Según el artículo Scoping reviews: características, frameworks principales y uso en trabajos académicos, una revisión sistemática exploratoria (scoping review) es:
Una scoping review o una revisión sistemática exploratoria es una clase de síntesis del conocimiento cuyo objetivo principal es el análisis y la síntesis de la literatura académica producida en un área de la ciencia.
Se suele citar el trabajo Scoping studies: towards a methodological framework como el primer trabajo científico en el que se define una scoping review y se analiza su importancia. El resumen de este artículo dice:
This paper focuses on scoping studies, an approach to reviewing the literature which to date has received little attention in the research methods literature. We distinguish between different types of scoping studies and indicate where these stand in relation to full systematic reviews. We outline a framework for conducting a scoping study based on our recent experiences of reviewing the literature on services for carers for people with mental health problems. Where appropriate, our approach to scoping the field is contrasted with the procedures followed in systematic reviews. We emphasize how including a consultation exercise in this sort of study may enhance the results, making them more useful to policy makers, practitioners and service users. Finally, we consider the advantages and limitations of the approach and suggest that a wider debate is called for about the role of the scoping study in relation to other types of literature reviews.
En este artículo, se proponen las siguientes etapas:
- identifying the research question
- identifying relevant studies
- study selection
- charting the data
- collating, summarizing and reporting the results
Según el artículo Scoping reviews: características, frameworks principales y uso en trabajos académicos, los objetivos de una revisión exploratoria son:
- Identificar la extensión, el rango y las características de una actividad investigadora, esto es, en un área de conocimiento más o menos amplia.
- Evaluar la calidad y/o las características de los métodos de investigación usados en un ámbito científico.
- Identificar huecos y oportunidades de investigación.
- Clarificar conceptos y definiciones clave de un ámbito de actividad de la ciencia.
- Resumir los principales resultados de investigaciones de un área de conocimiento.
- Apoyar la toma de decisiones a través de la síntesis del conocimiento en un ámbito determinado.
Los principales protocolos que se aplican son:
- Framework SALSA y PSALSAR
- La propuesta de Arksey y O’Malley sobre scoping studies
- Framework PRISMA ScR
- Joanna Briggs Institute
En A systematic exploration of scoping and mapping literature reviews se explica:
Scoping and mapping reviews are variations of systematic literature mapping [2].
Both mapping and scoping reviews can help researchers to understand the scope and breadth of the literature in a given field, identify gaps in the research,
and provide a comprehensive overview of the available evidence.
Systematic literature mapping purposely focuses on a narrower but more general academic
or policy issue and does not try to synthesize the results of research to address a particular subject.
The scoping review is exploratory in nature, whereas the mapping review can be conclusive in describing the available evidence and identifying gaps.
Mapping review includes a thorough, systematic search of a wide field.
It identifies the body of literature that is currently available on a subject and points out any glaring gaps in the evidence [3].
Ejemplos de revisión sistemática exploratoria (en inglés)
Blockchain for Businesses: A Scoping Review of Suitability Evaluations Frameworks
Cita: T. A. Almeshal and A. A. Alhogail, "Blockchain for Businesses: A Scoping Review of Suitability Evaluations Frameworks," in IEEE Access, vol. 9, pp. 155425-155442, 2021, doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3128608.
Personalization in Real-Time Physical Activity Coaching Using Mobile Applications: A Scoping Review
Cita: F. Monteiro-Guerra, O. Rivera-Romero, L. Fernandez-Luque and B. Caulfield, "Personalization in Real-Time Physical Activity Coaching Using Mobile Applications: A Scoping Review," in IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics, vol. 24, no. 6, pp. 1738-1751, June 2020, doi: 10.1109/JBHI.2019.2947243.