Literature Reviews: A How-To Guide

Searching the literature is a professional skills that takes time and practice.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand the purpose of a literature review, different types of reviews
• Understand the iterative nature of search and question development
• Develop and document search strategies using appropriate databases, terminology and search tools, revising and iterating the search to improve results
• Stay organized using various productivity tools and templates

A literature review...

• generally describes what is known (or not) about a topic
• provides background for a larger piece of empirical work or can stand on their own
• guided by a clear and purposeful question
• essential first step in any research project
• helps to situate a study's research question(s), methodology and potential contributions to the field

Steinert, Y. & Thomas, A. (2016). When I say...literature reviews. Medical Education, 50(4): 398-399.

The study example shown above goes on to review additional literature in the background section of the article.

Gill, A.C., Zhou, Y., Greely, J.T., Beasley, A.T., Purkiss, J., & Juneja, M. (2022). Longitudinal outcomes one year following implicit bias training in medical students. Medical Teacher, 44(7): 744-751. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2021.2023120

The term literature reviews refers to both a process and an output product.

As a PROCESS, a literature review is a survey of scholarly publications related to a specific research question or topic.

As a PRODUCT, a literature review can be integrated into a research study

There are a multitude of review types, each differing in their purpose, degree of process and rigor.

For additional information on a variety of review methods, see the following article for an excellent overview:

Grant, M.J., & Booth, A. (2009). A typology of reviews: an analysis of 14 different review types and associated methodologies. Health Information and Libraries Journal, 26: 91-108. DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-1842.2009.00848.x

Also see the following two guides from other libraries that include excellent descriptions and examples of a variety of review types (integrative, scoping, meta-analysis, etc.):

• Literature Reviews in Medicine and Health - Unv of Illinois Library
• How to Conduct a Literature Review (Health Sciences and Beyond) - Virginia Commonwealth Unv Library

A traditional (narrative) review summarizes a body of evidence on a topic using informal methods to find and interpret studies.

• summarizes and critiques the body of literature on a specific issue or topic
• research questions tend to be more general and broader
• provides context for research, identifies gaps in the literature, and situates research within an area of study
• often included with introduction to research study
• can be publication in its own right, and provides a deeper look at a specific issue or topic
• can be one or more authors
• can be completed in a few weeks to months

The rest of this guide focuses on the steps to complete a traditional (narrative) review.

Systematic reviews seek to collate evidence that fits pre-specified eligibility criteria in order to answer a specific research question. They aim to minimize bias by using explicit, systematic methods documented in advance with a protocol (Cochrane Handbook).

Features of a systematic review:

• Begins with a focused answerable clinical question (PICO framework)
• Establishes pre-specified, explicit, and reproducible eligibility criteria
• Uses comprehensive and exhaustive literature searches in multiple sources
• Employs comprehensive analysis of quality and validity of findings
• Reports collective interpretation of results
• Typically takes up to 1 year or more to complete
• Needs a team of experts - at least 3