Hi Anita,
Unsure if this is helpful, but I'm sharing my experience.
Our school has a faculty member from Canada who introduced the library team to similar methodologies, such as realist and umbrella reviews. Although I have not completed a SoAR, when tasked with these sorts of "newer" paper types, I will go into PubMed and do a quick search to find such studies and read the methodology. Hopefully, they used a librarian on the paper, and I'm golden. I did a quick search in Equator Network and did not see this paper type.
But I might have missed it. You can write to EN; they'll point you in the right direction if there are reporting guidelines. I have also learned that some of these paper types originated in the social sciences, and you might take a quick look at those databases. For example, phenomenology studies are entering the medical literature.
I suggest that the doctoral student have an advisor (at the school or outside) who has at least completed a true SR, preferably SoAR. I have seen students take these sorts of things on, with faculty who may need more training on completing an SR, and the paper turns into an unpublishable hot mess. (I am usually the person on the library team to attempt a paper rehabilitation). Faculty are excellent in writing hypothesis-driven research, but reviews are entirely different. Also, ask if the student has factored in the time it takes to write a SoAR. They are most likely dedicated to 9-12 months of research, reading, and writing, or approximately 1,000 hours. This is not to discourage a student from this type of research, just to be realistic about what is possible in the amount of time to graduation. (I have many unfinished SRs and Metas; it's sad. After students match, they abandon and move on).
Through a literature search on SoAR combined with a similar topic that the student plans to write, I suggest contacting authors who have published for consultation. I follow a few librarian authors who publish well-written SRs that I consult when I need clarification on my own projects.
My library colleagues will write the complex search strings for all the bibliographic databases identified, and in return, we ask for authorship or acknowledgment. For the doctoral student, if you write the search strings or peer-review the search strings they wrote, you should get credit on the published paper.
I hope you find this helpful. If you write a SoAR, I hope you'll share your adventures with us.
Best of luck!
Liz
Liz Lorbeer, EdM, MLS, AHIP-D
Chair and Professor | Library Director
Medical Library
Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine
1000 Oakland Drive, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49008 USA
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