Doing a literature review in health and social care : a practical guide

Front cover......Page 1
Half title......Page 2
Title page......Page 4
Copyright page......Page 5
Contents......Page 6
Introduction......Page 10
What is a literature review?......Page 14
Why are literature reviews important?......Page 15
Analysis of many papers can lead to new discoveries......Page 17
The importance of a comprehensive or systematic approach......Page 18
Evidence-based practice......Page 20
Why does one piece of research often contradict another?......Page 21
The importance of a systematic approach to the literature review......Page 22
The systematic review......Page 23
Less detailed systematic reviews......Page 24
Narrative reviews......Page 25
Why you should be doing a ‘systematic’ rather than a ‘narrative’ review......Page 27
The literature review as a research methodology......Page 28
Can I undertake a literature review for my dissertation?......Page 29
Key points......Page 31
The importance of a research question......Page 32
Step 1: Identify a research topic......Page 34
How do I begin to select a good topic?......Page 36
Step 2: Identify a research question......Page 38
Hints for writing a good research question......Page 40
Refining the research question......Page 44
Remind yourself (often) of your question......Page 45
Use of theory and a theoretical framework......Page 46
Writing up the development of your research question......Page 48
In summary......Page 49
Key points......Page 50
3 What literature will be relevant to my literature review?......Page 51
Quantitative research......Page 56
Types of quantitative research......Page 57
Qualitative studies......Page 65
Types of qualitative research......Page 67
The use of secondary sources......Page 69
What does the term ‘hierarchy of evidence’ mean?......Page 70
Why do some literature reviews include predominantly RCTs?......Page 71
Does the ‘hierarchy of evidence’ apply to my literature review?......Page 72
Identifying your own hierarchy of evidence in your review......Page 73
Should I always focus my search on research findings?......Page 75
Key points......Page 76
4 How do I search for literature?......Page 77
Developing a systematic approach to searching for literature......Page 78
Identify the literature that will address your review question......Page 79
Inclusion and exclusion criteria......Page 80
Electronic searching......Page 83
Recording your searching strategy......Page 89
Additional methods of identifying relevant articles......Page 90
Use of abstracts to confirm the relevance of the paper......Page 92
Getting hold of your references......Page 93
Managing your references......Page 94
Tips for writing up your search strategy......Page 95
In summary......Page 96
Key points......Page 97
5 How do I critically appraise the literature?......Page 98
Getting to know your literature......Page 99
The importance of critical appraisal......Page 101
What is critical appraisal?......Page 102
Getting started with critical appraisal......Page 104
Identifying research, theoretical, practice and policy papers......Page 105
Critical appraisal tools......Page 106
Which appraisal tool should I use?......Page 107
Critical appraisal for new researchers......Page 108
Critical appraisal of research......Page 109
Critical appraisal of review articles......Page 110
Dealing with existing literature reviews in your review......Page 111
How should we critique quantitative studies?......Page 112
Additional resources for critical appraisal......Page 114
Critical appraisal of qualitative studies......Page 117
How should we critique qualitative research?......Page 118
Critical appraisal tools for qualitative studies......Page 119
Critical appraisal of practice literature......Page 125
An approach to evaluating information contained on websites......Page 127
Now I have critically appraised all my literature – what next?......Page 128
In summary......Page 130
Key points......Page 131
6 How do I synthesize my findings?......Page 132
Combining the evidence......Page 133
Meta-analysis......Page 134
Meta-ethnography......Page 135
Meta-study......Page 136
Providing a summary of your information......Page 137
Comparing and contrasting the results of each study......Page 138
Working with codes and themes that do not support each other......Page 140
Discussion of the strength of evidence......Page 141
Be creative!......Page 142
Writing your critical appraisal of each paper......Page 143
Incorporating your critical appraisal......Page 144
What do I do if I cannot really answer my research question?......Page 146
In summary......Page 148
Key points......Page 149
7 How do I discuss my findings and make recommendations?......Page 150
Statement of findings......Page 152
Strengths and limitations of your study......Page 153
Tips for writing up your discussion section......Page 154
Key points......Page 155
8 How do I present my literature review? And other key questions......Page 156
A suggested structure......Page 157
Top tips for writing up your literature review......Page 159
Key points in presenting your literature review......Page 160
What is the difference between a dissertation and an essay?......Page 161
How should I structure my work?......Page 163
Should I use first or third person?......Page 164
How should I use references?......Page 165
How do I avoid plagiarism and misrepresentation?......Page 166
What is the role of my supervisor?......Page 167
Glossary......Page 168
References......Page 172
Index......Page 176
Back cover......Page 180