The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: A Scoping Review Protocol

Abstract

Scoping reviews offer a rigorous and systematic approach to examining the range and nature of literature in a particular field, identifying the existing literature and highlighting gaps where further exploration is required (Arksey & 0'Malley, 2005; Levac, Colquhoun, & O'Brien, 2010). In this article, we share our scoping review protocol—the explicit, step-by-step description of the plan for conducting the review, published separately and before completing the review. This genre of public documentation of our process is essential in scoping reviews to support careful planning and documentation, enable others to compare the protocol and completed review, support others in evaluating and/or replicating its methods, and encourage collaboration and development of follow-up research on the field (Shamseer et al, 2015).