant evidence synthesis efforts, saving scarce research resources, and ensuring evidence synthesis projects are conducted to a higher standard. With the right review, for the right reasons, with the right methods, we will ensure and facilitate the translation of evidence from these syntheses into policy and practice, and as a comprehensive resource, will be of benefit to many in the international community of knowledge generation and translation.