A literature review surveys previously published research on a particular topic. A literature review should be performed for all research projects.  Literature reviews help the researcher understand the existing body of knowledge on your topic and identify research gaps. A literature review can also help you to develop your research question and to identify relevant sources.

Several types of literature reviews exist:

• Scoping reviews: A scoping review is a type of literature review that aims to map the existing evidence on a particular topic.  understanding the state of the art on a topic and identifying gaps in the research.
• Narrative literature reviews: These are the most common type of literature review. They provide a comprehensive overview of the existing research on a particular topic. Narrative literature reviews are typically written in a narrative style, and they do not use a systematic approach to identify, select, and evaluate the literature.
• Systematic literature reviews: These reviews are more rigorous than narrative literature reviews. They use a systematic approach to identify, select, and evaluate the literature.
• Meta-analyses: These reviews combine the results of multiple studies to provide a more comprehensive overview of the research. Meta-analyses typically use statistical methods to combine the results of the studies

In addition to these types of literature reviews, there are also a number of other types of literature reviews that are used in specific disciplines. For example, in the field of medicine, there are clinical reviews that summarize the evidence on the effectiveness of medical treatments. In the field of education, there are literature reviews that summarize the research on a particular educational topic.

The type of literature review that you choose will depend on the purpose of your research. If you are simply trying to understand the existing body of knowledge on a topic, then a narrative literature review may be sufficient. However, if you are conducting a more rigorous research study, then you may need to use a systematic literature review or a meta-analysis.

The steps involved in writing a literature review are as follows:

1. Choose a topic. The first step is to choose a topic for your literature review. This topic should be narrow enough to be manageable but broad enough to provide enough information to write a comprehensive review.
2. Conduct a literature search. Once you have chosen a topic, you need to conduct a literature search to identify the relevant sources. This can be done by searching online databases, such as Google Scholar or PubMed, or by consulting with a librarian. It is VERY important to consider asking the librarians to help evaluate your keyword searches.
3. Evaluate the sources. Once you have identified the relevant sources, you need to evaluate them to determine their relevance, quality, and credibility. This involves considering the author's expertise, the publication's reputation, and the study's methodology.
4. Summarize the sources. Once you have evaluated the sources, you need to summarize the key findings of each source. This can be done in a table or in a narrative format.
5. Analyze the findings. Once you have summarized the findings of the sources, you need to analyze them to identify the key themes and trends. This involves looking for patterns and relationships between the findings.
6. Write the literature review. Once you have analyzed the findings, you can start writing your literature review. The introduction should provide an overview of the topic, the body should discuss the key findings, and the conclusion should summarize the main points of the review.

Here are some additional tips for writing a literature review:

• Be clear and concise.
• Use proper grammar and punctuation.
• Cite your sources correctly.
• Avoid plagiarism.
• Proofread your work carefully before submitting it.

A well-written literature review can be a valuable tool for researchers. It can help you to identify the key issues in your field, to develop a research question, and to support the findings of your research study.

1. Establish the research area, topics and questions you want to address.

The first step in defining your research scope is to establish the research area, topics, and questions you want to address. What are you interested in learning more about? What are the key questions you want to answer? Once you have a good understanding of the research area, you can start to narrow down your focus.

2. Make a list of keywords (including synonyms) and main concepts linked to your research topic.

Once you have a good understanding of the research area, you can start to make a list of keywords (including synonyms) and main concepts linked to your research topic. This will help you to focus your research and to identify relevant sources.

3. Establish the connections between these concepts and your research question with a concept map.

A concept map is a visual representation of the relationships between different concepts. It can be a helpful tool for understanding the connections between your research question and the key concepts in your research area.

4. Set some additional parameters to your searches like publication date, geographical coverage, and related disciplines.

Once you have a good understanding of your research scope, you can start to set some additional parameters to your searches. This will help you to find the most relevant sources for your research. For example, you may want to limit your searches to sources that were published within the last five years, or that focus on a particular geographical region.

5. Review your research scope regularly and make adjustments as needed.

It is important to review your research scope regularly and make adjustments as needed. As you learn more about your research topic, you may find that you need to narrow your focus or change your research questions. It is also important to be flexible and to be willing to adapt your research scope as needed.

Here are some additional tips for defining your research scope:

• Be specific. The more specific your research scope is, the easier it will be to find relevant sources and to conduct your research.
• Be realistic. It is important to be realistic about the scope of your research. If you try to do too much, you may end up feeling overwhelmed and frustrated.
• Be flexible. It is importa

The course instructors highly recommend that the researchers should identify a model paper and outline that paper.

A literature review typically includes the following sections:

• Introduction: This section provides an overview of the topic and introduces the research question.
• Literature review: This section discusses the existing research on the topic, including the key findings and limitations of the research.
• Discussion: This section discusses the implications of the literature review for your research question.
• Conclusion: This section summarizes the key points of the literature review and provides an overview of your research project.

A literature review should be written in a clear and concise style and free of errors. It is important to cite your sources throughout the literature review and to include a comprehensive and accurate list of references at the end of the paper.

There are many software tools out there to manage references during a literature review including Rayyan and DistillerSR.  Some researchers use their citation manager or Excel.  Dr. Brooks uses DistillerSR. (see here for background info). If you and Dr. Brooks decide to use DistillerSR, here is a brief tutorial on how to use DistillerSR:

1. Ask Dr. Brooks to create an account for you and create a project.
2. Sign in. You can create an account for free on the DistillerSR website. Once you have created an account, you can sign in and view your project.
3. Design your search terms. Spend some time and optimize your search terms. Share your search terms with Dr. Brooks.
4. Import references. Dr. Brooks will import references from PubMed, Google Scholar, or other sources with you during a meeting using your search terms. Once you have imported references, you can view them in the "References" tab.
5. Discuss the workflow so Dr. Brooks can create forms. You can create forms to extract data from references. Discuss the workflow with Dr. Brooks, who will create the forms and workflow with you during a meeting.
6. Review references. The "Reviews" tab shows you which references have been reviewed and which have not. You can also view the data that has been extracted by each reviewer.
7. Generate reports. You can generate reports to summarize the findings of your review. To generate a report, click on the "Reports" tab and then click on the "Generate Report" button. You can then select the type of report you want to generate.