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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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Literature Reviews

Steps in the literature review process.

• What is a literature review?
• Define your research question
• Determine inclusion and exclusion criteria
• Choose databases and search
• Review Results
• Synthesize Results
• Analyze Results
• Librarian Support
• You may need to some exploratory searching of the literature to get a sense of scope, to determine whether you need to narrow or broaden your focus
• Identify databases that provide the most relevant sources, and identify relevant terms (controlled vocabularies) to add to your search strategy
• Finalize your research question
• Think about relevant dates, geographies (and languages), methods, and conflicting points of view
• Conduct searches in the published literature via the identified databases
• Check to see if this topic has been covered in other discipline's databases
• Examine the citations of on-point articles for keywords, authors, and previous research (via references) and cited reference searching.
• Save your search results in a citation management tool (such as Zotero, Mendeley or EndNote)
• De-duplicate your search results
• Make sure that you've found the seminal pieces -- they have been cited many times, and their work is considered foundational 
• Check with your professor or a librarian to make sure your search has been comprehensive
• Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of individual sources and evaluate for bias, methodologies, and thoroughness
• Group your results in to an organizational structure that will support why your research needs to be done, or that provides the answer to your research question  
• Develop your conclusions
• Are there gaps in the literature?
• Where has significant research taken place, and who has done it?
• Is there consensus or debate on this topic?
• Which methodological approaches work best?
• For example: Background, Current Practices, Critics and Proponents, Where/How this study will fit in 
• Organize your citations and focus on your research question and pertinent studies
• Compile your bibliography

Note: The first four steps are the best points at which to contact a librarian. Your librarian can help you determine the best databases to use for your topic, assess scope, and formulate a search strategy.

Videos Tutorials about Literature Reviews

This 4.5 minute video from Academic Education Materials has a Creative Commons License and a British narrator.

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• What is a Literature Review? | Guide, Template, & Examples

What is a Literature Review? | Guide, Template, & Examples

Published on 22 February 2022 by Shona McCombes . Revised on 7 June 2022.

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.

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 summarise sources – it analyses, synthesises, and critically evaluates to give a clear picture of the state of knowledge on the subject.

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Table of contents

Why write 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, frequently asked questions about literature reviews, introduction.

• Quick Run-through
• Step 1 & 2

When you write a dissertation or thesis, you will 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 scholarly context
• Develop a theoretical framework and methodology for your research
• Position yourself in relation to other researchers and theorists
• Show how your dissertation addresses a gap or contributes to a debate

You might also have to write a literature review as a stand-alone assignment. In this case, the purpose is to evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your knowledge of scholarly debates around a topic.

The content will look slightly different in each case, but the process of conducting a literature review follows the same steps. We’ve written a step-by-step guide that you can follow below.

Prevent plagiarism, run a free check.

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 objectives and questions .

If you are writing a literature review as a stand-alone assignment, you will have to choose a focus and develop a central question to direct your search. Unlike a dissertation research question, this question has to be answerable without collecting original data. You should be able to answer it based only on a review of existing publications.

Make a list of keywords

Start by creating a list of keywords related to your research topic. 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 if 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 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 use boolean operators to help narrow down your search:

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.

To identify the most important publications on your topic, take note of recurring citations. If the same authors, books or articles keep appearing in your reading, make sure to seek them out.

You probably won’t be able to read absolutely everything that has been written on the topic – you’ll have to evaluate which sources are most relevant to your questions.

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?
• How does the publication contribute to your understanding of the topic? What are its key insights and arguments?
• 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 find out how many times an article has been cited on Google Scholar – a high citation count means the article has been influential in the field, and should certainly be included in your literature review.

The scope of your review will depend on your topic and discipline: in the sciences you usually only review recent literature, but in the humanities you might take a long historical perspective (for example, to trace how a concept has changed in meaning over time).

Remember that you can use our template to summarise and evaluate sources you’re thinking about using!

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’s important to keep track of your sources with references to avoid plagiarism . It can be helpful to make an annotated bibliography, where you compile full reference 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.

You can use our free APA Reference Generator for quick, correct, consistent citations.

To begin organising your literature review’s argument and structure, you need to 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 organising the body of a literature review. You should have a rough idea of your strategy before you start writing.

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 summarising sources in order.

Try to analyse 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 organise 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.

If you are writing the literature review as part of your dissertation or thesis, reiterate your central problem or research question and give a brief summary of the scholarly context. You can emphasise the timeliness of the topic (“many recent studies have focused on the problem of x”) or highlight a gap in the literature (“while there has been much research on x, few researchers have taken y into consideration”).

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, make sure to follow these tips:

• Summarise and synthesise: give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole.
• Analyse and interpret: don’t just paraphrase other researchers – add your own interpretations, 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 transitions and topic sentences to draw connections, comparisons and contrasts.

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

If the literature review is part of your dissertation or thesis, reiterate how your research addresses gaps and contributes new knowledge, or discuss how you have drawn on existing theories and methods to build a framework for your research. This can lead directly into your methodology section.

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 dissertation , thesis, research paper , or proposal .

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

• To familiarise 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  dissertation . After the introduction , it grounds your research in a scholarly field and leads directly to your theoretical framework or methodology .

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How To Write An A-Grade Literature Review

3 straightforward steps (with examples) + free template.

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) | Expert Reviewed By: Dr. Eunice Rautenbach | October 2019

Quality research is about building onto the existing work of others , “standing on the shoulders of giants”, as Newton put it. The literature review chapter of your dissertation, thesis or research project is where you synthesise this prior work and lay the theoretical foundation for your own research.

Long story short, this chapter is a pretty big deal, which is why you want to make sure you get it right . In this post, I’ll show you exactly how to write a literature review in three straightforward steps, so you can conquer this vital chapter (the smart way).

Overview: The Literature Review Process

• Understanding the “ why “
• Finding the relevant literature
• Cataloguing and synthesising the information
• Outlining & writing up your literature review
• Example of a literature review

But first, the “why”…

Before we unpack how to write the literature review chapter, we’ve got to look at the why . To put it bluntly, if you don’t understand the function and purpose of the literature review process, there’s no way you can pull it off well. So, what exactly is the purpose of the literature review?

Well, there are (at least) four core functions:

• For you to gain an understanding (and demonstrate this understanding) of where the research is at currently, what the key arguments and disagreements are.
• For you to identify the gap(s) in the literature and then use this as justification for your own research topic.
• To help you build a conceptual framework for empirical testing (if applicable to your research topic).
• To inform your methodological choices and help you source tried and tested questionnaires (for interviews ) and measurement instruments (for surveys ).

Most students understand the first point but don’t give any thought to the rest. To get the most from the literature review process, you must keep all four points front of mind as you review the literature (more on this shortly), or you’ll land up with a wonky foundation.

Okay – with the why out the way, let’s move on to the how . As mentioned above, writing your literature review is a process, which I’ll break down into three steps:

• Finding the most suitable literature
• Understanding , distilling and organising the literature
• Planning and writing up your literature review chapter

Importantly, you must complete steps one and two before you start writing up your chapter. I know it’s very tempting, but don’t try to kill two birds with one stone and write as you read. You’ll invariably end up wasting huge amounts of time re-writing and re-shaping, or you’ll just land up with a disjointed, hard-to-digest mess . Instead, you need to read first and distil the information, then plan and execute the writing.

Step 1: Find the relevant literature

Naturally, the first step in the literature review journey is to hunt down the existing research that’s relevant to your topic. While you probably already have a decent base of this from your research proposal , you need to expand on this substantially in the dissertation or thesis itself.

Essentially, you need to be looking for any existing literature that potentially helps you answer your research question (or develop it, if that’s not yet pinned down). There are numerous ways to find relevant literature, but I’ll cover my top four tactics here. I’d suggest combining all four methods to ensure that nothing slips past you:

Method 1 – Google Scholar Scrubbing

Google’s academic search engine, Google Scholar , is a great starting point as it provides a good high-level view of the relevant journal articles for whatever keyword you throw at it. Most valuably, it tells you how many times each article has been cited, which gives you an idea of how credible (or at least, popular) it is. Some articles will be free to access, while others will require an account, which brings us to the next method.

Method 2 – University Database Scrounging

Generally, universities provide students with access to an online library, which provides access to many (but not all) of the major journals.

So, if you find an article using Google Scholar that requires paid access (which is quite likely), search for that article in your university’s database – if it’s listed there, you’ll have access. Note that, generally, the search engine capabilities of these databases are poor, so make sure you search for the exact article name, or you might not find it.

Method 3 – Journal Article Snowballing

At the end of every academic journal article, you’ll find a list of references. As with any academic writing, these references are the building blocks of the article, so if the article is relevant to your topic, there’s a good chance a portion of the referenced works will be too. Do a quick scan of the titles and see what seems relevant, then search for the relevant ones in your university’s database.

Method 4 – Dissertation Scavenging

Similar to Method 3 above, you can leverage other students’ dissertations. All you have to do is skim through literature review chapters of existing dissertations related to your topic and you’ll find a gold mine of potential literature. Usually, your university will provide you with access to previous students’ dissertations, but you can also find a much larger selection in the following databases:

• Open Access Theses & Dissertations
• Stanford SearchWorks

Keep in mind that dissertations and theses are not as academically sound as published, peer-reviewed journal articles (because they’re written by students, not professionals), so be sure to check the credibility of any sources you find using this method. You can do this by assessing the citation count of any given article in Google Scholar. If you need help with assessing the credibility of any article, or with finding relevant research in general, you can chat with one of our Research Specialists .

Alright – with a good base of literature firmly under your belt, it’s time to move onto the next step.

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Step 2: Log, catalogue and synthesise

Once you’ve built a little treasure trove of articles, it’s time to get reading and start digesting the information – what does it all mean?

While I present steps one and two (hunting and digesting) as sequential, in reality, it’s more of a back-and-forth tango – you’ll read a little , then have an idea, spot a new citation, or a new potential variable, and then go back to searching for articles. This is perfectly natural – through the reading process, your thoughts will develop , new avenues might crop up, and directional adjustments might arise. This is, after all, one of the main purposes of the literature review process (i.e. to familiarise yourself with the current state of research in your field).

As you’re working through your treasure chest, it’s essential that you simultaneously start organising the information. There are three aspects to this:

• Logging reference information
• Building an organised catalogue
• Distilling and synthesising the information

I’ll discuss each of these below:

2.1 – Log the reference information

As you read each article, you should add it to your reference management software. I usually recommend Mendeley for this purpose (see the Mendeley 101 video below), but you can use whichever software you’re comfortable with. Most importantly, make sure you load EVERY article you read into your reference manager, even if it doesn’t seem very relevant at the time.

2.2 – Build an organised catalogue

In the beginning, you might feel confident that you can remember who said what, where, and what their main arguments were. Trust me, you won’t. If you do a thorough review of the relevant literature (as you must!), you’re going to read many, many articles, and it’s simply impossible to remember who said what, when, and in what context . Also, without the bird’s eye view that a catalogue provides, you’ll miss connections between various articles, and have no view of how the research developed over time. Simply put, it’s essential to build your own catalogue of the literature.

I would suggest using Excel to build your catalogue, as it allows you to run filters, colour code and sort – all very useful when your list grows large (which it will). How you lay your spreadsheet out is up to you, but I’d suggest you have the following columns (at minimum):

• Author, date, title – Start with three columns containing this core information. This will make it easy for you to search for titles with certain words, order research by date, or group by author.
• Categories or keywords – You can either create multiple columns, one for each category/theme and then tick the relevant categories, or you can have one column with keywords.
• Key arguments/points – Use this column to succinctly convey the essence of the article, the key arguments and implications thereof for your research.
• Context – Note the socioeconomic context in which the research was undertaken. For example, US-based, respondents aged 25-35, lower- income, etc. This will be useful for making an argument about gaps in the research.
• Methodology – Note which methodology was used and why. Also, note any issues you feel arise due to the methodology. Again, you can use this to make an argument about gaps in the research.
• Quotations – Note down any quoteworthy lines you feel might be useful later.
• Notes – Make notes about anything not already covered. For example, linkages to or disagreements with other theories, questions raised but unanswered, shortcomings or limitations, and so forth.

If you’d like, you can try out our free catalog template here (see screenshot below).

2.3 – Digest and synthesise

Most importantly, as you work through the literature and build your catalogue, you need to synthesise all the information in your own mind – how does it all fit together? Look for links between the various articles and try to develop a bigger picture view of the state of the research. Some important questions to ask yourself are:

• What answers does the existing research provide to my own research questions ?
• Which points do the researchers agree (and disagree) on?
• How has the research developed over time?
• Where do the gaps in the current research lie?

To help you develop a big-picture view and synthesise all the information, you might find mind mapping software such as Freemind useful. Alternatively, if you’re a fan of physical note-taking, investing in a large whiteboard might work for you.

Step 3: Outline and write it up!

Once you’re satisfied that you have digested and distilled all the relevant literature in your mind, it’s time to put pen to paper (or rather, fingers to keyboard). There are two steps here – outlining and writing:

3.1 – Draw up your outline

Having spent so much time reading, it might be tempting to just start writing up without a clear structure in mind. However, it’s critically important to decide on your structure and develop a detailed outline before you write anything. Your literature review chapter needs to present a clear, logical and an easy to follow narrative – and that requires some planning. Don’t try to wing it!

Naturally, you won’t always follow the plan to the letter, but without a detailed outline, you’re more than likely going to end up with a disjointed pile of waffle , and then you’re going to spend a far greater amount of time re-writing, hacking and patching. The adage, “measure twice, cut once” is very suitable here.

In terms of structure, the first decision you’ll have to make is whether you’ll lay out your review thematically (into themes) or chronologically (by date/period). The right choice depends on your topic, research objectives and research questions, which we discuss in this article .

Once that’s decided, you need to draw up an outline of your entire chapter in bullet point format. Try to get as detailed as possible, so that you know exactly what you’ll cover where, how each section will connect to the next, and how your entire argument will develop throughout the chapter. Also, at this stage, it’s a good idea to allocate rough word count limits for each section, so that you can identify word count problems before you’ve spent weeks or months writing!

PS – check out our free literature review chapter template…

3.2 – Get writing

With a detailed outline at your side, it’s time to start writing up (finally!). At this stage, it’s common to feel a bit of writer’s block and find yourself procrastinating under the pressure of finally having to put something on paper. To help with this, remember that the objective of the first draft is not perfection – it’s simply to get your thoughts out of your head and onto paper, after which you can refine them. The structure might change a little, the word count allocations might shift and shuffle, and you might add or remove a section – that’s all okay. Don’t worry about all this on your first draft – just get your thoughts down on paper.

Once you’ve got a full first draft (however rough it may be), step away from it for a day or two (longer if you can) and then come back at it with fresh eyes. Pay particular attention to the flow and narrative – does it fall fit together and flow from one section to another smoothly? Now’s the time to try to improve the linkage from each section to the next, tighten up the writing to be more concise, trim down word count and sand it down into a more digestible read.

Once you’ve done that, give your writing to a friend or colleague who is not a subject matter expert and ask them if they understand the overall discussion. The best way to assess this is to ask them to explain the chapter back to you. This technique will give you a strong indication of which points were clearly communicated and which weren’t. If you’re working with Grad Coach, this is a good time to have your Research Specialist review your chapter.

Finally, tighten it up and send it off to your supervisor for comment. Some might argue that you should be sending your work to your supervisor sooner than this (indeed your university might formally require this), but in my experience, supervisors are extremely short on time (and often patience), so, the more refined your chapter is, the less time they’ll waste on addressing basic issues (which you know about already) and the more time they’ll spend on valuable feedback that will increase your mark-earning potential.

Literature Review Example

In the video below, we unpack an actual literature review so that you can see how all the core components come together in reality.

Let’s Recap

In this post, we’ve covered how to research and write up a high-quality literature review chapter. Let’s do a quick recap of the key takeaways:

• It is essential to understand the WHY of the literature review before you read or write anything. Make sure you understand the 4 core functions of the process.
• The first step is to hunt down the relevant literature . You can do this using Google Scholar, your university database, the snowballing technique and by reviewing other dissertations and theses.
• Next, you need to log all the articles in your reference manager , build your own catalogue of literature and synthesise all the research.
• Following that, you need to develop a detailed outline of your entire chapter – the more detail the better. Don’t start writing without a clear outline (on paper, not in your head!)
• Write up your first draft in rough form – don’t aim for perfection. Remember, done beats perfect.
• Refine your second draft and get a layman’s perspective on it . Then tighten it up and submit it to your supervisor.

Psst… there’s more!

This post is an extract from our bestselling short course, Literature Review Bootcamp . If you want to work smart, you don't want to miss this .

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• USC Libraries
• Research Guides

Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper

• 5. The Literature Review
• Purpose of Guide
• Design Flaws to Avoid
• Independent and Dependent Variables
• Glossary of Research Terms
• Reading Research Effectively
• Narrowing a Topic Idea
• Broadening a Topic Idea
• Extending the Timeliness of a Topic Idea
• Academic Writing Style
• Applying Critical Thinking
• Choosing a Title
• Making an Outline
• Paragraph Development
• Research Process Video Series
• Executive Summary
• The C.A.R.S. Model
• Background Information
• The Research Problem/Question
• Theoretical Framework
• Citation Tracking
• Content Alert Services
• Evaluating Sources
• Primary Sources
• Secondary Sources
• Tiertiary Sources
• Scholarly vs. Popular Publications
• Qualitative Methods
• Quantitative Methods
• Insiderness
• Using Non-Textual Elements
• Limitations of the Study
• Common Grammar Mistakes
• Writing Concisely
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Footnotes or Endnotes?
• Further Readings
• Generative AI and Writing
• USC Libraries Tutorials and Other Guides
• Bibliography

A literature review surveys prior research published in books, scholarly articles, and any other sources relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, and by so doing, provides a description, summary, and critical evaluation of these works in relation to the research problem being investigated. Literature reviews are designed to provide an overview of sources you have used in researching a particular topic and to demonstrate to your readers how your research fits within existing scholarship about the topic.

Fink, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper . Fourth edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2014.

Importance of a Good Literature Review

A literature review may consist of simply a summary of key sources, but in the social sciences, a literature review usually has an organizational pattern and combines both summary and synthesis, often within specific conceptual categories . A summary is a recap of the important information of the source, but a synthesis is a re-organization, or a reshuffling, of that information in a way that informs how you are planning to investigate a research problem. The analytical features of a literature review might:

• Give a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations,
• Trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates,
• Depending on the situation, evaluate the sources and advise the reader on the most pertinent or relevant research, or
• Usually in the conclusion of a literature review, identify where gaps exist in how a problem has been researched to date.

Given this, the purpose of a literature review is to:

• Place each work in the context of its contribution to understanding the research problem being studied.
• Describe the relationship of each work to the others under consideration.
• Identify new ways to interpret prior research.
• Reveal any gaps that exist in the literature.
• Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies.
• Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of effort.
• Point the way in fulfilling a need for additional research.
• Locate your own research within the context of existing literature [very important].

Fink, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2005; Hart, Chris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998; Jesson, Jill. Doing Your Literature Review: Traditional and Systematic Techniques . Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2011; Knopf, Jeffrey W. "Doing a Literature Review." PS: Political Science and Politics 39 (January 2006): 127-132; Ridley, Diana. The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for Students . 2nd ed. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2012.

Types of Literature Reviews

It is important to think of knowledge in a given field as consisting of three layers. First, there are the primary studies that researchers conduct and publish. Second are the reviews of those studies that summarize and offer new interpretations built from and often extending beyond the primary studies. Third, there are the perceptions, conclusions, opinion, and interpretations that are shared informally among scholars that become part of the body of epistemological traditions within the field.

In composing a literature review, it is important to note that it is often this third layer of knowledge that is cited as "true" even though it often has only a loose relationship to the primary studies and secondary literature reviews. Given this, while literature reviews are designed to provide an overview and synthesis of pertinent sources you have explored, there are a number of approaches you could adopt depending upon the type of analysis underpinning your study.

Argumentative Review This form examines literature selectively in order to support or refute an argument, deeply embedded assumption, or philosophical problem already established in the literature. The purpose is to develop a body of literature that establishes a contrarian viewpoint. Given the value-laden nature of some social science research [e.g., educational reform; immigration control], argumentative approaches to analyzing the literature can be a legitimate and important form of discourse. However, note that they can also introduce problems of bias when they are used to make summary claims of the sort found in systematic reviews [see below].

Integrative Review Considered a form of research that reviews, critiques, and synthesizes representative literature on a topic in an integrated way such that new frameworks and perspectives on the topic are generated. The body of literature includes all studies that address related or identical hypotheses or research problems. A well-done integrative review meets the same standards as primary research in regard to clarity, rigor, and replication. This is the most common form of review in the social sciences.

Historical Review Few things rest in isolation from historical precedent. Historical literature reviews focus on examining research throughout a period of time, often starting with the first time an issue, concept, theory, phenomena emerged in the literature, then tracing its evolution within the scholarship of a discipline. The purpose is to place research in a historical context to show familiarity with state-of-the-art developments and to identify the likely directions for future research.

Methodological Review A review does not always focus on what someone said [findings], but how they came about saying what they say [method of analysis]. Reviewing methods of analysis provides a framework of understanding at different levels [i.e. those of theory, substantive fields, research approaches, and data collection and analysis techniques], how researchers draw upon a wide variety of knowledge ranging from the conceptual level to practical documents for use in fieldwork in the areas of ontological and epistemological consideration, quantitative and qualitative integration, sampling, interviewing, data collection, and data analysis. This approach helps highlight ethical issues which you should be aware of and consider as you go through your own study.

Systematic Review This form consists of an overview of existing evidence pertinent to a clearly formulated research question, which uses pre-specified and standardized methods to identify and critically appraise relevant research, and to collect, report, and analyze data from the studies that are included in the review. The goal is to deliberately document, critically evaluate, and summarize scientifically all of the research about a clearly defined research problem . Typically it focuses on a very specific empirical question, often posed in a cause-and-effect form, such as "To what extent does A contribute to B?" This type of literature review is primarily applied to examining prior research studies in clinical medicine and allied health fields, but it is increasingly being used in the social sciences.

Theoretical Review The purpose of this form is to examine the corpus of theory that has accumulated in regard to an issue, concept, theory, phenomena. The theoretical literature review helps to establish what theories already exist, the relationships between them, to what degree the existing theories have been investigated, and to develop new hypotheses to be tested. Often this form is used to help establish a lack of appropriate theories or reveal that current theories are inadequate for explaining new or emerging research problems. The unit of analysis can focus on a theoretical concept or a whole theory or framework.

NOTE: Most often the literature review will incorporate some combination of types. For example, a review that examines literature supporting or refuting an argument, assumption, or philosophical problem related to the research problem will also need to include writing supported by sources that establish the history of these arguments in the literature.

Baumeister, Roy F. and Mark R. Leary. "Writing Narrative Literature Reviews."  Review of General Psychology 1 (September 1997): 311-320; Mark R. Fink, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper . 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2005; Hart, Chris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998; Kennedy, Mary M. "Defining a Literature." Educational Researcher 36 (April 2007): 139-147; Petticrew, Mark and Helen Roberts. Systematic Reviews in the Social Sciences: A Practical Guide . Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 2006; Torracro, Richard. "Writing Integrative Literature Reviews: Guidelines and Examples." Human Resource Development Review 4 (September 2005): 356-367; Rocco, Tonette S. and Maria S. Plakhotnik. "Literature Reviews, Conceptual Frameworks, and Theoretical Frameworks: Terms, Functions, and Distinctions." Human Ressource Development Review 8 (March 2008): 120-130; Sutton, Anthea. Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review . Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, 2016.

Structure and Writing Style

I.  Thinking About Your Literature Review

The structure of a literature review should include the following in support of understanding the research problem :

• An overview of the subject, issue, or theory under consideration, along with the objectives of the literature review,
• Division of works under review into themes or categories [e.g. works that support a particular position, those against, and those offering alternative approaches entirely],
• An explanation of how each work is similar to and how it varies from the others,
• Conclusions as to which pieces are best considered in their argument, are most convincing of their opinions, and make the greatest contribution to the understanding and development of their area of research.

The critical evaluation of each work should consider :

• Provenance -- what are the author's credentials? Are the author's arguments supported by evidence [e.g. primary historical material, case studies, narratives, statistics, recent scientific findings]?
• Methodology -- were the techniques used to identify, gather, and analyze the data appropriate to addressing the research problem? Was the sample size appropriate? Were the results effectively interpreted and reported?
• Objectivity -- is the author's perspective even-handed or prejudicial? Is contrary data considered or is certain pertinent information ignored to prove the author's point?
• Persuasiveness -- which of the author's theses are most convincing or least convincing?
• Validity -- are the author's arguments and conclusions convincing? Does the work ultimately contribute in any significant way to an understanding of the subject?

II.  Development of the Literature Review

Four Basic Stages of Writing 1.  Problem formulation -- which topic or field is being examined and what are its component issues? 2.  Literature search -- finding materials relevant to the subject being explored. 3.  Data evaluation -- determining which literature makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the topic. 4.  Analysis and interpretation -- discussing the findings and conclusions of pertinent literature.

Consider the following issues before writing the literature review: Clarify If your assignment is not specific about what form your literature review should take, seek clarification from your professor by asking these questions: 1.  Roughly how many sources would be appropriate to include? 2.  What types of sources should I review (books, journal articles, websites; scholarly versus popular sources)? 3.  Should I summarize, synthesize, or critique sources by discussing a common theme or issue? 4.  Should I evaluate the sources in any way beyond evaluating how they relate to understanding the research problem? 5.  Should I provide subheadings and other background information, such as definitions and/or a history? Find Models Use the exercise of reviewing the literature to examine how authors in your discipline or area of interest have composed their literature review sections. Read them to get a sense of the types of themes you might want to look for in your own research or to identify ways to organize your final review. The bibliography or reference section of sources you've already read, such as required readings in the course syllabus, are also excellent entry points into your own research. Narrow the Topic The narrower your topic, the easier it will be to limit the number of sources you need to read in order to obtain a good survey of relevant resources. Your professor will probably not expect you to read everything that's available about the topic, but you'll make the act of reviewing easier if you first limit scope of the research problem. A good strategy is to begin by searching the USC Libraries Catalog for recent books about the topic and review the table of contents for chapters that focuses on specific issues. You can also review the indexes of books to find references to specific issues that can serve as the focus of your research. For example, a book surveying the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may include a chapter on the role Egypt has played in mediating the conflict, or look in the index for the pages where Egypt is mentioned in the text. Consider Whether Your Sources are Current Some disciplines require that you use information that is as current as possible. This is particularly true in disciplines in medicine and the sciences where research conducted becomes obsolete very quickly as new discoveries are made. However, when writing a review in the social sciences, a survey of the history of the literature may be required. In other words, a complete understanding the research problem requires you to deliberately examine how knowledge and perspectives have changed over time. Sort through other current bibliographies or literature reviews in the field to get a sense of what your discipline expects. You can also use this method to explore what is considered by scholars to be a "hot topic" and what is not.

III.  Ways to Organize Your Literature Review

Chronology of Events If your review follows the chronological method, you could write about the materials according to when they were published. This approach should only be followed if a clear path of research building on previous research can be identified and that these trends follow a clear chronological order of development. For example, a literature review that focuses on continuing research about the emergence of German economic power after the fall of the Soviet Union. By Publication Order your sources by publication chronology, then, only if the order demonstrates a more important trend. For instance, you could order a review of literature on environmental studies of brown fields if the progression revealed, for example, a change in the soil collection practices of the researchers who wrote and/or conducted the studies. Thematic [“conceptual categories”] A thematic literature review is the most common approach to summarizing prior research in the social and behavioral sciences. Thematic reviews are organized around a topic or issue, rather than the progression of time, although the progression of time may still be incorporated into a thematic review. For example, a review of the Internet’s impact on American presidential politics could focus on the development of online political satire. While the study focuses on one topic, the Internet’s impact on American presidential politics, it would still be organized chronologically reflecting technological developments in media. The difference in this example between a "chronological" and a "thematic" approach is what is emphasized the most: themes related to the role of the Internet in presidential politics. Note that more authentic thematic reviews tend to break away from chronological order. A review organized in this manner would shift between time periods within each section according to the point being made. Methodological A methodological approach focuses on the methods utilized by the researcher. For the Internet in American presidential politics project, one methodological approach would be to look at cultural differences between the portrayal of American presidents on American, British, and French websites. Or the review might focus on the fundraising impact of the Internet on a particular political party. A methodological scope will influence either the types of documents in the review or the way in which these documents are discussed.

Other Sections of Your Literature Review Once you've decided on the organizational method for your literature review, the sections you need to include in the paper should be easy to figure out because they arise from your organizational strategy. In other words, a chronological review would have subsections for each vital time period; a thematic review would have subtopics based upon factors that relate to the theme or issue. However, sometimes you may need to add additional sections that are necessary for your study, but do not fit in the organizational strategy of the body. What other sections you include in the body is up to you. However, only include what is necessary for the reader to locate your study within the larger scholarship about the research problem.

Here are examples of other sections, usually in the form of a single paragraph, you may need to include depending on the type of review you write:

• Current Situation : Information necessary to understand the current topic or focus of the literature review.
• Sources Used : Describes the methods and resources [e.g., databases] you used to identify the literature you reviewed.
• History : The chronological progression of the field, the research literature, or an idea that is necessary to understand the literature review, if the body of the literature review is not already a chronology.
• Selection Methods : Criteria you used to select (and perhaps exclude) sources in your literature review. For instance, you might explain that your review includes only peer-reviewed [i.e., scholarly] sources.
• Standards : Description of the way in which you present your information.
• Questions for Further Research : What questions about the field has the review sparked? How will you further your research as a result of the review?

IV.  Writing Your Literature Review

Once you've settled on how to organize your literature review, you're ready to write each section. When writing your review, keep in mind these issues.

Use Evidence A literature review section is, in this sense, just like any other academic research paper. Your interpretation of the available sources must be backed up with evidence [citations] that demonstrates that what you are saying is valid. Be Selective Select only the most important points in each source to highlight in the review. The type of information you choose to mention should relate directly to the research problem, whether it is thematic, methodological, or chronological. Related items that provide additional information, but that are not key to understanding the research problem, can be included in a list of further readings . Use Quotes Sparingly Some short quotes are appropriate if you want to emphasize a point, or if what an author stated cannot be easily paraphrased. Sometimes you may need to quote certain terminology that was coined by the author, is not common knowledge, or taken directly from the study. Do not use extensive quotes as a substitute for using your own words in reviewing the literature. Summarize and Synthesize Remember to summarize and synthesize your sources within each thematic paragraph as well as throughout the review. Recapitulate important features of a research study, but then synthesize it by rephrasing the study's significance and relating it to your own work and the work of others. Keep Your Own Voice While the literature review presents others' ideas, your voice [the writer's] should remain front and center. For example, weave references to other sources into what you are writing but maintain your own voice by starting and ending the paragraph with your own ideas and wording. Use Caution When Paraphrasing When paraphrasing a source that is not your own, be sure to represent the author's information or opinions accurately and in your own words. Even when paraphrasing an author’s work, you still must provide a citation to that work.

V.  Common Mistakes to Avoid

These are the most common mistakes made in reviewing social science research literature.

• Sources in your literature review do not clearly relate to the research problem;
• You do not take sufficient time to define and identify the most relevant sources to use in the literature review related to the research problem;
• Relies exclusively on secondary analytical sources rather than including relevant primary research studies or data;
• Uncritically accepts another researcher's findings and interpretations as valid, rather than examining critically all aspects of the research design and analysis;
• Does not describe the search procedures that were used in identifying the literature to review;
• Reports isolated statistical results rather than synthesizing them in chi-squared or meta-analytic methods; and,
• Only includes research that validates assumptions and does not consider contrary findings and alternative interpretations found in the literature.

Cook, Kathleen E. and Elise Murowchick. “Do Literature Review Skills Transfer from One Course to Another?” Psychology Learning and Teaching 13 (March 2014): 3-11; Fink, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper . 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2005; Hart, Chris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998; Jesson, Jill. Doing Your Literature Review: Traditional and Systematic Techniques . London: SAGE, 2011; Literature Review Handout. Online Writing Center. Liberty University; Literature Reviews. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J. and Rebecca Frels. Seven Steps to a Comprehensive Literature Review: A Multimodal and Cultural Approach . Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2016; Ridley, Diana. The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for Students . 2nd ed. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2012; Randolph, Justus J. “A Guide to Writing the Dissertation Literature Review." Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation. vol. 14, June 2009; Sutton, Anthea. Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review . Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, 2016; Taylor, Dena. The Literature Review: A Few Tips On Conducting It. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Writing a Literature Review. Academic Skills Centre. University of Canberra.

Writing Tip

Break Out of Your Disciplinary Box!

Thinking interdisciplinarily about a research problem can be a rewarding exercise in applying new ideas, theories, or concepts to an old problem. For example, what might cultural anthropologists say about the continuing conflict in the Middle East? In what ways might geographers view the need for better distribution of social service agencies in large cities than how social workers might study the issue? You don’t want to substitute a thorough review of core research literature in your discipline for studies conducted in other fields of study. However, particularly in the social sciences, thinking about research problems from multiple vectors is a key strategy for finding new solutions to a problem or gaining a new perspective. Consult with a librarian about identifying research databases in other disciplines; almost every field of study has at least one comprehensive database devoted to indexing its research literature.

Frodeman, Robert. The Oxford Handbook of Interdisciplinarity . New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.

Another Writing Tip

Don't Just Review for Content!

While conducting a review of the literature, maximize the time you devote to writing this part of your paper by thinking broadly about what you should be looking for and evaluating. Review not just what scholars are saying, but how are they saying it. Some questions to ask:

• How are they organizing their ideas?
• What methods have they used to study the problem?
• What theories have been used to explain, predict, or understand their research problem?
• What sources have they cited to support their conclusions?
• How have they used non-textual elements [e.g., charts, graphs, figures, etc.] to illustrate key points?

When you begin to write your literature review section, you'll be glad you dug deeper into how the research was designed and constructed because it establishes a means for developing more substantial analysis and interpretation of the research problem.

Hart, Chris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1 998.

Yet Another Writing Tip

When Do I Know I Can Stop Looking and Move On?

Here are several strategies you can utilize to assess whether you've thoroughly reviewed the literature:

• Look for repeating patterns in the research findings . If the same thing is being said, just by different people, then this likely demonstrates that the research problem has hit a conceptual dead end. At this point consider: Does your study extend current research?  Does it forge a new path? Or, does is merely add more of the same thing being said?
• Look at sources the authors cite to in their work . If you begin to see the same researchers cited again and again, then this is often an indication that no new ideas have been generated to address the research problem.
• Search Google Scholar to identify who has subsequently cited leading scholars already identified in your literature review [see next sub-tab]. This is called citation tracking and there are a number of sources that can help you identify who has cited whom, particularly scholars from outside of your discipline. Here again, if the same authors are being cited again and again, this may indicate no new literature has been written on the topic.

Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J. and Rebecca Frels. Seven Steps to a Comprehensive Literature Review: A Multimodal and Cultural Approach . Los Angeles, CA: Sage, 2016; Sutton, Anthea. Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review . Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, 2016.

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Research Process :: Step by Step

• Introduction
• Select Topic
• Identify Keywords
• Background Information
• Develop Research Questions
• Refine Topic
• Search Strategy
• Popular Databases
• Evaluate Sources
• Types of Periodicals
• Reading Scholarly Articles
• Primary & Secondary Sources
• Organize / Take Notes
• Writing & Grammar Resources
• Annotated Bibliography
• Literature Review
• Citation Styles
• Paraphrasing
• Privacy / Confidentiality
• Research Process
• Selecting Your Topic
• Identifying Keywords
• Gathering Background Info
• Evaluating Sources

Organize the literature review into sections that present themes or identify trends, including relevant theory. You are not trying to list all the material published, but to synthesize and evaluate it according to the guiding concept of your thesis or research question.  

What is a literature review?

A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers. Occasionally you will be asked to write one as a separate assignment, but more often it is part of the introduction to an essay, research report, or thesis. In writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. As a piece of writing, the literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g., your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries

A literature review must do these things:

• be organized around and related directly to the thesis or research question you are developing
• synthesize results into a summary of what is and is not known
• identify areas of controversy in the literature
• formulate questions that need further research

Ask yourself questions like these:

• What is the specific thesis, problem, or research question that my literature review helps to define?
• What type of literature review am I conducting? Am I looking at issues of theory? methodology? policy? quantitative research (e.g. on the effectiveness of a new procedure)? qualitative research (e.g., studies of loneliness among migrant workers)?
• What is the scope of my literature review? What types of publications am I using (e.g., journals, books, government documents, popular media)? What discipline am I working in (e.g., nursing psychology, sociology, medicine)?
• How good was my information seeking? Has my search been wide enough to ensure I've found all the relevant material? Has it been narrow enough to exclude irrelevant material? Is the number of sources I've used appropriate for the length of my paper?
• Have I critically analyzed the literature I use? Do I follow through a set of concepts and questions, comparing items to each other in the ways they deal with them? Instead of just listing and summarizing items, do I assess them, discussing strengths and weaknesses?
• Have I cited and discussed studies contrary to my perspective?
• Will the reader find my literature review relevant, appropriate, and useful?

Ask yourself questions like these about each book or article you include:

• Has the author formulated a problem/issue?
• Is it clearly defined? Is its significance (scope, severity, relevance) clearly established?
• Could the problem have been approached more effectively from another perspective?
• What is the author's research orientation (e.g., interpretive, critical science, combination)?
• What is the author's theoretical framework (e.g., psychological, developmental, feminist)?
• What is the relationship between the theoretical and research perspectives?
• Has the author evaluated the literature relevant to the problem/issue? Does the author include literature taking positions she or he does not agree with?
• In a research study, how good are the basic components of the study design (e.g., population, intervention, outcome)? How accurate and valid are the measurements? Is the analysis of the data accurate and relevant to the research question? Are the conclusions validly based upon the data and analysis?
• In material written for a popular readership, does the author use appeals to emotion, one-sided examples, or rhetorically-charged language and tone? Is there an objective basis to the reasoning, or is the author merely "proving" what he or she already believes?
• How does the author structure the argument? Can you "deconstruct" the flow of the argument to see whether or where it breaks down logically (e.g., in establishing cause-effect relationships)?
• In what ways does this book or article contribute to our understanding of the problem under study, and in what ways is it useful for practice? What are the strengths and limitations?
• How does this book or article relate to the specific thesis or question I am developing?

Text written by Dena Taylor, Health Sciences Writing Centre, University of Toronto

http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/specific-types-of-writing/literature-review

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Literature Reviews: Getting Started: The 5 Steps

• Introduction
• Getting Started: The 5 Steps
• Searching for Literature
• Advanced Searching Tips This link opens in a new window
• Organising Your Research
• Writing the Literature Review
• Example Reviews & Useful Books
• Research Tools
• Library 101 This link opens in a new window

These are the steps which you should follow to complete your literature review. 

Evaluating sources

It is important to make sure that the sources you're using are good quality, academic-appropriate sources.  You need to read critically when searching for literature. 

Evaluate the sources for their credibility. How have they arrived at their conclusions? Are there any conflicting theories or findings? Is the publisher reputable? Reading at this critical level will help you decide whether a publication should or should not be included in your literature review.

Author credentials

Examine how the contributors are affiliated. Are the researchers connected to a university, a research lab or a pharmaceutical company? Are the authors considered credible in their field? Are they promoting special interests?

Relevance and scope

Make sure the publications you include in your literature review are relevant and within the scope of your topic, in terms of theoretical argument, research methodology, timeframe and currency.

Reliability

How well is the study designed? Do you see any room for improvement? Do similar studies come to the same conclusion? Have the authors explored the topic from different points of view, or do they rely on a more one-sided argument?

Click HERE to see our help guide on evaluating information you find online. 

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Step 1: Decide on your research question

The very first step in a literature review is deciding what it is you will be researching. Your research question defines the entirety of your final piece of work, including the literature review. It should focus on something from the research field that needs to be explored, where there are gaps in the information. This will ensure that your contribution is valuable and that you are providing readers with a different angle or perspective on an issue or problem.

Remember, a literature review is not a collection of vaguely related studies, but instead it represents background and research developments related to your specific research question - analysed, interpreted, and synthesised by you.  

For this reason it is important to hit on the right research question. 

Ask yourself: 

• Is it too broad? Is it too narrow? For example, a research question like “why are social networking sites harmful?” is too broad; there will be too much information to write a concise literature review. Change it to “how are online users experiencing or addressing privacy issues on Twitter and Facebook?" and it is more specific. It gives you a niche within the research field to focus on and explore.
• Has it been used as a research question by someone else before?
• Have you discussed it with your lecturer? They can guide you if your question isn't quite right yet. 

Step 2: Decide how broad or narrow your scope will be

You need to decide how broadly or narrowly you are going to search for literature. This will depend on a few factors: what your research question or topic is, what your lecturer says, and how well written on the topic is. 

Remember, the goal is not to examine everything that's ever been written on  your topic. To avoid your search results being too numerous, you should narrow down your scope by thinking of the following factors:

• How many years should your search cover?
• How comprehensive should it be? Will it cover every facet of a topic or focus on one area?
• Are there criteria by which you can narrow down the topic? For example, by age, by gender, by location, by methodology (e.g qualitative or quantitative research, case studies), by theoretical framework, etc.?

Here are some examples of topics and searches that are too braod, and more narrow approaches you could take: 

You can also narrow the scope of your search by utilising advanced search techniques, and using filters to eliminate irrelevant search results. You can find more information on both of these  HERE

Step 3: Decide where you will search

It is important to select the right databases in which to conduct your search. Rather than searching generally across all the library databases, some of which may not have anything to do with your topic, it would be more efficient to go to databases which are more closely aligned with your topic.

You can see IADT Library's list of databases  here . 

Ask your lecturer which databases they think you should search.

For information on how to use our databases, click HERE .

Step 4: Conduct your search

Searching for the literature is one of the steps which can take the most time. Take your time to be thorough and methodical. One of the best things you can do is keep track of your searches. The software we recommend to do this is Zotero . Zotero is a tool which allows you to save sources and citations, including taking notes about them as you read them, which will save you lots of time down the road when you come to analysing these sources. You can read all about Zotero here .

Tips to finding relevant literature

• Review the abstracts of research studies carefully. An abstract is a comprehensive summary of what the article is about. This will save you time because you can quickly see if the article is relevant to you or not. 
• Document the searches you conduct in each database so that you can duplicate them if you need to later (or avoid dead-end searches that you'd forgotten you'd already tried).
• Use the bibliographies and references of research studies you find to locate others.  You can also use citation tracking to see who has used a piece of work in their own research and how they've built on this.
• Note what key words are used by authors, usually in their abstracts and search for those. Sometimes having the right vocabulary for the topic can help you find many more sources you might have missed otherwise.
• Ask your lecturer if you are missing any key works in the field.

What about searching Google? Googling your topic can bring up hundreds of thousands of hits, but rarely will the sources from a Google search be appropriate to use in an academic assignment like a literature review. For a literature review, the sources need to be academically authoritative - for example, academic books, journals, research reports, government publications. Using non-scholarly or non-authoritative sources in your literature review will likely result in a poor grade. 

Step 5: Review the literature

This step is the output that you will be graded on in the end. 

Here are some questions to help you analyse the research:

• What was the research question of the study you are reviewing? What were the authors trying to discover or argue?
• Was the research funded by a source that could influence the findings?
• What were the research methodologies? Analyse 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 analysed by others?
• Has your topic been written about very rarely? If so, why do you think that is? What  has  been written that's close to the topic?

Tips: 

• Again, review the abstracts carefully.  
• Keep careful notes so that you may track your thought processes during the research process.

IADT LibGuides are licenced under a  Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License  (CC-BY-NC 4.0) 

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• Last Updated: May 29, 2024 3:49 PM
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• UWF Libraries

Literature Review: Conducting & Writing

• Steps for Conducting a Lit Review

1. Choose a topic. Define your research question.

2. decide on the scope of your review., 3. select the databases you will use to conduct your searches., 4. conduct your searches and find the literature. keep track of your searches, 5. review the literature..

• Finding "The Literature"
• Organizing/Writing
• APA Style This link opens in a new window
• Chicago: Notes Bibliography This link opens in a new window
• MLA Style This link opens in a new window
• Sample Literature Reviews

Disclaimer!!

Conducting a literature review is usually recursive, meaning that somewhere along the way, you'll find yourself repeating steps out-of-order.

That is actually a good sign.  

Reviewing the research should lead to more research questions and those questions will likely lead you to either revise your initial research question or go back and find more literature related to a more specific aspect of your research question.

Your literature review should be guided by a central research question.  Remember, it is not a collection of loosely related studies in a field but instead 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.

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

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

Make a list of the databases you will search.  Remember to include comprehensive databases such as WorldCat and Dissertations & Theses, if you need to.

Where to find databases:

• Find Databases by Subject UWF Databases categorized by discipline
• Find Databases via Research Guides Librarians create research guides for all of the disciplines on campus! Take advantage of their expertise and see what discipline-specific search strategies they recommend!
• Review the abstracts of research studies carefully. This will save you time.
• Write down the searches you conduct in each database so that you may duplicate them if you need to later (or avoid dead-end searches   that you'd forgotten you'd already tried).
• Use the bibliographies and references of research studies you find to locate others.
• Ask your professor or a scholar in the field if you are missing any key works in the field.
• Use RefWorks to keep track of your research citations. See the RefWorks Tutorial if you need help.

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: 

• Again, review the abstracts carefully.  
• Keep careful notes so that you may track your thought processes during the research process.
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Literature Review

• Steps for Conducting a Lit Review
• Finding "The Literature"
• Organizing/Writing
• Sample Literature Reviews
• FAMU Writing Center

1. Choose a topic. Define your research question.

Your literature review should be guided by a central research question.  Remember, it is not a collection of loosely related studies in a field but instead 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.

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? 

Tip: 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. 

• Look at the Library's research guides in your discipline to select discipline-specific databases.  Don't forget to look at books!
• Make an appointment with or contact your   subject librarian to make sure you aren't missing major databases.

4. Conduct your searches and find the literature. Keep track of your searches!

Tips: 

• Review the abstracts of research studies carefully. This will save you time.
• Write down the searches you conduct in each database so that you may duplicate them if you need to later (or avoid dead-end searches   that you'd forgotten you'd already tried).
• Use the bibliographies and references of research studies you find to locate others.
• Ask your professor or a scholar in the field if you are missing any key works in the field.
• Use RefWorks to keep track of your research citations. See the RefWorks Tutorial if you need help.

5. 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?
• Again, review the abstracts carefully.  
• Keep careful notes so that you may track your thought processes during the research process.

Composing your literature review

O nce you've settled on a general pattern of organization, you're ready to write each section. There are a few guidelines you should follow during the writing stage. Here is a sample paragraph from a literature review about sexism and language to illuminate the following discussion:

  However, other studies have shown that even gender-neutral antecedents are more likely to produce masculine images than feminine ones (Gastil, 1990). Hamilton (1988) asked students to complete sentences that required them to fill in pronouns that agreed with gender-neutral antecedents such as "writer," "pedestrian," and "persons." The students were asked to describe any image they had when writing the sentence. Hamilton found that people imagined 3.3 men to each woman in the masculine "generic" condition and 1.5 men per woman in the unbiased condition. Thus, while ambient sexism accounted for some of the masculine bias, sexist language amplified the effect. (Source: Erika Falk and Jordan Mills, "Why Sexist Language Affects Persuasion: The Role of Homophily, Intended Audience, and Offense," Women and Language19:2.

Use evidence

In the example above, the writers refer to several other sources when making their point. A literature review in this sense is just like any other academic research paper. Your interpretation of the available sources must be backed up with evidence to show that what you are saying is valid.

Be selective

Select only the most important points in each source to highlight in the review. The type of information you choose to mention should relate directly to the review's focus, whether it is thematic, methodological, or chronological.

Use quotes sparingly

Falk and Mills do not use any direct quotes. That is because the survey nature of the literature review does not allow for in-depth discussion or detailed quotes from the text. Some short quotes here and there are okay, though if you want to emphasize a point, or if what the author said just cannot be rewritten in your own words. Notice that Falk and Mills do quote certain terms that were coined by the author, not common knowledge, or taken directly from the study. But if you find yourself wanting to put in more quotes, check with your instructor.

Summarize and synthesize

Remember to summarize and synthesize your sources within each paragraph as well as throughout the review. The authors here recapitulate important features of Hamilton's study, but then synthesize it by rephrasing the study's significance and relating it to their own work.

Keep your own voice

While the literature review presents others' ideas, your voice (the writer's) should remain front and center. Notice that Falk and Mills weave references to other sources into their own text, but they still maintain their own voice by starting and ending the paragraph with their own ideas and their own words. The sources support what Falk and Mills are saying.

Use caution when paraphrasing

When paraphrasing a source that is not your own, be sure to represent the author's information or opinions accurately and in your own words. In the preceding example, Falk and Mills either directly refer in the text to the author of their source, such as Hamilton, or they provide ample notation in the text when the ideas they are mentioning are not their own, for example, Gastil's. For more information, please see our handout on plagiarism .

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Writing a Literature Review

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A literature review is a document or section of a document that collects key sources on a topic and discusses those sources in conversation with each other (also called synthesis ). The lit review is an important genre in many disciplines, not just literature (i.e., the study of works of literature such as novels and plays). When we say “literature review” or refer to “the literature,” we are talking about the research ( scholarship ) in a given field. You will often see the terms “the research,” “the scholarship,” and “the literature” used mostly interchangeably.

Where, when, and why would I write a lit review?

There are a number of different situations where you might write a literature review, each with slightly different expectations; different disciplines, too, have field-specific expectations for what a literature review is and does. For instance, in the humanities, authors might include more overt argumentation and interpretation of source material in their literature reviews, whereas in the sciences, authors are more likely to report study designs and results in their literature reviews; these differences reflect these disciplines’ purposes and conventions in scholarship. You should always look at examples from your own discipline and talk to professors or mentors in your field to be sure you understand your discipline’s conventions, for literature reviews as well as for any other genre.

A literature review can be a part of a research paper or scholarly article, usually falling after the introduction and before the research methods sections. In these cases, the lit review just needs to cover scholarship that is important to the issue you are writing about; sometimes it will also cover key sources that informed your research methodology.

Lit reviews can also be standalone pieces, either as assignments in a class or as publications. In a class, a lit review may be assigned to help students familiarize themselves with a topic and with scholarship in their field, get an idea of the other researchers working on the topic they’re interested in, find gaps in existing research in order to propose new projects, and/or develop a theoretical framework and methodology for later research. As a publication, a lit review usually is meant to help make other scholars’ lives easier by collecting and summarizing, synthesizing, and analyzing existing research on a topic. This can be especially helpful for students or scholars getting into a new research area, or for directing an entire community of scholars toward questions that have not yet been answered.

What are the parts of a lit review?

Most lit reviews use a basic introduction-body-conclusion structure; if your lit review is part of a larger paper, the introduction and conclusion pieces may be just a few sentences while you focus most of your attention on the body. If your lit review is a standalone piece, the introduction and conclusion take up more space and give you a place to discuss your goals, research methods, and conclusions separately from where you discuss the literature itself.

Introduction:

• An introductory paragraph that explains what your working topic and thesis is
• A forecast of key topics or texts that will appear in the review
• Potentially, a description of how you found sources and how you analyzed them for inclusion and discussion in the review (more often found in published, standalone literature reviews than in lit review sections in an article or research paper)
• 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 sentence to draw connections, comparisons, and contrasts.

Conclusion:

• Summarize the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasize their significance
• Connect it back to your primary research question

How should I organize my lit review?

Lit reviews can take many different organizational patterns depending on what you are trying to accomplish with the review. Here are some examples:

• Chronological : The simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time, which helps familiarize the audience with the topic (for instance if you are introducing something that is not commonly known in your field). If you choose this strategy, be careful to avoid simply listing and summarizing sources in order. Try to analyze the patterns, turning points, and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred (as mentioned previously, this may not be appropriate in your discipline — check with a teacher or mentor if you’re unsure).
• Thematic : If you have found some recurring central themes that you will continue working with throughout your piece, you can organize your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic. For example, if you are reviewing literature about women and religion, key themes can include the role of women in churches and the religious attitude towards women.
• Qualitative versus quantitative research
• Empirical versus theoretical scholarship
• Divide the research by sociological, historical, or cultural sources
• Theoretical : In many humanities articles, the literature review is the foundation for the theoretical framework. You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts. You can argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach or combine various theorical concepts to create a framework for your research.

What are some strategies or tips I can use while writing my lit review?

Any lit review is only as good as the research it discusses; make sure your sources are well-chosen and your research is thorough. Don’t be afraid to do more research if you discover a new thread as you’re writing. More info on the research process is available in our "Conducting Research" resources .

As you’re doing your research, create an annotated bibliography ( see our page on the this type of document ). Much of the information used in an annotated bibliography can be used also in a literature review, so you’ll be not only partially drafting your lit review as you research, but also developing your sense of the larger conversation going on among scholars, professionals, and any other stakeholders in your topic.

Usually you will need to synthesize research rather than just summarizing it. This means drawing connections between sources to create a picture of the scholarly conversation on a topic over time. Many student writers struggle to synthesize because they feel they don’t have anything to add to the scholars they are citing; here are some strategies to help you:

• It often helps to remember that the point of these kinds of syntheses is to show your readers how you understand your research, to help them read the rest of your paper.
• Writing teachers often say synthesis is like hosting a dinner party: imagine all your sources are together in a room, discussing your topic. What are they saying to each other?
• Look at the in-text citations in each paragraph. Are you citing just one source for each paragraph? This usually indicates summary only. When you have multiple sources cited in a paragraph, you are more likely to be synthesizing them (not always, but often
• Read more about synthesis here.

The most interesting literature reviews are often written as arguments (again, as mentioned at the beginning of the page, this is discipline-specific and doesn’t work for all situations). Often, the literature review is where you can establish your research as filling a particular gap or as relevant in a particular way. You have some chance to do this in your introduction in an article, but the literature review section gives a more extended opportunity to establish the conversation in the way you would like your readers to see it. You can choose the intellectual lineage you would like to be part of and whose definitions matter most to your thinking (mostly humanities-specific, but this goes for sciences as well). In addressing these points, you argue for your place in the conversation, which tends to make the lit review more compelling than a simple reporting of other sources.

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What is a Literature Review? How to Write It (with Examples)

A literature review is a critical analysis and synthesis of existing research on a particular topic. It provides an overview of the current state of knowledge, identifies gaps, and highlights key findings in the literature. 1 The purpose of a literature review is to situate your own research within the context of existing scholarship, demonstrating your understanding of the topic and showing how your work contributes to the ongoing conversation in the field. Learning how to write a literature review is a critical tool for successful research. Your ability to summarize and synthesize prior research pertaining to a certain topic demonstrates your grasp on the topic of study, and assists in the learning process. 

Table of Contents

• What is the purpose of literature review? 
• a. Habitat Loss and Species Extinction: 
• b. Range Shifts and Phenological Changes: 
• c. Ocean Acidification and Coral Reefs: 
• d. Adaptive Strategies and Conservation Efforts: 

How to write a good literature review 

• Choose a Topic and Define the Research Question: 
• Decide on the Scope of Your Review: 
• Select Databases for Searches: 
• Conduct Searches and Keep Track: 
• Review the Literature: 
• Organize and Write Your Literature Review: 
• How to write a literature review faster with Paperpal? 
• Frequently asked questions 

What is a literature review?

A well-conducted literature review demonstrates the researcher’s familiarity with the existing literature, establishes the context for their own research, and contributes to scholarly conversations on the topic. One of the purposes of a literature review is also to help researchers avoid duplicating previous work and ensure that their research is informed by and builds upon the existing body of knowledge.

What is the purpose of literature review?

A literature review serves several important purposes within academic and research contexts. Here are some key objectives and functions of a literature review: 2  

1. Contextualizing the Research Problem: The literature review provides a background and context for the research problem under investigation. It helps to situate the study within the existing body of knowledge. 

2. Identifying Gaps in Knowledge: By identifying gaps, contradictions, or areas requiring further research, the researcher can shape the research question and justify the significance of the study. This is crucial for ensuring that the new research contributes something novel to the field. 

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3. Understanding Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks: Literature reviews help researchers gain an understanding of the theoretical and conceptual frameworks used in previous studies. This aids in the development of a theoretical framework for the current research. 

4. Providing Methodological Insights: Another purpose of literature reviews is that it allows researchers to learn about the methodologies employed in previous studies. This can help in choosing appropriate research methods for the current study and avoiding pitfalls that others may have encountered. 

5. Establishing Credibility: A well-conducted literature review demonstrates the researcher’s familiarity with existing scholarship, establishing their credibility and expertise in the field. It also helps in building a solid foundation for the new research. 

6. Informing Hypotheses or Research Questions: The literature review guides the formulation of hypotheses or research questions by highlighting relevant findings and areas of uncertainty in existing literature. 

Literature review example

Let’s delve deeper with a literature review example: Let’s say your literature review is about the impact of climate change on biodiversity. You might format your literature review into sections such as the effects of climate change on habitat loss and species extinction, phenological changes, and marine biodiversity. Each section would then summarize and analyze relevant studies in those areas, highlighting key findings and identifying gaps in the research. The review would conclude by emphasizing the need for further research on specific aspects of the relationship between climate change and biodiversity. The following literature review template provides a glimpse into the recommended literature review structure and content, demonstrating how research findings are organized around specific themes within a broader topic. 

Literature Review on Climate Change Impacts on Biodiversity:

Climate change is a global phenomenon with far-reaching consequences, including significant impacts on biodiversity. This literature review synthesizes key findings from various studies: 

a. Habitat Loss and Species Extinction:

Climate change-induced alterations in temperature and precipitation patterns contribute to habitat loss, affecting numerous species (Thomas et al., 2004). The review discusses how these changes increase the risk of extinction, particularly for species with specific habitat requirements. 

b. Range Shifts and Phenological Changes:

Observations of range shifts and changes in the timing of biological events (phenology) are documented in response to changing climatic conditions (Parmesan & Yohe, 2003). These shifts affect ecosystems and may lead to mismatches between species and their resources. 

c. Ocean Acidification and Coral Reefs:

The review explores the impact of climate change on marine biodiversity, emphasizing ocean acidification’s threat to coral reefs (Hoegh-Guldberg et al., 2007). Changes in pH levels negatively affect coral calcification, disrupting the delicate balance of marine ecosystems. 

d. Adaptive Strategies and Conservation Efforts:

Recognizing the urgency of the situation, the literature review discusses various adaptive strategies adopted by species and conservation efforts aimed at mitigating the impacts of climate change on biodiversity (Hannah et al., 2007). It emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary approaches for effective conservation planning. 

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Writing a literature review involves summarizing and synthesizing existing research on a particular topic. A good literature review format should include the following elements. 

Introduction: The introduction sets the stage for your literature review, providing context and introducing the main focus of your review. 

• Opening Statement: Begin with a general statement about the broader topic and its significance in the field. 
• Scope and Purpose: Clearly define the scope of your literature review. Explain the specific research question or objective you aim to address. 
• Organizational Framework: Briefly outline the structure of your literature review, indicating how you will categorize and discuss the existing research. 
• Significance of the Study: Highlight why your literature review is important and how it contributes to the understanding of the chosen topic. 
• Thesis Statement: Conclude the introduction with a concise thesis statement that outlines the main argument or perspective you will develop in the body of the literature review. 

Body: The body of the literature review is where you provide a comprehensive analysis of existing literature, grouping studies based on themes, methodologies, or other relevant criteria. 

• Organize by Theme or Concept: Group studies that share common themes, concepts, or methodologies. Discuss each theme or concept in detail, summarizing key findings and identifying gaps or areas of disagreement. 
• Critical Analysis: Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each study. Discuss the methodologies used, the quality of evidence, and the overall contribution of each work to the understanding of the topic. 
• Synthesis of Findings: Synthesize the information from different studies to highlight trends, patterns, or areas of consensus in the literature. 
• Identification of Gaps: Discuss any gaps or limitations in the existing research and explain how your review contributes to filling these gaps. 
• Transition between Sections: Provide smooth transitions between different themes or concepts to maintain the flow of your literature review. 

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Conclusion: The conclusion of your literature review should summarize the main findings, highlight the contributions of the review, and suggest avenues for future research. 

• Summary of Key Findings: Recap the main findings from the literature and restate how they contribute to your research question or objective. 
• Contributions to the Field: Discuss the overall contribution of your literature review to the existing knowledge in the field. 
• Implications and Applications: Explore the practical implications of the findings and suggest how they might impact future research or practice. 
• Recommendations for Future Research: Identify areas that require further investigation and propose potential directions for future research in the field. 
• Final Thoughts: Conclude with a final reflection on the importance of your literature review and its relevance to the broader academic community. 

Conducting a literature review

Conducting a literature review is an essential step in research that involves reviewing and analyzing existing literature on a specific topic. It’s important to know how to do a literature review effectively, so here are the steps to follow: 1  

Choose a Topic and Define the Research Question:

• Select a topic that is relevant to your field of study. 
• Clearly define your research question or objective. Determine what specific aspect of the topic do you want to explore? 

Decide on the Scope of Your Review:

• Determine the timeframe for your literature review. Are you focusing on recent developments, or do you want a historical overview? 
• Consider the geographical scope. Is your review global, or are you focusing on a specific region? 
• Define the inclusion and exclusion criteria. What types of sources will you include? Are there specific types of studies or publications you will exclude? 

Select Databases for Searches:

• Identify relevant databases for your field. Examples include PubMed, IEEE Xplore, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. 
• Consider searching in library catalogs, institutional repositories, and specialized databases related to your topic. 

Conduct Searches and Keep Track:

• Develop a systematic search strategy using keywords, Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT), and other search techniques. 
• Record and document your search strategy for transparency and replicability. 
• Keep track of the articles, including publication details, abstracts, and links. Use citation management tools like EndNote, Zotero, or Mendeley to organize your references. 

Review the Literature:

• Evaluate the relevance and quality of each source. Consider the methodology, sample size, and results of studies. 
• Organize the literature by themes or key concepts. Identify patterns, trends, and gaps in the existing research. 
• Summarize key findings and arguments from each source. Compare and contrast different perspectives. 
• Identify areas where there is a consensus in the literature and where there are conflicting opinions. 
• Provide critical analysis and synthesis of the literature. What are the strengths and weaknesses of existing research? 

Organize and Write Your Literature Review:

• Literature review outline should be based on themes, chronological order, or methodological approaches. 
• Write a clear and coherent narrative that synthesizes the information gathered. 
• Use proper citations for each source and ensure consistency in your citation style (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.). 
• Conclude your literature review by summarizing key findings, identifying gaps, and suggesting areas for future research. 

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• Cite with Confidence: Paperpal makes it easy to incorporate relevant citations and references into your writing, ensuring your arguments are well-supported by credible sources. This translates to a polished, well-researched literature review. 

The literature review sample and detailed advice on writing and conducting a review will help you produce a well-structured report. But remember that a good literature review is an ongoing process, and it may be necessary to revisit and update it as your research progresses. By combining effortless research with an easy citation process, Paperpal Research streamlines the literature review process and empowers you to write faster and with more confidence. Try Paperpal Research now and see for yourself.  

Frequently asked questions

A literature review is a critical and comprehensive analysis of existing literature (published and unpublished works) on a specific topic or research question and provides a synthesis of the current state of knowledge in a particular field. A well-conducted literature review is crucial for researchers to build upon existing knowledge, avoid duplication of efforts, and contribute to the advancement of their field. It also helps researchers situate their work within a broader context and facilitates the development of a sound theoretical and conceptual framework for their studies.

Literature review is a crucial component of research writing, providing a solid background for a research paper’s investigation. The aim is to keep professionals up to date by providing an understanding of ongoing developments within a specific field, including research methods, and experimental techniques used in that field, and present that knowledge in the form of a written report. Also, the depth and breadth of the literature review emphasizes the credibility of the scholar in his or her field.  

Before writing a literature review, it’s essential to undertake several preparatory steps to ensure that your review is well-researched, organized, and focused. This includes choosing a topic of general interest to you and doing exploratory research on that topic, writing an annotated bibliography, and noting major points, especially those that relate to the position you have taken on the topic. 

Literature reviews and academic research papers are essential components of scholarly work but serve different purposes within the academic realm. 3 A literature review aims to provide a foundation for understanding the current state of research on a particular topic, identify gaps or controversies, and lay the groundwork for future research. Therefore, it draws heavily from existing academic sources, including books, journal articles, and other scholarly publications. In contrast, an academic research paper aims to present new knowledge, contribute to the academic discourse, and advance the understanding of a specific research question. Therefore, it involves a mix of existing literature (in the introduction and literature review sections) and original data or findings obtained through research methods. 

Literature reviews are essential components of academic and research papers, and various strategies can be employed to conduct them effectively. If you want to know how to write a literature review for a research paper, here are four common approaches that are often used by researchers.  Chronological Review: This strategy involves organizing the literature based on the chronological order of publication. It helps to trace the development of a topic over time, showing how ideas, theories, and research have evolved.  Thematic Review: Thematic reviews focus on identifying and analyzing themes or topics that cut across different studies. Instead of organizing the literature chronologically, it is grouped by key themes or concepts, allowing for a comprehensive exploration of various aspects of the topic.  Methodological Review: This strategy involves organizing the literature based on the research methods employed in different studies. It helps to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of various methodologies and allows the reader to evaluate the reliability and validity of the research findings.  Theoretical Review: A theoretical review examines the literature based on the theoretical frameworks used in different studies. This approach helps to identify the key theories that have been applied to the topic and assess their contributions to the understanding of the subject.  It’s important to note that these strategies are not mutually exclusive, and a literature review may combine elements of more than one approach. The choice of strategy depends on the research question, the nature of the literature available, and the goals of the review. Additionally, other strategies, such as integrative reviews or systematic reviews, may be employed depending on the specific requirements of the research.

The literature review format can vary depending on the specific publication guidelines. However, there are some common elements and structures that are often followed. Here is a general guideline for the format of a literature review:  Introduction:   Provide an overview of the topic.  Define the scope and purpose of the literature review.  State the research question or objective.  Body:   Organize the literature by themes, concepts, or chronology.  Critically analyze and evaluate each source.  Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the studies.  Highlight any methodological limitations or biases.  Identify patterns, connections, or contradictions in the existing research.  Conclusion:   Summarize the key points discussed in the literature review.  Highlight the research gap.  Address the research question or objective stated in the introduction.  Highlight the contributions of the review and suggest directions for future research.

Both annotated bibliographies and literature reviews involve the examination of scholarly sources. While annotated bibliographies focus on individual sources with brief annotations, literature reviews provide a more in-depth, integrated, and comprehensive analysis of existing literature on a specific topic. The key differences are as follows: 

References 

• Denney, A. S., & Tewksbury, R. (2013). How to write a literature review.  Journal of criminal justice education ,  24 (2), 218-234. 
• Pan, M. L. (2016).  Preparing literature reviews: Qualitative and quantitative approaches . Taylor & Francis. 
• Cantero, C. (2019). How to write a literature review.  San José State University Writing Center . 

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How to Do Your Literature Review

• Gary Thomas - University of Birmingham
• Description

This book will walk you through every step of crafting an excellent literature review. It will show you where to find sources, how to assess their quality, and how to combine and integrate these sources into the best possible literature review. From scoping the field to searching the literature to synthesising your findings, this book hits all the spots.

Presenting a clear and detailed roadmap to ensure you don’t miss a step, the book includes:

· Advice on the best ways to scan and search the literature.

· All the latest information and advice on using AI tools for searching literature.

· Case studies and real-life examples from a range of disciplines so you can learn from other researchers who have been in your shoes.

· DIY activities so you can practice your skills and get to grips with key concepts.

· Guidance on how to analyse and synthesise the findings from your literature searches.

· Advice and guidance on organising your writing.

For tutors, each chapter is accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation that will map onto a 10 or 11 week module.

Written in Gary’s signature easy-to-read style, this book is an essential companion for anyone conducting a literature review in the applied social sciences.

See what’s new to this edition by selecting the Features tab on this page. Should you need additional information or have questions regarding the HEOA information provided for this title, including what is new to this edition, please email [email protected] . Please include your name, contact information, and the name of the title for which you would like more information. For information on the HEOA, please go to http://ed.gov/policy/highered/leg/hea08/index.html .

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How To Write a Literature Review in Five Steps

Posted by Rene Tetzner | Apr 24, 2021 | How To Get Published | 0 |

How To Write a Literature Review in Five Steps Years of acquired knowledge and experience often lie behind the best literature reviews. Whether an author has been writing and publishing research papers for decades, however, or is just beginning to write about his or her work, the same basic processes remain essential when determining how to write a literature review for a scientific or academic paper. These processes can be considered as five key steps or stages for how to write a literature review that will prove a successful part of a research paper submitted for publication or university credit.

Step 1: Research of Two Kinds The research necessary for a literature review is of two kinds: learning about the published scholarship relevant to the research topic, and discovering exactly what is required for the literature review. The guidelines provided by an instructor or an academic or scientific publisher should therefore be consulted with care, and the literature reviews found in published research papers can be read as models of how to write a literature review well. Once the requirements for the literature review are established, research into the topic under investigation can proceed via keyword searches in the databases commonly used in the discipline. Library catalogues can be extremely helpful as well, and the lists of references in published studies often lead to further sources. It is imperative for an author to include not just publications that support his or her perspective, but also studies that run contrary to it. The research topic of a paper is often refined during this initial search, so the scope of the review may be widened or more likely narrowed as sources are discovered and precisely how to write a literature review about them is considered.

Step 2: Reading and Evaluating Sources Each publication identified as relevant in the initial search for sources should be read carefully and thoroughly while deciding how to write a literature review. In particular, each source should be read critically with the focus usually lying on major aspects of the research, such as the methods and materials used, the results obtained, and the conclusions and implications communicated by the investigator(s). Particular attention should be paid to elements that are especially pertinent to the topic of the current research paper, so if an innovative method is central to the new research, methodological concerns in the studies consulted and any changes or developments in research methods over the years will be important. Accurate notes of three kinds should be recorded while reading and evaluating sources and determining how to write a literature review: 1) the bibliographical information for each source; 2) content important to the current research; and 3) the researcher’s critical thoughts, which should be clearly distinguished from source content.

Step 3: Comparison and Synthesis Comparison and synthesis of the publications considered are vital to determining how to write a literature review that effectively supports the original research reported in a paper. As sources are compared and the body of relevant scholarship is viewed as a whole, the author should consider the methods and findings, ideas and theories, contrary and confirmative arguments of other researchers in direct relation to the findings and implications of the current research. The establishment of themes and categories can facilitate organisation of both an author’s thoughts and a literature review’s structure, thereby enhancing reader comprehension. Major patterns and trends in the body of scholarship should be a special concern, and careful attention to contradictions, inconsistencies, abrupt shifts, dead ends or seemingly inexplicable gaps in the literature can enhance effective explanations of how the current research clarifies confusing matters, resolves ongoing problems, fills significant gaps or provides new directions for investigation. A working outline of how to write a literature review can effectively be constructed during this stage of reflection and analysis.

Step 4: Writing the Literature Review Careful preparation via the steps above will certainly help, but precisely how to write a literature review is generally determined through the actual process of writing. The primary purpose of a literature review within a research paper is to demonstrate how the current state of scholarship in the area necessitates the research presented in the paper, and that purpose usually provides the core argument for the literature review and guides the presentation of sources. Maintaining a clear line of thought based on the current research can prevent unnecessary digressions into the detailed contents and arguments of sources. Relationships, themes, developments and anomalies in the scholarship tend to be most effectively introduced via precise transitional words and phrases, and the entire literature review will be most successful if working to achieve a formal scholarly style that uses correct grammar, spelling and punctuation constitutes an important part of how to write a literature review. Citations and references in the exact style and format indicated by publisher or instructor guidelines must be provided for all the sources discussed in a literature review.

Step 5: Revising and Editing Using an unedited version of a review of scholarship in a research paper is never a sound strategy for how to write a literature review. The first draft of a literature review should be read critically and both revised and edited as an important part of the entire research paper. Ideally, an author will dedicate considerable time to this refinement process, and mentors, colleagues and professional proofreaders might offer valuable insight on content, language and formatting. Clarifying and streamlining the argument of the literature review to ensure that it successfully provides the support and rationale needed for the research presented in the paper are essential, but so too is attention to many seemingly small details. Correcting typing and content errors, improving grammar, spelling and punctuation, clarifying formatting and transitions, ensuring consistency in terminology and abbreviations, and checking citations and the summaries, paraphrases and quotations they herald are all necessary aspects of how to write a literature review for an academic or scientific paper.

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How to Write a Literature Review

A literature review is a study of scholarly sources in a particular research area. The literature review provides knowledge about the current scenario. This allows you to find the appropriate methods, theories, and research gaps in the existing research works. It is a process of analyzing and evaluating the research work to get a better understanding of your topic. In this article, ilovephd provides the five important steps for how to write a literature review .

5 Steps to Write a Literature Review

Step one: be clear on your areas of research.

Before you getting started to do the review, you need to be clear on your research topics and keywords. Make sure that you only get scholarly articles and books in those areas.

Step Two: Search for the literature

Select the most relevant papers through the literature search. Conduct a wide-ranging of bibliographic search of books and articles in your area.

Read the abstracts online and download and print those articles that pertain to your area of research.

Step Three: Read and identify the gaps

Read the literature one by one and summarizeIdentify the research gaps and research opportunities from the literature .

Step Four: Organize the structure of the review

Organize the literature review using the familiar structures for the better flow of reading. The structure can follow Chronological, Thematic, Methodological, or Theoretical order.

Step Five: Begin to Write a Literature Review

Start to write literature by discussing the overall implications of the literature. Also, make suggestions for future research based on the gaps you have identified.

Ensure the writing style should be a clear and concise academic style.

Watch this video: How to Write a Literature Review

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Five steps to conducting a systematic review

Regina kunz.

1 German Cochrane Centre, Freiburg and Department of Nephrology, Charité, Berlin, Germany

Jos Kleijnen

2 Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, York, UK

3 German Cochrane Centre, Freiburg, Germany

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are a key element of evidence-based healthcare, yet they remain in some ways mysterious. Why did the authors select certain studies and reject others? What did they do to pool results? How did a bunch of insignificant findings suddenly become significant? This paper, along with a book 1 that goes into more detail, demystifies these and other related intrigues.

A review earns the adjective systematic if it is based on a clearly formulated question, identifies relevant studies, appraises their quality and summarizes the evidence by use of explicit methodology. It is the explicit and systematic approach that distinguishes systematic reviews from traditional reviews and commentaries. Whenever we use the term review in this paper it will mean a systematic review . Reviews should never be done in any other way.

In this paper we provide a step-by-step explanation—there are just five steps—of the methods behind reviewing, and the quality elements inherent in each step (Box 1). For purposes of illustration we use a published review concerning the safety of public water fluoridation, but we must emphasize that our subject is review methodology, not fluoridation.

EXAMPLE: SAFETY OF PUBLIC WATER FLUORIDATION

You are a public health professional in a locality that has public water fluoridation. For many years, your colleagues and you have believed that it improves dental health. Recently there has been pressure from various interest groups to consider the safety of this public health intervention because they fear that it is causing cancer. Public health decisions have been based on professional judgment and practical feasibility without explicit consideration of the scientific evidence. (This was yesterday; today the evidence is available in a York review 2 , 3 , identifiable on MEDLINE through the freely accessible PubMed clinical queries interface [ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nib.gov/entrez/query/static/clinical.html ], under ‘systematic reviews’.)

STEP 1: FRAMING THE QUESTION

The research question may initially be stated as a query in free form but reviewers prefer to pose it in a structured and explicit way. The relations between various components of the question and the structure of the research design are shown in Figure 1 . This paper focuses only on the question of safety related to the outcomes described below.

Structured questions for systematic reviews and relations between question components in a comparative study

Box 1 The steps in a systematic review

The problems to be addressed by the review should be specified in the form of clear, unambiguous and structured questions before beginning the review work. Once the review questions have been set, modifications to the protocol should be allowed only if alternative ways of defining the populations, interventions, outcomes or study designs become apparent

The search for studies should be extensive. Multiple resources (both computerized and printed) should be searched without language restrictions. The study selection criteria should flow directly from the review questions and be specified a priori . Reasons for inclusion and exclusion should be recorded

Study quality assessment is relevant to every step of a review. Question formulation (Step 1) and study selection criteria (Step 2) should describe the minimum acceptable level of design. Selected studies should be subjected to a more refined quality assessment by use of general critical appraisal guides and design-based quality checklists (Step 3). These detailed quality assessments will be used for exploring heterogeneity and informing decisions regarding suitability of meta-analysis (Step 4). In addition they help in assessing the strength of inferences and making recommendations for future research (Step 5)

Data synthesis consists of tabulation of study characteristics, quality and effects as well as use of statistical methods for exploring differences between studies and combining their effects (meta-analysis). Exploration of heterogeneity and its sources should be planned in advance (Step 3). If an overall meta-analysis cannot be done, subgroup meta-analysis may be feasible

The issues highlighted in each of the four steps above should be met. The risk of publication bias and related biases should be explored. Exploration for heterogeneity should help determine whether the overall summary can be trusted, and, if not, the effects observed in high-quality studies should be used for generating inferences. Any recommendations should be graded by reference to the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence

Free-form question

Is it safe to provide population-wide drinking water fluoridation to prevent caries?

Structured question

• The populations —Populations receiving drinking water sourced through a public water supply
• The interventions or exposures —Fluoridation of drinking water (natural or artificial) compared with non-fluoridated water
• The outcomes —Cancer is the main outcome of interest for the debate in your health authority
• The study designs —Comparative studies of any design examining the harmful outcomes in at least two population groups, one with fluoridated drinking water and the other without. Harmful outcomes can be rare and they may develop over a long time. There are considerable difficulties in designing and conducting safety studies to capture these outcomes, since a large number of people need to be observed over a long period. These circumstances demand observational, not randomized studies. With this background, systematic reviews on safety have to include evidence from studies with a range of designs.

STEP 2: IDENTIFYING RELEVANT PUBLICATIONS

To capture as many relevant citations as possible, a wide range of medical, environmental and scientific databases were searched to identify primary studies of the effects of water fluoridation. The electronic searches were supplemented by hand searching of Index Medicus and Excerpta Medica back to 1945. Furthermore, various internet engines were searched for web pages that might provide references. This effort resulted in 3246 citations from which relevant studies were selected for the review. Their potential relevance was examined, and 2511 citations were excluded as irrelevant. The full papers of the remaining 735 citations were assessed to select those primary studies in man that directly related to fluoride in drinking water supplies, comparing at least two groups. These criteria excluded 481 studies and left 254 in the review. They came from thirty countries, published in fourteen languages between 1939 and 2000. Of these studies 175 were relevant to the question of safety, of which 26 used cancer as an outcome.

STEP 3: ASSESSING STUDY QUALITY

Design threshold for study selection.

Adequate study design as a marker of quality, is listed as an inclusion criterion in Box 1. This approach is most applicable when the main source of evidence is randomized studies. However, randomized studies are almost impossible to conduct at community level for a public health intervention such as water fluoridation. Thus, systematic reviews assessing the safety of such interventions have to include evidence from a broader range of study designs. Consideration of the type and amount of research likely to be available led to inclusion of comparative studies of any design. In this way, selected studies provided information about the harmful effects of exposure to fluoridated water compared with non-exposure.

Quality assessment of safety studies

After studies of an acceptable design have been selected, their in-depth assessment for the risk of various biases allows us to gauge the quality of the evidence in a more refined way. Biases either exaggerate or underestimate the ‘true’ effect of an exposure. The objective of the included studies was to compare groups exposed to fluoridated drinking water and those without such exposure for rates of undesirable outcomes, without bias. Safety studies should ascertain exposures and outcomes in such a way that the risk of misclassification is minimized. The exposure is likely to be more accurately ascertained if the study was prospective rather than retrospective and if it was started soon after water fluoridation rather than later. The outcomes of those developing cancer (and remaining free of cancer) are likely to be more accurately ascertained if the follow-up was long and if the assessment was blind to exposure status.

When examining how the effect of exposure on outcome was established, reviewers assessed whether the comparison groups were similar in all respects other than their exposure to fluoridated water. This is because the other differences may be related to the outcomes of interest independent of the drinking-water fluoridation, and this would bias the comparison. For example, if the people exposed to fluoridated water had other risk factors that made them more prone to have cancer, the apparent association between exposure and outcome might be explained by the more frequent occurrence of these factors among the exposed group. The technical word for such defects is confounding. In a randomized study, confounding factors are expected to be roughly equally distributed between groups. In observational studies their distribution may be unequal. Primary researchers can statistically adjust for these differences, when estimating the effect of exposure on outcomes, by use of multivariable modelling.

Put simply, use of a prospective design, robust ascertainment of exposure and outcomes, and control for confounding are the generic issues one would look for in quality assessment of studies on safety. Consequently, studies may range from satisfactorily meeting quality criteria, to having some deficiencies, to not meeting the criteria at all, and they can be assigned to one of three prespecified quality categories as shown in Table 1 . A quality hierarchy can then be developed, based on the degree to which studies comply with the criteria. None of the studies on cancer were in the high-quality category, but this was because randomized studies were non-existent and control for confounding was not always ideal in the observational studies. There were 8 studies of moderate quality and 18 of low quality.

Description of quality assessment of studies on safety of public water fluoridation

STEP 4: SUMMARIZING THE EVIDENCE

To summarize the evidence from studies of variable design and quality is not easy. The original review 3 provides details of how the differences between study results were investigated and how they were summarized (with or without meta-analysis). This paper restricts itself to summarizing the findings narratively. The association between exposure to fluoridated water and cancer in general was examined in 26 studies. Of these, 10 examined all-cause cancer incidence or mortality, in 22 analyses. Of these, 11 analyses found a negative association (fewer cancers due to exposure), 9 found a positive one and 2 found no association. Only 2 studies reported statistically significant differences. Thus no clear association between water fluoridation and increased cancer incidence or mortality was apparent. Bone/joint and thyroid cancers were of particular concern because of fluoride uptake by these organs. Neither the 6 studies of osteosarcoma nor the 2 studies of thyroid cancer and water fluoridation revealed significant differences. Overall no association was detected between water fluoridation and mortality from any cancer. These findings were also borne out in the moderate-quality subgroup of studies.

STEP 5: INTERPRETING THE FINDINGS

In the fluoridation example, the focus was on the safety of a community-based public health intervention. The generally low quality of available studies means that the results must be interpreted with caution. However, the elaborate efforts in searching an unusually large number of databases provide some safeguard against missing relevant studies. Thus the evidence summarized in this review is likely to be as good as it will get in the foreseeable future. Cancer was the harmful outcome of most interest in this instance. No association was found between exposure to fluoridated water and specific cancers or all cancers. The interpretation of the results may be generally limited because of the low quality of studies, but the findings for the cancer outcomes are supported by the moderate-quality studies.

After having spent some time reading and understanding the review, you are impressed by the sheer amount of published work relevant to the question of safety. However, you are somewhat disappointed by the poor quality of the primary studies. Of course, examination of safety only makes sense in a context where the intervention has some beneficial effect. Benefit and harm have to be compared to provide the basis for decision making. On the issue of the beneficial effect of public water fluoridation, the review 3 reassures you that the health authority was correct in judging that fluoridation of drinking water prevents caries. From the review you also discovered that dental fluorosis (mottled teeth) was related to concentration of fluoride. When the interest groups raise the issue of safety again, you will be able to declare that there is no evidence to link cancer with drinking-water fluoridation; however, you will have to come clean about the risk of dental fluorosis, which appears to be dose dependent, and you may want to measure the fluoride concentration in the water supply and share this information with the interest groups.

The ability to quantify the safety concerns of your population through a review, albeit from studies of moderate to low quality, allows your health authority, the politicians and the public to consider the balance between beneficial and harmful effects of water fluoridation. Those who see the prevention of caries as of primary importance will favour fluoridation. Others, worried about the disfigurement of mottled teeth, may prefer other means of fluoride administration or even occasional treatment for dental caries. Whatever the opinions on this matter, you are able to reassure all parties that there is no evidence that fluoridation of drinking water increases the risk of cancer.

With increasing focus on generating guidance and recommendations for practice through systematic reviews, healthcare professionals need to understand the principles of preparing such reviews. Here we have provided a brief step-by-step explanation of the principles. Our book 1 describes them in detail.

A systematic exploration of scoping and mapping literature reviews

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• Published: 23 May 2024

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• Eirini Christou   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6928-1013 1 ,
• Antigoni Parmaxi   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0687-0176 1 &
• Panayiotis Zaphiris   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8112-5099 1  

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Systematic literature mapping can help researchers identify gaps in the research and provide a comprehensive overview of the available evidence. Despite the importance and benefits of conducting systematic scoping and mapping reviews, many researchers may not be familiar with the methods and best practices for conducting these types of reviews. This paper aims to address this gap by providing a step-by-step guide to conducting a systematic scoping or mapping review, drawing on examples from different fields. This study adopts a systematic literature review approach aiming to identify and present the steps of conducting scoping and mapping literature reviews and serves as a guide on conducting scoping or mapping systematic literature reviews. A number of 90 studies were included in this study. The findings describe the steps to follow when conducting scoping and mapping reviews and suggest the integration of the card sorting method as part of the process. The proposed steps for undertaking scoping and mapping reviews presented in this manuscript, highlight the importance of following a rigorous approach for conducting scoping or mapping reviews.

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1 Introduction

An essential component of academic research is literature review. A systematic literature review, also known as a systematic review, is a method for locating, assessing, and interpreting all research related to a specific research question, topic, or phenomenon of interest [ 1 ].

Scoping and mapping reviews are variations of systematic literature mapping [ 2 ]. Both mapping and scoping reviews can help researchers to understand the scope and breadth of the literature in a given field, identify gaps in the research, and provide a comprehensive overview of the available evidence. Systematic literature mapping purposely focuses on a narrower but more general academic or policy issue and does not try to synthesize the results of research to address a particular subject. The scoping review is exploratory in nature, whereas the mapping review can be conclusive in describing the available evidence and identifying gaps. Mapping review includes a thorough, systematic search of a wide field. It identifies the body of literature that is currently available on a subject and points out any glaring gaps in the evidence [ 3 ].

1.1 Rationale

Despite the importance and benefits of conducting systematic scoping and mapping reviews, many researchers may not be familiar with the methods and best practices for conducting these types of reviews. This paper aims to address this gap by providing a step-by-step guide to conducting a systematic scoping or mapping review, drawing on examples from different fields.

This study adopts a systematic literature review approach aiming to identify and present the differences and the steps of conducting scoping and mapping literature review. The paper provides practical guidance on how to address common challenges in conducting systematic scoping or mapping reviews, such as dealing with the volume of studies identified, managing the data extraction and synthesis process, and ensuring rigor and reproducibility in the review methodology. The main research questions that guide this study are:

RQ1: What is a systematic scoping review and how is it conducted?

RQ2: What is a systematic mapping review and how is it conducted?

RQ3: What are the main differences between systematic scoping and systematic mapping reviews?

Overall, this paper will be a valuable resource for researchers who are interested in conducting a systematic scoping or mapping review. By providing clear guidance and practical examples, the paper aims to promote best practices in systematic scoping and mapping review methodology. The study is organized as follows: The following section presents the methodology of the study, followed by the results showing the process of the scoping and mapping literature review and presenting some examples. Finally, suggestions on how to plan and perform a quality scoping and mapping review are presented.

2 Methodology

The methodology of this paper was adopted by Xiao and Watson [ 4 ].

2.1 Literature search

The search was conducted in two well-known online databases, Web of Science and EBSCOHost, across various disciplines. The searched terms combined keywords related to the performance of scoping and mapping literature review, such as “systematic literature review”, “methodology”, “map”, “mapping” and “scoping”. The title of each manuscript was used to determine its initial relevance. If the content of the title suggested that it would explain the method of the literature review process, we obtained the full reference, which included the author, year, title, and abstract, for additional analysis.

2.2 Initial search results

The query string used for the database search is the following: systematic literature review AND methodology AND (“map” OR “mapping” OR “scoping”). Abstract search was conducted in both databases for the last 10 years (2013–2022). A search on EBSCOHost revealed 643 results of which 291 were duplicated and automatically removed. After applying the database filters to limit the articles to peer-reviewed academic journal articles written in English, a number of 102 papers were excluded. Additional 109 papers were duplicated and removed manually. After an initial screening of the titles, a total of 13 studies were identified as relevant to the methodology of the scoping and mapping literature review. A search on Web of Science, revealed 888 results of which 9 were duplicate and removed, and 157 were found to be related to the methodology of scoping or mapping literature reviews after the first title screening. Last search was conducted on the 2nd of November 2022. Both sources revealed 161 related studies, excluding 9 duplicates that were removed.

2.3 Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Only studies that provide instructions on how to perform a scoping or mapping review were included in this paper. Reviews of the literature on certain subjects and in languages other than English were excluded. The study is limited to papers published within the last 10 years, aiming to collect recent information for performing scoping or mapping reviews. Inclusion and exclusion criteria can be found in Table  1 .

2.4 Screening

To further assess the 161 studies’ applicability to the study topic, their abstracts were reviewed. The manuscripts were evaluated independently and in parallel by two researchers. The researchers’ differing opinions were discussed and settled. Then the full-text of a total of 20 studies was acquired for quality evaluation.

2.5 Eligibility and quality evaluation

To further assess the quality and relevance of the studies, the full-text papers were reviewed. Journal articles and books published by prominent publishers were included in the review as they contained high-quality research. Because there is no peer review procedure, the majority of technical reports and online presentations were excluded.

Two researchers worked independently and simultaneously on evaluating eligibility and quality. Any disagreements between them were discussed and resolved. A total of ten (10) studies were excluded after careful review: one study was excluded because it lacked instructions on how the scoping or mapping review methodology was conducted, three studies were excluded because the methodology was not related to scoping or mapping review, while five studies were disregarded because they focused on a particular subject. One of the studies’ full text couldn’t be accessed. This resulted in ten (10) eligible for full-text analysis.

2.6 Iterations

Through backward and forward searching, additional 18 studies were discovered, from which only 10 met the inclusion criteria. The forward and backward search was also used to find manuscripts that applied scoping or mapping literature review methodology. After finding the article that established the scoping or mapping review methodology, articles that had cited the methodology paper to find instances of best practices in different fields were searched. Following consideration of examples’ adherence to the methodology, preference was given to planning-related articles. In total, 90 studies were analyzed in this study, i.e. 10 methodological papers that describe the application of scoping or mapping review, as well as 80 papers that demonstrate the application of the scoping and mapping methodology in different fields, that are used as examples. The PRISMA flow diagram (see Fig.  1 ) depicts the process of the search strategy [ 5 ].

PRISMA flow diagram

2.7 Extraction and analysis of data

Data were extracted in the process of scoping literature reviews, including information with regards to formulating the problem, establishing and validating the review procedure, searching the literature, screening for inclusion, evaluating quality, extracting data, analyzing and synthesizing data, and reporting the findings (Xiao & Watson, 2019). NVivo software was used for all data extraction and coding procedures. Initially, two researchers each took information from articles for cross-checking. The two researchers reached an agreement on what to extract from the publications after reviewing a few articles together. Then the first author classified the data based on the research questions.

In this section we present the findings of our review.

3.1 Defining “Scoping” and “mapping” review

According to [ 2 ], scoping and mapping reviews are variations of systematic literature mapping that focus on narrower but more general academic or policy issues. A scoping review is exploratory in nature, seeking to identify the nature and extent of research on a particular topic, and can be used to identify gaps in the literature. An example of a research question suitable for a scoping review is “What engagement strategies do educators use in classroom settings to facilitate teaching and learning of diverse students in undergraduate nursing programs?“ [ 6 ]. A mapping review, on the other hand, is a thorough and systematic search of a wide field of literature that aims to identify the body of literature currently available on a subject and point out any glaring gaps in the evidence. An example of a research question suitable for a mapping review is “What are the currently available animal models for cystic fibrosis” [ 3 ]. Overall, each type of review has its own specific aims and can be useful for different types of research questions.

3.1.1 Defining scoping review

There is no single definition for scoping reviews in the literature. According to [ 7 ], scoping review is a type of knowledge synthesis that uses a systematic process to map the evidence on a subject and identify key ideas, theories, sources, and knowledge gaps. The goal of a scoping review is to include all relevant information that is available, including ‘grey’ literature, which includes unpublished research findings, therefore including all available literature and evidence, but the reviewers can decide what type of publications they would like to include [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ].

Scoping review process is sometimes used as a preliminary step before a systematic literature review, in cases where the topic or research area in focus has not yet been extensively reviewed or is complicated or heterogeneous in nature and the types of evidence available remain unclear [ 3 ]. For example, while a scoping review might serve as the foundation for a full systematic review, it does not aim to evaluate the quality of the evidence like systematic reviews do [ 8 ]. Moreover, scoping review is also referred to as a “pilot study” [ 12 ], that can be used as a “trial run” of the entire systematic map; it helps to mold the intended approach for the review and inform the protocol development.

Rapid and scoping meta-reviews were also referred as types of scoping reviews. A “rapid review” is a particular kind of scoping review, which aims to provide an answer to a particular query and can shorten the process compared to a full systematic review [ 3 ]. The “scoping meta-review” (SMR) is a scoping evaluation of systematic reviews that offers researchers a flexible framework for field mapping and a way to condense pertinent research activities and findings, similar to a scoping review [ 13 ].

Almost all of the scoping studies identified in the corpus, draw from previews scoping review frameworks, such as the one proposed by [ 14 , 15 ] and the authors’ manual provided by the Joanna Briggs Institute [ 11 , 16 , 17 , 18 ].

3.1.2 Defining mapping review

A mapping review, also referred to as a “systematic map”, is “a high-level review with a broad research question” [ 3 ](p.133). The mapping review includes a thorough, systematic search of a wide field. It identifies the body of literature that is currently available on a subject and points out any gaps in the evidence. The mapping review can be conclusive in describing the available evidence and identifying gaps, whereas the scoping review is exploratory in nature [ 3 ].

The term “mapping” is used to describe the process of synthesizing and representing the literature numerically and thematically in tables, figures, or graphical representations, which can be thought of as the review output. Mapping enables researchers to pinpoint potential areas for further study as well as gaps in the literature [ 19 ].

Systematic mapping uses the same strict procedures as systematic reviews do. However, systematic mapping can be used to address open or closed-framed questions on broad or specific topics, because it is not constrained by the requirement to include fully specified and defined key elements [ 12 ]. Systematic mapping is especially useful for broad, multifaceted questions about an interesting topic that might not be appropriate for systematic review because they involve a variety of interventions, populations, or outcomes, or because they draw on evidence that is not just from primary research [ 12 ].

3.2 Process of conducting mapping and scoping reviews

As noted in the previous sections, mapping reviews and scoping reviews both aim to provide a broad overview of the literature, but the former focuses on the scope of the literature while the latter focuses on the nature and extent of available evidence on a specific research question or topic. In understanding the process for conducting mapping and scoping reviews, we adopted the eight steps proposed by Xiao and Watson [ 4 ] that are common for all types of reviews: (1) Formulate the problem; (2) Establishing and validating the review procedure; (3) Searching the literature; (4) Screening for inclusion; (5) Evaluating quality; (6) Extracting data; (7) Analyzing and synthesizing data; (8) Reporting the findings. The steps are explained in detail below and describe the methodology for both scoping and mapping reviews, distinguishing their differences where applicable. A summary of the review types along with their characteristics and steps as identified from the literature are presented in Table  2 .

3.2.1 Step 1 formulate the problem

The first step for undertaking a mapping or a scoping review is to formulate the problem by setting the research question that should be investigated, taking into account the topic’s scope [ 12 ]. It is important to clearly state the review objectives and specific review questions for the scoping review. The objectives should indicate what the scoping review is trying to achieve [ 10 , 20 ].

In mapping reviews, it can be helpful to create a conceptual framework or model (visual or textual) to describe what will be explored by the map when determining the mapping review’s scope. It should also be determined whether the topic’s scope is broad, specific, or likely to be supported by a substantial body of evidence [ 12 ].

3.2.1.1 Defining the research question(s)

Prior to beginning their search and paper selection process, the authors should typically define their research question(s) [ 3 ]. There are specific formats that are recommended for structuring the research question(s), as well as the exclusion and inclusion criteria of mapping and scoping reviews [ 21 ] (see Table  3 ).

PCC (Population, Concept, and Context) and PICO format (Population, Intervention, Comparator and Outcome) are often used in scoping and mapping reviews. It is recommended that research questions for scoping reviews follow the PCC format and include all of its components [ 17 , 18 , 21 ]. Information about the participants (e.g. age), the principal idea or “concept,” and the setting of the review, should all be included in the research question. The context should be made explicit and may take into account geographical or locational considerations, cultural considerations, and particular racial or gender-based concerns [ 10 ].

Researchers use the PCC format in order to determine the eligibility of their research questions, as well as to define their inclusion criteria (e.g [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ]). Most scoping reviews have a single main question, but some of them are better served by one or more sub-questions that focus on specific PCC characteristics [ 8 , 18 ].

3.2.2 Step 2. Establishing and validating the review procedure

A protocol is crucial for scoping and mapping reviews because it pre-defines the scoping review’s goals and procedures [ 11 , 17 , 18 , 20 ], it clearly states all methodological decisions since the very beginning [ 2 ], and it also specifies the strategy to be used at each stage of the review process [ 12 ]. Similar to all systematic reviews, scoping reviews start with the creation of an a-priori protocol that includes inclusion and exclusion criteria that are directly related to the review’s objectives and questions [ 7 , 11 , 17 , 18 , 20 ]. In order to decrease study duplication and improve data reporting transparency, the use of formalized, registered protocols is suggested [ 18 , 19 ]. The international prospective register of systematic reviews, known as PROSPERO, states that scoping reviews (and literature reviews) are currently ineligible for registration in the database. While this could change in the future, scoping reviews can currently be registered with the Open Science Framework ( https://osf.io/ ) or Figshare ( https://figshare.com/ ), and their protocols can be published in select publications, including the JBI Evidence Synthesis [ 18 ].

Scoping and mapping reviews should require at least two reviewers in order to minimize reporting bias, as well as to ensure consistency and clarity [ 3 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. The reviewers should include a plan for the results presentation during the protocol development, such as a draft chart or table that could be improved at the end when the reviewers become more familiar with the information they have included in the review [ 17 , 18 ].

3.2.3 Step 3. Searching the literature

Searching the literature requires to prepare a search strategy, decide on search terms, search databases or journals, and perform a manual search [ 27 ]. For example, deciding on search terms, can follow an iterative process that is further explained in the sub-section below. Thinking about searching in terms of broader to narrower strategies is helpful. Fewer databases and/or journals will be checked out in narrower searches (search only in the title, keywords, and abstract fields), which are frequently used in scoping reviews, while multiple databases can be checked for mapping reviews [ 2 ].

Search strategy

Mapping and scoping review search should aim to be as thorough as possible [ 12 ] to find both published and unpublished evidence. An inclusive approach is frequently preferred for scoping reviews to prevent potential omission of crucial information [ 10 , 17 , 18 ].

According to JBI, there should be a three-step search process for scoping reviews [ 10 , 17 , 18 ]. The first step is a quick search of at least two databases followed by a text word check of the article’s title, abstract, and body of text that are then analyzed. All determined index terms and keywords are used in the second stage across all included databases. In the third stage, additional studies should be looked up in the identified reports and articles’ reference lists [ 10 , 11 , 18 ]. The reviewers may look solely at the reference lists of the studies that were chosen from the full-text and/or included in the review, or they may look at the reference lists of all identified studies. In any case, it needs to be made very clear which group of studies will be looked at [ 8 , 11 , 18 ]. As reviewers gain more familiarity with the body of available evidence, new keywords, sources, and possibly helpful search terms may be found and incorporated into the search strategy, hence the search for a scoping review may be quite iterative. If so, it is crucial that the entire search process and the outcomes are open to scrutiny and audit [ 11 , 18 ].

In the same line, it is recommended for mapping reviews to search multiple databases [ 2 ] in all pertinent searchable fields (e.g., title, abstract, keywords, etc.) [ 3 ]. Thematic keywords, along with all of their synonyms and regional/temporal variations, are joined together to form Boolean strings using Boolean signs. Building looser, multiple Boolean strings instead of well-targeted ones (for example, using OR instead of AND, NOT, and exact phrases, respectively) is preferable. The latter runs the risk of omitting crucial references, whereas the former may return a sizable sample of sparsely relevant references [ 2 ]. Focusing the search on a specific component and then filtering all the results can be more effective for mapping reviews [ 3 ].

3.2.4 Step 4. Screening for inclusion

Screening and choosing the studies to be included in a review are the main objectives of this phase. According to [ 27 ], there are two levels of screening. Titles and abstracts are scanned in the first level to limit the range of the studies to be included, while full texts are scanned in the second level to re-examine the relevance of the studies and to settle disagreements between reviewers regarding the study selection. Discussions, meetings, consulting a third reviewer, and determining inter-rater reliability/agreement (using Cohen’s kappa coefficient or intraclass correlation coefficient) are the most typical ways to resolve disagreements. Soaita et al. (2020) [ 2 ] also support that the sample of retrieved references should be ‘cleaned-up’ once it has been finalized and duplicates have been automatically removed.

Different methodological approaches, including primary research articles, summary articles, opinion pieces, and grey literature, can all be included in the literature that scoping reviews identify and analyze [ 7 , 18 , 19 ], but they may also serve as an exclusion criterion [ 2 ]. Peters, Godfrey, et al. (2020) [ 18 ] advice against limiting source inclusion based on language unless there are compelling justifications for doing so (such as practical considerations).

According to the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR), a description of the study selection process must be provided in both a narrative and flow diagram format. Including the date of the most recent literature search, enables the reader to assess how current the scoping review is [ 7 ].

3.2.4.1 Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria offer a framework on which the reviewers can decide which sources to include in the scoping review. To ensure transparency and replicability, the exclusion and inclusion criteria need to be documented [ 7 , 8 , 10 , 11 , 17 ]. Authors should specify any limitations by year, language, publication status, or other factors, and explain why each one was put in place [ 7 ].

When it comes to mapping reviews, criteria should be created whenever possible with participation from stakeholders. Depending on the type of research questions, stakeholders may include practitioners, designers, policy makers, scientists and research funding bodies, but attention should be paid to avoid bias [ 12 ].

3.2.5 Step 5. Evaluating quality

Scoping and mapping reviews are not concerned with quality assessment as a criterion for inclusion [ 2 ]. Assessments of reporting quality and bias risk are typically outside the scope. Although it is possible to extract study characteristics that reflect study and reporting quality, bias cannot be assessed against a specific hypothesis if a mapping review is exploratory [ 3 ].

3.2.6 Step 6. Extracting data

The process of data extraction for a scoping review is also known as “charting the results”. A draft charting table or form needs to be created to capture the key details about the relevance of the included studies to the review question, as well as the characteristics of the included studies. The data extraction process can be iterative, with the charting table being constantly updated.

The reviewers should become familiar with the source results and test the extraction form on two or three studies to ensure that all relevant results are extracted [ 7 , 8 , 10 , 11 , 17 , 18 , 28 ]. In order to increase reporting transparency, authors should explain the main revisions with a justification if the charting process was iterative (i.e., the form was continuously updated). If appropriate, details about the procedures used to collect and verify information from the researchers of the included sources of evidence should be provided [ 7 ]. Author(s), year of publication, source origin, country of origin, objectives, purpose, study population, sample size, methodology, intervention type and comparator, concept, duration of the intervention, how outcomes are measured, and key findings that are related to the review question are all types of information that may be extracted [ 7 , 8 , 10 , 11 , 17 ].

When it comes to data extraction for mapping reviews, it is restricted to important study characteristics and outcomes due to the size of a mapping review [ 3 ]. The process of mapping is intended to produce a practical and organized resource that provides enough detail about studies to be helpful in further work [ 12 ].

To move beyond a straightforward list of citations, it is crucial to maintain a high level of clarity throughout any databases that are created. Studies that are discussed in several papers or that seem to be connected should be marked in the database. In the future, this helps prevent the double counting of research findings in syntheses that might overlook connections between study lines in the databases [ 12 ].

Aiming to capture the key characteristics of the included studies in the scoping and mapping reviews, we suggest the use of a guiding table for extracting data (see Supplementary_Material_1_Guiding_Table).

3.2.7 Step 7. Analyzing and synthesizing data

Authors may extract results and map descriptively. Simple frequency counts of concepts, populations, characteristics, or other fields of data will suffice for many scoping reviews [ 17 , 18 ]. In-depth analysis of quantitative data is not typically required in scoping reviews, although in some cases the authors may take into consideration a more advanced analysis depending on the nature and purpose of their review. A meta-analysis or interpretive qualitative analysis is probably not necessary in scoping reviews [ 17 , 18 ].

When it comes to mapping reviews, no results synthesis is carried out [ 12 ]. Different analytical approaches can be used to map chronological, geographical, conceptual, and thematic trends, which include some form of coding, once the sample has been limited to the pertinent references [ 2 ]. It is possible to identify correlations, trends, gaps, and clusters using simple numerical accounts of frequencies in each category (for example, the number of studies looking at a specific species) and more complex cross-tabulations (for instance, the number of studies looking at the effectiveness of a specific intervention, in a particular farming system, for a named species). Users have access to the map and can query it to find information pertaining to any chosen combinations of the subsets of the meta-data [ 12 ].

3.2.8 Step 8. Reporting the findings

Authors should specify exactly how the evidence will be presented, whether it be in a narrative format, table, or visual representation, such as a map or diagram [ 7 ].

In scoping reviews, a summary of all the relevant information gathered can be presented [ 8 ] using a logical and descriptive summary of the findings based on the research questions [ 10 , 11 , 17 ]. The distribution of studies by year or period of publication, countries of origin, field of intervention, and research methodologies, may be displayed in the tables and charts accompanied with a narrative summary that explains how the results relate to the review’s objectives [ 7 , 11 , 17 , 18 ].

The conclusions should be consistent with the review objective or question based on the findings of the scoping review [ 10 ]. Following the conclusions, specific recommendations for future research based on gaps in knowledge identified by the review results can be presented. Because of the lack of a methodological quality appraisal, recommendations for practice may be unable to be developed; however, suggestions based on the conclusions may be made [ 10 ].

A scoping review’s results section should include a PRISMA flow diagram and details the outcomes of the search strategy and selection procedure [ 7 , 17 ] outlining the grounds for exclusion at the full-text level of screening [ 7 ]. For example, a study [ 29 ] used the PRISMA-ScR extension for scoping reviews to ensure all important sections have been covered in their review.

Mapping reviews may place more emphasis on describing the evidence. The use of pivot tables and pivot charts is helpful for quickly visualizing the amount (and quality, if it is measured) of evidence across a variety of meta-data variables [ 12 ]. Such visualizations can display the quantity of research, the conclusions of a critical appraisal, the sample size across nations, outcomes, populations, or variables. These visualizations can contain categorical variables as additional dimensions. The geographic distribution of study effort and type may be particularly important in mapping reviews with a global or large-scale reach [ 12 ].

4 Discussion

This systematic literature review aimed to describe the process of conducting mapping and scoping literature reviews. In summary, the main difference between the two types of reviews is in their focus and scope. Mapping reviews provide a comprehensive overview of the literature while scoping reviews identify gaps and inconsistencies in the literature and outline potential areas for future research.

A lot of the methodological papers included in this systematic literature review (e.g [ 10 , 19 , 28 ]), referred to the “consultation process” as an additional, optional step that has been suggested by [ 14 ]. In this stage, subject experts or potential review users like practitioners, consumers, and policymakers may be consulted [ 8 ]. Researchers argue that this step should be mandatory [ 15 , 28 ]. In agreement with Levac et al.’s [ 15 ] choice, Daudt et al. [ 28 ] encourage the use of the consultation stage whenever it is practical because it adds richness to the entire research process and, consequently, the findings. Despite the fact that stakeholder consultations can make scoping review planning and execution more difficult, they guarantee that the findings are pertinent to educational practice and/or policies [ 19 ].

Scoping and mapping reviews should require more than one author to eliminate bias and ensure their quality. The card-sorting technique is suggested to be employed within the review process as a means for resolving discrepancies between the stakeholders and come to an agreement on the categorization and evaluation of the data to be included. Other studies (e.g [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ]), propose the card-sorting technique as a method for resolving disagreements between people’s disparities, as well as to evaluate and verify extracted themes from datasets. Card sorting is a quick and reliable sorting method that finds patterns in how users would expect to find content or functionality. Due to the patterns and insights it exposes about how people organize and categorize content, card sorting is a successful approach for resolving categorization disagreements [ 34 ]. According to Wood and Wood [ 35 ], the majority of card sorting projects involve an open sort, where participants receive a list of items and are asked to organize them in the most appropriate way. However, in some cases, a pre-existing set of categories is given to the participants, the so-called closed card sorting project. This assumes that the existing categories are already well-organized, and the goal is to make minor adjustments. Wood and Wood [ 35 ], suggest that it’s best to start with an open sort and analyze the data before conducting a closed sort for validation. If a closed sort is necessary, it should be kept simple, and the results may not be optimal. For example, in a study [ 30 ] that aimed to review the use of makerspaces for educational purposes, the card sorting technique was used for the development of the coding scheme. A three-member academic committee, consisting of three professors took part in the card sorting exercise where they went through the abstracts of the relevant papers and were asked to categorize each manuscript after discussion. They then categorized the manuscripts in the three major themes and 11 subcategories that emerged during the card sorting exercise [ 30 ]. Similarly, the authors of [ 31 ] employed the card sorting technique in their research in order to agree on the main categorization and sub-categorization of the articles identified for inclusion in their review. Card sorting can be integrated as an additional step when conducting scoping and mapping reviews, as it provides useful insights from the experts’ perspective and makes the mapping process more inclusive (see Fig.  2 ).

Proposed steps for conducting scoping and mapping reviews

5 Conclusion

Scoping and mapping reviews need a methodological framework that is rigorous, consistent, and transparent, so that the results can be trusted and the review replicated. This provides enough information for the readers to evaluate the review’s accuracy, relevance, and thoroughness [ 8 ]. Scoping reviews should be carried out in accordance with established methodological guidance and reported using reporting standards (like PRISMA-ScR) guidelines [ 36 ]. The proposed steps for undertaking scoping and mapping reviews presented in this manuscript, highlight the importance of following a rigorous approach for conducting scoping or mapping reviews. Overall, this paper is a valuable resource for researchers who are interested in conducting a systematic scoping or mapping review in different fields and are looking to apply these review methods to their own research questions.

5.1 Limitations and future work

This study does not lack limitations. As specific keywords and specific databases were searched, not all relevant work is included. The study was also limited to the past 10 years, letting out methodologies and frameworks for scoping and mapping literature reviews that were not published within the specific timeframe. The fact that the number of methodological papers identified for inclusion are limited to ten, makes it difficult to clarify the differences between mapping and scoping reviews. Therefore, further research is encouraged in order to clarify and verify the differences and similarities between the two. The application of the proposed process for conducting systematic scoping and mapping reviews on specific topics will verify the process.

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, [EC], upon reasonable request.

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Differential attainment in assessment of postgraduate surgical trainees: a scoping review

• Rebecca L. Jones 1 , 2 ,
• Suwimol Prusmetikul 1 , 3 &
• Sarah Whitehorn 1  

BMC Medical Education volume  24 , Article number:  597 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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Introduction

Solving disparities in assessments is crucial to a successful surgical training programme. The first step in levelling these inequalities is recognising in what contexts they occur, and what protected characteristics are potentially implicated.

This scoping review was based on Arksey & O’Malley’s guiding principles. OVID and Embase were used to identify articles, which were then screened by three reviewers.

From an initial 358 articles, 53 reported on the presence of differential attainment in postgraduate surgical assessments. The majority were quantitative studies (77.4%), using retrospective designs. 11.3% were qualitative. Differential attainment affects a varied range of protected characteristics. The characteristics most likely to be investigated were gender (85%), ethnicity (37%) and socioeconomic background (7.5%). Evidence of inequalities are present in many types of assessment, including: academic achievements, assessments of progression in training, workplace-based assessments, logs of surgical experience and tests of technical skills.

Attainment gaps have been demonstrated in many types of assessment, including supposedly “objective” written assessments and at revalidation. Further research is necessary to delineate the most effective methods to eliminate bias in higher surgical training. Surgical curriculum providers should be informed by the available literature on inequalities in surgical training, as well as other neighbouring specialties such as medicine or general practice, when designing assessments and considering how to mitigate for potential causes of differential attainment.

Peer Review reports

Diversity in the surgical workforce has been a hot topic for the last 10 years, increasing in traction following the BlackLivesMatter movement in 2016 [ 1 ]. In the UK this culminated in publication of the Kennedy report in 2021 [ 2 ]. Before this the focus was principally on gender imbalance in surgery, with the 2010 Surgical Workforce report only reporting gender percentages by speciality, with no comment on racial profile, sexuality distribution, disability occurrence, or socioeconomic background [ 3 ].

Gender is not the only protected characteristic deserving of equity in surgery; many groups find themselves at a disadvantage during postgraduate surgical examinations [ 4 ] and at revalidation [ 5 ]. This phenomenon is termed ‘differential attainment’ (DA), in which disparities in educational outcomes, progression rates, or achievements between groups with protected characteristics occur [ 4 ]. This may be due to the assessors’ subconscious bias, or a deficit in training and education before assessment.

One of the four pillars of medical ethics is “justice”, emphasising that healthcare should be provided in a fair, equitable, and ethical manner, benefiting all individuals and promoting the well-being of society as a whole. This applies not only to our patients but also to our colleagues; training should be provided in a fair, equitable, and ethical manner, benefiting all. By applying the principle of justice to surgical trainees, we can create an environment that is supportive, inclusive, and conducive to professional growth and well-being.

A diverse consultant body is crucial for providing high-quality healthcare to a diverse patient population. It has been shown that patients are happier when cared for by a doctor with the same ethnic background [ 6 ]. Takeshita et al. [ 6 ] proposed this is due to a greater likelihood of mutual understanding of cultural values, beliefs, and preferences and is therefore more likely to cultivate a trusting relationship, leading to accurate diagnosis, treatment adherence and improved patient understanding. As such, ensuring that all trainees are justly educated and assessed throughout their training may contribute to improving patient care by diversifying the consultant body.

Surgery is well known to have its own specific culture, language, and social rules which are unique even within the world of medicine [ 7 , 8 ]. Through training, graduates develop into surgeons, distinct from other physicians and practitioners [ 9 ]. As such, research conducted in other medical domains is not automatically applicable to surgery, and behavioural interventions focused on reducing or eliminating bias in training need to be tailored specifically to surgical settings.

Consequently, it’s important that the surgical community asks the questions:

Does DA exist in postgraduate surgical training, and to what extent?

Why does DA occur?

What groups or assessments are under-researched?

How can we apply this knowledge, or acquire new knowledge, to provide equity for trainees?

The following scoping review hopes to provide the surgical community with robust answers for future of surgical training.

Aims and research question

The aim of this scoping review is to understand the breadth of research about the presence of DA in postgraduate surgical education and to determine themes pertaining to causes of inequalities. A scoping review was chosen to provide a means to map the available literature, including published peer-reviewed primary research and grey literature.

Following the methodological framework set out by Arksey and O’Malley [ 10 ], our research was intended to characterise the literature addressing DA in HST, including Ophthalmology, Obstetrics & Gynaecology (O&G). We included literature from English-language speaking countries, including the UK and USA.

Search strategy

We used search terms tailored to our target population characteristics (e.g., gender, ethnicity), concept (i.e., DA) and context (i.e., assessment in postgraduate surgical education). Medline and Embase were searched with the assistance of a research librarian, with addition of synonyms. This was conducted in May 2023, and was exported to Microsoft Excel for further review. The reference lists of included articles were also searched to find any relevant data sources that had yet to be considered. In addition, to identify grey literature, a search was performed for the term “differential attainment” and “disparity” on the relevant stakeholders’ websites (See supplemental Table 1 for full listing). Stakeholders were included on the basis of their involvement in governance or training of surgical trainees.

Study selection

To start we excluded conference abstracts that were subsequently published as full papers to avoid duplications ( n  = 337). After an initial screen by title to exclude obviously irrelevant articles, articles were filtered to meet our inclusion and exclusion criteria (Table  1 ). The remaining articles ( n  = 47) were then reviewed in their entirety, with the addition of five reports found in grey literature. Following the screening process, 45 studies were recruited for scoping review (Fig.  1 ).

Charting the data

The extracted data included literature title, authors, year of publication, country of study, study design, population characteristic, case number, context, type of assessment, research question and main findings (Appendix 1). Extraction was performed initially by a single author and then subsequently by a second author to ensure thorough review. Group discussion was conducted in case of any disagreements. As charting occurred, papers were discovered within reference lists of included studies which were eligible for inclusion; these were assimilated into the data charting table and included in the data extraction ( n  = 8).

Collating, summarizing and reporting the results

The included studies were not formally assessed in their quality or risk of bias, consistent with a scoping review approach [ 10 ]. However, group discussion was conducted during charting to aid argumentation and identify themes and trends.

We conducted a descriptive numerical summary to describe the characteristics of included studies. Then thematic analysis was implemented to examine key details and organise the attainment quality and population characteristics based on their description. The coding of themes was an iterative process and involved discussion between authors, to identify and refine codes to group into themes.

We categorised the main themes as gender, ethnicity, country of graduation, individual and family background in education, socioeconomic background, age, and disability. The number of articles in each theme is demonstrated in Table  2 . Data was reviewed and organised into subtopics based on assessment types included: academic achievement (e.g., MRCS, FRCS), assessments for progression (e.g., ARCP), workplace-based assessment (e.g., EPA, feedback), surgical experience (e.g., case volume), and technical skills (e.g., visuo-spatial tasks).

PRISMA flow diagram

44 articles defined the number of included participants (89,399 participants in total; range of participants across individual studies 16–34,755). Two articles reported the number of included studies for their meta-analysis (18 and 63 included articles respectively). Two reports from grey literature did not define the number of participants they included in their analysis. The characteristics of the included articles are displayed in Table  2 .

Growth in published literature on differential attainment over the past 40 years

Academic achievement

In the American Board of Surgery Certifying Exam (ABSCE), Maker [ 11 ] found there to be no significant differences in terms of gender when comparing those who passed on their first attempt and those who did not in general surgery training, a finding supported by Ong et al. [ 12 ]. Pico et al. [ 13 ] reported that in Orthopaedic training, Orthopaedic In-Training Examination (OITE) and American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS) Part 1 scores were similar between genders, but that female trainees took more attempts in order to pass. In the UK, two studies reported significantly lower Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons (MRCS) pass rates for female trainees compared to males [ 4 , 14 ]. However, Robinson et al. [ 15 ] presented no significant gender differences in MRCS success rates. A study assessing Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS) examination results found no significant gender disparities in pass rates [ 16 ]. In MRCOG examination, no significant gender differences were found in Part 1 scores, but women had higher pass rates and scores in Part 2 [ 17 ].

Assessment for Progression

ARCP is the annual process of revalidation that UK doctors must perform to progress through training. A satisfactory progress outcome (“outcome 1”) allows trainees to advance through to the next training year, whereas non-satisfactory outcomes (“2–5”) suggest inadequate progress and recommends solutions, such as further time in training or being released from the training programme. Two studies reported that women received 60% more non-satisfactory outcomes than men [ 16 , 18 ]. In contrast, in O&G men had higher non-satisfactory ARCP outcomes without explicit reasons for this given [ 19 ].

Regarding Milestone evaluations based from the US Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), Anderson et al. [ 20 ] reported men had higher ratings of knowledge of diseases at postgraduate year 5 (PGY-5), while women had lower mean score achievements. This was similar to another study finding that men and women had similar competencies at PGY-1 to 3, and that it was only at PGY-5 that women were evaluated lower than men [ 21 ]. However, Kwasny et al. [ 22 ] found no difference in trainers’ ratings between genders, but women self-rated themselves lower. Salles et al. [ 23 ] demonstrated significant improvement in scoring in women following a value-affirmation intervention, while this intervention did not affect men.

Workplace-based Assessment

Galvin et al. [ 24 ] reported better evaluation scores from nurses for PGY-2 male trainees, while females received fewer positive and more negative comments. Gerull et al. [ 25 ] demonstrated men received compliments with superlatives or standout words, whereas women were more likely to receive compliments with mitigating phrases (e.g., excellent vs. quite competent).

Hayward et al. [ 26 ] investigated assessment of attributes of clinical performance (ethics, judgement, technical skills, knowledge and interpersonal skills) and found similar scoring between genders.

Several authors have studied autonomy given to trainees in theatre [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ]. Two groups found no difference in level of granted autonomy between genders but that women rated lower perceived autonomy on self-evaluation [ 27 , 28 ]. Other studies found that assessors consistently gave female trainees lower autonomy ratings, but only in one paper was this replicated in lower performance scores [ 29 , 30 , 31 ].

Padilla et al. [ 32 ] reported no difference in entrustable professional activity assessment (EPA) levels between genders, yet women rated themselves much lower, which they regarded as evidence of imposter syndrome amongst female trainees. Cooney et al. [ 33 ] found that male trainers scored EPAs for women significantly lower than men, while female trainers rated both genders similarly. Conversely, Roshan et al. [ 34 ] found that male assessors were more positive in feedback comments to female trainees than male trainees, whereas they also found that comments from female assessors were comparable for each gender.

Surgical Experience

Gong et al. [ 35 ] found significantly fewer cataract operations were performed by women in ophthalmology residency programmes, which they suggested could be due to trainers being more likely to give cases to male trainees. Female trainees also participated in fewer robotic colorectal procedures, with less operative time on the robotic console afforded [ 36 ]. Similarly, a systematic review highlighted female trainees in various specialties performed fewer cases per week and potentially had limited access to training facilities [ 37 ]. Eruchalu et al. [ 38 ] found that female trainees performed fewer cases, that is, until gender parity was reached, after which case logs were equivalent.

Technical skills

Antonoff et al. [ 39 ] found higher scores for men in coronary anastomosis skills, with women receiving more “fail” assessments. Dill-Macky et al. [ 40 ] analysed laparoscopic skill assessment using blinded videos of trainees and unblinded assessments. While there was no difference in blinded scores between genders, when comparing blinded and unblinded scores individually, assessors were less likely to agree on the scores of women compared to men. However, another study about laparoscopic skills by Skjold-Ødegaard et al. [ 41 ] reported higher performance scores in female residents, particularly when rated by women. The lowest score was shown in male trainees rated by men. While some studies showed disparities in assessment, several studies reported no difference in technical skill assessments (arthroscopic, knot tying, and suturing skills) between genders [ 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ].

Several studies investigated trainees’ abilities to complete isolated tasks associated with surgical skills. In laparoscopic tasks, men were initially more skilful in peg transfer and intracorporeal knot tying than women. Following training, the performance was not different between genders [ 47 ]. A study on microsurgical skills reported better initial visual-spatial and perceptual ability in men, while women had better fine motor psychomotor ability. However, these differences were not significant, and all trainees improved significantly after training [ 48 ]. A study by Milam et al. [ 49 ] revealed men performed better in mental rotation tasks and women outperformed in working memory. They hypothesised that female trainees would experience stereotype threat, fear of being reduced to a stereotype, which would impair their performance. They found no evidence of stereotype threat influencing female performance, disproving their hypothesis, a finding supported by Myers et al. [ 50 ].

Ethnicity and country of graduation

Most papers reported ethnicity and country of graduation concurrently, for example grouping trainees as White UK graduates (WUKG), Black and minority ethnicity UK graduates (BME UKG), and international medical graduates (IMG). Therefore, these areas will be addressed together in the following section.

When assessing the likelihood of passing American Board of Surgery (ABS) examinations on first attempt, Yeo et al. [ 51 ] found that White trainees were more likely than non-White. They found that the influence of ethnicity was more significant in the end-of-training certifying exam than in the start-of-training qualifying exam. This finding was corroborated in a study of both the OITE and ABOS certifying exam, suggesting widening inequalities during training [ 52 ].

Two UK-based studies reported significantly higher MRCS pass rates in White trainees compared to BMEs [ 4 , 14 ]. BMEs were less likely to pass MRCS Part A and B, though this was not true for Part A when variations in socioeconomic background were corrected for [ 14 ]. However, Robinson et al. [ 53 ] found no difference in MRCS pass rates based on ethnicity. Another study by Robinson et al. [ 15 ] demonstrated similar pass rates between WUKGs and BME UKGs, but IMGs had significantly lower pass rates than all UKGs. The FRCS pass rates of WUKGs, BME UKGs and IMGs were 76.9%, 52.9%, and 53.9%, respectively, though these percentages were not statistically significantly different [ 16 ].

There was no difference in MRCOG results based on ethnicity, but higher success rates were found in UKGs [ 19 ]. In FRCOphth, WUKGs had a pass rate of 70%, higher than other groups of trainees, with a pass rate of only 45% for White IMGs [ 52 ].

By gathering data from training programmes reporting little to no DA due to ethnicity, Roe et al. [ 54 ] were able to provide a list of factors they felt were protective against DA, such as having supportive supervisors and developing peer networks.

Assessment for progression

RCOphth [ 55 ] found higher rates of satisfactory ARCP outcomes for WUKGs compared to BME UKGs, followed by IMGs. RCOG [ 19 ] discovered higher rates of non-satisfactory ARCP outcomes from non-UK graduates, particularly amongst BMEs and those from the European Economic Area (EEA). Tiffin et al. [ 56 ] considered the difference in experience between UK graduates and UK nationals whose primary medical qualification was gained outside of the UK, and found that the latter were more likely to receive a non-satisfactory ARCP outcome, even when compared to non-UK nationals.

Woolf et al. [ 57 ] explored reasons behind DA by conducting interview studies with trainees. They investigated trainees’ perceptions of fairness in evaluation and found that trainees felt relationships developed with colleagues who gave feedback could affect ARCP results, and might be challenging for BME UKGs and IMGs who have less in common with their trainers.

Workplace-based assessment

Brooks et al. [ 58 ] surveyed the prevalence of microaggressions against Black orthopaedic surgeons during assessment and found 87% of participants experienced some level of racial discrimination during workplace-based performance feedback. Black women reported having more racially focused and devaluing statements from their seniors than men.

Surgical experience

Eruchalu et al. [ 38 ] found that white trainees performed more major surgical cases and more cases as a supervisor than did their BME counterparts.

Dill-Macky et al. [ 40 ] reported no significant difference in laparoscopic surgery assessments between ethnicities.

Individual and family background in education

Two studies [ 4 , 16 ] concentrated on educational background, considering factors such as parental occupation and attendance of a fee-paying school. MRCS part A pass rate was significantly higher for trainees for whom Medicine was their first Degree, those with university-educated parents, higher POLAR (Participation In Local Areas classification group) quintile, and those from fee-paying schools. Higher part B pass rate was associated with graduating from non-Graduate Entry Medicine programmes and parents with managerial or professional occupations [ 4 ]. Trainees with higher degrees were associated with an almost fivefold increase in FRCS success and seven times more scientific publications than their counterparts [ 16 ].

Socioeconomic background

Two studies used Index of Multiple Deprivation quintile, the official measure of relative deprivation in England based on geographical areas for grading socioeconomic level. The area was defined at the time of medical school application. Deprivation quintiles (DQ) were calculated, ranging from DQ1 (most deprived) to DQ5 (least deprived) [ 4 , 14 ].

Trainees with history of less deprivation were associated with higher MRCS part A pass rate. More success in part B was associated with history of no requirement for income support and less deprived areas [ 4 ]. Trainees from DQ1 and DQ2 had lower pass rates and higher number of attempts to pass [ 14 ]. A general trend of better outcomes in examination was found from O&G trainees in less deprived quintiles [ 19 ].

Trainees from DQ1 and DQ2 received significantly more non-satisfactory ARCP outcomes (24.4%) than DQ4 and DQ5 (14.2%) [ 14 ].

Trainees who graduated at age less than 29 years old were more likely to pass MRCS than their counterparts [ 4 ].

Authors [ 18 , 56 ] found that older trainees received more non-satisfactory ARCP outcomes. Likewise, there was higher percentage of non-satisfactory ARCP outcomes in O&G trainees aged over 45 compared with those aged 25–29 regardless of gender [ 19 ].

Trainees with disability had significantly lower pass rates in MRCS part A compared to candidates without disability. However, the difference was not significant for part B [ 59 ].

What have we learnt from the literature?

It is heartening to note the recent increase in interest in DA (27 studies in the last 4 years, compared to 26 in the preceding 40) (Fig.  2 ). The vast majority (77%) of studies are quantitative, based in the US or UK (89%), focus on gender (85%) and relate to clinical assessments (51%) rather than examination results. Therefore, the surgical community has invested primarily in researching the experience of women in the USA and UK.

Interestingly, a report by RCOG [ 19 ] showed that men were more likely to receive non-satisfactory ARCP outcomes than women, and a study by Rushd et al. [ 17 ] found that women were more likely to pass part 2 of MRCOG than men. This may be because within O&G men are the “out-group” (a social group or category characterised by marginalisation or exclusion by the dominant cultural group) as 75% of O&G trainees are female [ 60 ].

This contrasts with other specialities in which men are the in-group and women are seen to underperform. Outside of O&G, in comparison to men, women are less likely to pass MRCS [ 4 , 14 ], receive satisfactory ARCP outcome [ 16 , 18 ], or receive positive feedback [ 24 ], whilst not performing the same number of procedures as men [ 34 , 35 ]. This often leads to poor self-confidence in women [ 32 ], which can then worsen performance [ 21 ].

It proves difficult to comment on DA for many groups due to a lack of evidence. The current research suggests that being older, having a disability, graduate entry to medicine, low parental education, and living in a lower socioeconomic area at the time of entering medical school are all associated with lower MRCS pass rates. Being older and having a lower socioeconomic background are also associated with non-satisfactory ARCP outcomes, slowing progression through training.

These characteristics may provide a compounding negative effect – for example having a previous degree will automatically make a trainee older, and living in a lower socioeconomic area makes it more likely their parents will have a non-professional job and not hold a higher degree. When multiple protected characteristics interact to produce a compounded negative effect for a person, it is often referred to as “intersectional discrimination” or “intersectionality” [ 61 ]. This is a concept which remains underrepresented in the current literature.

The literature is not yet in agreement over the presence of DA due to ethnicity. There are many studies that report perceived discrimination, however the data for exam and clinical assessment outcomes is equivocal. This may be due to the fluctuating nature of in-groups and out-groups, and multiple intersecting characteristics. Despite this, the lived experience of BME surgeons should not be ignored and requires further investigation.

What are the gaps in the literature?

The overwhelming majority of literature exploring DA addresses issues of gender, ethnicity or country of medical qualification. Whilst bias related to these characteristics is crucial to recognise, studies into other protected characteristics are few and far between. The only paper on disability reported striking differences in attainment between disabled and non-disabled registrars [ 59 ]. There has also been increased awareness about neurodiversity amongst doctors and yet an exploration into the experience of neurodiverse surgeons and their progress through training has yet to be published [ 62 ].

The implications of being LGBTQ + in surgical training have not been recognised nor formally addressed in the literature. Promisingly, the experiences of LGBTQ + medical students have been recognised at an undergraduate level, so one can hope that this will be translated into postgraduate education [ 63 , 64 ]. While this is deeply entwined with experiences of gender discrimination, it is an important characteristic that the surgical community would benefit from addressing, along with disability. To a lesser extent, the effect of socioeconomic background and age have also been overlooked.

Characterising trainees for the purpose of research

Ethnicity is deeply personal, self-defined, and may change over time as personal identity evolves, and therefore arbitrarily grouping diverse ethnic backgrounds is unlikely to capture an accurate representation of experiences. There are levels of discrimination even within minority groups; colourism in India means dark-skinned Indians will experience more discrimination than light-skinned Indians, even from those within in their own ethnic group [ 65 ]. Therefore, although the studies included in the scoping review accepted self-definitions of ethnicity, this is likely not enough to fully capture the nuances of bias and discrimination present in society. For example, Ellis et al. [ 4 ] grouped participants as “White”, “Mixed”, “Asian”, “Black” and “Other”, however they could have also assigned a skin tone value such as the NIS Skin Colour Scale [ 66 ], thus providing more detail.

Ethnicity is more than genetic heritage; it is also cultural expression. The experience of an IMG in UK postgraduate training will differ from that of a UKG, an Indian UKG who grew up in India, and an Indian UKG who grew up in the UK. These are important distinctions which are noted in the literature (e.g. by Woolf et al., 2016 [ 57 ]) however some do not distinguish between ethnicity and graduate status [ 15 ] and none delve into an individual’s cultural expression (e.g., clothing choice) and how this affects the perception of their assessors.

Reasons for DA

Despite the recognition of inequalities in all specialties of surgery, there is a paucity of data explicitly addressing why DA occurs. Reasons behind the phenomenon must be explored to enable change and eliminate biases. Qualitative research is more attuned to capturing the complexities of DA through observation or interview-based studies. Currently most published data is quantitative, and relies on performance metrics to demonstrate the presence of DA while ignoring the causes. Promisingly, there are a gradually increasing number of qualitative, predominantly interview-based, studies (Fig.  2 ).

To create a map of DA in all its guises, an analysis of the themes reported to be contributory to its development is helpful. In our review of the literature, four themes have been identified:

Training culture

In higher surgical training, for there to be equality in outcomes, there needs to be equity in opportunities. Ellis et al. [ 4 ] recognised that variation in training experiences, such as accessibility of supportive peers and senior role models, can have implications on attainment. Trainees would benefit from targeted support at times of transition, such as induction or at examinations, and it may be that currently the needs of certain groups are being met before others, reinforcing differential attainment [ 4 ].

Experience of assessment

Most literature in DA relates to the presence (or lack of) an attainment gap in assessments, such as ARCP or MRCS. It is assumed that these assessments of trainee development are objective and free of bias, and indeed several authors have described a lack of bias in these high-stakes examinations (e.g., Ong et al., 2019 [ 12 ]; Robinson et al., 2019 [ 53 ]). However, in some populations, such as disabled trainees, there are differences in attainment [ 59 ]. This is demonstrated despite legislation requiring professional bodies to make reasonable adjustments to examinations for disabled candidates, such as additional time, text formatting amendments, or wheelchair-accessible venues [ 67 ]. Therefore it would be beneficial to investigate the implementation of these adjustments across higher surgical examinations and identify any deficits.

Social networks

Relationships between colleagues may influence DA in multiple ways. Several studies identified that a lack of a relatable and inspiring mentor may explain why female or BME doctors fail to excel in surgery [ 4 , 55 ]. Certain groups may receive preferential treatment due to their perceived familiarity to seniors [ 35 ]. Robinson et al. [ 15 ] recognised that peer-to-peer relationships were also implicated in professional development, and the lack thereof could lead to poor learning outcomes. Therefore, a non-discriminatory culture and inclusion of trainees within the social network of training is posited as beneficial.

Personal characteristics

Finally, personal factors directly related to protected characteristics have been suggested as a cause of DA. For example, IMGs may perform worse in examinations due to language barriers, and those from disadvantaged backgrounds may have less opportunity to attend expensive courses [ 14 , 16 ]. Although it is impossible to exclude these innate deficits from training, we may mitigate their influence by recognising their presence and providing solutions.

The causes of DA may also be grouped into three levels, as described by Regan de Bere et al. [ 68 ]: macro (the implications of high-level policy), meso (focusing on institutional or working environments) and micro (the influence of individual factors). This can intersect with the four themes identified above, as training culture can be enshrined at both an institutional and individual level, influencing decisions that relate to opportunities for trainees, or at a macro level, such as in the decisions made on nationwide recruitment processes. These three levels can be used to more deeply explore each of the four themes to enrich the discovery of causes of DA.

Discussions outside of surgery

Authors in General Practice (e.g., Unwin et al., 2019 [ 69 ]; Pattinson et al., 2019 [ 70 ]), postgraduate medical training (e.g., Andrews, Chartash, and Hay, 2021 [ 71 ]), and undergraduate medical education (e.g., Yeates et al., 2017 [ 72 ]; Woolf et al., 2013 [ 73 ]) have published more extensively in the aetiology of DA. A study by Hope et al. [ 74 ] evaluating the bias present in MRCP exams used differential item functioning to identify individual questions which demonstrated an attainment gap between male and female and Caucasian and non-Caucasian medical trainees. Conclusions drawn about MRCP Part 1 examinations may be generalisable to MRCS Part A or FRCOphth Part 1: they are all multiple-choice examinations testing applied basic science and usually taken within the first few years of postgraduate training. Therefore it is advisable that differential item functioning should also be applied to these examinations. However, it is possible that findings in some subspecialities may not be generalisable to others, as training environments can vary profoundly. The RCOphth [ 55 ] reported that in 2021, 53% of ophthalmic trainees identified as male, whereas in Orthopaedics 85% identified as male, suggesting different training environments [ 5 ]. It is useful to identify commonalities of DA between surgical specialties and in the wider scope of medical training.

Limitations of our paper

Firstly, whilst aiming to provide a review focussed on the experience of surgical trainees, four papers contained data about either non-surgical trainees or medical students. It is difficult to draw out the surgeons from this data and therefore it is possible that there are issues with generalisability. Furthermore, we did not consider the background of each paper’s authors, as their own lived experience of attainment gap could form the lens through which they commented on surgical education, colouring their interpretation. Despite intending to include as many protected characteristics as possible, inevitably there will be lived experiences missed. Lastly, the experience of surgical trainees outside of the English-speaking world were omitted. No studies were found that originated outside of Europe or North America and therefore the presence or characteristics of DA outside of this area cannot be assumed.

Experiences of inequality in surgical assessment are prevalent in all surgical subspecialities. In order to further investigate DA, researchers should ensure all protected characteristics are considered - and how these interact - to gain insight into intersectionality. Given the paucity of current evidence, particular focus should be given to the implications of disability, and specifically neurodiversity, in progress through training as they are yet to be explored in depth. In defining protected characteristics, future authors should be explicit and should avoid generalisation of cultural backgrounds to allow authentic appreciation of attainment gap. Few authors have considered the driving forces between bias in assessment and DA, and therefore qualitative studies should be prioritised to uncover causes for and protective factors against DA. Once these influences have been identified, educational designers can develop new assessment methods that ensure equity across surgical trainees.

Data availability

All data provided during this study are included in the supplementary information files.

Abbreviations

Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education

American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery

American Board of Surgery

American Board of Surgery Certifying Exam

Annual Review of Competence Progression

Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnicity

Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology

Differential Attainment

Deprivation Quintile

European Economic Area

Entrustable Professional Activities

Fellowship of The Royal College of Ophthalmologists

Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons

General Medical Council

Higher Surgical Training

International Medical Graduate

In-Training Evaluation Report

Member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

Member of the Royal College of Physicians

Member of the Royal College of Surgeons

Obstetrics and Gynaecology

Orthopaedic In-Training Examination

Participation In Local Areas

Postgraduate Year

The Royal College of Ophthalmologists

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

The Royal College of Surgeons of England

United Kingdom Graduate

White United Kingdom Graduate

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Rebecca L. Jones, Suwimol Prusmetikul & Sarah Whitehorn

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Contributions

RJ, SP and SW conceived the study. RJ carried out the search. RJ, SP and SW reviewed and appraised articles. RJ, SP and SW extracted data and synthesized results from articles. RJ, SP and SW prepared the original draft of the manuscript. RJ and SP prepared Figs. 1 and 2. All authors reviewed and edited the manuscript and agreed to the final version.

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Correspondence to Rebecca L. Jones .

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Jones, R.L., Prusmetikul, S. & Whitehorn, S. Differential attainment in assessment of postgraduate surgical trainees: a scoping review. BMC Med Educ 24 , 597 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05580-2

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Received : 27 February 2024

Accepted : 20 May 2024

Published : 30 May 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05580-2

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