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Literature Review and Research Design: A Guide to Effective Research Practice

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literature review and research design a guide to effective research practice

Designing a research project is possibly the most difficult task a dissertation writer faces. It is fraught with uncertainty: what is the best subject? What is the best method? For every answer found, there are often multiple subsequent questions, so it’s easy to get lost in theoretical debates and buried under a mountain of literature.

This book looks at literature review in the process of research design, and how to develop a research practice that will build skills in reading and writing about research literature—skills that remain valuable in both academic and professional careers. Literature review is approached as a process of engaging with the discourse of scholarly communities that will help graduate researchers refine, define, and express their own scholarly vision and voice. This orientation on research as an exploratory practice, rather than merely a series of predetermined steps in a systematic method, allows the researcher to deal with the uncertainties and changes that come with learning new ideas and new perspectives.

The focus on the practical elements of research design makes this book an invaluable resource for graduate students writing dissertations. Practicing research allows room for experiment, error, and learning, ultimately helping graduate researchers use the literature effectively to build a solid scholarly foundation for their dissertation research project.

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  • Looks at literature review in the process of research design.
  • Allows the researcher to deal with the uncertainties that come with learning new ideas.
  • Helps graduate researchers use the literature effectively.

Praise for Literature Review and Research Design

Unlike other books on research, this book does not prescribe methods or recipes. Rather, it feels like one is sitting with an experienced dissertation coach, having a series of short conversations about the tacit knowledge that underlies the various aspects of research practice. After reading this book, novice researchers will have a better understanding of how the literature supports and brings out a researcher’s own voice

--Arnold Wentzel, author of Creative Research in Economics (Routledge, 2016) and A Guide to Argumentative Research Writing and Thinking (Routledge, 2017)

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  • Title : Literature Review and Research Design: A Guide to Effective Research Practice
  • Author : Dave Harris
  • Publisher : Routledge
  • Print Publication Date: 2020
  • Logos Release Date: 2023
  • Era: era:contemporary
  • Language : English
  • Resources: 1
  • Format : Digital › Logos Reader Edition
  • Subjects : Research › Methodology; Information resources › Evaluation; Dissertations, Academic
  • ISBNs : 9780367250379 , 9780429285660 , 0367250373 , 0429285663
  • Resource ID: LLS:LTRVWRSRCHPRCTC
  • Resource Type: Monograph
  • Metadata Last Updated: 2023-12-13T22:13:09Z

About Dave Harris

Dave Harris  is a writing coach who helps authors develop productive writing practices, using principles from design methods, philosophy of science, and cognitive science. With Jean-Pierre Protzen, he is author of  The Universe of Design  (2010, Routledge), and, alone, author of  Getting the Best of Your Dissertation  (2015, Thought Clearing).

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Designing a research project is possibly the most difficult task a dissertation writer faces. It is fraught with uncertainty: what is the best subject? What is the best method? For every answer found, there are often multiple subsequent questions, so it’s easy to get lost in theoretical debates and buried under a mountain of literature.

This book looks at literature review in the process of research design, and how to develop a research practice that will build skills in reading and writing about research literature―skills that remain valuable in both academic and professional careers. Literature review is approached as a process of engaging with the discourse of scholarly communities that will help graduate researchers refine, define, and express their own scholarly vision and voice. This orientation on research as an exploratory practice, rather than merely a series of predetermined steps in a systematic method, allows the researcher to deal with the uncertainties and changes that come with learning new ideas and new perspectives.

The focus on the practical elements of research design makes this book an invaluable resource for graduate students writing dissertations. Practicing research allows room for experiment, error, and learning, ultimately helping graduate researchers use the literature effectively to build a solid scholarly foundation for their dissertation research project.

Unlike other books on research, this book does not prescribe methods or recipes. Rather, it feels like one is sitting with an experienced dissertation coach, having a series of short conversations about the tacit knowledge that underlies the various aspects of research practice. After reading this book, novice researchers will have a better understanding of how the literature supports and brings out a researcher’s own voice

Arnold Wentzel, author of Creative Research in Economics (Routledge, 2016) and A Guide to Argumentative Research Writing and Thinking (Routledge, 2017)

About the Author

Dave Harris is a writing coach who helps authors develop productive writing practices, using principles from design methods, philosophy of science, and cognitive science. With Jean-Pierre Protzen, he is author of The Universe of Design (2010, Routledge), and, alone, author of Getting the Best of Your Dissertation (2015, Thought Clearing). Find him on the web at www.thoughtclearing.com.

  • ISBN-10 0367250373
  • ISBN-13 978-0367250379
  • Edition 1st
  • Publication date 11 Dec. 2019
  • Language English
  • Dimensions 15.6 x 1.02 x 23.4 cm
  • Print length 176 pages
  • See all details

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Routledge; 1st edition (11 Dec. 2019)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 176 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0367250373
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0367250379
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.6 x 1.02 x 23.4 cm
  • 701 in Psychological Methodology
  • 895 in Social Sciences Statistics & Research
  • 896 in Under- & Postgraduate Student Guides

About the author

literature review and research design a guide to effective research practice

Dave Harris

Dave Harris is a seasoned writing coach who has helped authors in such fields as anthropology, history, business, psychology, and education, develop productive writing practices leading to the completion of dissertations and publication of scholarly articles and books.

He is the author of two books for dissertation writers: _Literature Review and Research Design_ (Routledge, 2019), and _Getting the Best of Your Dissertation_ (Thought Clearing, 2015).

With Jean-Pierre Protzen, he is co-author of _The Universe of Design_ (Routledge, 2010), a book on design theory.

Find him on the web at www.thoughtclearing.com.

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Methodology

  • How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates

How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates

Published on January 2, 2023 by Shona McCombes . Revised on September 11, 2023.

What is a literature review? A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources on a specific topic. It provides an overview of current knowledge, allowing you to identify relevant theories, methods, and gaps in the existing research that you can later apply to your paper, thesis, or dissertation topic .

There are five key steps to writing a literature review:

  • Search for relevant literature
  • Evaluate sources
  • Identify themes, debates, and gaps
  • Outline the structure
  • Write your literature review

A good literature review doesn’t just summarize sources—it analyzes, synthesizes , and critically evaluates to give a clear picture of the state of knowledge on the subject.

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Table of contents

What is the purpose of a literature review, examples of literature reviews, step 1 – search for relevant literature, step 2 – evaluate and select sources, step 3 – identify themes, debates, and gaps, step 4 – outline your literature review’s structure, step 5 – write your literature review, free lecture slides, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions, introduction.

  • Quick Run-through
  • Step 1 & 2

When you write a thesis , dissertation , or research paper , you will likely have to conduct a literature review to situate your research within existing knowledge. The literature review gives you a chance to:

  • Demonstrate your familiarity with the topic and its scholarly context
  • Develop a theoretical framework and methodology for your research
  • Position your work in relation to other researchers and theorists
  • Show how your research addresses a gap or contributes to a debate
  • Evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your knowledge of the scholarly debates around your topic.

Writing literature reviews is a particularly important skill if you want to apply for graduate school or pursue a career in research. We’ve written a step-by-step guide that you can follow below.

Literature review guide

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Writing literature reviews can be quite challenging! A good starting point could be to look at some examples, depending on what kind of literature review you’d like to write.

  • Example literature review #1: “Why Do People Migrate? A Review of the Theoretical Literature” ( Theoretical literature review about the development of economic migration theory from the 1950s to today.)
  • Example literature review #2: “Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines” ( Methodological literature review about interdisciplinary knowledge acquisition and production.)
  • Example literature review #3: “The Use of Technology in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Thematic literature review about the effects of technology on language acquisition.)
  • Example literature review #4: “Learners’ Listening Comprehension Difficulties in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Chronological literature review about how the concept of listening skills has changed over time.)

You can also check out our templates with literature review examples and sample outlines at the links below.

Download Word doc Download Google doc

Before you begin searching for literature, you need a clearly defined topic .

If you are writing the literature review section of a dissertation or research paper, you will search for literature related to your research problem and questions .

Make a list of keywords

Start by creating a list of keywords related to your research question. Include each of the key concepts or variables you’re interested in, and list any synonyms and related terms. You can add to this list as you discover new keywords in the process of your literature search.

  • Social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok
  • Body image, self-perception, self-esteem, mental health
  • Generation Z, teenagers, adolescents, youth

Search for relevant sources

Use your keywords to begin searching for sources. Some useful databases to search for journals and articles include:

  • Your university’s library catalogue
  • Google Scholar
  • Project Muse (humanities and social sciences)
  • Medline (life sciences and biomedicine)
  • EconLit (economics)
  • Inspec (physics, engineering and computer science)

You can also use boolean operators to help narrow down your search.

Make sure to read the abstract to find out whether an article is relevant to your question. When you find a useful book or article, you can check the bibliography to find other relevant sources.

You likely won’t be able to read absolutely everything that has been written on your topic, so it will be necessary to evaluate which sources are most relevant to your research question.

For each publication, ask yourself:

  • What question or problem is the author addressing?
  • What are the key concepts and how are they defined?
  • What are the key theories, models, and methods?
  • Does the research use established frameworks or take an innovative approach?
  • What are the results and conclusions of the study?
  • How does the publication relate to other literature in the field? Does it confirm, add to, or challenge established knowledge?
  • What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research?

Make sure the sources you use are credible , and make sure you read any landmark studies and major theories in your field of research.

You can use our template to summarize and evaluate sources you’re thinking about using. Click on either button below to download.

Take notes and cite your sources

As you read, you should also begin the writing process. Take notes that you can later incorporate into the text of your literature review.

It is important to keep track of your sources with citations to avoid plagiarism . It can be helpful to make an annotated bibliography , where you compile full citation information and write a paragraph of summary and analysis for each source. This helps you remember what you read and saves time later in the process.

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To begin organizing your literature review’s argument and structure, be sure you understand the connections and relationships between the sources you’ve read. Based on your reading and notes, you can look for:

  • Trends and patterns (in theory, method or results): do certain approaches become more or less popular over time?
  • Themes: what questions or concepts recur across the literature?
  • Debates, conflicts and contradictions: where do sources disagree?
  • Pivotal publications: are there any influential theories or studies that changed the direction of the field?
  • Gaps: what is missing from the literature? Are there weaknesses that need to be addressed?

This step will help you work out the structure of your literature review and (if applicable) show how your own research will contribute to existing knowledge.

  • Most research has focused on young women.
  • There is an increasing interest in the visual aspects of social media.
  • But there is still a lack of robust research on highly visual platforms like Instagram and Snapchat—this is a gap that you could address in your own research.

There are various approaches to organizing the body of a literature review. Depending on the length of your literature review, you can combine several of these strategies (for example, your overall structure might be thematic, but each theme is discussed chronologically).

Chronological

The simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time. However, if you choose this strategy, be careful to avoid simply listing and summarizing sources in order.

Try to analyze patterns, turning points and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred.

If you have found some recurring central themes, you can organize your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic.

For example, if you are reviewing literature about inequalities in migrant health outcomes, key themes might include healthcare policy, language barriers, cultural attitudes, legal status, and economic access.

Methodological

If you draw your sources from different disciplines or fields that use a variety of research methods , you might want to compare the results and conclusions that emerge from different approaches. For example:

  • Look at what results have emerged in qualitative versus quantitative research
  • Discuss how the topic has been approached by empirical versus theoretical scholarship
  • Divide the literature into sociological, historical, and cultural sources

Theoretical

A literature review is often the foundation for a theoretical framework . You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts.

You might argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach, or combine various theoretical concepts to create a framework for your research.

Like any other academic text , your literature review should have an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion . What you include in each depends on the objective of your literature review.

The introduction should clearly establish the focus and purpose of the literature review.

Depending on the length of your literature review, you might want to divide the body into subsections. You can use a subheading for each theme, time period, or methodological approach.

As you write, you can follow these tips:

  • Summarize and synthesize: give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole
  • Analyze and interpret: don’t just paraphrase other researchers — add your own interpretations where possible, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole
  • Critically evaluate: mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources
  • Write in well-structured paragraphs: use transition words and topic sentences to draw connections, comparisons and contrasts

In the conclusion, you should summarize the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasize their significance.

When you’ve finished writing and revising your literature review, don’t forget to proofread thoroughly before submitting. Not a language expert? Check out Scribbr’s professional proofreading services !

This article has been adapted into lecture slides that you can use to teach your students about writing a literature review.

Scribbr slides are free to use, customize, and distribute for educational purposes.

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If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

  • Sampling methods
  • Simple random sampling
  • Stratified sampling
  • Cluster sampling
  • Likert scales
  • Reproducibility

 Statistics

  • Null hypothesis
  • Statistical power
  • Probability distribution
  • Effect size
  • Poisson distribution

Research bias

  • Optimism bias
  • Cognitive bias
  • Implicit bias
  • Hawthorne effect
  • Anchoring bias
  • Explicit bias

A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources (such as books, journal articles, and theses) related to a specific topic or research question .

It is often written as part of a thesis, dissertation , or research paper , in order to situate your work in relation to existing knowledge.

There are several reasons to conduct a literature review at the beginning of a research project:

  • To familiarize yourself with the current state of knowledge on your topic
  • To ensure that you’re not just repeating what others have already done
  • To identify gaps in knowledge and unresolved problems that your research can address
  • To develop your theoretical framework and methodology
  • To provide an overview of the key findings and debates on the topic

Writing the literature review shows your reader how your work relates to existing research and what new insights it will contribute.

The literature review usually comes near the beginning of your thesis or dissertation . After the introduction , it grounds your research in a scholarly field and leads directly to your theoretical framework or methodology .

A literature review is a survey of credible sources on a topic, often used in dissertations , theses, and research papers . Literature reviews give an overview of knowledge on a subject, helping you identify relevant theories and methods, as well as gaps in existing research. Literature reviews are set up similarly to other  academic texts , with an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion .

An  annotated bibliography is a list of  source references that has a short description (called an annotation ) for each of the sources. It is often assigned as part of the research process for a  paper .  

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  • Editorial Reviews

Designing a research project is possibly the most difficult task a dissertation writer faces. It is fraught with uncertainty: what is the best subject? What is the best method? For every answer found, there are often multiple subsequent questions, so it’s easy to get lost in theoretical debates and buried under a mountain of literature.

This book looks at literature review in the process of research design, and how to develop a research practice that will build skills in reading and writing about research literature—skills that remain valuable in both academic and professional careers. Literature review is approached as a process of engaging with the discourse of scholarly communities that will help graduate researchers refine, define, and express their own scholarly vision and voice. This orientation on research as an exploratory practice, rather than merely a series of predetermined steps in a systematic method, allows the researcher to deal with the uncertainties and changes that come with learning new ideas and new perspectives.

The focus on the practical elements of research design makes this book an invaluable resource for graduate students writing dissertations. Practicing research allows room for experiment, error, and learning, ultimately helping graduate researchers use the literature effectively to build a solid scholarly foundation for their dissertation research project.

About the Author

Dave Harris is a writing coach who helps authors develop productive writing practices, using principles from design methods, philosophy of science, and cognitive science. With Jean-Pierre Protzen, he is author of The Universe of Design (2010, Routledge), and, alone, author of Getting the Best of Your Dissertation (2015, Thought Clearing). Find him on the web at www.thoughtclearing.com.

Unlike other books on research, this book does not prescribe methods or recipes. Rather, it feels like one is sitting with an experienced dissertation coach, having a series of short conversations about the tacit knowledge that underlies the various aspects of research practice. After reading this book, novice researchers will have a better understanding of how the literature supports and brings out a researcher’s own voice

Arnold Wentzel, author of Creative Research in Economics (Routledge, 2016) and A Guide to Argumentative Research Writing and Thinking (Routledge, 2017)

  • ISBN-13 978-0367250379
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About the author

literature review and research design a guide to effective research practice

Dave Harris

Dave Harris is a seasoned writing coach who has helped authors in such fields as anthropology, history, business, psychology, and education, develop productive writing practices leading to the completion of dissertations and publication of scholarly articles and books.

He is the author of two books for dissertation writers: _Literature Review and Research Design_ (Routledge, 2019), and _Getting the Best of Your Dissertation_ (Thought Clearing, 2015).

With Jean-Pierre Protzen, he is co-author of _The Universe of Design_ (Routledge, 2010), a book on design theory.

Find him on the web at www.thoughtclearing.com.

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Approaching literature review for academic purposes: The Literature Review Checklist

Debora f.b. leite.

I Departamento de Ginecologia e Obstetricia, Faculdade de Ciencias Medicas, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, SP, BR

II Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Pernambuco, PE, BR

III Hospital das Clinicas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Pernambuco, PE, BR

Maria Auxiliadora Soares Padilha

Jose g. cecatti.

A sophisticated literature review (LR) can result in a robust dissertation/thesis by scrutinizing the main problem examined by the academic study; anticipating research hypotheses, methods and results; and maintaining the interest of the audience in how the dissertation/thesis will provide solutions for the current gaps in a particular field. Unfortunately, little guidance is available on elaborating LRs, and writing an LR chapter is not a linear process. An LR translates students’ abilities in information literacy, the language domain, and critical writing. Students in postgraduate programs should be systematically trained in these skills. Therefore, this paper discusses the purposes of LRs in dissertations and theses. Second, the paper considers five steps for developing a review: defining the main topic, searching the literature, analyzing the results, writing the review and reflecting on the writing. Ultimately, this study proposes a twelve-item LR checklist. By clearly stating the desired achievements, this checklist allows Masters and Ph.D. students to continuously assess their own progress in elaborating an LR. Institutions aiming to strengthen students’ necessary skills in critical academic writing should also use this tool.

INTRODUCTION

Writing the literature review (LR) is often viewed as a difficult task that can be a point of writer’s block and procrastination ( 1 ) in postgraduate life. Disagreements on the definitions or classifications of LRs ( 2 ) may confuse students about their purpose and scope, as well as how to perform an LR. Interestingly, at many universities, the LR is still an important element in any academic work, despite the more recent trend of producing scientific articles rather than classical theses.

The LR is not an isolated section of the thesis/dissertation or a copy of the background section of a research proposal. It identifies the state-of-the-art knowledge in a particular field, clarifies information that is already known, elucidates implications of the problem being analyzed, links theory and practice ( 3 - 5 ), highlights gaps in the current literature, and places the dissertation/thesis within the research agenda of that field. Additionally, by writing the LR, postgraduate students will comprehend the structure of the subject and elaborate on their cognitive connections ( 3 ) while analyzing and synthesizing data with increasing maturity.

At the same time, the LR transforms the student and hints at the contents of other chapters for the reader. First, the LR explains the research question; second, it supports the hypothesis, objectives, and methods of the research project; and finally, it facilitates a description of the student’s interpretation of the results and his/her conclusions. For scholars, the LR is an introductory chapter ( 6 ). If it is well written, it demonstrates the student’s understanding of and maturity in a particular topic. A sound and sophisticated LR can indicate a robust dissertation/thesis.

A consensus on the best method to elaborate a dissertation/thesis has not been achieved. The LR can be a distinct chapter or included in different sections; it can be part of the introduction chapter, part of each research topic, or part of each published paper ( 7 ). However, scholars view the LR as an integral part of the main body of an academic work because it is intrinsically connected to other sections ( Figure 1 ) and is frequently present. The structure of the LR depends on the conventions of a particular discipline, the rules of the department, and the student’s and supervisor’s areas of expertise, needs and interests.

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Interestingly, many postgraduate students choose to submit their LR to peer-reviewed journals. As LRs are critical evaluations of current knowledge, they are indeed publishable material, even in the form of narrative or systematic reviews. However, systematic reviews have specific patterns 1 ( 8 ) that may not entirely fit with the questions posed in the dissertation/thesis. Additionally, the scope of a systematic review may be too narrow, and the strict criteria for study inclusion may omit important information from the dissertation/thesis. Therefore, this essay discusses the definition of an LR is and methods to develop an LR in the context of an academic dissertation/thesis. Finally, we suggest a checklist to evaluate an LR.

WHAT IS A LITERATURE REVIEW IN A THESIS?

Conducting research and writing a dissertation/thesis translates rational thinking and enthusiasm ( 9 ). While a strong body of literature that instructs students on research methodology, data analysis and writing scientific papers exists, little guidance on performing LRs is available. The LR is a unique opportunity to assess and contrast various arguments and theories, not just summarize them. The research results should not be discussed within the LR, but the postgraduate student tends to write a comprehensive LR while reflecting on his or her own findings ( 10 ).

Many people believe that writing an LR is a lonely and linear process. Supervisors or the institutions assume that the Ph.D. student has mastered the relevant techniques and vocabulary associated with his/her subject and conducts a self-reflection about previously published findings. Indeed, while elaborating the LR, the student should aggregate diverse skills, which mainly rely on his/her own commitment to mastering them. Thus, less supervision should be required ( 11 ). However, the parameters described above might not currently be the case for many students ( 11 , 12 ), and the lack of formal and systematic training on writing LRs is an important concern ( 11 ).

An institutional environment devoted to active learning will provide students the opportunity to continuously reflect on LRs, which will form a dialogue between the postgraduate student and the current literature in a particular field ( 13 ). Postgraduate students will be interpreting studies by other researchers, and, according to Hart (1998) ( 3 ), the outcomes of the LR in a dissertation/thesis include the following:

  • To identify what research has been performed and what topics require further investigation in a particular field of knowledge;
  • To determine the context of the problem;
  • To recognize the main methodologies and techniques that have been used in the past;
  • To place the current research project within the historical, methodological and theoretical context of a particular field;
  • To identify significant aspects of the topic;
  • To elucidate the implications of the topic;
  • To offer an alternative perspective;
  • To discern how the studied subject is structured;
  • To improve the student’s subject vocabulary in a particular field; and
  • To characterize the links between theory and practice.

A sound LR translates the postgraduate student’s expertise in academic and scientific writing: it expresses his/her level of comfort with synthesizing ideas ( 11 ). The LR reveals how well the postgraduate student has proceeded in three domains: an effective literature search, the language domain, and critical writing.

Effective literature search

All students should be trained in gathering appropriate data for specific purposes, and information literacy skills are a cornerstone. These skills are defined as “an individual’s ability to know when they need information, to identify information that can help them address the issue or problem at hand, and to locate, evaluate, and use that information effectively” ( 14 ). Librarian support is of vital importance in coaching the appropriate use of Boolean logic (AND, OR, NOT) and other tools for highly efficient literature searches (e.g., quotation marks and truncation), as is the appropriate management of electronic databases.

Language domain

Academic writing must be concise and precise: unnecessary words distract the reader from the essential content ( 15 ). In this context, reading about issues distant from the research topic ( 16 ) may increase students’ general vocabulary and familiarity with grammar. Ultimately, reading diverse materials facilitates and encourages the writing process itself.

Critical writing

Critical judgment includes critical reading, thinking and writing. It supposes a student’s analytical reflection about what he/she has read. The student should delineate the basic elements of the topic, characterize the most relevant claims, identify relationships, and finally contrast those relationships ( 17 ). Each scientific document highlights the perspective of the author, and students will become more confident in judging the supporting evidence and underlying premises of a study and constructing their own counterargument as they read more articles. A paucity of integration or contradictory perspectives indicates lower levels of cognitive complexity ( 12 ).

Thus, while elaborating an LR, the postgraduate student should achieve the highest category of Bloom’s cognitive skills: evaluation ( 12 ). The writer should not only summarize data and understand each topic but also be able to make judgments based on objective criteria, compare resources and findings, identify discrepancies due to methodology, and construct his/her own argument ( 12 ). As a result, the student will be sufficiently confident to show his/her own voice .

Writing a consistent LR is an intense and complex activity that reveals the training and long-lasting academic skills of a writer. It is not a lonely or linear process. However, students are unlikely to be prepared to write an LR if they have not mastered the aforementioned domains ( 10 ). An institutional environment that supports student learning is crucial.

Different institutions employ distinct methods to promote students’ learning processes. First, many universities propose modules to develop behind the scenes activities that enhance self-reflection about general skills (e.g., the skills we have mastered and the skills we need to develop further), behaviors that should be incorporated (e.g., self-criticism about one’s own thoughts), and each student’s role in the advancement of his/her field. Lectures or workshops about LRs themselves are useful because they describe the purposes of the LR and how it fits into the whole picture of a student’s work. These activities may explain what type of discussion an LR must involve, the importance of defining the correct scope, the reasons to include a particular resource, and the main role of critical reading.

Some pedagogic services that promote a continuous improvement in study and academic skills are equally important. Examples include workshops about time management, the accomplishment of personal objectives, active learning, and foreign languages for nonnative speakers. Additionally, opportunities to converse with other students promotes an awareness of others’ experiences and difficulties. Ultimately, the supervisor’s role in providing feedback and setting deadlines is crucial in developing students’ abilities and in strengthening students’ writing quality ( 12 ).

HOW SHOULD A LITERATURE REVIEW BE DEVELOPED?

A consensus on the appropriate method for elaborating an LR is not available, but four main steps are generally accepted: defining the main topic, searching the literature, analyzing the results, and writing ( 6 ). We suggest a fifth step: reflecting on the information that has been written in previous publications ( Figure 2 ).

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First step: Defining the main topic

Planning an LR is directly linked to the research main question of the thesis and occurs in parallel to students’ training in the three domains discussed above. The planning stage helps organize ideas, delimit the scope of the LR ( 11 ), and avoid the wasting of time in the process. Planning includes the following steps:

  • Reflecting on the scope of the LR: postgraduate students will have assumptions about what material must be addressed and what information is not essential to an LR ( 13 , 18 ). Cooper’s Taxonomy of Literature Reviews 2 systematizes the writing process through six characteristics and nonmutually exclusive categories. The focus refers to the reviewer’s most important points of interest, while the goals concern what students want to achieve with the LR. The perspective assumes answers to the student’s own view of the LR and how he/she presents a particular issue. The coverage defines how comprehensive the student is in presenting the literature, and the organization determines the sequence of arguments. The audience is defined as the group for whom the LR is written.
  • Designating sections and subsections: Headings and subheadings should be specific, explanatory and have a coherent sequence throughout the text ( 4 ). They simulate an inverted pyramid, with an increasing level of reflection and depth of argument.
  • Identifying keywords: The relevant keywords for each LR section should be listed to guide the literature search. This list should mirror what Hart (1998) ( 3 ) advocates as subject vocabulary . The keywords will also be useful when the student is writing the LR since they guide the reader through the text.
  • Delineating the time interval and language of documents to be retrieved in the second step. The most recently published documents should be considered, but relevant texts published before a predefined cutoff year can be included if they are classic documents in that field. Extra care should be employed when translating documents.

Second step: Searching the literature

The ability to gather adequate information from the literature must be addressed in postgraduate programs. Librarian support is important, particularly for accessing difficult texts. This step comprises the following components:

  • Searching the literature itself: This process consists of defining which databases (electronic or dissertation/thesis repositories), official documents, and books will be searched and then actively conducting the search. Information literacy skills have a central role in this stage. While searching electronic databases, controlled vocabulary (e.g., Medical Subject Headings, or MeSH, for the PubMed database) or specific standardized syntax rules may need to be applied.

In addition, two other approaches are suggested. First, a review of the reference list of each document might be useful for identifying relevant publications to be included and important opinions to be assessed. This step is also relevant for referencing the original studies and leading authors in that field. Moreover, students can directly contact the experts on a particular topic to consult with them regarding their experience or use them as a source of additional unpublished documents.

Before submitting a dissertation/thesis, the electronic search strategy should be repeated. This process will ensure that the most recently published papers will be considered in the LR.

  • Selecting documents for inclusion: Generally, the most recent literature will be included in the form of published peer-reviewed papers. Assess books and unpublished material, such as conference abstracts, academic texts and government reports, are also important to assess since the gray literature also offers valuable information. However, since these materials are not peer-reviewed, we recommend that they are carefully added to the LR.

This task is an important exercise in time management. First, students should read the title and abstract to understand whether that document suits their purposes, addresses the research question, and helps develop the topic of interest. Then, they should scan the full text, determine how it is structured, group it with similar documents, and verify whether other arguments might be considered ( 5 ).

Third step: Analyzing the results

Critical reading and thinking skills are important in this step. This step consists of the following components:

  • Reading documents: The student may read various texts in depth according to LR sections and subsections ( defining the main topic ), which is not a passive activity ( 1 ). Some questions should be asked to practice critical analysis skills, as listed below. Is the research question evident and articulated with previous knowledge? What are the authors’ research goals and theoretical orientations, and how do they interact? Are the authors’ claims related to other scholars’ research? Do the authors consider different perspectives? Was the research project designed and conducted properly? Are the results and discussion plausible, and are they consistent with the research objectives and methodology? What are the strengths and limitations of this work? How do the authors support their findings? How does this work contribute to the current research topic? ( 1 , 19 )
  • Taking notes: Students who systematically take notes on each document are more readily able to establish similarities or differences with other documents and to highlight personal observations. This approach reinforces the student’s ideas about the next step and helps develop his/her own academic voice ( 1 , 13 ). Voice recognition software ( 16 ), mind maps ( 5 ), flowcharts, tables, spreadsheets, personal comments on the referenced texts, and note-taking apps are all available tools for managing these observations, and the student him/herself should use the tool that best improves his/her learning. Additionally, when a student is considering submitting an LR to a peer-reviewed journal, notes should be taken on the activities performed in all five steps to ensure that they are able to be replicated.

Fourth step: Writing

The recognition of when a student is able and ready to write after a sufficient period of reading and thinking is likely a difficult task. Some students can produce a review in a single long work session. However, as discussed above, writing is not a linear process, and students do not need to write LRs according to a specific sequence of sections. Writing an LR is a time-consuming task, and some scholars believe that a period of at least six months is sufficient ( 6 ). An LR, and academic writing in general, expresses the writer’s proper thoughts, conclusions about others’ work ( 6 , 10 , 13 , 16 ), and decisions about methods to progress in the chosen field of knowledge. Thus, each student is expected to present a different learning and writing trajectory.

In this step, writing methods should be considered; then, editing, citing and correct referencing should complete this stage, at least temporarily. Freewriting techniques may be a good starting point for brainstorming ideas and improving the understanding of the information that has been read ( 1 ). Students should consider the following parameters when creating an agenda for writing the LR: two-hour writing blocks (at minimum), with prespecified tasks that are possible to complete in one section; short (minutes) and long breaks (days or weeks) to allow sufficient time for mental rest and reflection; and short- and long-term goals to motivate the writing itself ( 20 ). With increasing experience, this scheme can vary widely, and it is not a straightforward rule. Importantly, each discipline has a different way of writing ( 1 ), and each department has its own preferred styles for citations and references.

Fifth step: Reflecting on the writing

In this step, the postgraduate student should ask him/herself the same questions as in the analyzing the results step, which can take more time than anticipated. Ambiguities, repeated ideas, and a lack of coherence may not be noted when the student is immersed in the writing task for long periods. The whole effort will likely be a work in progress, and continuous refinements in the written material will occur once the writing process has begun.

LITERATURE REVIEW CHECKLIST

In contrast to review papers, the LR of a dissertation/thesis should not be a standalone piece or work. Instead, it should present the student as a scholar and should maintain the interest of the audience in how that dissertation/thesis will provide solutions for the current gaps in a particular field.

A checklist for evaluating an LR is convenient for students’ continuous academic development and research transparency: it clearly states the desired achievements for the LR of a dissertation/thesis. Here, we present an LR checklist developed from an LR scoring rubric ( 11 ). For a critical analysis of an LR, we maintain the five categories but offer twelve criteria that are not scaled ( Figure 3 ). The criteria all have the same importance and are not mutually exclusive.

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First category: Coverage

1. justified criteria exist for the inclusion and exclusion of literature in the review.

This criterion builds on the main topic and areas covered by the LR ( 18 ). While experts may be confident in retrieving and selecting literature, postgraduate students must convince their audience about the adequacy of their search strategy and their reasons for intentionally selecting what material to cover ( 11 ). References from different fields of knowledge provide distinct perspective, but narrowing the scope of coverage may be important in areas with a large body of existing knowledge.

Second category: Synthesis

2. a critical examination of the state of the field exists.

A critical examination is an assessment of distinct aspects in the field ( 1 ) along with a constructive argument. It is not a negative critique but an expression of the student’s understanding of how other scholars have added to the topic ( 1 ), and the student should analyze and contextualize contradictory statements. A writer’s personal bias (beliefs or political involvement) have been shown to influence the structure and writing of a document; therefore, the cultural and paradigmatic background guide how the theories are revised and presented ( 13 ). However, an honest judgment is important when considering different perspectives.

3. The topic or problem is clearly placed in the context of the broader scholarly literature

The broader scholarly literature should be related to the chosen main topic for the LR ( how to develop the literature review section). The LR can cover the literature from one or more disciplines, depending on its scope, but it should always offer a new perspective. In addition, students should be careful in citing and referencing previous publications. As a rule, original studies and primary references should generally be included. Systematic and narrative reviews present summarized data, and it may be important to cite them, particularly for issues that should be understood but do not require a detailed description. Similarly, quotations highlight the exact statement from another publication. However, excessive referencing may disclose lower levels of analysis and synthesis by the student.

4. The LR is critically placed in the historical context of the field

Situating the LR in its historical context shows the level of comfort of the student in addressing a particular topic. Instead of only presenting statements and theories in a temporal approach, which occasionally follows a linear timeline, the LR should authentically characterize the student’s academic work in the state-of-art techniques in their particular field of knowledge. Thus, the LR should reinforce why the dissertation/thesis represents original work in the chosen research field.

5. Ambiguities in definitions are considered and resolved

Distinct theories on the same topic may exist in different disciplines, and one discipline may consider multiple concepts to explain one topic. These misunderstandings should be addressed and contemplated. The LR should not synthesize all theories or concepts at the same time. Although this approach might demonstrate in-depth reading on a particular topic, it can reveal a student’s inability to comprehend and synthesize his/her research problem.

6. Important variables and phenomena relevant to the topic are articulated

The LR is a unique opportunity to articulate ideas and arguments and to purpose new relationships between them ( 10 , 11 ). More importantly, a sound LR will outline to the audience how these important variables and phenomena will be addressed in the current academic work. Indeed, the LR should build a bidirectional link with the remaining sections and ground the connections between all of the sections ( Figure 1 ).

7. A synthesized new perspective on the literature has been established

The LR is a ‘creative inquiry’ ( 13 ) in which the student elaborates his/her own discourse, builds on previous knowledge in the field, and describes his/her own perspective while interpreting others’ work ( 13 , 17 ). Thus, students should articulate the current knowledge, not accept the results at face value ( 11 , 13 , 17 ), and improve their own cognitive abilities ( 12 ).

Third category: Methodology

8. the main methodologies and research techniques that have been used in the field are identified and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed.

The LR is expected to distinguish the research that has been completed from investigations that remain to be performed, address the benefits and limitations of the main methods applied to date, and consider the strategies for addressing the expected limitations described above. While placing his/her research within the methodological context of a particular topic, the LR will justify the methodology of the study and substantiate the student’s interpretations.

9. Ideas and theories in the field are related to research methodologies

The audience expects the writer to analyze and synthesize methodological approaches in the field. The findings should be explained according to the strengths and limitations of previous research methods, and students must avoid interpretations that are not supported by the analyzed literature. This criterion translates to the student’s comprehension of the applicability and types of answers provided by different research methodologies, even those using a quantitative or qualitative research approach.

Fourth category: Significance

10. the scholarly significance of the research problem is rationalized.

The LR is an introductory section of a dissertation/thesis and will present the postgraduate student as a scholar in a particular field ( 11 ). Therefore, the LR should discuss how the research problem is currently addressed in the discipline being investigated or in different disciplines, depending on the scope of the LR. The LR explains the academic paradigms in the topic of interest ( 13 ) and methods to advance the field from these starting points. However, an excess number of personal citations—whether referencing the student’s research or studies by his/her research team—may reflect a narrow literature search and a lack of comprehensive synthesis of ideas and arguments.

11. The practical significance of the research problem is rationalized

The practical significance indicates a student’s comprehensive understanding of research terminology (e.g., risk versus associated factor), methodology (e.g., efficacy versus effectiveness) and plausible interpretations in the context of the field. Notably, the academic argument about a topic may not always reflect the debate in real life terms. For example, using a quantitative approach in epidemiology, statistically significant differences between groups do not explain all of the factors involved in a particular problem ( 21 ). Therefore, excessive faith in p -values may reflect lower levels of critical evaluation of the context and implications of a research problem by the student.

Fifth category: Rhetoric

12. the lr was written with a coherent, clear structure that supported the review.

This category strictly relates to the language domain: the text should be coherent and presented in a logical sequence, regardless of which organizational ( 18 ) approach is chosen. The beginning of each section/subsection should state what themes will be addressed, paragraphs should be carefully linked to each other ( 10 ), and the first sentence of each paragraph should generally summarize the content. Additionally, the student’s statements are clear, sound, and linked to other scholars’ works, and precise and concise language that follows standardized writing conventions (e.g., in terms of active/passive voice and verb tenses) is used. Attention to grammar, such as orthography and punctuation, indicates prudence and supports a robust dissertation/thesis. Ultimately, all of these strategies provide fluency and consistency for the text.

Although the scoring rubric was initially proposed for postgraduate programs in education research, we are convinced that this checklist is a valuable tool for all academic areas. It enables the monitoring of students’ learning curves and a concentrated effort on any criteria that are not yet achieved. For institutions, the checklist is a guide to support supervisors’ feedback, improve students’ writing skills, and highlight the learning goals of each program. These criteria do not form a linear sequence, but ideally, all twelve achievements should be perceived in the LR.

CONCLUSIONS

A single correct method to classify, evaluate and guide the elaboration of an LR has not been established. In this essay, we have suggested directions for planning, structuring and critically evaluating an LR. The planning of the scope of an LR and approaches to complete it is a valuable effort, and the five steps represent a rational starting point. An institutional environment devoted to active learning will support students in continuously reflecting on LRs, which will form a dialogue between the writer and the current literature in a particular field ( 13 ).

The completion of an LR is a challenging and necessary process for understanding one’s own field of expertise. Knowledge is always transitory, but our responsibility as scholars is to provide a critical contribution to our field, allowing others to think through our work. Good researchers are grounded in sophisticated LRs, which reveal a writer’s training and long-lasting academic skills. We recommend using the LR checklist as a tool for strengthening the skills necessary for critical academic writing.

AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS

Leite DFB has initially conceived the idea and has written the first draft of this review. Padilha MAS and Cecatti JG have supervised data interpretation and critically reviewed the manuscript. All authors have read the draft and agreed with this submission. Authors are responsible for all aspects of this academic piece.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful to all of the professors of the ‘Getting Started with Graduate Research and Generic Skills’ module at University College Cork, Cork, Ireland, for suggesting and supporting this article. Funding: DFBL has granted scholarship from Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES) to take part of her Ph.D. studies in Ireland (process number 88881.134512/2016-01). There is no participation from sponsors on authors’ decision to write or to submit this manuscript.

No potential conflict of interest was reported.

1 The questions posed in systematic reviews usually follow the ‘PICOS’ acronym: Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes, Study design.

2 In 1988, Cooper proposed a taxonomy that aims to facilitate students’ and institutions’ understanding of literature reviews. Six characteristics with specific categories are briefly described: Focus: research outcomes, research methodologies, theories, or practices and applications; Goals: integration (generalization, conflict resolution, and linguistic bridge-building), criticism, or identification of central issues; Perspective: neutral representation or espousal of a position; Coverage: exhaustive, exhaustive with selective citations, representative, central or pivotal; Organization: historical, conceptual, or methodological; and Audience: specialized scholars, general scholars, practitioners or policymakers, or the general public.

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  • Steps in Conducting a Literature Review

What is a literature review?

A literature review is an integrated analysis -- not just a summary-- of scholarly writings and other relevant evidence related directly to your research question.  That is, it represents a synthesis of the evidence that provides background information on your topic and shows a association between the evidence and your research question.

A literature review may be a stand alone work or the introduction to a larger research paper, depending on the assignment.  Rely heavily on the guidelines your instructor has given you.

Why is it important?

A literature review is important because it:

  • Explains the background of research on a topic.
  • Demonstrates why a topic is significant to a subject area.
  • Discovers relationships between research studies/ideas.
  • Identifies major themes, concepts, and researchers on a topic.
  • Identifies critical gaps and points of disagreement.
  • Discusses further research questions that logically come out of the previous studies.

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1. Choose a topic. Define your research question.

Your literature review should be guided by your central research question.  The literature represents background and research developments related to a specific research question, interpreted and analyzed by you in a synthesized way.

  • Make sure your research question is not too broad or too narrow.  Is it manageable?
  • Begin writing down terms that are related to your question. These will be useful for searches later.
  • If you have the opportunity, discuss your topic with your professor and your class mates.

2. Decide on the scope of your review

How many studies do you need to look at? How comprehensive should it be? How many years should it cover? 

  • This may depend on your assignment.  How many sources does the assignment require?

3. Select the databases you will use to conduct your searches.

Make a list of the databases you will search. 

Where to find databases:

  • use the tabs on this guide
  • Find other databases in the Nursing Information Resources web page
  • More on the Medical Library web page
  • ... and more on the Yale University Library web page

4. Conduct your searches to find the evidence. Keep track of your searches.

  • Use the key words in your question, as well as synonyms for those words, as terms in your search. Use the database tutorials for help.
  • Save the searches in the databases. This saves time when you want to redo, or modify, the searches. It is also helpful to use as a guide is the searches are not finding any useful results.
  • Review the abstracts of research studies carefully. This will save you time.
  • Use the bibliographies and references of research studies you find to locate others.
  • Check with your professor, or a subject expert in the field, if you are missing any key works in the field.
  • Ask your librarian for help at any time.
  • Use a citation manager, such as EndNote as the repository for your citations. See the EndNote tutorials for help.

Review the literature

Some questions to help you analyze the research:

  • What was the research question of the study you are reviewing? What were the authors trying to discover?
  • Was the research funded by a source that could influence the findings?
  • What were the research methodologies? Analyze its literature review, the samples and variables used, the results, and the conclusions.
  • Does the research seem to be complete? Could it have been conducted more soundly? What further questions does it raise?
  • If there are conflicting studies, why do you think that is?
  • How are the authors viewed in the field? Has this study been cited? If so, how has it been analyzed?

Tips: 

  • Review the abstracts carefully.  
  • Keep careful notes so that you may track your thought processes during the research process.
  • Create a matrix of the studies for easy analysis, and synthesis, across all of the studies.
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Conducting a literature review: why do a literature review, why do a literature review.

  • How To Find "The Literature"
  • Found it -- Now What?

Besides the obvious reason for students -- because it is assigned! -- a literature review helps you explore the research that has come before you, to see how your research question has (or has not) already been addressed.

You identify:

  • core research in the field
  • experts in the subject area
  • methodology you may want to use (or avoid)
  • gaps in knowledge -- or where your research would fit in

It Also Helps You:

  • Publish and share your findings
  • Justify requests for grants and other funding
  • Identify best practices to inform practice
  • Set wider context for a program evaluation
  • Compile information to support community organizing

Great brief overview, from NCSU

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Literature review and research design : a guide to effective research practice

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  • Introduction
  • Acknowledgements
  • Part One: On Research
  • Chapter 1. Research Philosophy
  • Chapter 2. Research Practice
  • Part Two: Reading Literature
  • Chapter 3. Attitude
  • Chapter 4. Managing the Literature
  • Chapter 5. Deep Reading
  • Part Three: Writing About Literature
  • Chapter 6. Writing with Literature
  • Chapter 7. Writing a Literature Review
  • Select References, Annotated.
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Undergraduate Research Class - Module 3: Literature Review

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What is a Literature Review?

A  literature review  is a comprehensive study and interpretation of literature that addresses a specific topic.

literature review and research design a guide to effective research practice

Literature reviews are generally conducted in one of two ways:

1) As a preliminary review before a larger study in order to critically evaluate the current literature and justify why further study and research is required.

2) As a project in itself that provides a comprehensive survey of the works published in a particular discipline or area of research over a specified period of time.  

Why conduct a literature review? They provide you with a handy guide to a particular topic. If you have limited time to conduct research, literature reviews can give you an overview or act as a stepping stone.

More:   different types of literature reviews  on how to conduct a literature review.

Literature Review Links

  • PhD on Track: Types of Reviews Narrative & Systematic
  • Purdue Owl: Literature Reviews
  • Purdue OWL: Writing a Literature Review

How to Develop a Literature Review

How to develop a literature review from Academic Research Foundations: Quantitative by Rolin Moe

What is the Difference Between a Systematic Review and a Meta-analysis?

Dr. Singh discusses the difference between a systematic review and a meta-analysis.

Cover Art

Purpose of a Literature Review

Purpose of a literature review from Academic Research Foundations: Quantitative by Rolin Moe

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College of Nursing

Leveraging implementation science with using decision support technology to drive meaningful change for nurses and nursing leadership.

View as pdf A later version of this article appeared in  Nurse Leader ,  Volume 21, Issue 6 , December 2023 . 

Abstract Technology, such as clinical decision support, can play a role in supporting nurses’ decision making, but understanding the complexity and current challenges in nurse decision-making is needed to guide the implementation of technology interventions focused on supporting effective decision-making in practice and leadership. The purpose of this article is to discuss decision-making and information needs among nurses across roles and explain how technology and implementation science approaches can complement effective decision-making interventions.

Across settings and nursing roles, effective decision-making is fundamental to excellent nursing and patient care. For example, nurses in patient care roles often spend more time with patients than any other health discipline and frequently need to make decisions about when to inform the health care team with changes in a patient’s condition. Nurses in leadership roles must make a wide range of managerial decisions concerning nurse staffing, human resources, and which clinical technologies to advocate for the support direct care nurses’ decision-making. Factors such as increasing patient acuity, escalating evidence base, and global pandemics have led to increased complexity in nurse decision-making across roles. Technology can play a role in supporting nurses’ decision making, but understanding the complexity and current challenges in nurse decision-making is needed to guide the implementation of technology interventions focused on supporting effective decision-making in practice and leadership. The purpose of this article is to discuss decision-making and information needs among nurses across roles and explain how technology and implementation science approaches can complement effective decision-making interventions.

Decision-making Across Nursing

Decision-making, or executing a choice among options, is an essential process in nursing and numerous theories and models have been developed to describe and study nurse decision-making. 1-3 Approaches to decision-making can be broadly categorized as rational, using logical steps or rule-based thinking to determine the best option, or intuitive, which describes using instinct or subconscious pattern recognition to make a choice. 4  Over time, thinking has transformed from viewing nurse decision-making as primarily a rational process, to a process that is influenced by real-world demands, such as needing to make decisions with limited information, changing conditions, interruptions, and/or time pressure. 5,6 In these situations, experienced nurses rapidly apply insight from previous experiences to make decisions. 7,8  Given the variation in how decisions are made and real-world demands that nurses and leaders are faced with, a one-size-fits-all approach may not be useful when developing and implementing nurse decision-making interventions.

Information is a fundamental component of the decision-making process and is generated from diverse sources. Digital technologies (e.g., clinical decision support, telehealth, monitoring systems, artificial intelligence) can provide important new sources of information and address limitations to existing information sources, such as organizing EHR data to efficiently identify a patient’s risk for clinical deterioration. However, technologies that fail to adequately address information needs, or are difficult to use, will have limited adoption. Understanding the types of information nurses need in direct care and leadership roles, what information is available, and limitations to existing information sources is needed to evaluate interventions to support decision-making.

Technologic Considerations for Supporting Direct Care Nurses’ Information Needs

Nurses need timely, patient-specific clinical information to provide care. The electronic health record (EHR) is the primary source of patient data, however substantial documentation demands have significantly impacted nurse workload and workflows for finding relevant information. Studies estimate that nurses spend 35 to 41% of their time in the EHR documenting and reviewing patient information. 9,10 While nurses generate large amounts of data in the EHR, documenting an average of 631-875 flowsheet data points and spending an average of 21 minutes documenting notes per shift, there are significant challenges with organizing and synthesizing patient data. 11,12

An integrative review of EHR’s impact on nurses’ cognitive work identified the following limitations to meeting nurse information needs in the EHR: developing an overview of the patient’s history, current status, and plan; synthesizing information using EHR-generated reports to support information needs during a shift and at handoff; and achieving shared understanding of patient goals and care coordination. 13 Similar needs were found by Keenan et al. over a decade ago including the need for a centralized overview of patients accessible to all members of the healthcare team and effective technology to support nurse to nurse change of shift handoffs. 14   Given these challenges, work in two key areas – reducing documentation burden in the EHR and incorporating nurse information needs into EHR redesign are critical to support direct care nurse work.

Another critical area is related to nurses’ expectation to incorporate research into decision-making. This is commonly referred to as evidence-based practice: applying the best available evidence along with patient preferences in making clinical decisions and is a foundation of high-quality nursing care. 15 However, there is a persistent gap of 15 to 17 years between current best evidence and daily practice. 16,17   Studies of information needs and information use for evidence-based practice offer additional perspectives for understanding barriers to routinely using evidence in practice. Findings over the past 15 years indicate that nurses routinely seek out information from colleagues since they share clinical context and are accessible. 18,19  However, information shared by colleagues may be outdated or inaccurate when technology-based tools, such as clinical decision support, can provide nurses with up to date accurate information during a time that integrates well with nurses decision making workflow.

Technologic Considerations for Supporting Nurse Leaders’ Information Needs          

Nurse leaders across roles and settings must integrate patient and organizational data to optimize patient outcomes. Information needs vary by timing of decision. Nurse managers describe short-term information needs about patients related to throughput and staffing needs and long-term information needs focused on meeting organizational priorities, such as quality improvement initiatives and nurse retention. 20, 21 Whereas short-term information was commonly reported to come from the EHR and situational awareness, or understanding of the local environment, long-term information needs require leaders to search for information across sources. A recent review of nursing management information systems found that nursing leaders use information systems to manage human resources, determine nursing workload (nurse to patient ratio) and control costs. 22  These systems are largely based on two sources of data: patient classification measures and hospital resource measurement. The authors did not find a central database or decision support tool to support the work of nurse leaders, suggesting a critical need for new technology to address this gap.

In addition to their own information needs, nurse managers play a critical role in advocating for the information needs of the direct care nurses. For example, in the United States there are an increasing number of mandates and digital technologies related to care quality issues such as central line infection and hospital acquired pressure ulcer prevention. Nurse leaders must appraise digital technologies to determine whether the technology supports the direct care nurses’ information needs, ensure that it is easy to use and does not add to nursing workload as well as providing a return on investment.

A Role for Clinical Decision Support 

One technology-based intervention to assist nurses in complex in decision-making processes is clinical decision support (CDS) systems. CDS systems are computer-based tools to organize person-specific data and knowledge for clinicians and patients to improve the quality and safety of health care. 23 CDS is delivered in a variety of formats, such as through order sets, documentation templates, computerized alerts, dashboards, and visualizations, which may be integrated in electronic health record (EHR) systems or exist as applications or technologies outside the EHR. In general, CDS is composed of three key parts. 24

  • Data management: clinical data and decision rules or logic. Decision rules or logic may be developed using literature and current practice (knowledge-based) or artificial intelligence (non-knowledge-based).  
  • Processing: applies the knowledge or algorithms with patient data
  • User interface: the part of the system that communicates a recommendation and is the point the user interacts with (e.g., computer display, mouse).

Guiding principles for developing effective CDS are known as the CDS Five Rights, and state that CDS should communicate the right information, to the right person, in the right format, through the correct channel at the right time in the workflow. 25 These principles provide a valuable framework for nurse leaders to consider in evaluating potential CDS tools.

CDS tools support information management, which is an increasing need in healthcare given the large volumes of clinical, administrative and research data that is generated. Therefore, tools which filter relevant patient data and apply logic to determine a recommendation are needed. However, fewer CDS tools have been developed for nurses than have been for physicians and other members of the health care team. 26

Current Challenges and Opportunities in Nursing Clinical Support

Recognizing the opportunities for CDS to supporting decision-making must be balanced with the reality that gaps in developing and using CDS exist in nursing. A recent review of CDS tools across multiple disciplines found that only two-thirds of clinicians’ report using available CDS. 27 While understanding of CDS usage specifically among nurses is limited, several nurse, patient, organization, and technology factors have been identified to influence nurses’ use of CDS. 28 Given these challenges, the role of implementation science is emerging as an important approach to inform future CDS design and use. 29

Implementation Science

Implementation science centers on how evidence-based practices are adopted and sustained across specific settings. 30 Whereas evidence-based practice describes what recommendation should be used, implementation science focuses on how to best help people consistently do a particular recommendation in their work environment. 31 Implementation science frameworks provide guidance for understanding key components of implementation, such as describing the implementation process, identifying barriers and facilitators to implementation, or conducting an implementation evaluation. 32 Implementation strategies and context important concepts across most implementation science frameworks. Implementation strategies describe the specific interventions chosen to facilitate change. For example, the Iowa Implementation Model for Sustainability Framework provides an organized approach for selecting an implementation strategy based upon phases of implementation. 33 For example, after nurses have obtained knowledge about a practice change, audit and feedback may be one implementation strategy to promote adoption. Related, is the concept of context, or the unique local factors (e.g., unit culture, work environment, resources) that influence how or why implementation is achieved. 34 In partnership with implementation scientists, nurse leaders can identify unique barriers and facilitators to implementation in the local environment and then match the needs to implementation strategies.

Leveraging User-Centered Design

View Figure 1 as pdf

please see pdf

Considering the unique needs of users, or user-centered design, is a concept central to implementation science and CDS design (Figure 1). The goal of user-centered design is to make interventions “useable and useful” by focusing on user needs throughout the design and development process. 35 Implementation science and user-centered design use a variety approaches to obtain end-user input, which may include, workflow mapping, participatory design, rapid prototyping, and usability testing. 36, 37 However, methods to engage nurses early in CDS design and implementation are inconsistently applied.

Nurse leaders are in a key position to advocate for greater involvement of nurses, early and throughout the process of developing and implementing CDS. This may include developing processes for nurses to provide feedback about information needs in their settings, workflow considerations, and opportunities to test and refine CDS prototypes. Greater involvement of nursing informatics within organizations and including opportunities for nurses to receive training in implementation science and user-centered design are additional strategies to support integration of these concepts in CDS design and use. 38-40  An organizational culture that supports nurse information needs by considering both the types of CDS that nurses need and how CDS will be used in daily practice is critical, especially as new technologies are developed and CDS becomes more complex.

Nurses and nurse leaders need to make numerous decisions in highly complex work environments. CDS has an expanding potential to augment decision-making across roles by providing nurses with meaningful, person-specific information in a usable format to positively impact care and outcomes. Nurses that will be the eventual user of the CDS need to be involved early and throughout CDS development to ensure that CDS tools are usable, useful, align with workflow as a part of routine work. Implementation scientists, who understand the local context, are needed to design and test strategies for using CDS, both in specific settings and diffusing CDS use across settings. Approaches which consider both how CDS is designed for nurse users and how CDS is used and implemented across health systems is needed to support effective decision-making for driving change in nursing practice and leadership settings.

  • Lauri S, Salanterä S. Decision-making models in different fields of nursing. Res Nurs Health . Oct 1998;21(5):443-52. doi:10.1002/(sici)1098-240x(199810)21:5<443::aid-nur7>3.0.co;2-n
  • Tanner CA. Thinking like a nurse: a research-based model of clinical judgment in nursing. J Nurs Educ . Jun 2006;45(6):204-11.
  • Johansen ML, O'Brien JL. Decision making in nursing practice: a concept analysis. Nurs Forum . Jan-Mar 2016;51(1):40-8. doi:10.1111/nuf.12119
  • Hamm RM. Clinical intuition and clinical analysis: expertise and cognitive continuum. In: Dowie JE, A, ed. Professional judgment : a reader in clinical decision making . Cambridge University Press; 1988:78-105.
  • Nibbelink CW, Brewer BB. Decision-making in nursing practice: An integrative literature review. J Clin Nurs . Mar 2018;27(5-6):917-928. doi:10.1111/jocn.14151
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  • Schenk E, Schleyer R, Jones CR, Fincham S, Daratha KB, Monsen KA. Time motion analysis of nursing work in ICU, telemetry and medical-surgical units. J Nurs Manag . Nov 2017;25(8):640-646. doi:10.1111/jonm.12502
  • Yen PY, Kellye M, Lopetegui M, et al. Nurses' time allocation and multitasking of nursing activities: a time motion study. AMIA Annu Symp Proc . 2018;2018:1137-1146.
  • Hripcsak G, Vawdrey DK, Fred MR, Bostwick SB. Use of electronic clinical documentation: time spent and team interactions. JAMIA . Mar-Apr 2011;18(2):112-7. doi:10.1136/jamia.2010.008441
  • Collins S, Couture B, Kang MJ, et al. Quantifying and visualizing nursing flowsheet documentation burden in acute and critical care. AMIA Annu Symp Proc . 2018;2018:348-357.
  • Wisner K, Lyndon A, Chesla CA. The electronic health record’s impact on nurses’ cognitive work: An integrative review. Int J Nurs Stud . 2019/06/01/ 2019;94:74-84. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2019.03.003
  • Keenan G, Yakel E, Dunn Lopez K, Tschannen D, Ford YB. Challenges to nurses' efforts of retrieving, documenting, and communicating patient care information. JAMIA . Mar-Apr 2013;20(2):245-51. doi:10.1136/amiajnl-2012-000894
  • Melnyk BM, Fineout-Overholt E. Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare: A guide to best practice . Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2022.
  • Balas EA, Boren SA. Managing clinical knowledge for health care improvement. Yearb Med Inform . 2000;9(01):65-70.
  • Khan S, Chambers D, Neta G. Revisiting time to translation: implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in cancer control. Cancer Causes Control . 2021/03/01 2021;32(3):221-230. doi:10.1007/s10552-020-01376-z
  • Clarke MA, Belden JL, Koopman RJ, et al. Information needs and information-seeking behaviour analysis of primary care physicians and nurses: a literature review. Health Info Libr J . Sep 2013;30(3):178-90. doi:10.1111/hir.12036
  • Fossum M, Opsal A, Ehrenberg A. Nurses' sources of information to inform clinical practice: An integrative review to guide evidence-based practice. Worldviews Evid Based Nurs . Oct 2022;19(5):372-379. doi:10.1111/wvn.12569
  • Peltonen LM, Siirala E, Junttila K, et al. Information needs in day-to-day operations management in hospital units: A cross-sectional national survey. J Nurs Manag . Mar 2019;27(2):233-244. doi:10.1111/jonm.12700
  • Siirala E, Salanterä S, Lundgrén-Laine H, Peltonen LM, Engblom J, Junttila K. Identifying nurse managers' essential information needs in daily unit operation in perioperative settings. Nurs Open . May 2020;7(3):793-803. doi:10.1002/nop2.454
  • Fathian A, Emami H, Moghaddasi H, Kazemi A, Rabiei R. Features of nursing management information systems: A systematic review. Biomed J . 2019;21(2):15773-15781.
  • Teich JM, Osheroff JA, Pifer EA, Sittig DF, Jenders RA, Panel TCER. Clinical decision support in electronic prescribing: recommendations and an action plan: report of the joint clinical decision support workgroup. JAMIA . 2005;12(4):365-376. doi:10.1197/jamia.M1822
  • Sutton RT, Pincock D, Baumgart DC, Sadowski DC, Fedorak RN, Kroeker KI. An overview of clinical decision support systems: benefits, risks, and strategies for success. NPJ Digit Med . 2020;3:17. doi:10.1038/s41746-020-0221-y
  • Osheroff JA. Improving medication use and outcomes with clinical decision support:: a step by step guide. HIMSS; 2009.
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  • Risling TL, Risling DE. Advancing nursing participation in user-centred design. J Res Nurs . May 2020;25(3):226-238. doi:10.1177/1744987120913590

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IMAGES

  1. The Importance of Literature Review in Scientific Research Writing

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VIDEO

  1. Write Your Literature Review FAST

  2. Literature Review Research Methodology

  3. Why to do Literature Review?| Research Methods in Education,

  4. Thematic Literature Review

  5. Approaches to Literature Review

  6. what is Literature Review?

COMMENTS

  1. Literature Review and Research Design

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  5. Literature Review and Research Design: A Guide to Effective Research

    Literature Review and Research Design: A Guide to Effective Research Practice Dave Harris 3.80 5 ratings1 review Designing a research project is possibly the most difficult task a dissertation writer faces. It is fraught with uncertainty: what is the best subject? What is the best method?

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  8. Literature Review and Research Design

    A Guide to Effective Research Practice Dave Harris Book details Book preview Table of contents Citations About This Book Designing a research project is possibly the most difficult task a dissertation writer faces. It is fraught with uncertainty: what is the best subject? What is the best method?

  9. Literature review as a research methodology: An ...

    First, this paper separates between different types of review methodologies; systematic, semi-systematic and integrative approaches and argues that depending on purpose and the quality of execution, each type of approach can be very effective.

  10. Guidance on Conducting a Systematic Literature Review

    Literature review is an essential feature of academic research. Fundamentally, knowledge advancement must be built on prior existing work. To push the knowledge frontier, we must know where the frontier is. By reviewing relevant literature, we understand the breadth and depth of the existing body of work and identify gaps to explore.

  11. How to Write a Literature Review

    Step 1 - Search for relevant literature Step 2 - Evaluate and select sources Step 3 - Identify themes, debates, and gaps Step 4 - Outline your literature review's structure Step 5 - Write your literature review Free lecture slides Other interesting articles Frequently asked questions Introduction Quick Run-through Step 1 & 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5

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    What I love the most about this book is that Dr. Harris uses a holistic approach to the practice of research writing. This book not only highlights the author's extensive dissertation coaching experience guiding students through all stages of research design, it also showcases his creativity in designing effective exercises that could help anyone overcome a specific obstacle.

  14. Literature Review and Research Design: A Guide to Effective Research

    The focus on the practical elements of research design makes this book an invaluable resource for graduate students writing dissertations. Practicing research allows room for experiment, error, and learning, ultimately helping graduate researchers use the literature effectively to build a solid scholarly foundation for their dissertation ...

  15. Literature Review and Research Design: A Guide to Effective Research

    Literature Review and Research Design: A Guide to Effective Research Practice - Softcover Harris, Dave 3.8 avg rating • 5 ratings by Goodreads Softcover ISBN 10: 0367250373 ISBN 13: 9780367250379 Publisher: Routledge, 2019 View all copies of this ISBN edition: About this edition Publisher Routledge Publication date 2019 ISBN 10 0367250373

  16. Chapter 9 Methods for Literature Reviews

    Among other methods, literature reviews are essential for: (a) identifying what has been written on a subject or topic; (b) determining the extent to which a specific research area reveals any interpretable trends or patterns; (c) aggregating empirical findings related to a narrow research question to support evidence-based practice; (d) generat...

  17. Approaching literature review for academic purposes: The Literature

    A sophisticated literature review (LR) can result in a robust dissertation/thesis by scrutinizing the main problem examined by the academic study; anticipating research hypotheses, methods and results; and maintaining the interest of the audience in how the dissertation/thesis will provide solutions for the current gaps in a particular field.

  18. Steps in Conducting a Literature Review

    1. Choose a topic. Define your research question. Your literature review should be guided by your central research question. The literature represents background and research developments related to a specific research question, interpreted and analyzed by you in a synthesized way.

  19. Conducting a Literature Review: Why Do A Literature Review?

    Besides the obvious reason for students -- because it is assigned! -- a literature review helps you explore the research that has come before you, to see how your research question has (or has not) already been addressed. You identify: core research in the field. experts in the subject area. methodology you may want to use (or avoid)

  20. Literature review and research design : a guide to effective research

    Literature review and research design : a guide to effective research practice Responsibility Dave Harris Publication London ; New York : Routledge, 2020 Copyright notice ©2020 Physical description xii, 162 pages ; 24 cm Online At the library Education Library (Cubberley) Closed today Access The Education Library is closed for construction.

  21. Undergraduate Research Class

    A literature review is a comprehensive study and interpretation of literature that addresses a specific topic. Literature reviews are generally conducted in one of two ways: 1) As a preliminary review before a larger study in order to critically evaluate the current literature and justify why further study and research is required. 2) As a ...

  22. Literature Review and Research Design: A Guide to Effective Research

    Education, Computer Science. 2021. TLDR. This paper aims to review current literature from a variety of disciplines on the effect of the digital age on students' deep reading skills and provide teachers with effective strategies to encourage and sustain students' deep reading in the online world. Expand.

  23. Diagnostics

    Digitalizing all aspects of dental care is a contemporary approach to ensuring the best possible clinical outcomes. Ongoing advancements in 3D face acquisition have been driven by continuous research on craniofacial structures and treatment effects. An array of 3D surface-imaging systems are currently available for generating photorealistic 3D facial images. However, choosing a purpose ...

  24. Leveraging implementation science with using decision support

    View as pdf A later version of this article appeared in Nurse Leader, Volume 21, Issue 6, December 2023.. Abstract. Technology, such as clinical decision support, can play a role in supporting nurses' decision making, but understanding the complexity and current challenges in nurse decision-making is needed to guide the implementation of technology interventions focused on supporting ...