Using data visualisation to present results of scoping reviews
Posted on 22 August 2023
With their focus on mapping evidence, scoping reviews are well-suited to visual presentation of results and authors may want to consider using innovative data visualisation methods. This project involved taking a sample of recently published scoping reviews and evidence maps and exploring how data visualisation was used.
The research revealed that only a minority of scoping reviews use data visualisation at all. Where it is used, data visualisations are often simple, such as bar charts or pie charts. However, across the whole sample, 35 different types of data visualisation were used. There were only two examples of data visualisation that was interactive.
The findings of this study suggest that data visualisation is underused in scoping reviews but that there are a wide range of methods that could be drawn upon to present results. Interactive data visualisations were produced as part of this project to demonstrate how free online tools can be used to easily produce engaging visualisations.
South E, Rodgers M. Data visualisation in scoping reviews and evidence maps on health topics: a cross-sectional analysis. Syst Rev 2023;12:142