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Texas A&M’s Libraries Deliver Custom ‘Beyond AI’ Research Expertise

As a pillar of modern society, scholarly research addresses health, the environment, education and other topics related to society’s most pressing issues.

All researchers face common dilemmas: what exactly is the state of knowledge in a field? What are the knowledge gaps? And, how can previously-studied questions be avoided? 

A rigorous research methodology called systematic review helps answer questions. 

Texas A&M University Libraries provides expert support for this process—helping faculty and graduate students address complex research questions and complete critical steps in their scholarly work.

 “Systematic reviews are studies of studies,” said Margaret Foster ’98, evidence synthesis & scholarly dissemination librarian at Texas A&M. “Librarians want to make sure that a systematic review includes all previous studies related to the research topic. This can require pulling hundreds or thousands of articles.” 

These searches are often international, pulling in articles published in other languages.

“Not all of our clients have the wherewithal to translate an article,” Foster said. “There are other options, such as finding someone who’s researching in that area to help with those relevant articles from a particular language.” 

Foster, a nationally recognized systematic review expert, authored two of the field’s definitive books: “Piecing Together Systematic Reviews and Other Evidence Syntheses: A Guide for Librarians” and “Assembling the Pieces of a Systematic Review: A Guide for Librarians.”

The Libraries’ experts juggle over 20 projects at a time, assisting in searches for Texas A&M University researchers and various other groups, including the World Health Organization and the Food and Drug Administration.

There are two ways to access the Libraries’ systematic review process. 

The first is the evidence review service, available to all Texas A&M University faculty, students and staff. Service levels vary depending on university classification and librarian availability. 

For researchers unaffiliated with the university or whose needs are not met by the Libraries’ evidence review service, the Center for Systematic Review & Research Synthesis offers fee-based services, including training for librarians and research teams. 

Foster enjoys working with passionate researchers. 

“I want to empower other librarians to be able to do this because it is such a powerful thing to do,” Foster said. “We're not just helping the client, we're collaborators, we're part of their team.”