Enhancing rigor and practice of scoping reviews in social policy research: Considerations from a worked example on the Americans with Disabilities Act

Abstract

BACKGROUND: There is increasing theoretical consideration about the use of systematic and scoping reviews of evidence in informing disability and rehabilitation research and practice. Indicative of this trend, this journal published a piece by Rumrill, Fitzgerald and Merchant in 2010 explaining the utility and process for conducting reviews of intervention-based research. There is still need to consider how to apply such rigor when conducting more exploratory reviews of heterogeneous research. OBJECTIVES: This article explores the challenges, benefits, and procedures for conducting rigorous exploratory scoping reviews of diverse evidence. METHODS: The article expands upon Rumrill, Fitzgerald and Merchant's framework and considers its application to more heterogeneous evidence on the impact of social policy. RESULTS: A worked example of a scoping review of the Americans with Disabilities Act is provided with a procedural framework for conducting scoping reviews on the effects of a social policy. The need for more nuanced techniques for enhancing rigor became apparent during the review process. CONCLUSIONS: There are multiple methodological steps that can enhance the utility of exploratory scoping reviews. The potential of systematic consideration during the exploratory review process is shown as a viable method to enhance the rigor in reviewing diverse bodies of evidence.

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