A literature review, sometimes called a narrative review, aims to summarize the available knowledge on a topic, as well as to assess the research needs of a particular field. The literature review can be conducted as part of a research proposal or report, or published as is. It is organized around a specific theme and identifies:
The annotated bibliography is a list of your references with a summary of the content and the relationship between the publication and your research question. The literature review goes beyond an annotated bibliography. When you do a literature review, you do more than just summarize, you create something new and bring a critical eye to the developments in a field!
When conducting a systematic literature review (“systematic review”), one seeks to identify and synthesize existing knowledge in a field. It is a comprehensive and rigorous process that must be transparent and repeatable (Tulandi & Suarthana, 2021). A systematic review is often described as less biased than a traditional literature review, mainly because it uses specific criteria for inclusion or exclusion from the literature and provides a transparent assessment of the studies identified. It lists all the information available on a subject, so it is interested not only in the scientific literature, but also in the grey literature.
A meta-analysis aims to pool statistical data from independent quantitative studies to identify patterns, estimate their magnitude, measure their impact and analyze associated factors (Shepperd, 2013). This method is intended to be as objective as possible.
A scoping review usually precedes the systematic review. It asks exploratory questions and serves as a preliminary assessment of the literature. Its main purposes are to guide future research, to identify research methods in a field, to clarify functional definitions specific to a field, to assess the nature and extent of the evidence, and to justify the conduct of a potential systematic review (Munn, Peters, Stern, Tufanaru, McArthur & Aromataris, 2018). It is particularly useful if the research topic has a limited literature, or if the literature is multidisciplinary and complex (Grant & Booth, 2009).
Here are the workshops offered at the library related to this theme:
Source: University libraries of University of West Florida. Content reused with permission.
Grant, M. J., & Booth, A. (January 01, 2009). A typology of reviews: an analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Health Information and Libraries Journal, 26, 2, 91-108.
Munn, Z., Peters, M. D. J., Stern, C., Tufanaru, C., McArthur, A., & Aromataris, E. (November 19, 2018). Systematic review or scoping review? Guidance for authors when choosing between a systematic or scoping review approach. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 18, 1, 143.
O'Connor, A., & Sargeant, J. (December 01, 2015). Research synthesis in veterinary science: Narrative reviews, systematic reviews and meta-analysis. Veterinary Journal (London, England : 1997), 206, 3, 261-7.
Shepperd, M. (January 01, 2013). Combining Evidence and Meta-analysis in Software Engineering. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 7171, 46-70.
Tulandi, T., & Suarthana, E. (December 01, 2021). Revues narratives, revues systématiques et étude de portée. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada : JOGC: Journal d'obstétrique et gynécologie du Canada : JOGC, 43, 12, 1357-1358.
