Need to know- Research

What is a literature review?

A literature review starts with a question or a defined area of interest and aims to provide an overview of the current state of research on the topic and/or identify a gap in the literature. It is a discussion or critical analysis, rather than a list describing or summarizing one piece of literature after another. There are many different types of literature review with the most common being the narrative literature review and the most complex, the systematic review.  

Why is the literature review important?

Before researching, writing, reporting or teaching on any subject, it is important to be aware of what has previously been written. This provides context, background, and evidence which can inform your own work. A work with no reference to previous literature lacks academic rigour.

How do you do a literature review?

•    Statement of a specific question or area of interest
•    Identification of relevant databases and academic sources
•    Planning and construction of an optimum search strategy
•    Execution and translation of a literature search across a selection of databases
•    Identification of eligible literature
•    Documentation and management of search results using Mendeley or similar
•    Examination of the selected literature to identify strengths and weaknesses of individual articles/resources
•    Compare and contrast the literature to identify relationships, themes and trends.
•    Summarise the findings