Instructions for Conducting a Literature Review
Systematic literature reviews play a pivotal role in evidence-based research and practice, particularly in environmental science, healthcare, and social sciences. These reviews aim to provide a comprehensive textual summary and synthesis of existing research, following a structured, organized, and transparent process.
The Steps Involved
- Develop a Protocol: A clear, focused research question and scope should be defined, along with inclusion and exclusion criteria, screening methods, data extraction, quality appraisal, and synthesis processes. This protocol enhances rigor and transparency and can be published.
- Design a Comprehensive Search Strategy: Collaborate with a librarian to develop a systematic search across multiple databases (at least three) and consider including grey literature. Use citation managers to manage references and remove duplicates.
- Screen Studies Systematically: Conduct screening in two stages—first by title and abstract, then by full text—applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Screening should be performed independently by at least two reviewers, with a third resolving conflicts to reduce bias.
- Appraise Study Quality: Evaluate the risk of bias and overall quality of included studies using standardized tools, again with independent reviewers to ensure objectivity.
- Extract Data Systematically: Collect relevant data from included studies, often after piloting the extraction method to ensure consistency and accuracy.
- Analyze and Synthesize Findings: Perform qualitative or quantitative synthesis (e.g., meta-analysis) according to the protocol, considering the quality of evidence and addressing heterogeneity among studies.
- Report and Update the Review: Prepare a detailed review report that documents methodology, findings, and limitations. Systematic reviews should be periodically updated to include new evidence.
These steps typically occur over an extended timeline, sometimes taking a year or more depending on the review scope and team. Optional steps such as piloting screening criteria, risk of bias assessment, and data collection improve reliability.
Key Aspects of Systematic Literature Reviews
- Transparency: Published protocols, documented search strategies, and clear study selection procedures are crucial.
- Rigor: Systematic reviews critically appraise the quality of included studies and often use statistical methods or thematic analysis to synthesize results.
- Reproducibility: Systematic reviews document their process in detail, allowing others to replicate the study.
- Scope: Systematic reviews may focus on a narrower range of studies and selectively include studies to reflect the author's perspective.
- Implications: The implications of the results should be discussed in the context of existing literature, acknowledging limitations, and suggesting areas for future research.
In summary, conducting a systematic literature review involves a priori planning via protocol development, a rigorous and exhaustive search, dual independent screening and quality assessment, systematic data extraction, comprehensive synthesis, and transparent reporting, all structured to minimize bias and maximize reproducibility.
- The development of systematic literature reviews can extend to various fields, such as education-and-self-development, specifically in online-education, where the learning process involves synthesizing existing research through a structured and organized approach.
- In the realm of software, systematic reviews can critically appraise existing research, following a similar process as environmental science, healthcare, and social sciences, providing a comprehensive textual summary and synthesis of existing knowledge for improved software development practices.
