computer science

Tertiary review

Tertiary review is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Tertiary review rather than just read about it. In short: In software engineering, a tertiary review is a systematic review of systematic reviews. It is also referred to as a tertiary study in the software engineering literature.

Key takeaways

Tertiary review belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Tertiary review to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Tertiary review from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

In software engineering, a tertiary review is a systematic review of systematic reviews. It is also referred to as a tertiary study in the software engineering literature. However, Umbrella review is the term more commonly used in medicine. Kitchenham et al. suggest that methodologically there is no difference between a systematic review and a tertiary review. However, as the software engineering community has started performing tertiary reviews new concerns unique to tertiary reviews have surfaced. These include the challenge of quality assessment of systematic reviews, search validation and the additional risk of double counting.

Examples of Tertiary reviews in software engineering literature Test quality Machine Learning Test-driven development

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Tertiary review

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Tertiary review claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Tertiary review before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Tertiary review ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Tertiary review

In research: Tertiary review appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Tertiary review in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Tertiary review is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Meta-analysis, Software engineering, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Tertiary review outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Tertiary review in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Tertiary review means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Tertiary review out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tertiary review in simple terms?

In software engineering, a tertiary review is a systematic review of systematic reviews. It is also referred to as a tertiary study in the software engineering literature.

Why does Tertiary review matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Tertiary review?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Tertiary review.