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4.10: Literature Review

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• Lapum et al.
• Ryerson University (Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing) via Ryerson University Library

What it is?

A literature review involves summarizing what is known about a particular topic based on your examination of existing scholarly sources. You may be asked to write a literature review as a stand-alone assignment or as part of a larger assignment or research project. It will provide you and your readers with a summary of what is known and the gaps and inconsistencies in the existing literature and/or research approaches used.

A literature review involves synthesizing ideas. A synthesis combines multiple ideas and text into a larger whole. When you are synthesizing multiple texts, you should organize your writing based on the content as opposed to the individual sources. Consider the similar themes across multiple sources and organize your writing according to these themes. You should identify the main ideas in the literature and compare/contrast them with purpose.

Table 4.4 describes the types of literature reviews used in nursing. Various approaches can be used to frame reviews, but all literature reviews involve synthesis skills, with the exception of annotated bibliographies.

Table 4.4: Types of literature reviews

How to do it?

The following discussion explores annotated bibliographies and narrative reviews because these are common in undergraduate nursing curricula.

Annotated Bibliography

There are many ways to complete an annotated bibliography , depending on the assignment requirements. See Figure 4.7 outlining the two components of the annotated bibliography including the citation and the annotation

Figure 4.7 : Components of an annotated bibliography

Here are some general steps to take when completing an annotated bibliography :

• Identify your topic for the bibliography and the number of texts to be included.
• If the texts are not provided for you, search the literature for articles or other types of texts that relate to your topic.
• Take notes while reading and critiquing the identified texts.
• Review your notes and then construct a short annotation summarizing each text’s main points. If a text presents the results of a research study, you also include the study purpose, methods, and conclusions.
• Depending on the outlined requirements or your instructor’s expectations, the annotation may also include brief comments critiquing each text, comparing and contrasting texts, and describing how each text adds to the overall topic of the bibliography.
• A bibliographic citation is included prior to the written annotation. The citation will vary based on what reference style is required; APA formatting is often required in nursing.

**see Chapter 3 and Chapter 9 for more information on critiquing a text for quality and APA style rules.

Narrative literature reviews

Here are some general steps for writing a narrative literature review :

• Narrow and define your topic , and then review the existing literature in that area. You may limit your literature search to certain dates (e.g., the last five years) or certain countries, or certain types of literature such as empirical, theoretical, and/or discussion. You need to decide what sources are acceptable to include, such as journal articles, books, and/or grey literature. You may also check the reference lists of the literature you have found.
• Take notes about the main points and critique the literature while doing pre-reading and during the full reading of the literature that you have located.
• Gather your notes and consider the literature you have reviewed as a whole. Think about: What are the main points across all sources reviewed? Are there common findings across sources? Do some sources contradict each other? What are the strengths and weaknesses in the literature? What are the gaps in the literature?
• Make decisions on how to structure your review . The structure is often based on content trends across the various sources; these trends can be used as sub-headings to help you categorize and organize your writing. You might also organize a literature review chronologically, particularly if “time” is an important element. Some literature reviews are organized by method, with sub-sections focusing on theoretical, qualitative, survey, and intervention studies.
• Use topic sentences in each paragraph and logically link each paragraph and section to the next.

What to keep in mind?

As you are writing literature reviews, keep in mind several points:

• Annotated bibliographies are concise and typically presented as one paragraph, ranging from 100–300 words, but expectations vary, so check the assignment guidelines or ask your instructor.
• Narrative literature reviews are much longer and vary in length based on the reason for writing it. If it is part of a larger assignment, your instructor may provide you a specific length. If it is part of an article publishing results from a study, it may serve as a background section and be fairly short (a few paragraphs). If it is part of a graduate thesis, it may form one of your chapters and may be many pages long.

Activity: Check Your Understanding

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• Volume 19, Issue 1
• Reviewing the literature
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• Joanna Smith 1 ,
• Helen Noble 2
• 1 School of Healthcare, University of Leeds , Leeds , UK
• 2 School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queens's University Belfast , Belfast , UK
• Correspondence to Dr Joanna Smith , School of Healthcare, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK; j.e.smith1{at}leeds.ac.uk

https://doi.org/10.1136/eb-2015-102252

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Implementing evidence into practice requires nurses to identify, critically appraise and synthesise research. This may require a comprehensive literature review: this article aims to outline the approaches and stages required and provides a working example of a published review.

Are there different approaches to undertaking a literature review?

What stages are required to undertake a literature review.

The rationale for the review should be established; consider why the review is important and relevant to patient care/safety or service delivery. For example, Noble et al 's 4 review sought to understand and make recommendations for practice and research in relation to dialysis refusal and withdrawal in patients with end-stage renal disease, an area of care previously poorly described. If appropriate, highlight relevant policies and theoretical perspectives that might guide the review. Once the key issues related to the topic, including the challenges encountered in clinical practice, have been identified formulate a clear question, and/or develop an aim and specific objectives. The type of review undertaken is influenced by the purpose of the review and resources available. However, the stages or methods used to undertake a review are similar across approaches and include:

Formulating clear inclusion and exclusion criteria, for example, patient groups, ages, conditions/treatments, sources of evidence/research designs;

Justifying data bases and years searched, and whether strategies including hand searching of journals, conference proceedings and research not indexed in data bases (grey literature) will be undertaken;

Developing search terms, the PICU (P: patient, problem or population; I: intervention; C: comparison; O: outcome) framework is a useful guide when developing search terms;

Developing search skills (eg, understanding Boolean Operators, in particular the use of AND/OR) and knowledge of how data bases index topics (eg, MeSH headings). Working with a librarian experienced in undertaking health searches is invaluable when developing a search.

Once studies are selected, the quality of the research/evidence requires evaluation. Using a quality appraisal tool, such as the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) tools, 5 results in a structured approach to assessing the rigour of studies being reviewed. 3 Approaches to data synthesis for quantitative studies may include a meta-analysis (statistical analysis of data from multiple studies of similar designs that have addressed the same question), or findings can be reported descriptively. 6 Methods applicable for synthesising qualitative studies include meta-ethnography (themes and concepts from different studies are explored and brought together using approaches similar to qualitative data analysis methods), narrative summary, thematic analysis and content analysis. 7 Table 1 outlines the stages undertaken for a published review that summarised research about parents’ experiences of living with a child with a long-term condition. 8

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An example of rapid evidence assessment review

In summary, the type of literature review depends on the review purpose. For the novice reviewer undertaking a review can be a daunting and complex process; by following the stages outlined and being systematic a robust review is achievable. The importance of literature reviews should not be underestimated—they help summarise and make sense of an increasingly vast body of research promoting best evidence-based practice.

• ↵ Centre for Reviews and Dissemination . Guidance for undertaking reviews in health care . 3rd edn . York : CRD, York University , 2009 .
• ↵ Canadian Best Practices Portal. http://cbpp-pcpe.phac-aspc.gc.ca/interventions/selected-systematic-review-sites / ( accessed 7.8.2015 ).
• Bridges J , et al
• ↵ Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP). http://www.casp-uk.net / ( accessed 7.8.2015 ).
• Dixon-Woods M ,
• Shaw R , et al
• Agarwal S ,
• Jones D , et al
• Cheater F ,

Twitter Follow Joanna Smith at @josmith175

Competing interests None declared.

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Graduate Nursing

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Literature Review

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How to Search

Need more articles, but can't seem to find the right ones? Try these techniques!

Backwards searching: Once you find a relevant article, check the reference list at the end of the article. This will help you find other pertinent articles. 

Forward searching : Once you find a relevant article, look at whether it has been cited in more-recent research. If a researcher cited it, it is likely that their paper will also relate to your topic. ResearchGate is a community for students and researchers. It lists where each of their publications have been cited, if at all. This can be found under the "citations" tab that pops up when you click on any publication. 

When stuck, ask yourself, "What else is related to my topic?"

Get creative! You might find useful literature that you did not initially anticipate.

Fonseca, M. (2013, November 4) 5 tips to write a great literature review. https://www.editage.com/insights/5-tips-to-write-a-great-literature-review?refer=scroll-to-1-article&refer-type=article

What is a Literature Review?

"A literature review is a critical summary of all the published works on a particular topic" (Fonseca, 2013). A literature review provides background for your paper by quickly bringing the reader up-to-date on relevant findings, controversies, and dilemmas. It is the author's chance to "set the scene" and demonstrate why their topic is of interest to academia. In your literature review, you will describe "where your project comes from and how it fits in with existing knowledge" (Lloyd, 2017-2018). Further, you will provide "an argument for why your project makes a valuable contribution" (Lloyd, 2017-2018).

References: 

Lloyd, C.(2017-2018). Literature reviews for sociology senior theses . [PowerPoint Slides]. https://socthesis.fas.harvard.edu/files/socseniorthesis/files/pres-litreview.pdf

Step One: Define Your Research Question

What are you trying to determine for your literature review? What specifically do you want to learn more about? Choose a topic that you are genuinely interested in. Next, conduct a broad search on it. Determine what trending and popular research is available, then narrow your topic down. You can refine it by one or more of the following:

• Geographic location
• Time period
• Discipline/field of study, etc.

Research terms will help define your question.

• A broad question might be something like: What is the homeless population like?
• A narrow and specific question may include: What social and political factors have affected the growth of the middle-aged homeless population in Toronto within the past five years?

Once you have determined an appropriate research question/topic, move on to planning your approach.

Dermody, K., Literature Reviews. (2020, January 23). Retrieved from https://learn.library.ryerson.ca/literaturereview.

Step Two: Plan Your Approach 

After you have landed a research question, ask yourself "Which specific terms will I use, and where am I going to begin?" Determine what kind of literature you want to look at, whether it be journal articles, books, electronic resources, newspapers, or even other literature reviews on similar topics.

Your keywords are the main concepts or ideas of your paper.  For example, the keywords for a paper on “youth employment in Canada” would be:

Use synonyms: Often there are multiple ways to express the same concept. Make sure to use synonyms in your research. For instance, "employment" can be researched as:

Lastly, use “ AND ” and “ OR .” By bridging your truncated keywords and synonyms with the capitalized search words “AND” and “OR” (known as Boolean operators), you can search for multiple concepts effectively. For more information, visit the "electronic resources" tab of this research guide. There is a box on Boolean operators. 

Step Four: Analyze Material

When searching for material, it is important to analyze your sources for credibility, accuracy, currency, and authenticity. Ask these questions when analyzing a source:

• What is the purpose of the work?
• How current is it?
• Who is the author? 
• What are the author's biases?
• Is this work peer reviewed? 
• How accurate is this information? What facts/empirical evidence support it?
• What time frame are you looking at for your literature review, and does the work fall within that range?

Step Five: Manage Your Results 

After analyzing your research and determining what sources you want to use, it's important to keep track of what you have looked through. Keep a list of the following:

• What searches you have completed.
• Which ones were successful and unsuccessful.
• What databases you used.
• What sources you want to use for your literature review.
• What else you may want to search for next.

You can do this using software such as Zotero , Mendeley , and EndNote .

Congratulations! You are making progress towards an exceptional literature review.

Literature Review vs. Annotated Bibliography  Both a literature review (A.K.A. literature synthesis) and an annotated bibliography summarize the existing body of knowledge on a given topic.

What is the difference between a literature review and an annotated bibliography?  Unlike literature reviews, annotated bibliographies summarize entire research articles. An annotated bibliography looks like this:

Annotated Bibliography

•    Summarizes each article separately.

o    First, students discuss article one, then two, etc.  o    Topic: Blood Donation

• Paragraph 1: Bonnie and Clyde (2019) wrote "this" on blood donation.
• Paragraph 2: Rose and Jack (1997) wrote "this" on blood donation.
• Paragraph 3: Mary-Kate and Ashley (2001) wrote "this" on blood donation.
• Result: Multiple summaries of individual research articles (Lloyd, 2017-2018).

•    Describes the existing body of knowledge by integrating and synthesizing the literature to create something new.

o     Topic: Blood Donation

• Paragraph 1: Information/research findings on red blood cells pulled from multiple sources.
• Paragraph 2: Information/research findings on platelets pulled from multiple sources.
• Paragraph 3: Information/research findings on white blood cells pulled from multiple sources.
• Paragraph 4: Information/research findings on the drawbacks of donating blood from multiple sources (Lloyd, 2017-2018).
• Result: The author points out "themes, concepts, gaps and disagreements" between articles (Hofer, Hanick & Townsend, 2019, p. 216). Students use these to describe the existing body of knowledge on their topic one concept at a time. 

References:

Hofer, A. R., Hanick S. L., & Townsend, L. (2019). Designing activities for conceptual teaching. Transforming information literacy instruction: Threshold concepts in theory and practice. (p. 209-224). Libraries Unlimited.

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Nursing: Literature Review

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Good Place to Start: Citation Databases

Interdisciplinary Citation Databases:

A good place to start your research  is to search a research citation database to view the scope of literature available on your topic.

TIP #1: SEED ARTICLE Begin your research with a "seed article" - an article that strongly supports your research topic.  Then use a citation database to follow the studies published by finding articles which have cited that article, either because they support it or because they disagree with it.

TIP #2: SNOWBALLING Snowballing is the process where researchers will begin with a select number of articles they have identified relevant/strongly supports their topic and then search each articles' references reviewing the studies cited to determine if they are relevant to your research.

BONUS POINTS: This process also helps identify key highly cited authors within a topic to help establish the "experts" in the field.

Begin by constructing a focused research question to help you then convert it into an effective search strategy.

• Identify keywords or synonyms
• Type of study/resources
• Which database(s) to search
• Asking a Good Question (PICO)
• PICO - AHRQ
• PICO - Worksheet
• What Is a PICOT Question?

Seminal Works: Search Key Indexing/Citation Databases

• Google Scholar
• Web of Science

TIP – How to Locate Seminal Works

• DO NOT: Limit by date range or you might overlook the seminal works
• DO: Look at highly cited references (Seminal articles are frequently referred to “cited” in the research)
• DO: Search citation databases like Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar

Web Resources

What is a literature review?

A literature review is a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of published information on a subject area. Conducting a literature review demands a careful examination of a body of literature that has been published that helps answer your research question (See PICO). Literature reviewed includes scholarly journals, scholarly books, authoritative databases, primary sources and grey literature.

A literature review attempts to answer the following:

• What is known about the subject?
• What is the chronology of knowledge about my subject?
• Are there any gaps in the literature?
• Is there a consensus/debate on issues?
• Create a clear research question/statement
• Define the scope of the review include limitations (i.e. gender, age, location, nationality...)
• Search existing literature including classic works on your topic and grey literature
• Evaluate results and the evidence (Avoid discounting information that contradicts your research)
• Track and organize references
• How to conduct an effective literature search.
• Social Work Literature Review Guidelines (OWL Purdue Online Writing Lab)

What is PICO?

The PICO model can help you formulate a good clinical question. Sometimes it's referred to as PICO-T, containing an optional 5th factor. 

Search Example

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Nursing: How to Write a Literature Review

• Traditional or Narrative Literature Review

Getting started

1. start with your research question, 2. search the literature, 3. read & evaluate, 4. finalize results, 5. write & revise, brainfuse online tutoring and writing review.

• RESEARCH HELP

The best way to approach your literature review is to break it down into steps.  Remember, research is an iterative process, not a linear one.  You will revisit steps and revise along the way.  Get started with the handout, information, and tips from various university Writing Centers below that provides an excellent overview.  Then move on to the specific steps recommended on this page.

• UNC- Chapel Hill Writing Center Literature Review Handout, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
• University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center Learn how to write a review of literature, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
• University of Toronto-- Writing Advice The Literature Review: A few tips on conducting it, from the University of Toronto.
• Begin with a topic.
• Understand the topic. 
• Familiarize yourself with the terminology.  Note what words are being used and keep track of these for use as database search keywords. 
• See what research has been done on this topic before you commit to the topic.  Review articles can be helpful to understand what research has been done .
• Develop your research question.  (see handout below)
• How comprehensive should it be? 
• Is it for a course assignment or a dissertation? 
• How many years should it cover?
• Developing a good nursing research question Handout. Reviews PICO method and provides search tips.

Your next step is to construct a search strategy and then locate & retrieve articles.

•  There are often 2-4 key concepts in a research question.
• Search for primary sources (original research articles.)
• These are based on the key concepts in your research question.
• Remember to consider synonyms and related terms.
• Which databases to search?
• What limiters should be applied (peer-reviewed, publication date, geographic location, etc.)?

Review articles (secondary sources)

Use to identify literature on your topic, the way you would use a bibliography.  Then locate and retrieve the original studies discussed in the review article. Review articles are considered secondary sources.

• Once you have some relevant articles, review reference lists to see if there are any useful articles.
• Which articles were written later and have cited some of your useful articles?  Are these, in turn, articles that will be useful to you? 
• Keep track of what terms you used and what databases you searched. 
• Use database tools such as save search history in EBSCO to help.
• Keep track of the citations for the articles you will be using in your literature review. 
• Use RefWorks or another method of tracking this information. 
• Database Search Strategy Worksheet Handout. How to construct a search.
• TUTORIAL: How to do a search based on your research question This is a self-paced, interactive tutorial that reviews how to construct and perform a database search in CINAHL.

The next step is to read, review, and understand the articles.

• Start by reviewing abstracts. 
• Make sure you are selecting primary sources (original research articles).
• Note any keywords authors report using when searching for prior studies.
• You will need to evaluate and critique them and write a synthesis related to your research question.
• Consider using a matrix to organize and compare and contrast the articles . 
• Which authors are conducting research in this area?  Search by author.  
• Are there certain authors’ whose work is cited in many of your articles?  Did they write an early, seminal article that is often cited?
• Searching is a cyclical process where you will run searches, review results, modify searches, run again, review again, etc. 
• Critique articles.  Keep or exclude based on whether they are relevant to your research question.
• When you have done a thorough search using several databases plus Google Scholar, using appropriate keywords or subject terms, plus author’s names, and you begin to find the same articles over and over.
• Remember to consider the scope of your project and the length of your paper.  A dissertation will have a more exhaustive literature review than an 8 page paper, for example.
• What are common findings among each group or where do they disagree? 
• Identify common themes. Identify controversial or problematic areas in the research. 
• Use your matrix to organize this.
• Once you have read and re-read your articles and organized your findings, you are ready to begin the process of writing the literature review.

2. Synthesize.  (see handout below)

• Include a synthesis of the articles you have chosen for your literature review.
• A literature review is NOT a list or a summary of what has been written on a particular topic. 
• It analyzes the articles in terms of how they relate to your research question. 
• While reading, look for similarities and differences (compare and contrast) among the articles.  You will create your synthesis from this.
• Synthesis Examples Handout. Sample excerpts that illustrate synthesis.

Regis Online students have access to Brainfuse. Brainfuse is an online tutoring service available through a link in Moodle. Meet with a tutor in a live session or submit your paper for review.

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• Literature Review: The What, Why and How-to Guide
• Introduction

Literature Review: The What, Why and How-to Guide — Introduction

• Getting Started
• How to Pick a Topic
• Strategies to Find Sources
• Evaluating Sources & Lit. Reviews
• Tips for Writing Literature Reviews
• Writing Literature Review: Useful Sites
• Citation Resources
• Other Academic Writings

What are Literature Reviews?

So, what is a literature review? "A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers. In writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. As a piece of writing, the literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g., your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries." Taylor, D.  The literature review: A few tips on conducting it . University of Toronto Health Sciences Writing Centre.

Goals of Literature Reviews

What are the goals of creating a Literature Review?  A literature could be written to accomplish different aims:

• To develop a theory or evaluate an existing theory
• To summarize the historical or existing state of a research topic
• Identify a problem in a field of research 

Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1997). Writing narrative literature reviews .  Review of General Psychology , 1 (3), 311-320.

What kinds of sources require a Literature Review?

• A research paper assigned in a course
• A thesis or dissertation
• A grant proposal
• An article intended for publication in a journal

All these instances require you to collect what has been written about your research topic so that you can demonstrate how your own research sheds new light on the topic.

Types of Literature Reviews

What kinds of literature reviews are written?

Narrative review: The purpose of this type of review is to describe the current state of the research on a specific topic/research and to offer a critical analysis of the literature reviewed. Studies are grouped by research/theoretical categories, and themes and trends, strengths and weakness, and gaps are identified. The review ends with a conclusion section which summarizes the findings regarding the state of the research of the specific study, the gaps identify and if applicable, explains how the author's research will address gaps identify in the review and expand the knowledge on the topic reviewed.

• Example : Predictors and Outcomes of U.S. Quality Maternity Leave: A Review and Conceptual Framework:  10.1177/08948453211037398  

Systematic review : "The authors of a systematic review use a specific procedure to search the research literature, select the studies to include in their review, and critically evaluate the studies they find." (p. 139). Nelson, L. K. (2013). Research in Communication Sciences and Disorders . Plural Publishing.

• Example : The effect of leave policies on increasing fertility: a systematic review:  10.1057/s41599-022-01270-w

Meta-analysis : "Meta-analysis is a method of reviewing research findings in a quantitative fashion by transforming the data from individual studies into what is called an effect size and then pooling and analyzing this information. The basic goal in meta-analysis is to explain why different outcomes have occurred in different studies." (p. 197). Roberts, M. C., & Ilardi, S. S. (2003). Handbook of Research Methods in Clinical Psychology . Blackwell Publishing.

• Example : Employment Instability and Fertility in Europe: A Meta-Analysis:  10.1215/00703370-9164737

Meta-synthesis : "Qualitative meta-synthesis is a type of qualitative study that uses as data the findings from other qualitative studies linked by the same or related topic." (p.312). Zimmer, L. (2006). Qualitative meta-synthesis: A question of dialoguing with texts .  Journal of Advanced Nursing , 53 (3), 311-318.

• Example : Women’s perspectives on career successes and barriers: A qualitative meta-synthesis:  10.1177/05390184221113735

Literature Reviews in the Health Sciences

• UConn Health subject guide on systematic reviews Explanation of the different review types used in health sciences literature as well as tools to help you find the right review type
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Nursing Research: Getting Started: Conducting a Literature Review

• Find Articles
• Finding Full Text Articles
• Primary and Secondary Sources
• Conducting a Literature Review
• Video/Tutorial Resources
• Searching for Quantitative and Qualitative Articles

Selected Literature Review Books

Tips for Literature Reviews

• Search the nursing/healthcare literature to find studies relevant to your topic or PICOT question.
• Appraise your findings
• Summarize research studies
• Compare and contrast studies
• Synthesize the key concepts of your readings

Selected Online Resources

• DOI Help: Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) How to find an article's Digital Object Identifier, or DOI.
• Evaluating Research Literature A guide from Kennesaw State University on how to assess and evaluate research studies.
• Literature Review: A Self-Guided Tutorial A step-by-step guide to conducting a literature review.
• Literature Reviews This guide provides detailed information about conducting a literature review
• Literature Reviews This guide from NYU gives details about various types of literature reviews and a roadmap for evidence synthesis.
• Literature Reviews & Research Methods This JSU subject guide offers advice on doing literature reviews and types of research methods
• RefWorks: Analysis & Synthesis How to use RefWorks to help with the synthesis of articles for a literature review. Part of a comprehensive subject guide from Kennesaw State University.
• What is a Literature Review? This page offers information on literature reviews

Welcome to the Houston Cole Library Guide pages! The Conducting a Literature Review Guide gives you links to key resources to help you get started finding and organizing your resources. Information is also available at Houston Cole Library's How to Conduct a Literature Review page.

Finding Information and Keeping Track of References

Selected databases to search for literature are listed below. RefWorks is a reference manager designed to keep track of the references cited in your papers, and to create bibliographies.

Don't Fear the Literature Review

• Literature Review Tutorial This short tutorial breaks down the aspects of a literature review and how to perform one with emphasis on tips to take the anxiety out of the process.

Literature Reviews: An Overview for Graduate Students

Health and Sciences Librarian

Other Useful Subject Guides

• Basic Academic Research by John Upchurch Last Updated Jul 13, 2023 6 views this year
• Evidence Based Practice in Nursing by Paula Barnett-Ellis Last Updated Mar 7, 2024 231 views this year
• How to Conduct a Literature Review by Karlie Johnson Last Updated Jun 30, 2023 140 views this year
• Medicine, Health, and Nursing by Paula Barnett-Ellis Last Updated Mar 7, 2024 312 views this year
• RefWorks by Karlie Johnson Last Updated Jun 30, 2023 10 views this year
• Scholarly Writing and Publishing by Paula Barnett-Ellis Last Updated Oct 27, 2023 35 views this year
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• Last Updated: Mar 7, 2024 1:30 PM
• URL: https://libguides.jsu.edu/startresearch

Reviews of Literature in Nursing Research: Methodological Considerations and Defining Characteristics

Affiliation.

• 1 School of Nursing, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada (Ms Silva and Drs Woo, Galica, Wilson, and Luctkar-Flude); School of Nursing, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Santa Catarina, Brazil (Dr Padilha and Ms Petry); and Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (Dr Silva E Silva).
• PMID: 35213877
• DOI: 10.1097/ANS.0000000000000418

Despite the availability of guidelines about the different types of review literature, the identification of the best approach is not always clear for nursing researchers. Therefore, in this article, we provide a comprehensive guide to be used by health care and nursing scholars while choosing among 4 popular types of reviews (narrative, integrative, scoping, and systematic review), including a descriptive discussion, critical analysis, and decision map tree. Although some review methodologies are more rigorous, it would be inaccurate to say that one is preferable over the others. Instead, each methodology is adequate for a certain type of investigation, nursing methodology research, and research paradigm.

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Publication types

• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
• Delivery of Health Care
• Nursing Research*
• Research Design
• Research Personnel
• Review Literature as Topic*