Literature Review Guide

Conduct comprehensive, systematic literature reviews using academic databases.

When to Use

• Conducting systematic literature reviews

• Synthesizing research on a topic

• Writing literature review sections

• Identifying research gaps

• Building bibliographies

Core Workflow

Phase 1: Planning

Define Research Question (PICO framework for clinical)

• Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome

Establish Scope

• Review type: narrative, systematic, scoping

• Time period, geographic scope

• Study types to include

Develop Search Strategy

• Key terms and synonyms

• Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT)

• Database-specific syntax

Phase 2: Searching

Key Databases:

Database Coverage

PubMed Biomedical, life sciences

arXiv Physics, CS, math preprints

Semantic Scholar Broad academic

Google Scholar Broad coverage

Web of Science Multidisciplinary

Search Strategy Template:

(term1 OR synonym1) AND (term2 OR synonym2) AND (term3)

Phase 3: Screening

Title/Abstract Screening

• Apply inclusion/exclusion criteria

• Track reasons for exclusion

Full-Text Review

• Assess eligibility

• Extract key data

Phase 4: Synthesis

Organize Thematically:

Theme 1: [Topic]

• Finding A (Author, Year)
• Finding B (Author, Year)
• Synthesis and gaps

Theme 2: [Topic]

...

Comparison Table:

Study Methods Sample Key Findings

Author 2023 RCT n=100 Finding X

Author 2022 Cohort n=500 Finding Y

Phase 5: Writing

Structure:

• Introduction (scope, objectives)

• Methods (search strategy, criteria)

• Results (thematic synthesis)

• Discussion (gaps, future directions)

• Conclusion

Citation Management

Citation Styles

APA 7: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title. Journal, Volume(Issue), pages. https://doi.org/xxx

Nature: Author, A. A. & Author, B. B. Title. Journal Volume, pages (Year).

Vancouver: Author AA, Author BB. Title. Journal. Year;Volume(Issue):pages.

Tools

• Zotero (free, open source)

• Mendeley (free)

• EndNote (institutional)

Quality Assessment

For RCTs: Cochrane Risk of Bias tool For Observational: Newcastle-Ottawa Scale For Qualitative: CASP checklist

PRISMA Flow Diagram

Records identified (n=X) ↓ Duplicates removed (n=X) ↓ Records screened (n=X) ↓ Records excluded (n=X) ↓ Full-text assessed (n=X) ↓ Studies included (n=X)

Best Practices

• Document everything - reproducibility

• Use multiple databases - comprehensive coverage

• Two reviewers - reduce bias (when possible)

• Pre-register protocol - transparency

• Update searches - before publication

Common Pitfalls

• Publication bias (positive results overrepresented)

• Language bias (English-only searches)

• Citation bias (citing famous papers)

• Not updating searches before submission

Resources

• PRISMA Guidelines: http://prisma-statement.org/

• Cochrane Handbook: https://training.cochrane.org/handbook

• PROSPERO (protocol registration): https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/