Jul 29, 2025
Serious and Organised Crime Nexuses (SOC-NEX): A Scoping Review and Synthesis
- Dr Luca Giommoni1,
- Hannah Trotman2,
- Marina Aristodemou3
- 1Cardiff University, School of Social Sciences;
- 2Cardiff University, School of Healthcare Sciences;
- 3Cardiff University, School of Law
Protocol Citation: Dr Luca Giommoni, Hannah Trotman, Marina Aristodemou 2025. Serious and Organised Crime Nexuses (SOC-NEX): A Scoping Review and Synthesis. protocols.io https://dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.q26g7n891lwz/v1
License: This is an open access protocol distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Protocol status: Working
We use this protocol and it's working
Created: July 25, 2025
Last Modified: July 29, 2025
Protocol Integer ID: 223279
Keywords: Organised crime, Conflict, Serious and organised crime, State threats, Terrorism, organised crime nexus, crime nexus, organised crime, organised crime type, national security context, including terrorism, terrorism, strategic policymaking in national security context, state threat, empirical evidence on the nexus, other major threat, armed conflict, nature of the nexus
Funders Acknowledgements:
Security, Crime and Intelligence Innovation Institute (SCIII) through the Seedcorn Funding opportunity for 2024/2025
Abstract
Introduction
This scoping review examines empirical evidence on the connections ("nexuses") between serious and organised crime and other major threats—specifically terrorism, state threats, and armed conflict. Despite growing policy relevance, this topic remains underexplored, with existing research fragmented across disciplines and lacking conceptual coherence. The objective is to systematically map the extent, nature, and mechanisms of organised crime nexuses, identify knowledge gaps, and assess the methodological quality of the literature.
Methods and Analysis
The review will follow the PRISMA-ScR framework. Searches will be conducted across databases such as Scopus, Westlaw, and ProQuest, covering the period 1980–2025. Inclusion criteria are based on the Population, Concept, and Context (PCC) framework. Two independent reviewers will pilot the screening process and extract data, with discrepancies resolved by consensus. Key data extraction variables include, but are not limited to, organised crime type, methodological design, and nature of the nexus. Data will be synthesised narratively and visually to highlight patterns, gaps, and policy implications.
Ethics and Dissemination
Ethical approval is not required, as only publicly available data will be used. Findings will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed publication.
Conclusion
This scoping review will systematically map and synthesise the empirical evidence on the nexuses between serious and organised crime and other threat domains, including terrorism, state threats, and conflict. By clarifying the scale, nature, and dynamics of these connections, the review aims to inform both academic understanding and strategic policymaking in national security contexts.
Guidelines
Eligibility Criteria
This review will include empirical academic, policy, and grey literature examining developments and nexuses in serious and organised crime.
To be eligible, studies must:
- Present or analyse empirical data (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods).
- Focus on serious and organised crime and its intersection with one or more of the following: terrorism, state threats, or conflict.
- Be published from 1980 onwards to capture both historical and contemporary developments in the field.
- Be available in English, Spanish, or Italian.
There are no geographic restrictions, and eligible sources may include peer-reviewed publications, government or institutional reports, and grey literature that meets basic standards of research transparency and rigour (e.g., documented methods, data sources).
Exclusion Criteria:
- Studies that do not include empirical evidence such as theoretical frameworks, expert opinion, and commentaries.
- Studies in languages other than English, Italian, or Spanish.
- Publications that focus solely on organised crime without examining its interaction with terrorism, state threats or conflict.
Rationale:
These criteria ensure the inclusion of studies that generate new evidence and knowledge and do not just perpetrate personal conviction or opinion about how the connection between organised and other threats look like. Time, feasibility, and linguistic choices are managed to strike a balance between generating new insights and ensuring the project remains practical and achievable.
Handling Ambiguity:
Two independent reviewers will assess eligibility. Unclear cases (e.g., ambiguous use of empirical data) will be discussed and resolved by consensus or referred to a third reviewer.
Search Strategy
The search strategy will be tailored to each database’s functionality and indexing structures. The third and final stage of the search strategy concerns searching the reference lists of all included full-text articles. For the screening of references, a two-step process will be used: initial screening based on titles and abstracts, and full-text screening for potential inclusion.
Search Strings
- Organised crime: ("criminal organi*ation" OR "criminal association" OR "organi*ed crime" OR mafia OR "crim* network*" OR "drug trafficking organ*" OR "motorcycle gang*" OR "bikie gang*" OR "crim* group*" OR "crim* cartel" OR "transnational crime" OR "serious and organi*ed crime" OR "criminal enterprise*")
- Terrorism: (terrorism OR terrorist OR "terrorist act*" OR "Terrorist group" OR "ideologically motivated violence" OR "violent extremism" OR "violent extremist" OR "Political violence")
- Conflict: ("insurgency" OR "insurgent" OR "armed conflict" OR "militant" OR "paramilitary group" OR conflict OR war OR "armed violence" OR "warfare" OR "armed group" OR "non-state armed group*")
- State threats: ("state actor*" OR "state threat*" OR "espionage" OR "foreign interference" OR "hostile state activity" OR "state-sponsored" OR "covert action" OR "covert operation" OR "hybrid threat" OR "hybrid warfare" OR "political warfare" OR "proxy warfare")
Combined search string for nexuses:
("criminal organi*ation" OR "criminal association" OR "organi*ed crime" OR mafia OR "crim* network*" OR "drug trafficking organ*" OR "motorcycle gang*" OR "bikie gang*" OR "crim* group*" OR "crim* cartel" OR "transnational crime" OR "organi*ed crime" OR "serious and organi*ed crime" OR "criminal enterprise*")
AND (terrorism OR terrorist OR "terrorist act*" OR "Terrorist group" OR "ideologically motivated violence" OR "violent extremism" OR "violent extremist" OR "Political violence" OR "insurgency" OR "insurgent" OR "armed conflict" OR "militant" OR "paramilitary group" OR conflict OR war OR "armed violence" OR "warfare" OR "armed group" OR "non-state armed group*" OR "state actor*" OR "state threat*" OR "espionage" OR "foreign interference" OR "hostile state activity" OR "state-sponsored" OR "covert action" OR "covert operation" OR "hybrid threat" OR "hybrid warfare" OR "political warfare" OR "proxy warfare")
Study Selection/Screening
Eligibility criteria will guide at all stages of screening. After conducting the search, all retrieved citations will be imported into Zotero for citation management, and duplicates will be removed. Following deduplication in Zotero, all citations will be imported into Rayyan to facilitate the title and abstract screening process. A pilot screening of 100 documents will be conducted by two independent reviewers to ensure consistency in applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria. All remaining titles and abstracts will then be screened independently by the same two reviewers within Rayyan. Discrepancies will be flagged using the platform’s in-built blinding and conflict resolution features.
Full-text Screening
Full-text articles of all studies identified as potentially relevant will be retrieved and uploaded into Rayyan. A pilot screening of roughly 100 articles will be conducted by two independent reviewers to ensure shared understanding of the inclusion and exclusion criteria at the full-text stage. All remaining full texts will be screened independently by the same two reviewers. Any disagreements will be resolved through discussion; if consensus cannot be reached, a third reviewer will be consulted. Where information within a study is unclear or incomplete, reviewers will assess its relevance conservatively, with justification for inclusion or exclusion recorded accordingly. Reasons for exclusion at the full-text stage will be documented and reported in the final review. The entire process will be supported by Rayyan’s review management features to ensure consistency and transparency. The results of the search and the study inclusion process will be reported in full in the final scoping review and presented in a PRISMA flow diagram.
Data Charting/Collection/Extraction
A modified data extraction form will be developed and piloted by the review team based on the JBI Data Extraction Tool. The form will be adapted to reflect the specific aims of this review and will include:
- Bibliographic information
- Authors
- Year of publication
- Source
- Language
- Study characteristics
- Study aims
- Study design
- Methodology
- Geographic focus
- Data source
- Time period
- Threat and actor typologies
- Non-SOC threat
- Non-SOC threat (detail)
- SOC Actor
- Nexus characteristics and insights
- Nature of the SOC-link
- Summary/key findings
A pilot test of the data extraction form will be conducted on a small sample of included studies by two independent reviewers to refine the tool and ensure consistency. Modifications to the extraction form will be documented and justified in the final review. A draft extraction form is provided (see Appendix 2). Data will be extracted independently by at least two reviewers using the finalised charting form. Discrepancies will be resolved through discussion, with a third reviewer consulted where necessary. Extracted data will be stored securely using an Excel database. Rules for data extraction and decision-making (e.g., definitions of variables, coding frameworks) will be documented in a shared protocol file to ensure transparency and replicability. Unclear or missing information will be noted; if essential data cannot be located, study authors will be contacted where feasible.
Synthesis and Presentation of Results
Data will be cleaned following the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Related software for data cleaning and analysis used was Rayyan, which helped the two independent reviewers to assess the titles and abstracts. Where appropriate, graphical representations (e.g. concept maps) will be used to visualise connections between different threat domains. A narrative summary will accompany the tables and figures, explaining the findings in relation to the scoping review questions and highlighting implications for research, policy, and practice. Moreover, a PRISMA diagram will be used, whilst data will be presented in tables and diagrams to show different geographic locations, scale, nature, dynamic and mechanisms of identified nexuses.
Extracted data will be presented in tabular and visual formats to map the existing evidence and identify key patterns, themes, and gaps. The analysis will be guided by the review objectives, with an emphasis on categorising types of nexuses (e.g. SOC-terrorism, SOC-conflict), regional or geopolitical focus, and conceptual/theoretical contributions.
Appendix II: Data extraction instrument
| Study (Author, Year, Source, Language) | Study aims and design | Methodology | Geographic focus | Time period | Non-SOC threat | Non-SOC threat detail | SOC actor | Nature of SOC-link | Summary |
|----------------------------------------|----------------------|-------------|------------------|------------|----------------|----------------------|----------|-------------------|---------|
Materials
Databases to be searched:
- Scopus
- PsycINFO (Via OVID)
- Criminal Justice Abstracts (ProQuest Criminology Collection)
- Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA)
- Worldwide Political Science Abstracts (WPSA)
- International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS)
- PAIS index
- ScienceDirect
- Google Scholar
- Westlaw International
- Dimensions.AI
Grey literature, repositories, websites, and government material sources:
- ProQuest Dissertations 6 Theses Global
- The Scientific Research and Documentation Center (WODC)
- Criminal Justice Abstracts (ProQuest Criminology Collection)
- Overton
- The UK Government's homepage (gov.uk)
Reference management tools:
- Zotero (for managing references, organising citations, deduplication, and export)
- Rayyan (for title and abstract screening)
Appendix I: Search strategy (Scopus, 30th April, 2025)
| Search term | Boolean logic | Truncation / Wildcards | Limits (for all searches) | Database (for all searches) | Search conducted on | Number of articles yielded |
|-------------|--------------|-----------------------|--------------------------|-----------------------------|---------------------|---------------------------|
| Criminal organi*ation | OR | * | English languageDate limit from 1980-CurrentTitle, Abstract, Key searches | Scopus | 30th April, 2025 | 1,318 |
| Criminal association* | OR | * | | | | 94 |
| Organi*ed crime | OR | * | | | | 6,721 |
| Mafia* | OR | * | | | | 2,726 |
| Crim* network* | OR | * | | | | 1,094 |
| Drug trafficking | OR | | | | | 3,716 |
| Drug trafficking organ* | OR | * | | | | 202 |
| Motorcycle gang* | OR | * | | | | 127 |
| Bikie gang* | OR | * | | | | 6 |
| Crim* group* | OR | * | | | | 1,631 |
| Crim* cartel | OR | * | | | | 51 |
| Serious and organi*ed crime | OR | * | | | | 73 |
| Crim* enterprise* | OR | * | | | | 563 |
| Transnational crim* | AND | * | | | | 1,169 |
| Terrorism | OR | | | | | 56,602 |
| Ideologically motivated violence | OR | | | | | 28 |
| Terroris* group* | OR | | | | | 2,842 |
| Terroris* act | OR | | | | | 1,623 |
| Terrorist | OR | | | | | 37,589 |
| Violent extremis* | OR | * | | | | 2,328 |
| Insurgen* | OR | | | | | 11,385 |
| Militant | OR | | | | | 8,062 |
| Militia | OR | | | | | 3,114 |
| Armed conflict | OR | | | | | 16,442 |
| Paramilitar* | OR | * | | | | 2,198 |
| Violent non-state actor * | OR | * | | | | 158 |
| Conflict* | OR | * | | | | 668,017 |
| War | OR | | | | | 389,249 |
| Armed violence | OR | | | | | 479 |
| Warfare | OR | | | | | 59,083 |
| Armed group* | OR | * | | | | 2,332 |
| Espionage | OR | | | | | 2,901 |
| Foreign interference | OR | | | | | 244 |
| State threat* | OR | * | | | | 369 |
| Hostile state activi* | OR | * | | | | 2 |
| State* sponsored | OR | * | | | | 3,609 |
| State* sponsored covert action | OR | | | | | 1 |
| Covert operation | OR | | | | | 438 |
| Hybrid threat* | OR | * | | | | 430 |
| Hybrid war* | OR | | | | | 1,012 |
| Political war* | OR | * | | | | 285 |
| Proxy war* | OR | * | | | | 491 |
| Search results when combined with Boolean logic: | | | | | | 6,262 |
Full search string
TITLE-ABS-KEY ( "criminal organi*ation" OR "criminal association" OR "organi*ed crime" OR mafia OR "crim* network*" OR "drug trafficking organ*" OR "motorcycle gang*" OR "bikie gang*" OR "crim* group*" OR "crim* cartel" OR "transnational crime" OR "serious and organi*ed crime" OR "crim* enterprise*" ) AND ( terrorism OR terrorist OR "Terroris* Act*" OR "Terrorist group" OR "ideologically motivated violence" OR "violent extremism" OR "violent extremist" OR "insurgen*" OR "Militia" OR "paramilitar*" OR "armed conflict" OR "non-state armed group*" OR "militant" OR "violent non-state actor" OR "Political violence" OR "paramilitar*" OR conflict OR war OR "armed violence" OR "warfare" OR "armed group" OR "state threat" OR "espionage" OR "foreign interference" OR "hostile state activity" OR "state* sponsored" OR "covert action" OR "covert operation" OR "hybrid threat" OR "hybrid warfare" OR "political war*" OR "proxy war*" ) AND PUBYEAR 1979 AND PUBYEAR 2026 AND ( LIMIT-TO ( LANGUAGE , "English", “Spanish”, “Italian”) ) )
Troubleshooting
METHODS
Adopt the methodological framework for the scoping review as guided by Arksey and O’Malley (2005), Levac and others (2010), and JBI publications (2015, 2017). This includes employing a 5-stage approach (Arksey and O’Malley) and, where appropriate, a 6-stage approach (Levac et al.), which adds clarification of purpose, iterative team selection and extraction, numerical and qualitative synthesis, and stakeholder consultation.
Incorporate guidance from the JBI working group to ensure the review is rigorously conducted, transparent, and trustworthy, following the standards for systematic scoping reviews as described by Peters et al.
Utilise the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) Statement, specifically the PRISMA-ScR extension for scoping reviews, and plan to present the study selection process in a PRISMA diagram.
Develop and implement a comprehensive search strategy targeting key databases, including Scopus, PsycINFO, Criminal Justice Abstracts, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, Worldwide Political Sciences Index and Abstracts (WPSA), International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS), PAIS International, ScienceDirect, Social Sciences Research Network, Google Scholar, and Westlaw International. Limit the search to publications from 1980 to 2025 in English, Italian, or Spanish.
Conduct a preliminary search on Scopus and PsycINFO to confirm that no current or underway systematic or scoping reviews exist on the topic regarding different nexuses of organised crime using empirical data.
Include grey literature by searching databases such as ProQuest Dissertations, Theses Global, OpenGrey, Overton, and Dimensions to reduce publication bias and maximise evidence coverage.
Eligibility Criteria
Include empirical academic, policy, and grey literature examining developments and nexuses in serious and organised crime.
To be eligible, ensure studies: (a) present or analyse empirical data (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods); (b) focus on serious and organised crime and its intersection with one or more of terrorism, state threats, or conflict; (c) are published from 1980 onwards; and (d) are available in English, Spanish, or Italian.
Accept eligible sources including peer-reviewed publications, government or institutional reports, and grey literature that meets basic standards of research transparency and rigour (e.g., documented methods, data sources). No geographic restrictions apply.
Exclude studies that: (a) do not include empirical evidence (e.g., theoretical frameworks, expert opinion, commentaries); (b) are in languages other than English, Italian, or Spanish; or (c) focus solely on organised crime without examining its interaction with terrorism, state threats, or conflict.
Ensure that the criteria for inclusion are designed to generate new evidence and knowledge, rather than perpetuate personal convictions or opinions about the connection between organised and other threats. Manage time, feasibility, and linguistic choices to balance generating new insights with ensuring the project remains practical and achievable.
Have two independent reviewers assess eligibility. In cases of ambiguity (e.g., ambiguous use of empirical data), resolve through discussion and consensus, or refer to a third reviewer if necessary.
Information Sources and Search Strategy
Utilise a three-step search strategy comprising an initial search, refined strategy, and reference searching to locate both published and unpublished work. Develop the search strategy in consultation with a subject librarian and relevant stakeholders in the field of national security within the UK context.
Conduct an initial, limited search of Scopus and Applied Social Science Index and Abstracts (ASSIA) to identify articles on the topic. Apply truncations and Boolean operators to account for grammatical and regional variants across relevant terms (e.g., using "crim*" to capture "crime", "criminal", "criminality", "criminalised", and "criminal organi*ation" to retrieve both American and British English spellings).
Refine and develop the final search string by building on insights from preliminary exploratory searches. Ensure specificity and comprehensiveness through the following steps:
Identify vocabulary and index terms through limited initial searches in Scopus and ASSIA. Refine these terms using subject headings, keywords, and descriptors from relevant articles.
Test potential terms for retrieval precision. For example, exclude "SOC" (intended to capture "Serious and Organised Crime") after a trial search in ASSIA yielded over 25,000 largely irrelevant results due to alternative uses of the acronym. Use alternative forms of acronyms where necessary.
Refine concepts by retaining terms such as "serious and organi*ed crime" and adding descriptors like "criminal enterprise" to enhance thematic coverage. Adapt the search string for terrorism to include terms such as "ideologically motivated violence", "terrorist act*", and "terrorist group*". Add terms like "paramilitary group*" and "militia" to address armed conflict and non-state actors. Incorporate keywords such as "foreign interference" and "espionage" to reflect state threats.
Make all decisions and adjustments to the search strategy collectively within the three-member research team to ensure rigour, consistency, and domain relevance.
Use a combination of free-text terms, truncation (e.g., organi*ed), and phrase searching (e.g., "paramilitary group*"). Apply Boolean operators ("AND", "OR") to structure the search logic across all key concepts: organised crime, terrorism, conflict, and state threats.
| Concept | Search string | |
| Organised crime | "criminal organi*ation" OR "criminal association" OR "organi*ed crime" OR mafia OR "crim* network*" OR "drug trafficking organ*" OR "motorcycle gang*" OR "bikie gang*" OR "crim* group*" OR "crim* cartel" OR "transnational crime" OR "serious and organi*ed crime" OR "criminal enterprise*" | |
| Terrorism | (terrorism OR terrorist OR "terrorist act*" OR "Terrorist group" OR "ideologically motivated violence" OR "violent extremism" OR "violent extremist" OR "Political violence") | |
| Conflict | ("insurgency" OR "insurgent" OR "armed conflict" OR "militant" OR "paramilitary group*" OR conflict OR war OR "armed violence" OR "warfare" OR "armed group" OR "non-state armed group*") | |
| State threats | ("state actor*" OR "state threat" OR "espionage" OR "foreign interference" OR "hostile state activity" OR "state-sponsored" OR "covert action" OR "covert operation" OR "hybrid threat" OR "hybrid warfare" OR "political warfare" OR "proxy warfare") | |
| ("criminal organi*ation" OR "criminal association" OR "organi*ed crime" OR mafia OR "crim* network*" OR "drug trafficking organ*" OR "motorcycle gang*" OR "bikie gang*" OR "crim* group*" OR "crim* cartel" OR "transnational crime" OR "organi*ed crime" OR "serious and organi*ed crime" OR "criminal enterprise*") AND (terrorism OR terrorist OR "terrorist act*" OR "Terrorist group" OR "ideologically motivated violence" OR "violent extremism" OR "violent extremist" OR "Political violence" OR "insurgency" OR "insurgent" OR "armed conflict" OR "militant" OR "paramilitary group*" OR conflict OR war OR "armed violence" OR "warfare" OR "armed group" OR "non-state armed group*" OR "state actor*" OR "state threat" OR "espionage" OR "foreign interference" OR "hostile state activity" OR "state-sponsored" OR "covert action" OR "covert operation" OR "hybrid threat" OR "hybrid warfare" OR "political warfare" OR "proxy warfare") |
Table 1. Search concepts and string
Tailor the finalised search strategy to each database’s functionality and indexing structures. For reference searching, use a two-step process: initial screening based on titles and abstracts, followed by full-text screening for potential inclusion.
Apply the following search strings for each concept:
| Search term | Boolean logic | Truncation / Wildcards | Limits (for all searches) | Database(for all searches) | Search conducted on | Number of articles yielded | |
| Criminal organi*ation | OR | * | English language Date limit from 1980-Current Title, Abstract, Key searches | Scopus | 30th April, 2025. | 1,318 | |
| Criminal association* | OR | * | 94 | ||||
| Organi*ed crime | OR | * | 6,721 | ||||
| Mafia* | OR | * | 2,726 | ||||
| Crim* network* | OR | * | 1,094 | ||||
| Drug trafficking | OR | 3,716 | |||||
| Drug trafficking organ* | OR | * | 202 | ||||
| Motorcycle gang* | OR | * | 127 | ||||
| Bikie gang* | OR | * | 6 | ||||
| Crim* group* | OR | * | 1,631 | ||||
| Crim* cartel | OR | * | 51 | ||||
| Serious and organi*ed crime | OR | * | 73 | ||||
| Crim* enterprise* | OR | * | 563 | ||||
| Transnational crim* | AND | * | 1,169 | ||||
| Terrorism | OR | 56,602 | |||||
| Ideologically motivated violence | OR | 28 | |||||
| Terroris* group* | OR | 2,842 | |||||
| Terroris* act | 1,623 | ||||||
| Terrorist | OR | 37,589 | |||||
| Violent extremis* | OR | * | 2,328 | ||||
| Insurgen* | OR | 11,385 | |||||
| Militant | OR | 8,062 | |||||
| Militia | OR | 3114 | |||||
| Armed conflict | OR | 16,442 | |||||
| Paramilitar* | OR | * | 2,198 | ||||
| Violent non-state actor * | OR | * | 158 | ||||
| Conflict* | OR | * | 668,017 | ||||
| War | OR | 389,249 | |||||
| Armed violence | OR | 479 | |||||
| Warfare | OR | 59,083 | |||||
| Armed group* | OR | * | 2,332 | ||||
| Espionage | 2,901 | ||||||
| Foreign interference | 244 | ||||||
| State threat* | OR | * | 369 | ||||
| Hostile state activit* | OR | * | 2 | ||||
| State* sponsored | OR | * | 3,609 | ||||
| State* sponsored covert action | OR | 1 | |||||
| Covert operation | OR | 438 | |||||
| Hybrid threat* | OR | * | 430 | ||||
| Hybrid war* | OR | 1,012 | |||||
| Political war* | OR | * | 285 | ||||
| Proxy war* | * | 491 | |||||
| Search results when combined with Boolean logic= 6262 |
Table 2. Complete search strategy.
Include studies published from the 1980s to current. This time frame was selected to capture both foundational and policy-shaping literature relevant to understanding the evolution of SOC nexuses, including major international developments and geopolitical shifts such as the adoption of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (UNTOC) in 2000 and the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks.
In earlier decades, including literature from the 1980s and 1990s will therefore allow the review to capture the historical development of these nexuses and better contextualise contemporary debates. This approach enhances the comprehensiveness of the review while ensuring relevance to both foundational and current understandings of SOC and its intersections with other security threats.
Use Zotero to manage references, organise citations, and facilitate deduplication and export of selected studies throughout the review process.
Search the following databases: Scopus, PsycINFO (Via OVID), Criminal Justice Abstracts (ProQuest Criminology Collection), Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA), Worldwide Political Science Abstracts (WPSA), International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS), PAIS index, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, Westlaw International, and Dimensions.AI.
Include grey literature, repositories, websites, and government material from the following sources: ProQuest Dissertations 26 Theses Global, The Scientific Research and Documentation Center (WODC), Criminal Justice Abstracts (ProQuest Criminology Collection), Overton, and the UK Government's homepage (gov.uk).
Study Selection/Screening
Guide all stages of screening using the eligibility criteria. After conducting the search, import all retrieved citations into Zotero for citation management and remove duplicates.
Following deduplication in Zotero, import all citations into Rayyan to facilitate the title and abstract screening process. Conduct a pilot screening of 100 documents by two independent reviewers to ensure consistency in applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Screen all remaining titles and abstracts independently by the same two reviewers within Rayyan. Flag discrepancies using Rayyan’s in-built blinding and conflict resolution features and resolve through discussion. Where consensus cannot be reached, a third reviewer will adjudicate. For unclear information or studies lacking sufficient detail at the abstract stage, provisionally include for full-text screening to avoid premature exclusion of potentially relevant evidence.
Retrieve and upload full-text articles of all studies identified as potentially relevant into Rayyan. Conduct a pilot screening of roughly 100 articles by two independent reviewers to ensure shared understanding of the inclusion and exclusion criteria at the full-text stage. Screen all remaining full texts independently by the same two reviewers. Resolve any disagreements through discussion; if consensus cannot be reached, consult a third reviewer. Where information within a study is unclear or incomplete, assess its relevance conservatively, with justification for inclusion or exclusion recorded accordingly. Document and report reasons for exclusion at the full-text stage in the final review. Support the entire process using Rayyan’s review management features to ensure consistency and transparency. Report the results of the search and study inclusion process in full in the final scoping review and present in a PRISMA flow diagram.
Data Charting/Collection/Extraction
Develop and pilot a modified data charting form based on the JBI Data Extraction Tool, adapted to the specific aims of this review. The form will include: bibliographic information (authors, year of publication, source, language); study characteristics (study aims, study design, methodology, geographic focus, data source, time period); threat and actor typologies (non-SOC threat, non-SOC threat detail, SOC actor); and nexus characteristics and insights (nature of the SOC-link, summary/key findings).
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | |
| Study (Author, Year, Source, Language) | Study aims and design | Methodology | Geographic focus | Time period | Non-SOC threat | Non-SOC threat detail | SOC actor | Nature of SOC-link | Summary | |
Table 3. Data extraction instrument
Conduct a pilot test of the data extraction form on a small sample of included studies by two independent reviewers to refine the tool and ensure consistency. Document and justify any modifications to the extraction form in the final review. Extract data independently by at least two reviewers using the finalised charting form. Resolve discrepancies through discussion, with a third reviewer consulted where necessary. Store extracted data securely using an Excel database. Document rules for data extraction and decision-making (e.g., definitions of variables, coding frameworks) in a shared protocol file to ensure transparency and replicability. Note unclear or missing information; if essential data cannot be located, contact study authors where feasible.
Synthesis and Presentation of Results
Clean data following the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Use Rayyan for data cleaning and analysis, with two independent reviewers assessing titles and abstracts. Where appropriate, use graphical representations (e.g., concept maps) to visualise connections between different threat domains. Accompany tables and figures with a narrative summary explaining findings in relation to the scoping review questions and highlighting implications for research, policy, and practice. Present data in tables and diagrams to show different geographic locations, scale, nature, dynamic, and mechanisms of identified nexuses.
Present extracted data in tabular and visual formats to map the existing evidence and identify key patterns, themes, and gaps. Guide the analysis by the review objectives, with emphasis on categorising types of nexuses (e.g., SOC-terrorism, SOC-conflict), regional or geopolitical focus, and conceptual/theoretical contributions.
Protocol references
REFERENCES
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Acknowledgements
SUPPORT/FUNDING
This scoping review project has been funded by the Security, Crime and Intelligence Innovation Institute (SCIII) through the Seedcorn Funding opportunity for 2024/2025. There is no specific review process required from the funding process; however, a request may be made to present this project at the SCIII event such as the Annual Conference 2025.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
None of the authors declare a conflict of interest.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This review is not written towards a degree, and the contributors are the authors listed.
The authors have varying backgrounds, which all contribute to different aspects of this review. The team has experience in social sciences and criminology (LG), healthcare science and research methods (HT) and law and financial crime prevention (MA). The authors' expertise and experience significantly contributed to the comprehensive development and execution of this study.