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Evidence Reviews for Health & Social Care

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This is a step by step guide to help you through your dissertation process for literature reviews.

Writing a dissertation or literature review can seem overwhelming. 

Top Tips:

  • Don't see the literature review as one massive piece of work - break into manageable sections
  • Choose a topic that you're interested in and want to find out more information
  • Plan & keep organised
  • Get support from your subject librarian - Dawn Adams & academic skills

What is a literature review?

A literature review is a comprehensive summary and analysis of existing research on a particular topic.

Different types of reviews

A literature review examines existing research on a particular topic

Key Features of a literature review

1. Comprehensive Coverage

  • Scope: It includes a wide range of relevant sources—books, journal articles, theses, reports, etc.
  • Relevance: Focuses on literature that directly informs the research question or topic.

2. Critical Analysis

  • Goes beyond summarizing; it evaluates the strengths, weaknesses, and contributions of each source.
  • Identifies gaps, contradictions, and trends in the literature.

3. Thematic Analysis

  • Can be structured by themes

4. Synthesis of Ideas

  • Integrates findings from various sources to build a coherent narrative.
  • Highlights relationships between studies (e.g., agreement, disagreement, progression).

5. Theoretical Framework

  • Can include discussion of key theories or models that underpin the research area.

6. Methodological Insights

  • Reviews the research methods used in the literature, noting common approaches and limitations.

7. Purpose-Driven

  • Serves a clear purpose: to justify the research question, inform methodology and contextualize findings.

Example:

Sommers, C. L. (2018). Measurement of critical thinking, clinical reasoning, and clinical judgment in culturally diverse nursing students – A literature review. Nurse Education in Practice, 30, 91–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2018.04.002

An integrative literature review synthesises past research on a topic to generate new frameworks, perspectives, or insights. Unlike traditional literature reviews that may simply summarize existing studies, integrative reviews go further by:

Key Features of an Integrative Literature Review:

  1. Broad Scope: It includes both research papers and theoretical literature, allowing for a comprehensive understanding of the topic.
  2. Synthesis and Critique: It critically evaluates and integrates findings from diverse sources to identify patterns, contradictions and gaps.
  3. Theory Development: Often can be used to develop new conceptual models or theoretical frameworks.
  4. Methodological Diversity: It can incorporate studies with different methodologies (qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods).
  5. Contribution to Knowledge: The goal is to advance understanding by offering new interpretations or directions for future research.

Example:

Kennedy, C., Brooks-Young, P., Brunton Gray, C., Larkin, P., Connolly, M., Wilde-Larsson, B., Larsson, M., Smith, T., & Chater, S. (2014). Diagnosing dying: an integrative literature review. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care, 4(3), 263–270. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjspcare-2013-000621

A guide to writing a successful dissertation.

A scoping review is a type of literature review that aims to map the key concepts, types of evidence, and gaps in research related to a defined area or topic. It’s particularly useful when a topic is broad or complex, or when the literature has not yet been comprehensively reviewed.

Use Scoping Reviews:

  • When the topic is emerging or not well-defined
  • To identify gaps in the literature
  • To inform future research or systematic reviews
  • To clarify key concepts or definitions

 

Key Features of a Scoping Review

  1. explore the breadth and depth of a research topic
  2. can include various study designs, populations and outcomes
  3. includes a systematic searching approach but can be more flexible than a systematic review
  4. a map of existing literature highlighting what has been studied and where further research is needed.

 Follow:

The guidelines from JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis: Chapter 10: Scoping Reviews

Read:

Pollock, D., Evans, C., Menghao Jia, R., Alexander, L., Pieper, D., Brandão de Moraes, É., Peters, M. D. J., Tricco, A. C., Khalil, H., Godfrey, C. M., Saran, A., Campbell, F., & Munn, Z. (2024). “How-to”: scoping review? Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 176, Article 111572. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2024.111572

Example:

O’Leary, L., Maine, A., Ring, N., Reid, J., Speirs, L., Allan, L., Truesdale, M., & Taggart, L. (2023). A scoping review of the evidence for the use of screening tools in people with intellectual disabilities with dysphagia. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 36(3), 429–447. https://doi.org/10.1111/jar.13076

A systematic review is a rigorous and structured method of reviewing existing research to answer a specific, well-defined research question. It follows a transparent, replicable process designed to minimize bias and provide reliable findings.

 

Key Features of a Systematic Review

  1. Clearly Defined Research Question

    • Focused and specific, often framed using models like PICO (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome).

  2. Predefined Protocol

    • Includes detailed criteria for study inclusion/exclusion, search strategy, and methods for data extraction and analysis.
    • Often registered in databases like PROSPERO.

  3. Comprehensive Literature Search

    • Exhaustive search across multiple databases (e.g., PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science).
    • Includes grey literature to reduce publication bias.

  4. Critical Appraisal of Studies

    • Each study is assessed for quality and risk of bias using standardized tools (e.g., CASP, Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool).

  5. Data Extraction and Synthesis

    • Data is systematically extracted and synthesized.
    • May include meta-analysis (quantitative synthesis) if data allows.

  6. Transparent and Reproducible

    • Every step is documented so others can replicate the review.

  7. Evidence-Based Conclusions

    • Findings are used to inform practice, policy, or further research.

Example:

Oliveira Silva, G., Oliveira, F. S. e, Coelho, A. S. G., Fonseca, L. M. M., Vieira, F. V. M., Campbell, S. H., & Aredes, N. D. A. (2023). Influence of simulation design on stress, anxiety and self‐confidence of nursing students: Systematic review with meta‐analysis. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 32(17–18), 5668–5692. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.16681

A literature review is a comprehensive summary and analysis of existing research on a particular topic. There are different types of reviews:

  • Literature reviews provide a narrative overview of existing research on a topic, often to identify gaps and trends.
  • Integrative reviews are ideal for exploring complex topics, developing theory, or identifying gaps in knowledge.
  • Scoping reviews are best for broad subjects where little review of current literature available.
  • Systematic reviews are best for evaluating the effectiveness of interventions or summarizing evidence on a narrowly defined question.
Type Focus Methodology

 

Outcome

 
Systematic Review      Specific question      Rigid, protocol-driven   Evidence-based conclusions    
Scoping Review Broad topic Flexible, exploratory Mapping of literature
Integrative Literature Review              Conceptual synthesis        Inclusive, theory-building      New frameworks or insights
Literature Review Overview & critique can be flexible

Narrative Synthesis (explains findings from multiple                     studies without using statistical techniques)

 

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