Writing a literature review can be a daunting task for many students and researchers.

It involves not
only summarizing existing research but also critically analyzing and synthesizing the findings to
provide new insights or perspectives. The process requires extensive reading, understanding complex
theories and methodologies, and effectively organizing the information in a coherent manner.

One of the main challenges of writing a literature review is the overwhelming amount of information
available. With numerous academic journals, books, and online resources to sift through, it can be
difficult to determine which sources are most relevant and credible for inclusion in the review.
Additionally, ensuring that the review is up-to-date with the latest research findings adds another
layer of complexity.

Moreover, writing a literature review requires strong analytical and critical thinking skills. Authors
must be able to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of existing studies, identify gaps in the
literature, and offer their own interpretation or synthesis of the findings. This process demands
careful attention to detail and a thorough understanding of the subject matter.

Given the challenges associated with writing a literature review, many students and researchers opt
to seek assistance from professional writing services. ⇒ StudyHub.vip ⇔ offers expert guidance
and support to individuals struggling with their literature reviews. Our team of experienced writers
specializes in conducting comprehensive literature searches, critically analyzing research findings,
and crafting well-structured and insightful reviews.

By ordering from ⇒ StudyHub.vip ⇔, you can ensure that your literature review meets the highest
academic standards and effectively contributes to your research objectives. Let us help you navigate
the complexities of literature review writing so that you can focus on advancing your research
agenda.
It can help ensure that all main components are decided upon before beginning the study. However,
this is only one dimension of the template, so it will still be useful if you are adopting a different
structure. So, a literature review definition is to analyze or read any published material critically, to
evaluate the findings made by the other researchers. How do I know which findings to use, or how
many to include. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on
your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. It’s
usually best to keep titles as short and descriptive as possible by following this formula: Intervention
for those with a disease (e.g., Dialectical behaviour therapy for adolescent females with a borderline
personality disorder). Clarify the research problem and questions Uncover existing studies. The
literature review is not just a summary of the already published works. Self-management education
programmes for osteoarthritis. Popular Science News Articles Interest Articles Books Meeting
Abstracts, Papers, and Proceedings Research Articles Review Articles Encyclopedia or other
reference material Books. A grade of the overall quality of the body of evidence for each outcome
(which may vary by outcome). Data extraction by at least two reviewers is necessary to ensure inter-
rater reliability and prevent data entry errors. Five tips for developing useful literature summary
tables for writing Literature summary tables are not only meant to provide an overview of basic
information (authors, country, purpose and findings) about included articles, but they should also
provide detailed information about the theoretical and conceptual frameworks and the methods used
in the included article. Related Posts: Book Review Apa Format Template Database Apa Literature
Review Template For Your Needs Template For Book Review Database Employee Performance
Review Template Excel Database Employee Review Form Template Database Annual Employee
Review Template Database Survey Template Word Doc For Your Needs Newspaper Template Free
Database Search Search. Take advantage of our professional writing service and earn top grades in
your academic adventures. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines synthesis as something that is
made by combining different things or the composition or combination of parts or elements so as to
form a whole (Synthesis, n.d.). In other words, building a summary table or synthesis matrix
involves taking information from a variety of sources, evaluating that information and forming new
ideas or insights in an original way. Focuses on broad conditions or problems for which there are
competing interventions and highlights reviews that address those interventions and their effects.
You need to show that you understand what research has already been done in your field and how
your own research fits into it. Int J Health Policy Manag. 2015 Jul 28; 4(11):787-8. Writing an
embedded literature review will clarify your understanding of the material and demonstrate your
thorough research skills. The World wide web has hundreds regarding thousands of templates of
different classes, but plowing by means of countless web webpages for high-quality freebies is
normally the toughest portion of the career. Key Concepts (one main section per theme and then sub
sections as necessary to help organize your work and make it easier to read) 5. RJ’s position is
supported by the NHMRC Cochrane Collaboration Funding Program and Cabrini Institute. 9.7
References Chamberlain C, O’Mara-Eves A, Porter J, Coleman T, Perlen SM, Thomas J, McKenzie
JE. The examples described in this section illustrate approaches for making this process more
transparent. 9.3 Preliminary steps of a synthesis 9.3.1 summarize the characteristics of each study
(step 2.1). A starting point for synthesis is to summarize the PICO characteristics of each study (i.e.
the PICO of the included studies, see Chapter 3 ) and categorize these PICO elements in the groups
(or domains) pre-specified in the protocol (i.e. the PICO for each synthesis). Think of a synthesis
table as a tool for making comparisons, identifying trends, and locating gaps in the literature. The
synthesis of study characteristics is also needed for GRADE assessments, informing judgements
about whether the evidence applies directly to the review question (indirectness) and analyses
conducted to examine possible explanations for heterogeneity (inconsistency) (see Chapter 14 ). An
important part of planning the analysis strategy is building in contingencies to use alternative
methods when the desired method cannot be used. Table 9.5.a Overview of available methods for
summary and synthesis 9.6 Chapter information Authors: Joanne E McKenzie, Sue E Brennan,
Rebecca E Ryan, Hilary J Thomson, Renea V Johnston Acknowledgements: Sections of this chapter
build on Chapter 9 of version 5.1 of the Handbook, with editors Jonathan Deeks, Julian Higgins and
Douglas Altman. Transparent and reproducible in reporting details of time frame, search and methods
to minimize bias. Data is combined and re-analyzed, providing a greater statistical power than any
single study alone. It can also affirm the importance of studying the subject.
It is necessary to incorporate multiple evaluated readings into each section to establish a coherent
connection between the various resources. Dealing with effect size multiplicity in systematic reviews
and meta-analyses. In other words, a literature review is a synthesis (more on synthesis below) of
many articles and other published materials on a certain research topic. So, there must be a careful
effort in searching and selecting the required literature which must be relevant and specific. A
literature review is a comprehensive summary of previous research on a topic. PRISMA Statement
PRISMA Elaboration and Explanation Document Moher D, Shamseer L, Clarke M, Ghersi D,
Liberati A, Petticrew M, et al. The goal of the conceptual literature review is to categorize and
describe concepts relevant to your study or topic and outline a relationship between them. Finally,
narrow into your own project and research. Content from these tools can often be exported to
spreadsheet or database software as well. Writing a systematic review and meta-analysis will help
identify a researcher’s field of interest since they are published in high-impact journals and receive
many citations (3). We provide a walkthrough of the template and review an example of a high-
quality literature research chapter here. It should give a theoretical base for the research and help you
(the author) determine the nature of your research. Since reviews published in other outlets do not
need to be listed as such, they should state in the title that they are a systematic review and meta-
analysis. Literature Review. A literature review is a comprehensive examination of available
information that is related to your research topic. Chapter 2 defined three types of PICO criteria that
may be helpful in understanding decisions that need to be made at different stages in the review: The
review PICO (planned at the protocol stage) is the PICO on which eligibility of studies is based
(what will be included and what excluded from the review). It includes multiple pieces of data
derived from both quantitative and qualitative data analysis in systematic reviews. Transparent and
reproducible in reporting details of time frame, search and methods to minimize bias. The secret to
creating an effective search strategy is to strike a balance between sensitivity and precision. Simply
indicating what an author claims or has found is not sufficient. These tables will help you determine
which studies, if any, are eligible for quantitative synthesis. Space for comments. As a measure of the
magnitude of effect, for dichotomous outcomes the table will usually provide both a relative
measure (e.g. risk ratio or odds ratio) and measures of absolute risk. For permission to re-use material
from the Handbook (either academic or commercial), please see here for full details. It allows the
combination of findings from different studies, highlighting new findings relevant to practice or
policy. Formulate a clear, well-defined research question of appropriate scope. Tabulating
characteristics of studies that contribute to each comparison can also help to improve the
transparency of decisions made around grouping of studies, while also ensuring that studies that do
not contribute to the combined effect are accounted for. 9.4 Checking data before synthesis Before
embarking on a synthesis, it is important to be confident that the findings from the individual studies
have been collated correctly. This may be sufficient in areas with consistent and widely understood
terminology that matches the PICO for each synthesis. Embedded literature reviews are usually
placed near the beginning of your essay in order to provide your reader with important context as
well as to situate your work within the wider body of research on your topic. You will also describe
your search strategy, inclusion criteria, and overall methodology so that your review is reputable and
replicable. There is no rule of defining the length of literature review. Rather than simply
summarizing sources (as an annotated bibliography does), synthesis also does the following.
Always cite your sources correctly and paraphrase ideas in your own words while maintaining the
original meaning. Transparent and reproducible in reporting details of time frame, search and
methods to minimize bias. How Do You Make A Summary Of Findings Table For A Systematic
Review. You can record extracted data in electronic tables or forms created in Microsoft Word or
other word processing programs, but this process may take longer than many of our previously listed
methods. Narrative reviews are mostly descriptive, do not require a systematic search of the
literature, and concentrate on a subset of studies in a field selected based on availability or author
preference. It tests your own research question against what is already known about the subject.
Strategic Publishing Guide Strategic publishing guide by DVC-R and the Library Think Check
Submit Think. Check. Submit. helps researchers identify trusted journals for their research. They
come together to make a unified sound (synthesis). The table helps you organize and compare
information for your systematic review, scholarly report, dissertation or thesis Synthesis Matrix. Why
do the evidence tables and scores focus on GRADE. You may start with writing research questions
and objectives. Although you may write a stand-alone literature review as a course assignment to
enhance your own knowledge as a student, scholars often write stand-alone literature reviews to
benefit the research community and discipline. Focuses on broad conditions or problems for which
there are competing interventions and highlights reviews that address those interventions and their
effects. This may be sufficient in areas with consistent and widely understood terminology that
matches the PICO for each synthesis. A lit review is a type of research paper that answers these sorts
of questions: What is known and unknown about this issue. Gather data from many different,
independent studies that look at the same research question and assess similar outcome measures.
While the template provides a general structure, you should adapt it to fit the specific requirements
and focus of your literature review. Why do one?. Demonstrates the research you have currently done
on a topic. Train the review team on the extraction categories and what type of data would be
expected. Notice, though, that an individual must provide a credit score related page if you intend to
use these templates for commercial reasons. Is this template for an undergrad, Master or PhD-level
thesis. It differs from a footnoted bibliography, which is a list of resources with individual recaps.
Covidence allows you to create and publish a data extraction template with text fields, single-choice
items, section headings and section subheadings; perform dual and single reviewer data extraction;
review extractions for consensus; and export data extraction and quality assessment to a CSV with
each item in a column and each study in a row. Statistical methods ( meta-analysis ) may or may not
be used to analyse and summarise the results of the included studies. - Cochrane Collaboration
Definition Considerations before you start. Related Posts: Book Review Apa Format Template
Database Apa Literature Review Template For Your Needs Template For Book Review Database
Employee Performance Review Template Excel Database Employee Review Form Template
Database Annual Employee Review Template Database Survey Template Word Doc For Your Needs
Newspaper Template Free Database Search Search. The PICO of the included studies (determined at
the review stage) is what was actually investigated in the included studies. Step 1: Complete Pre-
Review Tasks Step 2: Develop a Protocol Step 3: Conduct Literature Searches Step 4: Manage
Citations Step 5: Screen Citations Step 6: Assess Quality of Included Studies About Step 7: Extract
Data from Included Studies About data extraction, select a data extraction tool, what should i
extract, helpful tip- data extraction. This chapter provides an overview to help prepare you for this
process. The literature review surveys scholarly articles, books, and other scholarly sources relevant
to a particular area of research. Chapter 9: Summarizing study characteristics and preparing for
synthesis.
Some things to keep in mind as you begin your own research and writing are ways to avoid the most
common errors seen in the first attempt at a literature review. You can always check our plagiarism
score before submitting your work to help ease your mind. This chapter provides an overview to
help prepare you for this process. It may help identify areas in a field where there is a lack of
evidence and areas where further research should be conducted. It is by this means, that a researcher
demonstrates familiarity with a body of knowledge and thereby establishes credibility with a reader.
For permission to re-use material from the Handbook (either academic or commercial), please see
here for full details. As such, the thesis or central argument of your historiography should explain
why your research on the topic contributes to or rejects previous historical analyses of your topic. In
this review, the authors pre-specified a set of decision rules for selecting specific outcomes within
the outcome domains. Chapter 2 defined three types of PICO criteria that may be helpful in
understanding decisions that need to be made at different stages in the review: The review PICO
(planned at the protocol stage) is the PICO on which eligibility of studies is based (what will be
included and what excluded from the review). Communications of the Association of Information
Systems, 37 (43), 879-910. If you experience a barrier that affects your ability to access content on
this page, let us know via the Accessibility Feedback Form. Explain why this has been the case and
how these approaches enhance or limit current understandings of the topic. Turn recording back on
Connect with NLM National Library of Medicine 8600 Rockville Pike Bethesda, MD 20894 Web
Policies FOIA HHS Vulnerability Disclosure Help Accessibility Careers What’s Included: Literature
Review Template This template is structure is based on the tried and trusted best-practice format for
formal academic research projects such as dissertations and theses. In a literature review it is best to
build a case with selected sources by grouping them thematically so that you can analyze, compare
and contrast the theories, and that policies and practices in the field you are studying or conveyed in
an organized way. A close examination of study characteristics will require detailed tables; for
example, to identify differences in characteristics that were pre-specified as potentially important
modifiers of the intervention effects. There are no restrictions on providing a few templates for
private projects. Summary If you are planning to get started on a new project or perhaps you are only
searching for a collection of great templates for future use, the themes on this wide list makes the
perfect choice of equipment for you. Important variations in the intervention may be identified
leading to different or modified intervention groups. It is not simple to come byhigh-qualityy
templates for free, but we gives you the freewill in order to get these design template at any time of
the day time or night, and they are free, for a lifetime. There are benefits and limitations to each
method of data extraction. Many individuals tend to procrastinate when it comes to completing
assignments.Make sure to attend to your paper on a daily basis.Please adhere to the guidelines given
to you by your instructor.Please use the appropriate citation style and provide the required number of
sources.It is important to have confidence in your literature review.Minor errors can have significant
consequences when it comes to quality. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and
understand how you use this website. It is also highly important to practice literature synthesis while
writing the data from sources, as it is effective to write the information in combined way, except for
summarizing single article in single paragraph as a summary. However, this is only one dimension of
the template, so it will still be useful if you are adopting a different structure. Consider using
transition phrases like the following, or borrow phrasing that you like from other articles. (It's not
plagiarism to use common phrases.). Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
(US); 2008 Apr. Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses. This may be
sufficient in areas with consistent and widely understood terminology that matches the PICO for
each synthesis. Writers can easily summarize material but seem to struggle to adequately synthesize
knowledge about their topic and express that in their writing. Most systematic reviews are expected
to have one summary of findings table.
Strategic Publishing Guide Strategic publishing guide by DVC-R and the Library Think Check
Submit Think. Check. Submit. helps researchers identify trusted journals for their research. Fifth,
situate your own research within the current literature in your field. For permission to re-use material
from the Handbook (either academic or commercial), please see here for full details. These can help
provide readers with more context about the review, and its conclusions. These cookies do not store
any personal information. Analyse and Interpret results The Review Manager (RevMan) software,
endorsed by the Cochrane Collaboration, is one example of a statistical programme that can measure
effect sizes for meta-analysis. The PRISMA statement can be followed to ensure reliable coverage of
the systematic review methods, results and conclusions. The study descriptor table shows
information about the characteristics of included studies, like study design, study region, participant
information, etc. A literature review is a comprehensive summary of previous research on a topic.
Free company templates are a game changer; they will transform the way you create your current
design and present your project. The summary table could either be an appendix or in the text itself
if the table is small enough e.g. similar to Table 1 of Shah et al (2007). Keep in mind that the exact
requirements for the literature review chapter will vary between universities and degree programs.
These are typically minor, but it’s always a good idea to double-check your university’s requirements
before you finalize your structure. It may be able to reduce the need for additional trials. Selection
of studies After retrieving and reviewing a detailed list of abstracts, any studies that tend to satisfy
inclusion requirements will be collected and thoroughly reviewed. The process may be subject to
bias that supports the researcher’s own work. Tabulation of study characteristics aids the examination
and comparison of PICO elements across studies, facilitates synthesis of these characteristics and
grouping of studies for statistical synthesis. Once a list of articles is generated from the keyword and
subject heading search, the researcher must then manually browse through each title and abstract, to
determine the suitability of that article before a full-text article is obtained for the research question.
The authors provided a rationale for the change and noted that it was a post-hoc decision. 9.3.5
Synthesize the characteristics of the studies contributing to each comparison (step 2.5) A final step,
and one that is essential for interpreting combined effects, is to synthesize the characteristics of
studies contributing to each comparison. It’s also crucial to determine what types of experiments to
include and exclude (e.g., RCTs only, RCTs and quasi-experimental designs, qualitative research),
the minimum number of participants in each group, published and unpublished studies, and language
restrictions. The literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (eventually your research
objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis). We are grateful to
Julian Higgins, James Thomas and Tianjing Li for commenting helpfully on earlier drafts. Surveying
the literature is necessary because scholarship is cumulative -- no matter what you write, you are
standing on someone else's shoulders. It’s also necessary to discuss the review’s weaknesses, the
results’ applicability (generalizability), and the findings’ implications for patient care, public health,
and future clinical research (5). You can adapt examples to suit your systematic review. Test the data
collection table (optional).? Collect (extract) the data.? Review the data collected for any errors.? For
accuracy, two or more people should extract data from each study. Use a Research table to compile
the main info you need about the items you find in your research -- it's a great thing to have on hand
as you take notes on what you read. However, in most areas, terminology is variable, making it
difficult to compare the PICO of each included study to the PICO for each synthesis, or to compare
PICO elements across studies. We all have solved this particular problem by presenting you with high
top quality, customizable, and appropriately designed templates from no cost at all. Research and
Synthesis Table Templates This Excel workbook includes simple templates for creating research
tables and synthesis tables. No, that is a separate template, which you can download for free here.
The summary table could either be an appendix or in the text itself if the table is small enough e.g.
similar to Table 1 of Shah et al (2007). Managing your review with Covidence Covidence allows you
to assemble a custom data extraction template, have two reviewers conduct extraction, then send
their extractions for consensus. It also includes a grade of the quality of evidence; i.e., a rating of its
certainty. In some cases, the research question will drive the type of literature review that is
undertaken. You will need to search the cognate literature before claiming there is “little previous
research” on your topic. Given that you are presenting what the literature says about a field of study,
not what you think or believe, you must cite those authors that actually make and provide the
research evidence, theories, frameworks for practice etc. Narrative reviews are mostly descriptive, do
not require a systematic search of the literature, and concentrate on a subset of studies in a field
selected based on availability or author preference. In this chapter, we focus on the PICO for each
synthesis and the PICO of the included studies, as the basis for determining which studies can be
grouped for statistical synthesis and for synthesizing study characteristics. It may help to consult
other similar systematic reviews to identify what data to collect or to think about your question in a
framework such as PICO. Authors must, for example, choose their population age range,
circumstances, results, and type(s) of interventions and control groups a priori. Here is an example
of a table that summarizes the characteristics of studies in a review, note this table could be
improved by adding a column for the quality score you assigned to each study, or you could add a
column with a value representing the time period in which the study was carried out if this might be
useful for the reader to know. The purpose of reviewing previous data is to acknowledge the reader
about other researchers’ perspective and pit of view about the particular topic. Moreover, the points
related to trends shown within the research related to particular topic, or related to any conflicting
thoughts presented in the paper should be noted down to extend the argument. There are
circumstances under which a meta-analysis is not possible, however, and other statistical synthesis
methods might be considered, so as to make best use of the available data. Therefore, the themes
offered in the particular free templates sections are of different categories, from personal and
business web templates to high-quality site themes and empty templates. Using comprehensive and
exhaustive searching of the published and unpublished literature, searching various databases,
reports, and grey literature. The selected outcomes from applying these rules to studies 3 and 6 are
indicated by an asterisk in Table 9.3.b. Table 9.3.b also illustrates an approach to tabulating the
extracted data. A literature review does not demonstrate what you know but what you have learned
from your analysis of the topic or field. Writing a systematic review and meta-analysis will help
identify a researcher’s field of interest since they are published in high-impact journals and receive
many citations (3). It should not merely be descriptive—it should present definitions, theories,
debates, and research data in the field of interest. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2015;
9: CD011045. This session. Introductions What do you hope to get from this session. We’ve also
included practical examples and links to more free videos and guides to help you understand exactly
what’s required in each section. Because of differences in how we extract data from sources and
what information is relevant, the analysis within and structure of our literature reviews will vary. As
a global service, you can contact us at your convenience. As the name implies, systematic reviews
usually include a thorough and comprehensive plan and search strategy derived a priori to minimise
bias by finding, evaluating, and synthesising all related studies on a given subject. Pre-specified
methods to deal with the multiplicity can then be implemented (see Table 9.3.c for examples of
approaches for dealing with multiplicity). What are the similarities and differences between the
sources. The length of embedded literature reviews varies, but is usually dependent upon the length
of your assignment.