Evidence-based practice (EBP) promises to have a profound impact on social work practice, education, and scholarship, but adopting EBP depends on the availability and accessibility of evidence and on strategies to synthesize this information. Systematic reviews provide a comprehensive, unbiased method for retrieving and synthesizing relevant research. This pocket guide is a concise introduction that describes the steps required to complete a systematic review and the criteria that can be used to assess the quality of existing reviews.

The authors provide straightforward information on how...