An evidence map is a tool used in systematic reviews to identify gaps in knowledge and future research needs within a broad field and presents this information in a user-friendly, graphical format. It visualizes the distribution of existing evidence on a topic, delineating the areas where evidence is abundant and lacking.
There are several tools available to create evidence maps. These include
- EviAtlas is designed for visualizing datasets generated from systematic maps, allowing for the geographical representation of data. Developed during the first Evidence Synthesis Hackathon, this tool was a collaborative effort by researchers from the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Australian National University. Links: Github repo, Paper
- EPPI-Mapper is a visualization tool for creating ‘maps’ of research evidence, initially developed to assist the Campbell Collaboration’s evidence gap maps. It works by importing a JSON file from the EPPI-Reviewer, allowing users to select references and coding to map, and then generating an interactive HTML map.
- Open Knowledge Maps is an AI-based visual interface aiming to revolutionize the discovery of scientific knowledge by visually mapping it. Links: Github repo.