## Evidence Synthesis/Systematic Reviews of Eyewitness Accuracy ## We will first conduct an overview of existing evidence syntheses on variables affecting the accuracy of eyewitness identifications and the relationship between eyewitness confidence and accuracy. A second step will be a comprehensive scoping review of studies which examine the effect of system and estimator variables on eyewitness accuracy, and a third step will be a series of rigorous systematic reviews of research on variables affecting the accuracy of eyewitness identifications, including the relationship between eyewitness confidence and accuracy. Many prior evidence syntheses in this area have lacked clear protocols for conducting and reporting the reviews, thus limiting their reproducibility. The [National Research Council Report][1] looked at 22 evidence synthesis studies and found that few met even a majority of the current standards for conduct and reporting. For example, many of these prior attempts to synthesize eyewitness studies lacked comprehensive search protocols, did not specify clear inclusion procedures, or used incorrect meta-analytic procedures. There are thousands of relevant studies of varying quality and a more comprehensive mapping of these studies will be the first step in this component of the project. The mapping of evidence will enable strategically formulated and rigorous systematic reviews that can better gauge the quality of included studies, where there are important gaps, and what the existing research can tell us. [1]: https://www.nap.edu/catalog/18891/identifying-the-culprit-assessing-eyewitness-identification