Skip to Main Content

Literature Reviews

How to understand and write a literature review for an academic paper or research article.

Systematic Reviews

Systematic reviews are a particular review type in which a research question is answered based on the literature found using a very specific set of criteria.

All of the components of the search and analysis are included in the written document so that anyone reading the review would be able to perform the exact same search and find the exact same results. Systematic reviews are therefore very useful to read both to get a basis in the work on a subject and also for clues in how to perform your own literature search, whether or not it will be as thorough as that done for a systematic review.


How to Do One

Books from the Library

Log into Okta/myStevens if prompted.


Where to Find Them


Protocols

Systematic reviews and review types based on systematic reviews are made systematic in large part due to the very structured process they must follow. These protocols help guide reviewers to conduct their reviews according to the standards set in each discipline.

Protocol Repositories

Critical Appraisal

Scoping Review

[A] snapshot of the field and a complete overview of what has been done.

(Xiao & Watson, 2019, p. 99; see also Grant & Booth, 2009)

Characteristics:

  • No quality assessment - EVERYTHING written on a subject, not just the good ones
  • Can show a need for a systematic review
  • Shows the gaps in existing literature
  • Helps clarify definitions
  • Shows how research is being done on a subject

Scoping reviews can be a better option than systematic reviews if a research topic is new. The process to complete a scoping review is not quite as thorough as a systematic review, but both require that you follow a specific protocol so that your process is reproducible by other researchers.

 

How To Choose
How to Do One