Policymakers and researchers all value systematized research evidence. Particularly relevant research synthesis products are systematic reviews that present a well-established way of mapping all relevant evidence, assessing its quality and synthesizing it. Systematic reviews have a long history in medicine, from where they have diffused into many arts and science disciplines – including, recently, international development. In this evaluation study we provide a mapping of the use of systematic reviews across the arts and sciences. Based on the mapping exercise, we assess the extent to which the practice of systematic reviewing in the context of development interventions corresponds to practices in other related fields of research.