Open Access Kent State (OAKS)

Systematic reviews (SR) are important in the health and social sciences, and could have value for theoretical and philosophical psychology (TPP). Three objectives are addressed in this paper:

1. To identify a SR framework for topics in TPP.
2. To assess current SR methods use in the TPP literature.
3. Scoping is a type of SR, and a third objective is to explore using scoping SR on this broad topic: how is the topic of “free will and agency” addressed in the TPP literature?

Corresponding to the three objectives, these methods were used:

1. Major systematic review guidelines and recent papers describing the use of SR methods for “argument-based” bioethics were consulted.
2. A random sample of 90 TPP papers was assessed in 2014. A new set of 10 pdf-accessible papers were also recently assessed. The assessment looked at this core component of SR: reports of literature searching.
3. As a case study, a first stage scoping literature search used a targeted a set of TPP journals.

Results:

1. A SR framework was identified in the “argument based” literature in bioethics that might serve for topics in TPP.
2. Examination of a targeted set of TPP literature shows minimal use of a core part of SR (literature search reporting).
3. An initial limited "map" of the "free will and agency" topic created.

Key conclusion: Systematic review methods should be explored for TPP.