Stage 1
Gather a Team - secondary research is not effortless, and many have reported on the various steps that go into this time-consuming work. Who could join your team and help move the process along?
Formulate and Refine Your Research Question - pick a clear, well-defined research question. You may wish to consider frameworks such as PICO if they are applicable. Previously published secondary research may offer insights and future directions as well.
Research and Register Protocols - a protocol outlines your study's methodology. Protocols and other guidelines encourage transparency and reproducibility, yet different fields adhere to a variety of standards. For example, secondary research work in the health sciences tends to hew closely to resources from Cochrane, PRISMA, and/or Prospero. Some attempts have been made at reducing this complexity, but it's still important to ask: what requirements are applicable to your work? Have previous researchers in your area registered their protocols? This guide provides links to some related resources.
Consult with a Librarian and Create a Search Strategy - where will you look for a comprehensive set of items relevant to your research question? Keep in mind that Google Scholar will only show the first 1000 relevant results. What will be your inclusion and exclusion criteria? Will you consider works other than traditional published articles or monographs? Use the Consultation Request Form to talk about these questions and more with a librarian.
Stage 2
Search the Literature - search for relevant works in all databases and other repositories your group identified. You will almost certainly need to adjust your syntax for each search (ask a librarian for help). Export, download, and save all results.
Remove Duplicates - it's likely that your multiple, detailed searches resulted in thousands of saved results. Fortunately, a number of those will end up being duplicates. Use a citation manager (e.g. Zotero) to quickly remove the extras.
Screen Results - review the remaining saved results, using your inclusion/exclusion criteria to filter down to the most relevant works. Start with a title/abstract screening to process the bulk of your saved results, then full-text as needed. It's highly recommended that this work be done by at least two people, working separately. Many protocols will actually require that at least two people participate in screening.
Stage 3
Data Extraction and Analysis - extract and analyze data from those studies which were included. While systematic review software exists, many researchers choose to use spreadsheets for this step.
Risk of Bias and Quality Assessment - no study is perfect. Review potential biases in your selected studies before forming conclusions. For example, how might a flawed study design have impacted reported results? Various tools can help here, including JBI and Cochrane.
Form Conclusions - review findings and form conclusions. If your selected studies and research design allow for it, perform a meta-analysis.
Write and Publish - present your findings, making sure to adhere to protocols. Include a detailed description of your methodology (which search strategies did you use, what were your selection criteria, etc) - this increases the transparency of your work and helps others update it in the future. While many journals feature secondary research in their publications, some focus only on this type of work. Remember: ask a librarian if you are unsure where to submit a manuscript.