Literature Review Survival Library Guide: Tamzyn Suleiman's guide to Systematic Reviews

“Systematic reviews are characterized by being methodical, comprehensive, transparent, and replicable” (Siddaway, Wood & Hedges, 2019).                                                                                                      

“A literature review synthesizes current knowledge pertaining to the research question. This synthesis is the foundation that, through the use of logical argumentation, allows the researcher to build a convincing thesis case.”(Machi & McEvoy, 2016).

Characteristics:

• a clearly stated set of objectives with pre-defined eligibility criteria for studies;
• an explicit, reproducible methodology;
• a systematic search that attempts to identify all studies that would meet the eligibility criteria;
• an assessment of the validity of the findings of the included studies, for example through the assessment of risk of bias; and
• a systematic presentation, and synthesis, of the characteristics and findings of the included studies

Characteristics:

• provide a context for the research
• identify seminal works and scholars in the field
• acknowledge existing theories, points of view, hypotheses, etc. in the field of research
• justify the research
• clear up misconceptions about previous research
• show where the research fits into the existing body of knowledge
• highlight flaws in previous research
• outline gaps in previous research
• show that the work is adding to the understanding and knowledge of the field