title: A scoping review of scoping reviews: advancing the approach and enhancing the consistency.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The scoping review has become an increasingly popular approach for synthesizing research evidence. It is a relatively new approach for which a universal study definition or definitive procedure has not been established. The purpose of this scoping review was to provide an overview of scoping reviews in the literature.
  
  
  METHODS
  A scoping review was conducted using the Arksey and O'Malley framework. A search was conducted in four bibliographic databases and the gray literature to identify scoping review studies. Review selection and characterization were performed by two independent reviewers using pretested forms.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The search identified 344 scoping reviews published from 1999 to October 2012. The reviews varied in terms of purpose, methodology, and detail of reporting. Nearly three-quarter of reviews (74.1%) addressed a health topic. Study completion times varied from 2 weeks to 20 months, and 51% utilized a published methodological framework. Quality assessment of included studies was infrequently performed (22.38%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Scoping reviews are a relatively new but increasingly common approach for mapping broad topics. Because of variability in their conduct, there is a need for their methodological standardization to ensure the utility and strength of evidence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada.|Division of Public Health Risk Sciences, Laboratory for Foodborne Zoonoses, Public Health Agency of Canada, 160 Research Lane, Suite 206, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 5B2, Canada.
authors.forename: Mai T
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0213-4278
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Pham
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada.|Food Safety and Quality Unit, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrijana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rajić
authors.affiliation: Division of Public Health Risk Sciences, Laboratory for Foodborne Zoonoses, Public Health Agency of Canada, 160 Research Lane, Suite 206, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 5B2, Canada.
authors.forename: Judy D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Greig
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada.|Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada.
authors.forename: Jan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Sargeant
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Papadopoulos
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada.
authors.forename: Scott A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: McEwen
mesh_terms: D015706:Bibliometrics; D016206:Databases, Bibliographic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011643:Publishing / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011786:Quality Control; D058028:Research Report; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D014956:Writing; D000098584:Scoping Reviews as Topic
keywords: knowledge synthesis; literature review; methodology; scoping review