What is a literature review? Good question. Unfortunately, there are at least 10 different answers because there are at least 10 different
types of literature reviews. That's why your first task when given this assignment is to identify which type of lit review is being calling for.
In this video we're going to review 10 different types of literature reviews so that you can choose the one that best fits your assignment.
Number one: THE NARRATIVE or CHRONOLOGICAL literature review. This is the most common type of lit review. It traces the
development of the topic over time, highlighting significant areas of research along the way. It also provides a summary conclusion based
upon the works surveyed. Throughness is a key feature of narrative reviews; however, this type of review does not include, doesn't include
the methodology used to select its works.
As the name implies, a systematic review is conducted following a method. It first defines a
clear search strategy and criteria for including or excluding works to be reviewed. The systematic literature review uses this
methodology to search for, synthesize, and evaluate works that relate to your specific research question.
Number three:
THE SCOPING REVIEW. The goal of a scoping review is to estimate the potential amount of research available on your topic.
The scoping review is most often written at the beginning of a project, because one important goal of the scoping review is to highlight gaps
in the research and to help you, provide a space for, you to explain the need for your research.
The critical review does more than provide an overview of the available research. It goes one step further to evaluate
the quality of those works. Reflection and critique of the works help to establish a context for you to present your own opinions, your own
perspectives and approaches.
The theoretical review establishes what theories exist, the relationships between them, and to what extent
those theories have been investigated before you. Theoretical reviews can also help you determine what a lack of theories look like in
your field or even the inadequacy of current theories. The theoretical review also highlights the need for new hypotheses to be tested,
thus helping to justify your particular research project.
The methodological review focuses not on what someone said [the findings],
but how they came about to say what they said [the methods of analysis they used]. These types of reviews help to provide a framework
for understanding how these researchers conducted important things like sampling, data collection, and data analysis. And that can help
you clarify what you need to do in your own review.
As the name implies, this review focuses on recurring themes in the literature.
Then those themes are used to organize your literature review. For example, if you are reviewing literature about inequalities in
migrant care, key themes might include language barriers, cultural attitudes, legal status, economic status and so on.
The goal of the argumentative review is to use literature selectively to support or refute an established argument in your field,
an established assumption, or even a philosophical problem that you find in your field. The obvious downside of this type of review is
that, because you are arguing yourself, you can introduce problems of bias, especially in your summary claims about the
literature reviewed.
Now, this kind of review is conducted periodically. Its focus is on the most recent research. And its purpose is to describe
what is currently known, what is currently understood or agreed upon about your research topic. The state-of-the-art review also
highlights where are there still disagreements and research gaps. And that's an important area for you when you're writing your lit review.
The goal of the integrative review is to create something new. It reviews, critiques, and synthesizes the literature in order to create a
new framework, a new perspective, or a new understanding of your topic. The integrative review can include a variety of methodologies,
there can be experimental and non-experimental works, and it can contribute directly to changes in practice and policy.
there can be experimental and non-experimental research, and contribute directly to changes in practice and policy.
Finally, remember that a literature review can be a self-contained unit, like a chapter in a thesis or disseration. Or a lit review can be just
one section of an article or research paper that you're writing. Regardless, you're likely be writing one of these 10 types.
Good luck! And I'll see you in the next video.