Report on the CILIP Government Information Group workshop: “Going beyond the traditional roles: the expert searcher’s role in rapid reviews”

 

Tingjoh, Evidence-based Medicine (EBM), CC BY-SA 4.0

Just before the summer, GIG held an online workshop led by Mala Mann of Cardiff University on rapid review methodology and the role of librarians in this. In this post, Laura Johnson reports on what she learned from the event. Laura is a Research Skills Officer at the University of Birmingham.

On 19 May 2026, the CILIP Government Information Group (GIG) hosted the webinar “Going beyond the traditional roles: the expert searcher’s role in rapid reviews”, which was expertly led by Mala Mann of Cardiff University’s Specialist Unit for Review Evidence (SURE).

For those who have not heard of SURE before, the Unit, which celebrated its 25th birthday last year, is a grant-funded team of systematic reviewers and information specialists based at Cardiff University. They conduct all forms of evidence synthesis and provide consultancy and training services. 

The session included an informative overview of evidence synthesis and the different kinds of reviews such as Cochrane reviews, scoping reviews and systematic reviews. It was useful to see how rapid reviews fit in the review “family” and what differentiates them from other types of reviews. We also heard about different approaches to rapid reviews. Despite all the differences, one thing that all review types have in common is the literature search – which is where we as librarians and information specialists come in!

Mala then moved on to explain the steps to conducting a rapid review, focussing on the librarian’s role in the process. She reminded us to begin by asking whether a review is required – look at the relevant databases to see what others have done previously! 

Mala emphasised the importance of defining and refining the research questions – illustrating the importance of a clear search strategy with a quote by John Ruskin: “To be able to ask a question clearly is two-thirds of the way to getting it answered.”

The webinar included some highly practical tips on key strategies for searching, such as prioritising two to four key databases (rather than a comprehensive search) or setting strict parameters (e.g. limit publication dates to the last five years). Mala also encouraged us to embrace AI tools and outlined how they can be utilised in rapid reviews, e.g. to generate PRISMA flow diagrams. She also talked about how to balance time-saving methodological approaches with accurate and focused searching.

Having explored the practical side of rapid reviews, Mala then presented several case studies of reviews undertaken by SURE for government bodies to identify evidence to inform public policy. I was impressed to see how the work of Mala and her colleagues has had a real-life impact, e.g. when her team supported the Welsh Government in the Wales COVID-19 Evidence Centre. They directly helped to shape national policy such as the LGBTQ+ Action Plan for Wales, which was informed by the evidence on COVID-19’s impact on LGBTQ+ communities. 

Other reviews that the Unit contributed to have influenced the Welsh Government’s policy and practice in areas such as health risks from tattooing and piercing, improved suicide prevention, supporting vulnerable young people, and palliative and end of life care.

I found this webinar very useful - it was helpful to learn more about rapid reviews and to gain some practical tips for librarians involved in the review team. It was also wonderful to see the real-life impact of the work of Mala and her colleagues. 

Thanks to Laura for summarising Mala’s talk. If you were unable to attend the workshop, a recording of it is available to view on YouTube.