Inputs
- A bounded research question
- Databases and date range
- Inclusion and exclusion rules
- An evidence extraction schema
Control points
- Retain search queries
- Separate discovery from inclusion
- Record exclusions and inaccessible sources
- Do not collapse conflicting findings
Human approval gate
A domain-qualified reviewer approves the search boundary, inclusion decisions, extracted claims, and limitations before the map informs a decision.
The workflow
Every step includes a check that can stop the process before risk moves downstream.
- 01
Write the review boundary
Define population, intervention or topic, outcome, source classes, dates, and languages.
Gate: A reviewer can reproduce what belongs in scope. - 02
Search through declared paths
Run documented queries across the selected discovery tools and retain result identifiers.
Gate: The query, date, tool, and result count are recorded. - 03
Screen consistently
Apply the inclusion rules and preserve a reason for every exclusion after full review.
Gate: Ambiguous records are routed to a second person. - 04
Extract claims and limits
Capture study context, material findings, evidence location, limitations, and conflicts.
Gate: Every table row points back to the source. - 05
Approve the evidence map
A domain reviewer checks coverage, interpretation, uncertainty, and the decision summary.
Gate: The published map names its cutoff date and unresolved gaps.
Candidates to pilot
Inclusion means relevant product shape, not measured superiority.
Sources checked
Open the original pages before relying on a time-sensitive product decision.