Research Methods in Nursing By: Gli / F. A.

Ahmed
College of Nursing
University of Kirkuk
2019-2020, Lecture 4

literature review

literature review: A literature review is an examination of the research that has been conducted in
a particular field of study.

In other words, the review of literature is...

The selection of available documents on the topic (what other authors/researchers have said about
your topic, including their arguments and ideas).

AND
The effective evaluation of these documents (your point of view on their research).

The purpose of literature review:

1- To demonstrate your scholarly ability to identify relevant information and to outline existing
knowledge.

2- To identify the 'gap' in the research that your study is attempting to address, positioning
your work in the context of previous research and creating a 'research space' for your work.

3- To evaluate and synthesize the information in line with the concepts that you have set
yourself for the research.

4- To produce a justification or rationale of your study.

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Research Methods in Nursing By: Gli / F. A. Ahmed
College of Nursing
University of Kirkuk
2019-2020, Lecture 4

literature review

Strategies for writing literature review (how to organize it): Just like most academic papers,
literature reviews also must contain at least three basic elements:

a. An introduction or background information section. It gives a quick idea of the topic of the
literature review, such as the central theme or organizational pattern.

b. The body of the review contains your discussion of sources and is organized either
chronologically, thematically, or methodologically.

c. Conclusions and/or recommendation Discuss what you have understood after reviewing
what other authors have said.

Writing the body of the review: A literature review is usually organized around ideas, not the
sources themselves. This means that you will not just simply list your sources and go into detail
about each one of them, one at a time. No. Create a thematic organizational method by organizing
the articles you find into topics and subtopics. Then, develop the review based on what they have
in common.

Factors Affecting Review of Literature:

❖ Researcher’s Background an experienced researcher finds it easy to prepare a review of

literature than a beginner.

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Research Methods in Nursing By: Gli / F. A. Ahmed
College of Nursing
University of Kirkuk
2019-2020, Lecture 4

literature review

❖ Complexity of the research project It is easy to collect review of literature for simple and easy
research projects than complex ones.

❖ Availability of resources Availability of resources like computer, internet facility, online and
offline journal subscription makes it easy to prepare a good review of literature.

❖Study time frame to conduct a relevant review of literature sufficient time is needed.

❖Availability of support system if there are many research scholars involved in the research then
a good review of literature can be gathered.

Characteristics of a Good Quality Review of Literature:

❖ A good review of literature must be comprehensive.

❖ It should include up-to-date references.
❖ It should be systemic.
❖ It should be reproducible.
❖ It should be free from bias.
❖ It should be well written.
❖ It should be in the form of sum of its parts.
❖ It should be clearly searched and selected.
❖ Accurate references should be given in the review.

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Research Methods in Nursing By: Gli / F. A. Ahmed
College of Nursing
University of Kirkuk
2019-2020, Lecture 4

literature review

Sources of Review of Literature: Literature sources may be classified as primary source and
secondary source.

Primary source: ❖A primary Source is a literature resource of a study written by the original
researcher. It is research publication written by the person or people who conducted the research.

❖ Examples: Research Articles, Unpublished Thesis/Dissertation, Personal Diary, hand written

records and reports, etc.

Secondary source: ❖These are second hand information prepared or written by someone other
than the original author.

❖ Examples: Newspaper, Book Chapters, Television, Radio, Magazine, Wikipedia, Journals, etc.