Table 2 Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Population

• Medical students

• Medical curriculum developers

• Postgraduate and/or non-medical students

Intervention

• Curriculum initiatives that describe elements of original or advanced research as per WFME 2015 definition

• Curriculum initiatives that involve data collection by medical students

• Curriculum initiatives that pertain to WFME Basic Standards

• Non-MB curriculum initiatives

• Student Led Initiatives

Outcomes

• Academic performance

• Demonstration of objective active research skills acquisition by the medical students

• Feasibility issue discussion

• Inspired students to do further research

• Objective improvement in students research skills

• Output of active research

• Report curriculum developers’ motivations for active research curriculum initiatives

• Report student motivations for doing research

• Self-reported active research skills acquisition by the medical students

• Sufficient description of the active research initiatives

• Insufficient description of the active research initiatives (i.e., not enough description of the research initiative for it to be reproduced by another medical school)

Study type

• Studies in the published literature in English / French / Spanish

• Studies in other languages apart from English / French / Spanish

• Letters / Opinion papers