How to write a Nursing Literature Review-Over 100 Expert Nursing Writers
What is Literature Review?
Literature Reviews for Graduate Students in Education and Nursing introduces you to the components of a stand-alone literature review and prepares you to write your own.
It is a type of writing in which you demonstrate the significance of your research by defining the main ideas and their relationships. A good literature review establishes the significance of your stated problem and research question.
Review of the literature:
• explain a concept
• draw a map of the research terrain or scope
• systematize concept-to-concept relationships
• locate gaps in the literature
Purpose of a Literature Review
A literature review is used to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of major research on a specific topic. It should establish the significance of a research topic by reviewing relevant academic research and identifying the main patterns, themes, or trends associated with it. A literature review should not be used to present your own opinion, but rather to compare various sources and investigate how those sources agree with one another. The goal is to broaden your knowledge of key concepts, theories, and methodologies in your field of study.
A well-crafted literature review entails a number of steps and activities. The literature review is an iterative process because you will conduct at least two of them: a preliminary search to learn what has been published in your field and whether there is enough support in the literature to proceed with your subject. Following this initial investigation, you will conduct a deep dives into the literature to learn everything you can about the topic and its associated issues.
BASICS OF LITERATURE REVIEW
An effective literature review must: • Analyze and synthesize quality literature on a topic using a methodical approach
Give a solid foundation to a topic or research area.
• Establish a solid foundation for selecting a research methodology.
• Show that the proposed research adds something new to the overall body of knowledge or advances the knowledge base of the research field.
All literature reviews, whether qualitative, quantitative, or both, will, at some point, include the following:
1. Introduce the subject and define key terms.
2. Determine the topic’s significance.
3. Provide an overview of the available literature and its various types (for example: theoretical, statistical, speculative)
4. Recognize gaps in the literature.
5. Highlight findings that are consistent across studies.
6. Produce a synthesis that organizes what is known about a subject.
7. Discusses potential implications and future research directions.
TYPES OF LITERATURE REVIEWS
There are many different types of literature reviews, but there are some characteristics or features that they all have in common. At its most basic level, a comprehensive literature review is an original work based on an extensive critical examination and synthesis of the relevant literature on a topic. It is organized as a study of research on a specific topic by key themes or findings that may lead up to or link to the research question. In some cases, the type of literature review will be determined by the research question. The section that follows provides brief definitions of the terms used to describe various types of literature reviews, as well as examples of each.
1.Conceptual
Rather than a research methodology, it is guided by an understanding of fundamental issues. You’re looking for key elements, concepts, or variables, as well as the assumed relationship between them. The conceptual literature review’s goal is to categorize and describe concepts relevant to your study or topic, as well as to outline a relationship between them. You will incorporate relevant theory as well as empirical research.
2. Empirical
An empirical literature review collects, generates, organizes, and analyzes numerical data that reflects the frequency of themes, topics, authors, and/or methods found in existing literature. The summaries of empirical literature reviews are presented in quantifiable terms using descriptive and inferential statistics.
Empirical Review Examples:
• Nursing: An empirical review of false-positive findings in Cochrane meta-analyses with and without trial sequential analysis.
• Education: Barriers to e-learning adoption in US higher education institutions.
3. Exploratory
In contrast to a synoptic literature review, the goal here is to provide a broad approach to the topic. The goal is to get a general sense of the size of the topic area rather than depth. A graduate student might conduct an exploratory review of the literature before embarking on a more comprehensive or synoptic review.
4. Focused
A type of literature review limited to a single aspect of previous research, such as
methodology. A focused literature review generally will describe the implications of choosing
a particular element of past research, such as methodology in terms of data collection,
analysis and interpretation.
Examples of a Focused Review:
• Nursing: Clinical inertia in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus: A focused
literature review.
5. Integrative
Integrative evaluates previous research and draws broad conclusions from the body of literature at a given point in time. In an integrated manner, reviews, critiques, and synthesizes representative literature on a topic. The majority of integrative reviews are designed to address either mature or emerging topics. It may be necessary for the author to adopt a guiding theory, a set of competing models, or a point of view on a subject.
Nursing: Interprofessional teamwork and collaboration between community health
workers and healthcare teams: An integrative review.
6. Meta-analysis
A subset of a systematic review that analyzes findings from multiple studies on the same subject using standardized statistical procedures to pool data. Integrates results from a large body of quantitative research to improve understanding, draw conclusions, and detect patterns and relationships. Collect data from a variety of independent studies that examine the same research question and evaluate similar outcome measures. Data is combined and re-analyzed, resulting in statistical power greater than that of any single study. It should be noted that not every systematic review includes a metaanalysis, but a meta-analysis cannot exist without a systematic review of the literature.
Examples of a Meta-Analysis:
Nursing: A meta-analysis of the effects of non-traditional teaching methods on the
critical thinking abilities of nursing students.
7. Narrative/Traditional
An overview of research on a particular topic that critiques and summarizes a body of
literature. Typically broad in focus. Relevant past research is selected and synthesized into a
coherent discussion. Methodologies, findings and limits of the existing body of knowledge
are discussed in narrative form. Sometimes also referred to as a traditional literature review.
Requires a sufficiently focused research question. The process may be subject to bias that
supports the researcher’s own work.
Narrative/Traditional Review Examples:
• Nursing: Family caregivers providing support to a dying person at home: A narrative literature review.
8. Scoping
Tend to be non-systematic and focus on breadth of coverage conducted on a topic rather
than depth. Utilize a wide range of materials; may not evaluate the quality of the studies as
much as count the number. One means of understanding existing literature. Aims to identify
nature and extent of research; preliminary assessment of size and scope of available research
on topic. May include research in progress.
Examples of a Scoping Review:
• Nursing: Organizational interventions improving access to community-based primary
health care for vulnerable populations: A scoping review.
11. Systematic Review
A rigorous review that adheres to a strict methodology with a predetermined selection of literature reviewed. Undertaken to clarify the current state of research, the evidence, and the potential implications that can be drawn from it. Searching the published and unpublished literature, as well as various databases, reports, and grey literature, in a thorough and exhaustive manner. Transparent and reproducible in reporting time frame, search, and bias-reduction methods. A team of at least 2-3 people is required, and the critical appraisal of the literature is included.
Examples of a Systematic Review:
Nursing: Is butter back? A systematic review and meta-analysis of butter consumption
and risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and total mortality.
Guide to searching for literature at various stages of the scholarly communication process
| Steps in the Scholarly Communication Process | Publication Cycle | Access Point |
| Investigate and develop an idea | Documents that have not been published, such as lab notebooks, personal correspondence, graphs, charts, grant proposals, and other ‘grey literature,’ | Google Scholar |
| Present preliminary findings | Letters to the editor or journals, brief (short) communication submitted to a primary journal are examples of initial reports. | Web of Science (Science Citation Index)
Pub Med |
| Report research | Preprints and conference proceedings are examples of conference literature. | Electronic Theses & Dissertations Center
|
| Research reports: master’s theses, doctoral dissertations, interim or technical reports | PubMed (limiting search results to Technical Report) | |
| Publish research | Research paper (scholarly journal articles): research papers published in peer-reviewed/ refereed journals | PubMed
CINAHL PsycINFO Web of Science ERIC |
Structure
“In your introduction, explain why you’re writing the review and why the topic is important.” the review’s scope — which aspects of the subject will be discussed
the criteria you used to choose your literature (e.g. type of sources used, date range)
the review’s organizational structure
Body paragraphs
You must synthesize your readings in each paragraph to demonstrate your understanding of how different ideas compare and contrast. You must also critically analyze readings in order to highlight scholars’ contributions to your field as well as their relevance to your research.
Each body paragraph, like an essay, should have a different focus. For instance, suppose you
could arrange your body paragraphs as follows:
Chronologically
Thematically
Theoretically
According to research
Conclusion
Your conclusion should:
Summarise all major positions discussed
Clarify general agreements drawn
Highlight gaps in the literature
Emphasise the important of your topic/the need for further research in the field of study.
Literature reviews are often complex and difficult to complete. They require advanced nursing knowledge and skills as well as a large knowledge of relevant resources. If you encounter any challenge while handling nursing case study questions, feel free to contact reach out to our essay writing services. The literature review that the students will be asked in the subsequent chapter will be based on a specific nursing case. Therefore, ensure that you understand the subject before seeking sources of literature review.