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sample apa literature review

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What are the types of reviews?

As you begin searching through the literature for evidence, you will come across different types of publications. Below are examples of the most common types and explanations of what they are. Although systematic reviews and meta-analysis are considered the highest quality of evidence, not every topic will have an Systematic Review or Metanalysis.

sample apa literature review

Use the PRISMA Online Checklist to assess research and systematic reviews

sample apa literature review

Literature Review Examples

Remember, a literature review provides an overview of a topic. There may or may not be a method for how studies are collected or interpreted. Lit reviews aren't always obviously labeled "literature review"; they may be embedded within sections such as the introduction or background. You can figure this out by reading the article . 

  • Dance therapy for individuals with Parkinson's Disease Notice how the introduction and subheadings provide background on the topic and describe way it's important. Some studies are grouped together that convey a similar idea. Limitations of some studies are addressed as a way of showing the significance of the research topic.
  • Ethical Issues Regarding Human Cloning: A Nursing Perspective Notice how this article is broken into several sections: background on human cloning, harms of cloning, and nursing issues in cloning. These are the themes of the different articles that were used in writing this literature review. Look at how the articles work together to form a cohesive piece of literature.

Systematic Review Examples

Systematic reviews address a clinical question.  Reviews are gathered using a specific, defined set of criteria.

  • Selection criteria is defined
  • The words "Systematic Review" may appear int he title or abstract
  • BTW -> Cochrane Reviews aka Systematic Reviews
  • Additional reviews can be found by using a systematic review limit 
  • A Systematic Review of Animal-Assisted Therapy on Psychosocial Outcomes in People with Intellectual Disability
  • The determinants and consequences of adult nursing staff turnover: a systematic review of systematic reviews
  • Cochrane Library (Wiley) This link opens in a new window Over 5000 reviews of research on medical treatments, practices, and diagnostic tests are provided in this database. Cochrane Reviews is the premier resource for Evidence Based Practice.
  • PubMed (NLM) This link opens in a new window PubMed comprises more than 22 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books.

Meta-Analysis Examples

Meta-analysis is a study that combines data from OTHER studies. All the studies are combined to argue whether a clinical intervention is statistically significant by combining the results from the other studies.  For example, you want to examine a specific headache intervention without running a clinical trial.  You can look at other articles that discuss your clinical intervention, combine all the participants from those articles, and run a statistical analysis to test if your results are significant. Guess what? There's a lot of math. 

  • Include the words "meta-analysis" or "meta analysis" in your keywords
  • Meta-analyses will always be accompanied by a systematic review, but a systematic review may not have a meta-analysis
  • See if the abstract or results section mention a meta-analysis
  • Use databases like Cochrane or PubMed
  • Exercise Interventions for Preventing Falls Among Older People in Care Facilities: A Meta-Analysis
  • Acupuncture for the prevention of tension-type headache This is a systematic review that includes a meta-analysis. Check out the Abstract and Results for an example of what a meta-analysis looks like!
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  • Last Updated: Aug 28, 2024 10:16 AM
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