Definition
A literature or narrative review is an overview of previously published works on a topic. It can serve as part of a book, report of an empirical study, thesis, dissertation, or grant proposal to summarize current research on a topic and place the current work in context.
A literature review generally follows a standard essay format with an introduction, body, and summary.
Useful Articles
Green, B. N., Johnson, C. D., & Adams, A. (2006). Writing narrative literature reviews for peer-reviewed journals: secrets of the trade. Journal of chiropractic medicine, 5(3), 101–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0899-3467(07)60142-6
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19674681/
Goodfellow L. T. (2023). An Overview of How to Search and Write a Medical Literature Review. Respiratory care, 68(11), 1576–1584. https://doi.org/10.4187/respcare.11198
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37339890/
Leite, D. F. B., Padilha, M. A. S., & Cecatti, J. G. (2019). Approaching literature review for academic purposes: The Literature Review Checklist. Clinics (Sao Paulo, Brazil), 74, e1403. https://doi.org/10.6061/clinics/2019/e1403
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31778435/
Pautasso M. (2013). Ten simple rules for writing a literature review. PLoS computational biology, 9(7), e1003149. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003149
Useful Videos
O'Leary, Z. (Academic). (2017). Am i the only one struggling to write a literature review [Video]. Sage Research Methods. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526400123
https://methods.sagepub.com/video/am-i-the-only-one-struggling-to-write-a-literature-review
Maye, K.P. (2023). Introduction to literature reviews [Video]. Tulane University Libraries.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atu1rDmIMBY
Internet Resources
Conduct a Literature Review - University of Arizona
Steps in a Literature Review Process - University of Texas
Literature Reviews - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Literature Reviews - Boston University School of Public Health
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