Online PhD defence Lisa Affengruber

Keywords: Rapid review, Methods, Supportive software, Guidance

"Speeding Ahead: Exploration and Further Development of Rapid Review Methods"

This PhD thesis explored and further developed methods for conducting rapid reviews. Systematic reviews, which synthesize all available evidence on a research question through multiple rigorous and complex steps, are essential for healthcare decision-making but typically require substantial time to complete. To accelerate this process, rapid reviews often employ methodological shortcuts—such as searching fewer databases or having a single-reviewer screen studies—which can increase the risk of missing relevant evidence.

The thesis first mapped existing evaluated methods and supportive software designed to accelerate the review process and found that most approaches focus on literature searching and study screening, while many other review steps remain understudied. The findings showed that single-reviewer screening reduced workload but increased the risk of missing studies. Additionally, the results showed that abstracts with insufficient reporting of study information were more often falsely excluded. Finally, the thesis provides a guidance for the use of supportive software in rapid reviews. Overall, this work highlights both the potential and the limitations of faster review methods in healthcare research.

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