Residency Research Manual: Literature Review

In this section you find information regarding the importance of conducting a literature review as part of the research process.

Literature Review

You will have the opportunity to attend several workshops conducted by library personnel and/or the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. These are designed to provide you with information about different resources available to you for finding literature in your specific area of interest as well as techniques to evaluate the quality of these resources and effective literature search strategies. Appendix 3 provides a guide with questions to keep in mind while conducting your literature review.

Purpose of Literature Review

The purpose of the literature review is to allow you to describe the scientific knowledge and research recommendations, and to identify the gaps in this knowledge, as communicated through peer-reviewed published manuscripts or textbooks in your area of interest. This forms the foundation of the rationale for your proposed research and summarizes what the expected contribution of your research will be. This becomes an integral part of the Background and Significance Section of your Research Proposal and later on will be used in the application to the Institutional Review Board (IRB, see later sections) as well as in your final Research Report (and possible publications). Through the literature review you will:

• Provide a compelling argument for your project. Why is this topic important? Why are these research questions important?
• Establish that you have knowledge in the topic.
• Avoid outdated research. Avoid duplication.
• Become familiar with all the research in your area of interest and cite not only the references which support your hypothesis but provide an overview of different relevant publications and different points of view.
• Highlight why research findings are important beyond the specific project, i.e. how can the results be applied to other related areas.
• Stress innovations in methods (e.g. new research methods, new interventions, etc).

The following sections provide information as to how to set up your MWU library account, how to start and set up an effective literature search strategy, how to order articles and other library materials through interlibrary loan, and information about EndNote Online (a web-based reference/citation management software). These resources will make finding the right articles for your research proposal easier and will help you keep track of your search activities. For any problems or for more information please contact the MWU libraries. Librarians are available to help you with your literature search. The phone number for the library in Downers Grove is (630) 515-6200 and for Glendale is (623) 572-3308. If you have questions about any of these topics, you can also email the MWU Librarians at librarian@midwestern.edu. 

Questions to ask to conduct effective Literature Searches

Conducting a literature review checklist of questions to ask yourself

• What key words have I found in the first three articles I have read?
• If these are the most recent articles on the topic, what references have they used?
• Do I need to include theory? □ Are there any existing “reviews of the literature” on my topic?
• Do I need to include Text Books in addition to published peer review articles?
• What unpublished material may help my review?
• Have I checked the literature cited by authors to ensure I have covered a broad scope? (when you begin to see citations repeated in the articles you review, you may have exhausted the field.
• I have over 100 articles, how can I address this large scope?
• Have I used a written list of the specific outcome measures or population characteristics, or other criteria to cull out articles that are extraneous?
• Do I have a checklist to assess strengths and weaknesses of the materials?
• Have I cited and discussed studies contrary to my perspective?
• Will the reader find my literature review relevant, appropriate, and useful?

Questions to use in reviewing articles and texts

• 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?
• Does the author provide complete information or how to access more information on the basic components of the study design
• Are the measurements valid and reliable for this topic?
• Is the analysis of the data accurate and relevant to the research question?
• Are the conclusions validly based upon the data and analysis?
• Is there scientific evidence underlying the reasoning, or is the author promoting a perspective that is theoretical only?
• How does the author structure the argument? Can you "deconstruct" the flow of the argument to see whether or where it breaks down logically?
• In what ways does this book or article
  • contribute to our understanding of the problem under study,
  • provide information for practice?
• What are the strengths and limitations?
• How does this book or article relate to the specific thesis or question I am developing?

Checklist from: ©Manual of basic tools for research in osteopathic manipulative medicine, second edition, April 2007. The University of North Texas Health Science Center Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine