Searching the Literature

LECTURE OBJECTIVES

  • Conduct a literature review in health studies.
  • Explain different approaches to conducting literature reviews.
  • Identify the purposes for conducting different literature reviews.
  • Understand the limitations to conducting a literature review.

DEFINING LITERATURE REVIEW

  • Summarizes and evaluates scholarly writings about a specific topic.
  • Provides an overview of current knowledge, identifying relevant theories, methods, and research gaps.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD LITERATURE REVIEW

  • Comprehensiveness: Must cover the broad spectrum of literature on a topic.
  • Up-to-date References: Include the most recent studies unless conducting a historical review.
  • Reproduced and Unbiased: Should be free from bias and reproducible.
  • Accurate Referencing: Must provide accurate citations for all sources.
  • Summarization of Key Issues: Highlighting significant findings, debates, and gaps.

GENERAL PURPOSES OF A LITERATURE REVIEW

  • Sets the context for further research (e.g., dissertations, academic papers).
  • Provides rationale for the research question based on existing literature.
  • Helps identify what has been done previously to avoid duplication.
  • Familiarizes researchers with relevant theories and methods.

PURPOSE OF LITERATURE REVIEW IN HEALTH RESEARCH

  • Assesses existing knowledge on the efficacy of interventions.
  • Informs professionals and stakeholders about the best available evidence.
  • Influences policy decisions and identifies future research needs.

TYPES OF LITERATURE REVIEWS

  • Traditional or Narrative Review: Summarizes and critiquess existing literature within a field.
  • Systematic Review: Follows rigorous protocols to evaluate studies comprehensively.
  • Scoping Review: Maps the available evidence in a field to identify key concepts.
  • Rapid Review: Streamlined systematic review to provide insights quickly.
  • Realist Review: Examines how interventions work by focusing on context and mechanisms.
  • Meta-analysis: Combines results from various studies to derive quantitative conclusions.

TRADITIONAL OR NARRATIVE REVIEW

  • Most common style; assesses concepts, theories, and methods in a field.
  • Influenced by the author's discipline; often takes the form of a dissertation chapter or proposal section.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

  • Involves a well-defined method to critically appraise relevant studies with inclusion/exclusion criteria.
  • Aims to answer specific research questions and assess the quality of evidence available.

SCOPING REVIEW

  • Focuses on mapping key concepts and gaps in research related to a specific field.
  • No critical appraisal of included studies; largely qualitative analysis.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SCOPING AND SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS

  • Scoping reviews address broad questions and do not assess the quality of studies, while systematic reviews focus on specific questions and include quality assessments.

OTHER TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE SYNTHESIS

  • Rapid Reviews: Accelerated methods to obtain evidence for urgent health policy decisions.
  • Meta-analysis: Quantitative approach to combine results from similar studies.
  • Meta-synthesis: Qualitative analysis that combines multiple qualitative studies.

SOURCES OF LITERATURE REVIEW

  • Primary Sources: Original research articles.
  • Secondary Sources: Reviews or articles that analyze primary research.
  • Include various formats: journals, books, conference proceedings, reports.

LITERATURE SEARCH

  • Conducted electronically or in print; electronic is more effective and time-consuming.
  • Utilize databases like CINAHL, PubMed, MEDLINE, and Cochrane for health-related searches.

STAGES OF A GENERAL LITERATURE REVIEW

  1. Annotations: Critical synopsis of selected articles.
  2. Thematic Organization: Group literature under common themes.
  3. Further Reading: Explore additional relevant articles while refining focus.
  4. Writing Sections: Discuss themes and coherence of the literature.
  5. Integration: Combine sections with a unified conclusion.

CONCLUSION

  • A literature review should provide an assessment of existing studies, noting gaps and suggesting future research directions.