definition of review of the literature in research

University of Texas Libraries

Literature Reviews

What is a literature review?
Steps in the Literature Review Process
Define your research question
Determine inclusion and exclusion criteria
Choose databases and search
Review Results
Synthesize Results
Analyze Results
Librarian Support
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools

What is a Literature Review?

A literature or narrative review is a comprehensive review and analysis of the published literature on a specific topic or research question. The literature that is reviewed contains: books, articles, academic articles, conference proceedings, association papers, and dissertations. It contains the most pertinent studies and points to important past and current research and practices. It provides background and context, and shows how your research will contribute to the field.

A literature review should:

Provide a comprehensive and updated review of the literature;
Explain why this review has taken place;
Articulate a position or hypothesis;
Acknowledge and account for conflicting and corroborating points of view

From S age Research Methods

Purpose of a Literature Review

A literature review can be written as an introduction to a study to:

Demonstrate how a study fills a gap in research
Compare a study with other research that's been done

Or it can be a separate work (a research article on its own) which:

Organizes or describes a topic
Describes variables within a particular issue/problem

Limitations of a Literature Review

Some of the limitations of a literature review are:

It's a snapshot in time. Unlike other reviews, this one has beginning, a middle and an end. There may be future developments that could make your work less relevant.
It may be too focused. Some niche studies may miss the bigger picture.
It can be difficult to be comprehensive. There is no way to make sure all the literature on a topic was considered.
It is easy to be biased if you stick to top tier journals. There may be other places where people are publishing exemplary research. Look to open access publications and conferences to reflect a more inclusive collection. Also, make sure to include opposing views (and not just supporting evidence).

Source: Grant, Maria J., and Andrew Booth. “A Typology of Reviews: An Analysis of 14 Review Types and Associated Methodologies.” Health Information & Libraries Journal, vol. 26, no. 2, June 2009, pp. 91–108. Wiley Online Library, doi:10.1111/j.1471-1842.2009.00848.x.

Meryl Brodsky : Communication and Information Studies

Hannah Chapman Tripp : Biology, Neuroscience

Carolyn Cunningham : Human Development & Family Sciences, Psychology, Sociology

Larayne Dallas : Engineering

Janelle Hedstrom : Special Education, Curriculum & Instruction, Ed Leadership & Policy

Susan Macicak : Linguistics

Imelda Vetter : Dell Medical School

For help in other subject areas, please see the guide to library specialists by subject .

Periodically, UT Libraries runs a workshop covering the basics and library support for literature reviews. While we try to offer these once per academic year, we find providing the recording to be helpful to community members who have missed the session. Following is the most recent recording of the workshop, Conducting a Literature Review. To view the recording, a UT login is required.

October 26, 2022 recording
Last Updated: Jun 18, 2024 1:00 PM
URL: https://guides.lib.utexas.edu/literaturereviews

Libraries | Research Guides

Literature reviews, what is a literature review, learning more about how to do a literature review.

Planning the Review
The Research Question
Choosing Where to Search
Organizing the Review
Writing the Review

A literature review is a review and synthesis of existing research on a topic or research question. A literature review is meant to analyze the scholarly literature, make connections across writings and identify strengths, weaknesses, trends, and missing conversations. A literature review should address different aspects of a topic as it relates to your research question. A literature review goes beyond a description or summary of the literature you have read.

Sage Research Methods Core Collection This link opens in a new window SAGE Research Methods supports research at all levels by providing material to guide users through every step of the research process. SAGE Research Methods is the ultimate methods library with more than 1000 books, reference works, journal articles, and instructional videos by world-leading academics from across the social sciences, including the largest collection of qualitative methods books available online from any scholarly publisher. – Publisher

Next: Planning the Review >>
Last Updated: May 2, 2024 10:39 AM
URL: https://libguides.northwestern.edu/literaturereviews

Reference management. Clean and simple.

What is a literature review? [with examples]

What is a literature review?

The purpose of a literature review, how to write a literature review, the format of a literature review, general formatting rules, the length of a literature review, literature review examples, frequently asked questions about literature reviews, related articles.

A literature review is an assessment of the sources in a chosen topic of research.

In a literature review, you’re expected to report on the existing scholarly conversation, without adding new contributions.

If you are currently writing one, you've come to the right place. In the following paragraphs, we will explain:

the objective of a literature review
how to write a literature review
the basic format of a literature review

Tip: It’s not always mandatory to add a literature review in a paper. Theses and dissertations often include them, whereas research papers may not. Make sure to consult with your instructor for exact requirements.

The four main objectives of a literature review are:

Studying the references of your research area
Summarizing the main arguments
Identifying current gaps, stances, and issues
Presenting all of the above in a text

Ultimately, the main goal of a literature review is to provide the researcher with sufficient knowledge about the topic in question so that they can eventually make an intervention.

The format of a literature review is fairly standard. It includes an:

introduction that briefly introduces the main topic
body that includes the main discussion of the key arguments
conclusion that highlights the gaps and issues of the literature

➡️ Take a look at our guide on how to write a literature review to learn more about how to structure a literature review.

First of all, a literature review should have its own labeled section. You should indicate clearly in the table of contents where the literature can be found, and you should label this section as “Literature Review.”

➡️ For more information on writing a thesis, visit our guide on how to structure a thesis .

There is no set amount of words for a literature review, so the length depends on the research. If you are working with a large amount of sources, it will be long. If your paper does not depend entirely on references, it will be short.

Take a look at these three theses featuring great literature reviews:

School-Based Speech-Language Pathologist's Perceptions of Sensory Food Aversions in Children [ PDF , see page 20]
Who's Writing What We Read: Authorship in Criminological Research [ PDF , see page 4]
A Phenomenological Study of the Lived Experience of Online Instructors of Theological Reflection at Christian Institutions Accredited by the Association of Theological Schools [ PDF , see page 56]

Literature reviews are most commonly found in theses and dissertations. However, you find them in research papers as well.

There is no set amount of words for a literature review, so the length depends on the research. If you are working with a large amount of sources, then it will be long. If your paper does not depend entirely on references, then it will be short.

No. A literature review should have its own independent section. You should indicate clearly in the table of contents where the literature review can be found, and label this section as “Literature Review.”

The main goal of a literature review is to provide the researcher with sufficient knowledge about the topic in question so that they can eventually make an intervention.

What Is A Literature Review?

A plain-language explainer (with examples).

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) & Kerryn Warren (PhD) | June 2020 (Updated May 2023)

If you’re faced with writing a dissertation or thesis, chances are you’ve encountered the term “literature review” . If you’re on this page, you’re probably not 100% what the literature review is all about. The good news is that you’ve come to the right place.

Literature Review 101

What (exactly) is a literature review
What’s the purpose of the literature review chapter
How to find high-quality resources
How to structure your literature review chapter
Example of an actual literature review

What is a literature review?

The word “literature review” can refer to two related things that are part of the broader literature review process. The first is the task of reviewing the literature – i.e. sourcing and reading through the existing research relating to your research topic. The second is the actual chapter that you write up in your dissertation, thesis or research project. Let’s look at each of them:

Reviewing the literature

The first step of any literature review is to hunt down and read through the existing research that’s relevant to your research topic. To do this, you’ll use a combination of tools (we’ll discuss some of these later) to find journal articles, books, ebooks, research reports, dissertations, theses and any other credible sources of information that relate to your topic. You’ll then summarise and catalogue these for easy reference when you write up your literature review chapter.

The literature review chapter

The second step of the literature review is to write the actual literature review chapter (this is usually the second chapter in a typical dissertation or thesis structure ). At the simplest level, the literature review chapter is an overview of the key literature that’s relevant to your research topic. This chapter should provide a smooth-flowing discussion of what research has already been done, what is known, what is unknown and what is contested in relation to your research topic. So, you can think of it as an integrated review of the state of knowledge around your research topic.

Starting point for the literature review

What’s the purpose of a literature review?

The literature review chapter has a few important functions within your dissertation, thesis or research project. Let’s take a look at these:

Purpose #1 – Demonstrate your topic knowledge

The first function of the literature review chapter is, quite simply, to show the reader (or marker) that you know what you’re talking about . In other words, a good literature review chapter demonstrates that you’ve read the relevant existing research and understand what’s going on – who’s said what, what’s agreed upon, disagreed upon and so on. This needs to be more than just a summary of who said what – it needs to integrate the existing research to show how it all fits together and what’s missing (which leads us to purpose #2, next).

Purpose #2 – Reveal the research gap that you’ll fill

The second function of the literature review chapter is to show what’s currently missing from the existing research, to lay the foundation for your own research topic. In other words, your literature review chapter needs to show that there are currently “missing pieces” in terms of the bigger puzzle, and that your study will fill one of those research gaps . By doing this, you are showing that your research topic is original and will help contribute to the body of knowledge. In other words, the literature review helps justify your research topic.

Purpose #3 – Lay the foundation for your conceptual framework

The third function of the literature review is to form the basis for a conceptual framework . Not every research topic will necessarily have a conceptual framework, but if your topic does require one, it needs to be rooted in your literature review.

For example, let’s say your research aims to identify the drivers of a certain outcome – the factors which contribute to burnout in office workers. In this case, you’d likely develop a conceptual framework which details the potential factors (e.g. long hours, excessive stress, etc), as well as the outcome (burnout). Those factors would need to emerge from the literature review chapter – they can’t just come from your gut!

So, in this case, the literature review chapter would uncover each of the potential factors (based on previous studies about burnout), which would then be modelled into a framework.

Purpose #4 – To inform your methodology

The fourth function of the literature review is to inform the choice of methodology for your own research. As we’ve discussed on the Grad Coach blog , your choice of methodology will be heavily influenced by your research aims, objectives and questions . Given that you’ll be reviewing studies covering a topic close to yours, it makes sense that you could learn a lot from their (well-considered) methodologies.

So, when you’re reviewing the literature, you’ll need to pay close attention to the research design , methodology and methods used in similar studies, and use these to inform your methodology. Quite often, you’ll be able to “borrow” from previous studies . This is especially true for quantitative studies , as you can use previously tried and tested measures and scales.

How do I find articles for my literature review?

Finding quality journal articles is essential to crafting a rock-solid literature review. As you probably already know, not all research is created equally, and so you need to make sure that your literature review is built on credible research .

We could write an entire post on how to find quality literature (actually, we have ), but a good starting point is Google Scholar . Google Scholar is essentially the academic equivalent of Google, using Google’s powerful search capabilities to find relevant journal articles and reports. It certainly doesn’t cover every possible resource, but it’s a very useful way to get started on your literature review journey, as it will very quickly give you a good indication of what the most popular pieces of research are in your field.

One downside of Google Scholar is that it’s merely a search engine – that is, it lists the articles, but oftentimes it doesn’t host the articles . So you’ll often hit a paywall when clicking through to journal websites.

Thankfully, your university should provide you with access to their library, so you can find the article titles using Google Scholar and then search for them by name in your university’s online library. Your university may also provide you with access to ResearchGate , which is another great source for existing research.

Remember, the correct search keywords will be super important to get the right information from the start. So, pay close attention to the keywords used in the journal articles you read and use those keywords to search for more articles. If you can’t find a spoon in the kitchen, you haven’t looked in the right drawer.

Need a helping hand?

definition of review of the literature in research

How should I structure my literature review?

Unfortunately, there’s no generic universal answer for this one. The structure of your literature review will depend largely on your topic area and your research aims and objectives.

You could potentially structure your literature review chapter according to theme, group, variables , chronologically or per concepts in your field of research. We explain the main approaches to structuring your literature review here . You can also download a copy of our free literature review template to help you establish an initial structure.

In general, it’s also a good idea to start wide (i.e. the big-picture-level) and then narrow down, ending your literature review close to your research questions . However, there’s no universal one “right way” to structure your literature review. The most important thing is not to discuss your sources one after the other like a list – as we touched on earlier, your literature review needs to synthesise the research , not summarise it .

Ultimately, you need to craft your literature review so that it conveys the most important information effectively – it needs to tell a logical story in a digestible way. It’s no use starting off with highly technical terms and then only explaining what these terms mean later. Always assume your reader is not a subject matter expert and hold their hand through a journe y of the literature while keeping the functions of the literature review chapter (which we discussed earlier) front of mind.

A good literature review should synthesise the existing research in relation to the research aims, not simply summarise it.

Example of a literature review

In the video below, we walk you through a high-quality literature review from a dissertation that earned full distinction. This will give you a clearer view of what a strong literature review looks like in practice and hopefully provide some inspiration for your own.

Wrapping Up

In this post, we’ve (hopefully) answered the question, “ what is a literature review? “. We’ve also considered the purpose and functions of the literature review, as well as how to find literature and how to structure the literature review chapter. If you’re keen to learn more, check out the literature review section of the Grad Coach blog , as well as our detailed video post covering how to write a literature review .

Psst… there’s more!

This post is an extract from our bestselling short course, Literature Review Bootcamp . If you want to work smart, you don't want to miss this .

You Might Also Like:

16 Comments

Thanks for this review. It narrates what’s not been taught as tutors are always in a early to finish their classes.

Thanks for the kind words, Becky. Good luck with your literature review 🙂

This website is amazing, it really helps break everything down. Thank you, I would have been lost without it.

This is review is amazing. I benefited from it a lot and hope others visiting this website will benefit too.

Timothy T. Chol [email protected]

Thank you very much for the guiding in literature review I learn and benefited a lot this make my journey smooth I’ll recommend this site to my friends

This was so useful. Thank you so much.

Hi, Concept was explained nicely by both of you. Thanks a lot for sharing it. It will surely help research scholars to start their Research Journey.

The review is really helpful to me especially during this period of covid-19 pandemic when most universities in my country only offer online classes. Great stuff

Great Brief Explanation, thanks

So helpful to me as a student

GradCoach is a fantastic site with brilliant and modern minds behind it.. I spent weeks decoding the substantial academic Jargon and grounding my initial steps on the research process, which could be shortened to a couple of days through the Gradcoach. Thanks again!

This is an amazing talk. I paved way for myself as a researcher. Thank you GradCoach!

Well-presented overview of the literature!

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UConn Library
Literature Review: The What, Why and How-to Guide
Introduction

Literature Review: The What, Why and How-to Guide — Introduction

Getting Started
How to Pick a Topic
Strategies to Find Sources
Evaluating Sources & Lit. Reviews
Tips for Writing Literature Reviews
Writing Literature Review: Useful Sites
Citation Resources
Other Academic Writings

What are Literature Reviews?

So, what is a literature review? "A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers. In writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. As a piece of writing, the literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g., your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries." Taylor, D. The literature review: A few tips on conducting it . University of Toronto Health Sciences Writing Centre.

Goals of Literature Reviews

What are the goals of creating a Literature Review? A literature could be written to accomplish different aims:

To develop a theory or evaluate an existing theory
To summarize the historical or existing state of a research topic
Identify a problem in a field of research

Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1997). Writing narrative literature reviews . Review of General Psychology , 1 (3), 311-320.

What kinds of sources require a Literature Review?

A research paper assigned in a course
A thesis or dissertation
A grant proposal
An article intended for publication in a journal

All these instances require you to collect what has been written about your research topic so that you can demonstrate how your own research sheds new light on the topic.

Types of Literature Reviews

What kinds of literature reviews are written?

Narrative review: The purpose of this type of review is to describe the current state of the research on a specific topic/research and to offer a critical analysis of the literature reviewed. Studies are grouped by research/theoretical categories, and themes and trends, strengths and weakness, and gaps are identified. The review ends with a conclusion section which summarizes the findings regarding the state of the research of the specific study, the gaps identify and if applicable, explains how the author's research will address gaps identify in the review and expand the knowledge on the topic reviewed.

Example : Predictors and Outcomes of U.S. Quality Maternity Leave: A Review and Conceptual Framework: 10.1177/08948453211037398

Systematic review : "The authors of a systematic review use a specific procedure to search the research literature, select the studies to include in their review, and critically evaluate the studies they find." (p. 139). Nelson, L. K. (2013). Research in Communication Sciences and Disorders . Plural Publishing.

Example : The effect of leave policies on increasing fertility: a systematic review: 10.1057/s41599-022-01270-w

Meta-analysis : "Meta-analysis is a method of reviewing research findings in a quantitative fashion by transforming the data from individual studies into what is called an effect size and then pooling and analyzing this information. The basic goal in meta-analysis is to explain why different outcomes have occurred in different studies." (p. 197). Roberts, M. C., & Ilardi, S. S. (2003). Handbook of Research Methods in Clinical Psychology . Blackwell Publishing.

Example : Employment Instability and Fertility in Europe: A Meta-Analysis: 10.1215/00703370-9164737

Meta-synthesis : "Qualitative meta-synthesis is a type of qualitative study that uses as data the findings from other qualitative studies linked by the same or related topic." (p.312). Zimmer, L. (2006). Qualitative meta-synthesis: A question of dialoguing with texts . Journal of Advanced Nursing , 53 (3), 311-318.

Example : Women’s perspectives on career successes and barriers: A qualitative meta-synthesis: 10.1177/05390184221113735

Literature Reviews in the Health Sciences

UConn Health subject guide on systematic reviews Explanation of the different review types used in health sciences literature as well as tools to help you find the right review type
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Next: How to Pick a Topic >>
Last Updated: Sep 21, 2022 2:16 PM
URL: https://guides.lib.uconn.edu/literaturereview

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Introduction to Literature Reviews

Introduction.

Step One: Define
Step Two: Research
Step Three: Write
Suggested Readings

A literature review is a written work that :

Compiles significant research published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers;
Surveys scholarly articles, books, dissertations, conference proceedings, and other sources;
Examines contrasting perspectives, theoretical approaches, methodologies, findings, results, conclusions.
Reviews critically, analyzes, and synthesizes existing research on a topic; and,
Performs a thorough “re” view, “overview”, or “look again” of past and current works on a subject, issue, or theory.

From these analyses, the writer then offers an overview of the current status of a particular area of knowledge from both a practical and theoretical perspective.

Literature reviews are important because they are usually a required step in a thesis proposal (Master's or PhD). The proposal will not be well-supported without a literature review. Also, literature reviews are important because they help you learn important authors and ideas in your field. This is useful for your coursework and your writing. Knowing key authors also helps you become acquainted with other researchers in your field.

Look at this diagram and imagine that your research is the "something new." This shows how your research should relate to major works and other sources.

Olivia Whitfield | Graduate Reference Assistant | 2012-2015

Next: Step One: Define >>
Last Updated: Jun 28, 2023 5:49 PM
URL: https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/literaturereview

University of Oregon Libraries
Research Guides

How to Write a Literature Review

What's a literature review.

Literature Reviews: A Recap
Reading Journal Articles
Does it Describe a Literature Review?
1. Identify the Question
2. Review Discipline Styles
Searching Article Databases
Finding Full-Text of an Article
Citation Chaining
When to Stop Searching
4. Manage Your References
5. Critically Analyze and Evaluate
6. Synthesize
7. Write a Literature Review

What's a Literature Review?

A literature review (or "lit review," for short) is an in-depth critical analysis of published scholarly research related to a specific topic. Published scholarly research (aka, "the literature") may include journal articles, books, book chapters, dissertations and thesis, or conference proceedings.

A solid lit review must:

be organized around and related directly to the thesis or research question you're developing
synthesize results into a summary of what is and is not known
identify areas of controversy in the literature
formulate questions that need further research

<< Previous: Start
Next: Literature Reviews: A Recap >>
Last Updated: May 3, 2024 5:17 PM
URL: https://researchguides.uoregon.edu/litreview

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Literature review.

What is a Literature Review?
What is Its Purpose?
1. Select a Topic
2. Set the Topic in Context
3. Types of Information Sources
4. Use Information Sources
5. Get the Information
6. Organize / Manage the Information
7. Position the Literature Review
8. Write the Literature Review

A literature review is a comprehensive summary of previous research on a topic. The literature review surveys scholarly articles, books, and other sources relevant to a particular area of research. The review should enumerate, describe, summarize, objectively evaluate and clarify this previous research. It should give a theoretical base for the research and help you (the author) determine the nature of your research. The literature review acknowledges the work of previous researchers, and in so doing, assures the reader that your work has been well conceived. It is assumed that by mentioning a previous work in the field of study, that the author has read, evaluated, and assimiliated that work into the work at hand.

A literature review creates a "landscape" for the reader, giving her or him a full understanding of the developments in the field. This landscape informs the reader that the author has indeed assimilated all (or the vast majority of) previous, significant works in the field into her or his research.

"In writing the literature review, the purpose is to convey to the reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. The literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (eg. your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries.( http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/specific-types-of-writing/literature-review )

What is a literature review?

A literature review is a critical analysis of the literature related to your research topic. It evaluates and critiques the literature to establish a theoretical framework for your research topic and/or identify a gap in the existing research that your research will address.

A literature review is not a summary of the literature. You need to engage deeply and critically with the literature. Your literature review should show your understanding of the literature related to your research topic and lead to presenting a rationale for your research.

A literature review focuses on:

the context of the topic
key concepts, ideas, theories and methodologies
key researchers, texts and seminal works
major issues and debates
identifying conflicting evidence
the main questions that have been asked around the topic
the organisation of knowledge on the topic
definitions, particularly those that are contested
showing how your research will advance scholarly knowledge (generally referred to as identifying the ‘gap’).

This module will guide you through the functions of a literature review; the typical process of conducting a literature review (including searching for literature and taking notes); structuring your literature review within your thesis and organising its internal ideas; and styling the language of your literature review.

The purposes of a literature review

A literature review serves two main purposes:

1) To show awareness of the present state of knowledge in a particular field, including:

seminal authors
the main empirical research
theoretical positions
controversies
breakthroughs as well as links to other related areas of knowledge.

2) To provide a foundation for the author’s research. To do that, the literature review needs to:

help the researcher define a hypothesis or a research question, and how answering the question will contribute to the body of knowledge;
provide a rationale for investigating the problem and the selected methodology;
provide a particular theoretical lens, support the argument, or identify gaps.

Before you engage further with this module, try the quiz below to see how much you already know about literature reviews.

Research and Writing Skills for Academic and Graduate Researchers Copyright © 2022 by RMIT University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Literature Review: The What, Why and How-to Guide: Literature Reviews?

Literature Reviews?
Strategies to Finding Sources
Keeping up with Research!
Evaluating Sources & Literature Reviews
Organizing for Writing
Writing Literature Review
Other Academic Writings

What is a Literature Review?

So, what is a literature review .

"A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers. In writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. As a piece of writing, the literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g., your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list of the material available or a set of summaries." - Quote from Taylor, D. (n.d)."The Literature Review: A Few Tips on Conducting it".

Citation: "The Literature Review: A Few Tips on Conducting it"

What kinds of literature reviews are written?

Each field has a particular way to do reviews for academic research literature. In the social sciences and humanities the most common are:

Narrative Reviews: The purpose of this type of review is to describe the current state of the research on a specific research topic and to offer a critical analysis of the literature reviewed. Studies are grouped by research/theoretical categories, and themes and trends, strengths and weaknesses, and gaps are identified. The review ends with a conclusion section that summarizes the findings regarding the state of the research of the specific study, the gaps identify and if applicable, explains how the author's research will address gaps identify in the review and expand the knowledge on the topic reviewed.
Book review essays/ Historiographical review essays : A type of literature review typical in History and related fields, e.g., Latin American studies. For example, the Latin American Research Review explains that the purpose of this type of review is to “(1) to familiarize readers with the subject, approach, arguments, and conclusions found in a group of books whose common focus is a historical period; a country or region within Latin America; or a practice, development, or issue of interest to specialists and others; (2) to locate these books within current scholarship, critical methodologies, and approaches; and (3) to probe the relation of these new books to previous work on the subject, especially canonical texts. Unlike individual book reviews, the cluster reviews found in LARR seek to address the state of the field or discipline and not solely the works at issue.” - LARR

What are the Goals of Creating a Literature Review?

To develop a theory or evaluate an existing theory
To summarize the historical or existing state of a research topic
Identify a problem in a field of research
Baumeister, R.F. & Leary, M.R. (1997). "Writing narrative literature reviews," Review of General Psychology , 1(3), 311-320.

When do you need to write a Literature Review?

When writing a prospectus or a thesis/dissertation
When writing a research paper
When writing a grant proposal

In all these cases you need to dedicate a chapter in these works to showcase what has been written about your research topic and to point out how your own research will shed new light into a body of scholarship.

Where I can find examples of Literature Reviews?

Note: In the humanities, even if they don't use the term "literature review", they may have a dedicated chapter that reviewed the "critical bibliography" or they incorporated that review in the introduction or first chapter of the dissertation, book, or article.

UCSB electronic theses and dissertations In partnership with the Graduate Division, the UC Santa Barbara Library is making available theses and dissertations produced by UCSB students. Currently included in ADRL are theses and dissertations that were originally filed electronically, starting in 2011. In future phases of ADRL, all theses and dissertations created by UCSB students may be digitized and made available.

Where to Find Standalone Literature Reviews

Literature reviews are also written as standalone articles as a way to survey a particular research topic in-depth. This type of literature review looks at a topic from a historical perspective to see how the understanding of the topic has changed over time.

Find e-Journals for Standalone Literature Reviews The best way to get familiar with and to learn how to write literature reviews is by reading them. You can use our Journal Search option to find journals that specialize in publishing literature reviews from major disciplines like anthropology, sociology, etc. Usually these titles are called, "Annual Review of [discipline name] OR [Discipline name] Review. This option works best if you know the title of the publication you are looking for. Below are some examples of these journals! more... less... Journal Search can be found by hovering over the link for Research on the library website.

Social Sciences

Annual Review of Anthropology
Annual Review of Political Science
Annual Review of Sociology
Ethnic Studies Review

Hard science and health sciences:

Annual Review of Biomedical Data Science
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Systematic Review From journal site: "The journal Systematic Reviews encompasses all aspects of the design, conduct, and reporting of systematic reviews" in the health sciences.
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Literature Review - what is a Literature Review, why it is important and how it is done

What are literature reviews, goals of literature reviews, types of literature reviews, about this guide/licence.

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What is a literature review? "A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers. In writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. As a piece of writing, the literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g., your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries. " - Quote from Taylor, D. (n.d) "The literature review: A few tips on conducting it"

Source NC State University Libraries. This video is published under a Creative Commons 3.0 BY-NC-SA US license.

What are the goals of creating a Literature Review?

To develop a theory or evaluate an existing theory
To summarize the historical or existing state of a research topic
Identify a problem in a field of research

- Baumeister, R.F. & Leary, M.R. (1997). "Writing narrative literature reviews," Review of General Psychology , 1(3), 311-320.

When do you need to write a Literature Review?

When writing a prospectus or a thesis/dissertation
When writing a research paper
When writing a grant proposal

In all these cases you need to dedicate a chapter in these works to showcase what have been written about your research topic and to point out how your own research will shed a new light into these body of scholarship.

Literature reviews are also written as standalone articles as a way to survey a particular research topic in-depth. This type of literature reviews look at a topic from a historical perspective to see how the understanding of the topic have change through time.

What kinds of literature reviews are written?

Narrative Review: The purpose of this type of review is to describe the current state of the research on a specific topic/research and to offer a critical analysis of the literature reviewed. Studies are grouped by research/theoretical categories, and themes and trends, strengths and weakness, and gaps are identified. The review ends with a conclusion section which summarizes the findings regarding the state of the research of the specific study, the gaps identify and if applicable, explains how the author's research will address gaps identify in the review and expand the knowledge on the topic reviewed.
Book review essays/ Historiographical review essays : This is a type of review that focus on a small set of research books on a particular topic " to locate these books within current scholarship, critical methodologies, and approaches" in the field. - LARR
Systematic review : "The authors of a systematic review use a specific procedure to search the research literature, select the studies to include in their review, and critically evaluate the studies they find." (p. 139). Nelson, L.K. (2013). Research in Communication Sciences and Disorders . San Diego, CA: Plural Publishing.
Meta-analysis : "Meta-analysis is a method of reviewing research findings in a quantitative fashion by transforming the data from individual studies into what is called an effect size and then pooling and analyzing this information. The basic goal in meta-analysis is to explain why different outcomes have occurred in different studies." (p. 197). Roberts, M.C. & Ilardi, S.S. (2003). Handbook of Research Methods in Clinical Psychology . Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub.
Meta-synthesis : "Qualitative meta-synthesis is a type of qualitative study that uses as data the findings from other qualitative studies linked by the same or related topic." (p.312). Zimmer, L. (2006). "Qualitative meta-synthesis: A question of dialoguing with texts," Journal of Advanced Nursing , 53(3), 311-318.

Guide adapted from "Literature Review" , a guide developed by Marisol Ramos used under CC BY 4.0 /modified from original.

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Last Updated: Jun 11, 2024 12:14 PM
URL: https://lit.libguides.com/Literature-Review

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In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Literature Reviews

Introduction, what is a literature review.

Literature Reviews for Thesis or Dissertation
Stand-alone and Systemic Reviews
Purposes of a Literature Review
Texts on Conducting a Literature Review
Identifying the Research Topic
The Persuasive Argument
Searching the Literature
Creating a Synthesis
Critiquing the Literature
Building the Case for the Literature Review Document
Presenting the Literature Review

Other Subject Areas

Forthcoming articles expand or collapse the "forthcoming articles" section.

Educational Research Approaches: A Comparison
Girls' Education in the Developing World
History of Education in Europe
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Literature Reviews by Lawrence A. Machi , Brenda T. McEvoy LAST REVIEWED: 27 October 2016 LAST MODIFIED: 27 October 2016 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756810-0169

Literature reviews play a foundational role in the development and execution of a research project. They provide access to the academic conversation surrounding the topic of the proposed study. By engaging in this scholarly exercise, the researcher is able to learn and to share knowledge about the topic. The literature review acts as the springboard for new research, in that it lays out a logically argued case, founded on a comprehensive understanding of the current state of knowledge about the topic. The case produced provides the justification for the research question or problem of a proposed study, and the methodological scheme best suited to conduct the research. It can also be a research project in itself, arguing policy or practice implementation, based on a comprehensive analysis of the research in a field. The term literature review can refer to the output or the product of a review. It can also refer to the process of Conducting a Literature Review . Novice researchers, when attempting their first research projects, tend to ask two questions: What is a Literature Review? How do you do one? While this annotated bibliography is neither definitive nor exhaustive in its treatment of the subject, it is designed to provide a beginning researcher, who is pursuing an academic degree, an entry point for answering the two previous questions. The article is divided into two parts. The first four sections of the article provide a general overview of the topic. They address definitions, types, purposes, and processes for doing a literature review. The second part presents the process and procedures for doing a literature review. Arranged in a sequential fashion, the remaining eight sections provide references addressing each step of the literature review process. References included in this article were selected based on their ability to assist the beginning researcher. Additionally, the authors attempted to include texts from various disciplines in social science to present various points of view on the subject.

Novice researchers often have a misguided perception of how to do a literature review and what the document should contain. Literature reviews are not narrative annotated bibliographies nor book reports (see Bruce 1994 ). Their form, function, and outcomes vary, due to how they depend on the research question, the standards and criteria of the academic discipline, and the orthodoxies of the research community charged with the research. The term literature review can refer to the process of doing a review as well as the product resulting from conducting a review. The product resulting from reviewing the literature is the concern of this section. Literature reviews for research studies at the master’s and doctoral levels have various definitions. Machi and McEvoy 2016 presents a general definition of a literature review. Lambert 2012 defines a literature review as a critical analysis of what is known about the study topic, the themes related to it, and the various perspectives expressed regarding the topic. Fink 2010 defines a literature review as a systematic review of existing body of data that identifies, evaluates, and synthesizes for explicit presentation. Jesson, et al. 2011 defines the literature review as a critical description and appraisal of a topic. Hart 1998 sees the literature review as producing two products: the presentation of information, ideas, data, and evidence to express viewpoints on the nature of the topic, as well as how it is to be investigated. When considering literature reviews beyond the novice level, Ridley 2012 defines and differentiates the systematic review from literature reviews associated with primary research conducted in academic degree programs of study, including stand-alone literature reviews. Cooper 1998 states the product of literature review is dependent on the research study’s goal and focus, and defines synthesis reviews as literature reviews that seek to summarize and draw conclusions from past empirical research to determine what issues have yet to be resolved. Theoretical reviews compare and contrast the predictive ability of theories that explain the phenomenon, arguing which theory holds the most validity in describing the nature of that phenomenon. Grant and Booth 2009 identified fourteen types of reviews used in both degree granting and advanced research projects, describing their attributes and methodologies.

Bruce, Christine Susan. 1994. Research students’ early experiences of the dissertation literature review. Studies in Higher Education 19.2: 217–229.

DOI: 10.1080/03075079412331382057

A phenomenological analysis was conducted with forty-one neophyte research scholars. The responses to the questions, “What do you mean when you use the words literature review?” and “What is the meaning of a literature review for your research?” identified six concepts. The results conclude that doing a literature review is a problem area for students.

Cooper, Harris. 1998. Synthesizing research . Vol. 2. 3d ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

The introductory chapter of this text provides a cogent explanation of Cooper’s understanding of literature reviews. Chapter 4 presents a comprehensive discussion of the synthesis review. Chapter 5 discusses meta-analysis and depth.

Fink, Arlene. 2010. Conducting research literature reviews: From the Internet to paper . 3d ed. Los Angeles: SAGE.

The first chapter of this text (pp. 1–16) provides a short but clear discussion of what a literature review is in reference to its application to a broad range of social sciences disciplines and their related professions.

Grant, Maria J., and Andrew Booth. 2009. A typology of reviews: An analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Health Information & Libraries Journal 26.2: 91–108. Print.

DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-1842.2009.00848.x

This article reports a scoping review that was conducted using the “Search, Appraisal, Synthesis, and Analysis” (SALSA) framework. Fourteen literature review types and associated methodology make up the resulting typology. Each type is described by its key characteristics and analyzed for its strengths and weaknesses.

Hart, Chris. 1998. Doing a literature review: Releasing the social science research imagination . London: SAGE.

Chapter 1 of this text explains Hart’s definition of a literature review. Additionally, it describes the roles of the literature review, the skills of a literature reviewer, and the research context for a literature review. Of note is Hart’s discussion of the literature review requirements for master’s degree and doctoral degree work.

Jesson, Jill, Lydia Matheson, and Fiona M. Lacey. 2011. Doing your literature review: Traditional and systematic techniques . Los Angeles: SAGE.

Chapter 1: “Preliminaries” provides definitions of traditional and systematic reviews. It discusses the differences between them. Chapter 5 is dedicated to explaining the traditional review, while Chapter 7 explains the systematic review. Chapter 8 provides a detailed description of meta-analysis.

Lambert, Mike. 2012. A beginner’s guide to doing your education research project . Los Angeles: SAGE.

Chapter 6 (pp. 79–100) presents a thumbnail sketch for doing a literature review.

Machi, Lawrence A., and Brenda T. McEvoy. 2016. The literature review: Six steps to success . 3d ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

The introduction of this text differentiates between a simple and an advanced review and concisely defines a literature review.

Ridley, Diana. 2012. The literature review: A step-by-step guide for students . 2d ed. Sage Study Skills. London: SAGE.

In the introductory chapter, Ridley reviews many definitions of the literature review, literature reviews at the master’s and doctoral level, and placement of literature reviews within the thesis or dissertation document. She also defines and differentiates literature reviews produced for degree-affiliated research from the more advanced systematic review projects.

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What is a Literature Review? How to Write It (with Examples)

A literature review is a critical analysis and synthesis of existing research on a particular topic. It provides an overview of the current state of knowledge, identifies gaps, and highlights key findings in the literature. 1 The purpose of a literature review is to situate your own research within the context of existing scholarship, demonstrating your understanding of the topic and showing how your work contributes to the ongoing conversation in the field. Learning how to write a literature review is a critical tool for successful research. Your ability to summarize and synthesize prior research pertaining to a certain topic demonstrates your grasp on the topic of study, and assists in the learning process.

What is the purpose of literature review?
a. Habitat Loss and Species Extinction:
b. Range Shifts and Phenological Changes:
c. Ocean Acidification and Coral Reefs:
d. Adaptive Strategies and Conservation Efforts:

How to write a good literature review

Choose a Topic and Define the Research Question:
Decide on the Scope of Your Review:
Select Databases for Searches:
Conduct Searches and Keep Track:
Review the Literature:
Organize and Write Your Literature Review:
How to write a literature review faster with Paperpal?
Frequently asked questions

What is a literature review?

A well-conducted literature review demonstrates the researcher’s familiarity with the existing literature, establishes the context for their own research, and contributes to scholarly conversations on the topic. One of the purposes of a literature review is also to help researchers avoid duplicating previous work and ensure that their research is informed by and builds upon the existing body of knowledge.

What is the purpose of literature review?

A literature review serves several important purposes within academic and research contexts. Here are some key objectives and functions of a literature review: 2

1. Contextualizing the Research Problem: The literature review provides a background and context for the research problem under investigation. It helps to situate the study within the existing body of knowledge.

2. Identifying Gaps in Knowledge: By identifying gaps, contradictions, or areas requiring further research, the researcher can shape the research question and justify the significance of the study. This is crucial for ensuring that the new research contributes something novel to the field.

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3. Understanding Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks: Literature reviews help researchers gain an understanding of the theoretical and conceptual frameworks used in previous studies. This aids in the development of a theoretical framework for the current research.

4. Providing Methodological Insights: Another purpose of literature reviews is that it allows researchers to learn about the methodologies employed in previous studies. This can help in choosing appropriate research methods for the current study and avoiding pitfalls that others may have encountered.

5. Establishing Credibility: A well-conducted literature review demonstrates the researcher’s familiarity with existing scholarship, establishing their credibility and expertise in the field. It also helps in building a solid foundation for the new research.

6. Informing Hypotheses or Research Questions: The literature review guides the formulation of hypotheses or research questions by highlighting relevant findings and areas of uncertainty in existing literature.

Literature review example

Let’s delve deeper with a literature review example: Let’s say your literature review is about the impact of climate change on biodiversity. You might format your literature review into sections such as the effects of climate change on habitat loss and species extinction, phenological changes, and marine biodiversity. Each section would then summarize and analyze relevant studies in those areas, highlighting key findings and identifying gaps in the research. The review would conclude by emphasizing the need for further research on specific aspects of the relationship between climate change and biodiversity. The following literature review template provides a glimpse into the recommended literature review structure and content, demonstrating how research findings are organized around specific themes within a broader topic.

Literature Review on Climate Change Impacts on Biodiversity:

Climate change is a global phenomenon with far-reaching consequences, including significant impacts on biodiversity. This literature review synthesizes key findings from various studies:

a. Habitat Loss and Species Extinction:

Climate change-induced alterations in temperature and precipitation patterns contribute to habitat loss, affecting numerous species (Thomas et al., 2004). The review discusses how these changes increase the risk of extinction, particularly for species with specific habitat requirements.

b. Range Shifts and Phenological Changes:

Observations of range shifts and changes in the timing of biological events (phenology) are documented in response to changing climatic conditions (Parmesan & Yohe, 2003). These shifts affect ecosystems and may lead to mismatches between species and their resources.

c. Ocean Acidification and Coral Reefs:

The review explores the impact of climate change on marine biodiversity, emphasizing ocean acidification’s threat to coral reefs (Hoegh-Guldberg et al., 2007). Changes in pH levels negatively affect coral calcification, disrupting the delicate balance of marine ecosystems.

d. Adaptive Strategies and Conservation Efforts:

Recognizing the urgency of the situation, the literature review discusses various adaptive strategies adopted by species and conservation efforts aimed at mitigating the impacts of climate change on biodiversity (Hannah et al., 2007). It emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary approaches for effective conservation planning.

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Writing a literature review involves summarizing and synthesizing existing research on a particular topic. A good literature review format should include the following elements.

Introduction: The introduction sets the stage for your literature review, providing context and introducing the main focus of your review.

Opening Statement: Begin with a general statement about the broader topic and its significance in the field.
Scope and Purpose: Clearly define the scope of your literature review. Explain the specific research question or objective you aim to address.
Organizational Framework: Briefly outline the structure of your literature review, indicating how you will categorize and discuss the existing research.
Significance of the Study: Highlight why your literature review is important and how it contributes to the understanding of the chosen topic.
Thesis Statement: Conclude the introduction with a concise thesis statement that outlines the main argument or perspective you will develop in the body of the literature review.

Body: The body of the literature review is where you provide a comprehensive analysis of existing literature, grouping studies based on themes, methodologies, or other relevant criteria.

Organize by Theme or Concept: Group studies that share common themes, concepts, or methodologies. Discuss each theme or concept in detail, summarizing key findings and identifying gaps or areas of disagreement.
Critical Analysis: Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each study. Discuss the methodologies used, the quality of evidence, and the overall contribution of each work to the understanding of the topic.
Synthesis of Findings: Synthesize the information from different studies to highlight trends, patterns, or areas of consensus in the literature.
Identification of Gaps: Discuss any gaps or limitations in the existing research and explain how your review contributes to filling these gaps.
Transition between Sections: Provide smooth transitions between different themes or concepts to maintain the flow of your literature review.

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Conclusion: The conclusion of your literature review should summarize the main findings, highlight the contributions of the review, and suggest avenues for future research.

Summary of Key Findings: Recap the main findings from the literature and restate how they contribute to your research question or objective.
Contributions to the Field: Discuss the overall contribution of your literature review to the existing knowledge in the field.
Implications and Applications: Explore the practical implications of the findings and suggest how they might impact future research or practice.
Recommendations for Future Research: Identify areas that require further investigation and propose potential directions for future research in the field.
Final Thoughts: Conclude with a final reflection on the importance of your literature review and its relevance to the broader academic community.

Conducting a literature review

Conducting a literature review is an essential step in research that involves reviewing and analyzing existing literature on a specific topic. It’s important to know how to do a literature review effectively, so here are the steps to follow: 1

Choose a Topic and Define the Research Question:

Select a topic that is relevant to your field of study.
Clearly define your research question or objective. Determine what specific aspect of the topic do you want to explore?

Decide on the Scope of Your Review:

Determine the timeframe for your literature review. Are you focusing on recent developments, or do you want a historical overview?
Consider the geographical scope. Is your review global, or are you focusing on a specific region?
Define the inclusion and exclusion criteria. What types of sources will you include? Are there specific types of studies or publications you will exclude?

Select Databases for Searches:

Identify relevant databases for your field. Examples include PubMed, IEEE Xplore, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar.
Consider searching in library catalogs, institutional repositories, and specialized databases related to your topic.

Conduct Searches and Keep Track:

Develop a systematic search strategy using keywords, Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT), and other search techniques.
Record and document your search strategy for transparency and replicability.
Keep track of the articles, including publication details, abstracts, and links. Use citation management tools like EndNote, Zotero, or Mendeley to organize your references.

Review the Literature:

Evaluate the relevance and quality of each source. Consider the methodology, sample size, and results of studies.
Organize the literature by themes or key concepts. Identify patterns, trends, and gaps in the existing research.
Summarize key findings and arguments from each source. Compare and contrast different perspectives.
Identify areas where there is a consensus in the literature and where there are conflicting opinions.
Provide critical analysis and synthesis of the literature. What are the strengths and weaknesses of existing research?

Organize and Write Your Literature Review:

Literature review outline should be based on themes, chronological order, or methodological approaches.
Write a clear and coherent narrative that synthesizes the information gathered.
Use proper citations for each source and ensure consistency in your citation style (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).
Conclude your literature review by summarizing key findings, identifying gaps, and suggesting areas for future research.

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How to write a literature review faster with Paperpal?

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Here’s how to use the Research feature:

Ask a question: Get started with a new document on paperpal.com. Click on the “Research” feature and type your question in plain English. Paperpal will scour over 250 million research articles, including conference papers and preprints, to provide you with accurate insights and citations.
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The literature review sample and detailed advice on writing and conducting a review will help you produce a well-structured report. But remember that a good literature review is an ongoing process, and it may be necessary to revisit and update it as your research progresses. By combining effortless research with an easy citation process, Paperpal Research streamlines the literature review process and empowers you to write faster and with more confidence. Try Paperpal Research now and see for yourself.

Frequently asked questions

A literature review is a critical and comprehensive analysis of existing literature (published and unpublished works) on a specific topic or research question and provides a synthesis of the current state of knowledge in a particular field. A well-conducted literature review is crucial for researchers to build upon existing knowledge, avoid duplication of efforts, and contribute to the advancement of their field. It also helps researchers situate their work within a broader context and facilitates the development of a sound theoretical and conceptual framework for their studies.

Literature review is a crucial component of research writing, providing a solid background for a research paper’s investigation. The aim is to keep professionals up to date by providing an understanding of ongoing developments within a specific field, including research methods, and experimental techniques used in that field, and present that knowledge in the form of a written report. Also, the depth and breadth of the literature review emphasizes the credibility of the scholar in his or her field.

Before writing a literature review, it’s essential to undertake several preparatory steps to ensure that your review is well-researched, organized, and focused. This includes choosing a topic of general interest to you and doing exploratory research on that topic, writing an annotated bibliography, and noting major points, especially those that relate to the position you have taken on the topic.

Literature reviews and academic research papers are essential components of scholarly work but serve different purposes within the academic realm. 3 A literature review aims to provide a foundation for understanding the current state of research on a particular topic, identify gaps or controversies, and lay the groundwork for future research. Therefore, it draws heavily from existing academic sources, including books, journal articles, and other scholarly publications. In contrast, an academic research paper aims to present new knowledge, contribute to the academic discourse, and advance the understanding of a specific research question. Therefore, it involves a mix of existing literature (in the introduction and literature review sections) and original data or findings obtained through research methods.

Literature reviews are essential components of academic and research papers, and various strategies can be employed to conduct them effectively. If you want to know how to write a literature review for a research paper, here are four common approaches that are often used by researchers. Chronological Review: This strategy involves organizing the literature based on the chronological order of publication. It helps to trace the development of a topic over time, showing how ideas, theories, and research have evolved. Thematic Review: Thematic reviews focus on identifying and analyzing themes or topics that cut across different studies. Instead of organizing the literature chronologically, it is grouped by key themes or concepts, allowing for a comprehensive exploration of various aspects of the topic. Methodological Review: This strategy involves organizing the literature based on the research methods employed in different studies. It helps to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of various methodologies and allows the reader to evaluate the reliability and validity of the research findings. Theoretical Review: A theoretical review examines the literature based on the theoretical frameworks used in different studies. This approach helps to identify the key theories that have been applied to the topic and assess their contributions to the understanding of the subject. It’s important to note that these strategies are not mutually exclusive, and a literature review may combine elements of more than one approach. The choice of strategy depends on the research question, the nature of the literature available, and the goals of the review. Additionally, other strategies, such as integrative reviews or systematic reviews, may be employed depending on the specific requirements of the research.

The literature review format can vary depending on the specific publication guidelines. However, there are some common elements and structures that are often followed. Here is a general guideline for the format of a literature review: Introduction: Provide an overview of the topic. Define the scope and purpose of the literature review. State the research question or objective. Body: Organize the literature by themes, concepts, or chronology. Critically analyze and evaluate each source. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the studies. Highlight any methodological limitations or biases. Identify patterns, connections, or contradictions in the existing research. Conclusion: Summarize the key points discussed in the literature review. Highlight the research gap. Address the research question or objective stated in the introduction. Highlight the contributions of the review and suggest directions for future research.

Both annotated bibliographies and literature reviews involve the examination of scholarly sources. While annotated bibliographies focus on individual sources with brief annotations, literature reviews provide a more in-depth, integrated, and comprehensive analysis of existing literature on a specific topic. The key differences are as follows:

	Annotated Bibliography	Literature Review
Purpose	List of citations of books, articles, and other sources with a brief description (annotation) of each source.	Comprehensive and critical analysis of existing literature on a specific topic.
Focus	Summary and evaluation of each source, including its relevance, methodology, and key findings.	Provides an overview of the current state of knowledge on a particular subject and identifies gaps, trends, and patterns in existing literature.
Structure	Each citation is followed by a concise paragraph (annotation) that describes the source’s content, methodology, and its contribution to the topic.	The literature review is organized thematically or chronologically and involves a synthesis of the findings from different sources to build a narrative or argument.
Length	Typically 100-200 words	Length of literature review ranges from a few pages to several chapters
Independence	Each source is treated separately, with less emphasis on synthesizing the information across sources.	The writer synthesizes information from multiple sources to present a cohesive overview of the topic.

References

Denney, A. S., & Tewksbury, R. (2013). How to write a literature review.  Journal of criminal justice education ,  24 (2), 218-234.
Pan, M. L. (2016).  Preparing literature reviews: Qualitative and quantitative approaches . Taylor & Francis.
Cantero, C. (2019). How to write a literature review.  San José State University Writing Center .

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Research Methods

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Literature Review Research
Research Design
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Literature Review

What is a Literature Review?
What is NOT a Literature Review?
Purposes of a Literature Review
Types of Literature Reviews
Literature Reviews vs. Systematic Reviews
Systematic vs. Meta-Analysis

Literature Review is a comprehensive survey of the works published in a particular field of study or line of research, usually over a specific period of time, in the form of an in-depth, critical bibliographic essay or annotated list in which attention is drawn to the most significant works.

Also, we can define a literature review as the collected body of scholarly works related to a topic:

Summarizes and analyzes previous research relevant to a topic
Includes scholarly books and articles published in academic journals
Can be an specific scholarly paper or a section in a research paper

The objective of a Literature Review is to find previous published scholarly works relevant to an specific topic

Help gather ideas or information
Keep up to date in current trends and findings
Help develop new questions

A literature review is important because it:

Explains the background of research on a topic.
Demonstrates why a topic is significant to a subject area.
Helps focus your own research questions or problems
Discovers relationships between research studies/ideas.
Suggests unexplored ideas or populations
Identifies major themes, concepts, and researchers on a topic.
Tests assumptions; may help counter preconceived ideas and remove unconscious bias.
Identifies critical gaps, points of disagreement, or potentially flawed methodology or theoretical approaches.
Indicates potential directions for future research.

All content in this section is from Literature Review Research from Old Dominion University

Keep in mind the following, a literature review is NOT:

Not an essay

Not an annotated bibliography in which you summarize each article that you have reviewed. A literature review goes beyond basic summarizing to focus on the critical analysis of the reviewed works and their relationship to your research question.

Not a research paper where you select resources to support one side of an issue versus another. A lit review should explain and consider all sides of an argument in order to avoid bias, and areas of agreement and disagreement should be highlighted.

A literature review serves several purposes. For example, it

provides thorough knowledge of previous studies; introduces seminal works.
helps focus one’s own research topic.
identifies a conceptual framework for one’s own research questions or problems; indicates potential directions for future research.
suggests previously unused or underused methodologies, designs, quantitative and qualitative strategies.
identifies gaps in previous studies; identifies flawed methodologies and/or theoretical approaches; avoids replication of mistakes.
helps the researcher avoid repetition of earlier research.
suggests unexplored populations.
determines whether past studies agree or disagree; identifies controversy in the literature.
tests assumptions; may help counter preconceived ideas and remove unconscious bias.

As Kennedy (2007) notes*, it is important to think of knowledge in a given field as consisting of three layers. First, there are the primary studies that researchers conduct and publish. Second are the reviews of those studies that summarize and offer new interpretations built from and often extending beyond the original studies. Third, there are the perceptions, conclusions, opinion, and interpretations that are shared informally that become part of the lore of field. In composing a literature review, it is important to note that it is often this third layer of knowledge that is cited as "true" even though it often has only a loose relationship to the primary studies and secondary literature reviews.

Given this, while literature reviews are designed to provide an overview and synthesis of pertinent sources you have explored, there are several approaches to how they can be done, depending upon the type of analysis underpinning your study. Listed below are definitions of types of literature reviews:

Argumentative Review This form examines literature selectively in order to support or refute an argument, deeply imbedded assumption, or philosophical problem already established in the literature. The purpose is to develop a body of literature that establishes a contrarian viewpoint. Given the value-laden nature of some social science research [e.g., educational reform; immigration control], argumentative approaches to analyzing the literature can be a legitimate and important form of discourse. However, note that they can also introduce problems of bias when they are used to to make summary claims of the sort found in systematic reviews.

Integrative Review Considered a form of research that reviews, critiques, and synthesizes representative literature on a topic in an integrated way such that new frameworks and perspectives on the topic are generated. The body of literature includes all studies that address related or identical hypotheses. A well-done integrative review meets the same standards as primary research in regard to clarity, rigor, and replication.

Historical Review Few things rest in isolation from historical precedent. Historical reviews are focused on examining research throughout a period of time, often starting with the first time an issue, concept, theory, phenomena emerged in the literature, then tracing its evolution within the scholarship of a discipline. The purpose is to place research in a historical context to show familiarity with state-of-the-art developments and to identify the likely directions for future research.

Methodological Review A review does not always focus on what someone said [content], but how they said it [method of analysis]. This approach provides a framework of understanding at different levels (i.e. those of theory, substantive fields, research approaches and data collection and analysis techniques), enables researchers to draw on a wide variety of knowledge ranging from the conceptual level to practical documents for use in fieldwork in the areas of ontological and epistemological consideration, quantitative and qualitative integration, sampling, interviewing, data collection and data analysis, and helps highlight many ethical issues which we should be aware of and consider as we go through our study.

Systematic Review This form consists of an overview of existing evidence pertinent to a clearly formulated research question, which uses pre-specified and standardized methods to identify and critically appraise relevant research, and to collect, report, and analyse data from the studies that are included in the review. Typically it focuses on a very specific empirical question, often posed in a cause-and-effect form, such as "To what extent does A contribute to B?"

Theoretical Review The purpose of this form is to concretely examine the corpus of theory that has accumulated in regard to an issue, concept, theory, phenomena. The theoretical literature review help establish what theories already exist, the relationships between them, to what degree the existing theories have been investigated, and to develop new hypotheses to be tested. Often this form is used to help establish a lack of appropriate theories or reveal that current theories are inadequate for explaining new or emerging research problems. The unit of analysis can focus on a theoretical concept or a whole theory or framework.

* Kennedy, Mary M. "Defining a Literature." Educational Researcher 36 (April 2007): 139-147.

All content in this section is from The Literature Review created by Dr. Robert Larabee USC

Robinson, P. and Lowe, J. (2015), Literature reviews vs systematic reviews. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 39: 103-103. doi: 10.1111/1753-6405.12393

What's in the name? The difference between a Systematic Review and a Literature Review, and why it matters . By Lynn Kysh from University of Southern California

Systematic review or meta-analysis?

A systematic review answers a defined research question by collecting and summarizing all empirical evidence that fits pre-specified eligibility criteria.

A meta-analysis is the use of statistical methods to summarize the results of these studies.

Systematic reviews, just like other research articles, can be of varying quality. They are a significant piece of work (the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination at York estimates that a team will take 9-24 months), and to be useful to other researchers and practitioners they should have:

clearly stated objectives with pre-defined eligibility criteria for studies
explicit, reproducible methodology
a systematic search that attempts to identify all studies
assessment of the validity of the findings of the included studies (e.g. risk of bias)
systematic presentation, and synthesis, of the characteristics and findings of the included studies

Not all systematic reviews contain meta-analysis.

Meta-analysis is the use of statistical methods to summarize the results of independent studies. By combining information from all relevant studies, meta-analysis can provide more precise estimates of the effects of health care than those derived from the individual studies included within a review. More information on meta-analyses can be found in Cochrane Handbook, Chapter 9 .

A meta-analysis goes beyond critique and integration and conducts secondary statistical analysis on the outcomes of similar studies. It is a systematic review that uses quantitative methods to synthesize and summarize the results.

An advantage of a meta-analysis is the ability to be completely objective in evaluating research findings. Not all topics, however, have sufficient research evidence to allow a meta-analysis to be conducted. In that case, an integrative review is an appropriate strategy.

Some of the content in this section is from Systematic reviews and meta-analyses: step by step guide created by Kate McAllister.

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Literature Review: A Definition

What is a literature review, then.

A literature review discusses and analyses published information in a particular subject area. Sometimes the information covers a certain time period.

A literature review is more than a summary of the sources, it has an organizational pattern that combines both summary and synthesis. A summary is a recap of the important information of the source, but a synthesis is a re-organization, or a reshuffling, of that information. It might give a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations. Or it might trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates. And depending on the situation, the literature review may evaluate the sources and advise the reader on the most pertinent or relevant.

But how is a literature review different from an academic research paper?

While the main focus of an academic research paper is to support your own argument, the focus of a literature review is to summarize and synthesize the arguments and ideas of others. The academic research paper also covers a range of sources, but it is usually a select number of sources, because the emphasis is on the argument. Likewise, a literature review can also have an "argument," but it is not as important as covering a number of sources. In short, an academic research paper and a literature review contain some of the same elements. In fact, many academic research papers will contain a literature review section. What aspect of the study (either the argument or the sources) that is emphasized determines what type of document it is.

( "Literature Reviews" from The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill )

Why do we write literature reviews?

Literature reviews provide you with a handy guide to a particular topic. If you have limited time to conduct research, literature reviews can give you an overview or act as a stepping stone.

For professionals, they are useful reports that keep them up to date with what is current in the field.

For scholars, the depth and breadth of the literature review emphasizes the credibility of the writer in his or her field. Literature reviews also provide a solid background for a research paper's investigation.

Comprehensive knowledge of the literature of the field is essential to most research papers.

Journal Articles on Writing Literature Reviews

Research Methods for Comprehensive Science Literature Reviews Author: Brown,Barry N. Journal: Issues in Science & Technology Librarianship Date: Spring2009 Issue: 57 Page: 1 more... less... Finding some information on most topics is easy. There are abundant sources of information readily available. However, completing a comprehensive literature review on a particular topic is often difficult, laborious, and time intensive; the project requires organization, persistence, and an understanding of the scholarly communication and publishing process. This paper briefly outlines methods of conducting a comprehensive literature review for science topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR];
Research: Considerations in Writing a Literature Review Authors: Black,K. Journal: The New Social Worker Date: 01/01; 2007 Volume: 14 Issue: 2 Page: 12 more... less... Literature reviews are ubiquitous in academic journals, scholarly reports, and social work education. Conducting and writing a good literature review is both personally and professionally satisfying. (Journal abstract).
How to do (or not to do) A Critical Literature Review Authors: Jesson,Jill; Lacey,Fiona Journal: Pharmacy Education Pub Date: 2006 Volume: 6 Issue: 2 Pages:139 - 148 more... less... More and more students are required to perform a critical literature review as part of their undergraduate or postgraduate studies. Whilst most of the latest research methods textbooks advise how to do a literature search, very few cover the literature review. This paper covers two types of review: a critical literature review and a systematic review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Conducting a Literature Review Authors: Rowley,Jennifer; Slack,Frances Journal: Management Research News Pub Date: 2004 Volume: 27 Issue: 6 Pages:31-39 more... less... Abstract: This article offers support and guidance for students undertaking a literature review as part of their dissertation during an undergraduate or Masters course. A literature review is a summary of a subject field that supports the identification of specific research questions. A literature review needs to draw on and evaluate a range of different types of sources including academic and professional journal articles, books, and web-based resources. The literature search helps in the identification and location of relevant documents and other sources. Search engines can be used to search web resources and bibliographic databases. Conceptual frameworks can be a useful tool in developing an understanding of a subject area. Creating the literature review involves the stages of: scanning, making notes, structuring the literature review, writing the literature review, and building a bibliography.

Some Books from the WU Catalog

The SAGE handbook of visual research methods [electronic resource] by Edited by Luc Pauwels and Dawn Mannay. ISBN: 9781526417015 Publication Date: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2020.

Helpful Websites

"How to do a Literature Review" from Ferdinand D. Bluford Library
"The Literature Review: A Few Tips on Conducting It." from the University of Toronto
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What is the Purpose of a Literature Review?

4-minute read

23rd October 2023

If you’re writing a research paper or dissertation , then you’ll most likely need to include a comprehensive literature review . In this post, we’ll review the purpose of literature reviews, why they are so significant, and the specific elements to include in one. Literature reviews can:

1. Provide a foundation for current research.

2. Define key concepts and theories.

3. Demonstrate critical evaluation.

4. Show how research and methodologies have evolved.

5. Identify gaps in existing research.

6. Support your argument.

Keep reading to enter the exciting world of literature reviews!

What is a Literature Review?

A literature review is a critical summary and evaluation of the existing research (e.g., academic journal articles and books) on a specific topic. It is typically included as a separate section or chapter of a research paper or dissertation, serving as a contextual framework for a study. Literature reviews can vary in length depending on the subject and nature of the study, with most being about equal length to other sections or chapters included in the paper. Essentially, the literature review highlights previous studies in the context of your research and summarizes your insights in a structured, organized format. Next, let’s look at the overall purpose of a literature review.

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Literature reviews are considered an integral part of research across most academic subjects and fields. The primary purpose of a literature review in your study is to:

Provide a Foundation for Current Research

Since the literature review provides a comprehensive evaluation of the existing research, it serves as a solid foundation for your current study. It’s a way to contextualize your work and show how your research fits into the broader landscape of your specific area of study.

Define Key Concepts and Theories

The literature review highlights the central theories and concepts that have arisen from previous research on your chosen topic. It gives your readers a more thorough understanding of the background of your study and why your research is particularly significant .

Demonstrate Critical Evaluation

A comprehensive literature review shows your ability to critically analyze and evaluate a broad range of source material. And since you’re considering and acknowledging the contribution of key scholars alongside your own, it establishes your own credibility and knowledge.

Show How Research and Methodologies Have Evolved

Another purpose of literature reviews is to provide a historical perspective and demonstrate how research and methodologies have changed over time, especially as data collection methods and technology have advanced. And studying past methodologies allows you, as the researcher, to understand what did and did not work and apply that knowledge to your own research.

Identify Gaps in Existing Research

Besides discussing current research and methodologies, the literature review should also address areas that are lacking in the existing literature. This helps further demonstrate the relevance of your own research by explaining why your study is necessary to fill the gaps.

Support Your Argument

A good literature review should provide evidence that supports your research questions and hypothesis. For example, your study may show that your research supports existing theories or builds on them in some way. Referencing previous related studies shows your work is grounded in established research and will ultimately be a contribution to the field.

Literature Review Editing Services

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Literature Reviews - An Introduction: Definition

How do I recognize a Literature Review?
How do I find a Literature Review?
How do I write a Literature Review?

For Library Updates

Literature review: definition and example.

A Literature Review is "a systematic, explicit, and reproducible method for identifying, evaluating, and synthesizing the existing body of completed and recorded work produced by researchers, scholars, and practitioners."

- From Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From Internet to Paper , by Arlene Fink, 2nd ed. Sage Publications: Thousand Oaks, 2005.

Subject Guide

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Last Updated: Dec 11, 2019 3:02 PM
URL: https://suffolk.libguides.com/LitReview

Process: Literature Reviews
Literature Review
Managing Sources

Ask a Librarian

Does your assignment or publication require that you write a literature review? This guide is intended to help you understand what a literature is, why it is worth doing, and some quick tips composing one.

Understanding Literature Reviews

What is a literature review .

Typically, a literature review is a written discussion that examines publications about a particular subject area or topic. Depending on disciplines, publications, or authors a literature review may be:

A summary of sources An organized presentation of sources A synthesis or interpretation of sources An evaluative analysis of sources

A Literature Review may be part of a process or a product. It may be:

A part of your research process A part of your final research publication An independent publication

Why do a literature review?

The Literature Review will place your research in context. It will help you and your readers:

Locate patterns, relationships, connections, agreements, disagreements, & gaps in understanding Identify methodological and theoretical foundations Identify landmark and exemplary works Situate your voice in a broader conversation with other writers, thinkers, and scholars

The Literature Review will aid your research process. It will help you to:

Establish your knowledge Understand what has been said Define your questions Establish a relevant methodology Refine your voice Situate your voice in the conversation

What does a literature review look like?

The Literature Review structure and organization may include sections such as:

An introduction or overview A body or organizational sub-divisions A conclusion or an explanation of significance

The body of a literature review may be organized in several ways, including:

Chronologically: organized by date of publication Methodologically: organized by type of research method used Thematically: organized by concept, trend, or theme Ideologically: organized by belief, ideology, or school of thought

Mountain Top By Alice Noir for the Noun Project

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Additional Sources

Reviewing the literature. Project Planner.
Literature Review: By UNC Writing Center
PhD on Track
CU Graduate Students Thesis & Dissertation Guidance
CU Honors Thesis Guidance

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Literature Reviews and Annotated Bibliographies

Initial databases for a literature review.

What is a Literature Review?

How to Write a Literature Review?
Graduate Research and the Literature Review
What is an Annotated Bibliography?
How to Evaluate Sources?
Citation & Avoiding Plagiarism

The databases listed here are interdisciplinary and suitable for most disciplines. For databases specific to your discipline see our Research Guides

Academic Search Ultimate Includes some full text

A great place to start to search for magazine and journal articles on almost all topics. Tip : Check "peer reviewed" box to limit your search to scholarly journals.

Dissertations and Theses (1861+) Indexes dissertations accepted for doctoral degrees by accredited North American educational institutions and over 200 other institutions. Also covers masters theses since 1962. Starting in the early to mid-1900's, the full text is included for an increasingly comprehensive number of dissertations and theses.

Google Scholar Enables you to search specifically for scholarly literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports from all broad areas of research. Use Google Scholar to find articles from a widevariety of academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories and universities, as well as scholarly articles available across the web

Humanities and Social Science Retrospective Bibliographic database that provides citations to articles in a wide range of English language journals in the humanities and social sciences for the period 1907-1984.

JSTOR Includes full text Includes long runs of backfiles of scholarly journals. Subjects covered include Anthropology, Asian Studies, Ecology, Economics, Education, Finance, History, Mathematics, Philosophy, Political Science, Population Studies, and Sociology.

Periodical Archives Online- (1770-1995) Includes full text; Full text archive of hundreds of periodicals in the humanities and social sciences from their first issues to 1995 Allows date-limited searching. Periodical Index Online, 1665 - 1995

"A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers. Occasionally you will be asked to write one as a separate assignment, ..., but more often it is part of the introduction to an essay, research report, or thesis. In writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. As a piece of writing, the literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g., your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries."

--Written by Dena Taylor, Health Sciences Writing Centre and available at http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/specific-types-of-writing/literature-review (Accessed August 8th, 2011)

Writing the Literature Review sites :

Literature Reviews: UNC - Chapel Hill

Write a Literature Review: UC-Santa Cruz

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Methods Map: Literature Review

What are the goals of creating a Literature Review?

To develop a new theory
To evaluate a theory or theories
To survey what’s known about a topic
Identify a problem in a field of research
Provide a historical overview of the development of a topic

Type of Literature Reviews:

Mature and/or established topic: Topic is well-known and the purpose of this type of review is to analyze and synthesize this accumulated body of research.
Emerging Topic: The purpose of this type of review to identify understudy or new emerging research area.
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Last updated: Jan 8, 2024 2:52 PM
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Home » Literature Review – Types Writing Guide and Examples

Literature Review – Types Writing Guide and Examples

Table of Contents

Literature Review

Definition:

A literature review is a comprehensive and critical analysis of the existing literature on a particular topic or research question. It involves identifying, evaluating, and synthesizing relevant literature, including scholarly articles, books, and other sources, to provide a summary and critical assessment of what is known about the topic.

Types of Literature Review

Types of Literature Review are as follows:

Narrative literature review : This type of review involves a comprehensive summary and critical analysis of the available literature on a particular topic or research question. It is often used as an introductory section of a research paper.
Systematic literature review: This is a rigorous and structured review that follows a pre-defined protocol to identify, evaluate, and synthesize all relevant studies on a specific research question. It is often used in evidence-based practice and systematic reviews.
Meta-analysis: This is a quantitative review that uses statistical methods to combine data from multiple studies to derive a summary effect size. It provides a more precise estimate of the overall effect than any individual study.
Scoping review: This is a preliminary review that aims to map the existing literature on a broad topic area to identify research gaps and areas for further investigation.
Critical literature review : This type of review evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the existing literature on a particular topic or research question. It aims to provide a critical analysis of the literature and identify areas where further research is needed.
Conceptual literature review: This review synthesizes and integrates theories and concepts from multiple sources to provide a new perspective on a particular topic. It aims to provide a theoretical framework for understanding a particular research question.
Rapid literature review: This is a quick review that provides a snapshot of the current state of knowledge on a specific research question or topic. It is often used when time and resources are limited.
Thematic literature review : This review identifies and analyzes common themes and patterns across a body of literature on a particular topic. It aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the literature and identify key themes and concepts.
Realist literature review: This review is often used in social science research and aims to identify how and why certain interventions work in certain contexts. It takes into account the context and complexities of real-world situations.
State-of-the-art literature review : This type of review provides an overview of the current state of knowledge in a particular field, highlighting the most recent and relevant research. It is often used in fields where knowledge is rapidly evolving, such as technology or medicine.
Integrative literature review: This type of review synthesizes and integrates findings from multiple studies on a particular topic to identify patterns, themes, and gaps in the literature. It aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the current state of knowledge on a particular topic.
Umbrella literature review : This review is used to provide a broad overview of a large and diverse body of literature on a particular topic. It aims to identify common themes and patterns across different areas of research.
Historical literature review: This type of review examines the historical development of research on a particular topic or research question. It aims to provide a historical context for understanding the current state of knowledge on a particular topic.
Problem-oriented literature review : This review focuses on a specific problem or issue and examines the literature to identify potential solutions or interventions. It aims to provide practical recommendations for addressing a particular problem or issue.
Mixed-methods literature review : This type of review combines quantitative and qualitative methods to synthesize and analyze the available literature on a particular topic. It aims to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the research question by combining different types of evidence.

Parts of Literature Review

Parts of a literature review are as follows:

Introduction

The introduction of a literature review typically provides background information on the research topic and why it is important. It outlines the objectives of the review, the research question or hypothesis, and the scope of the review.

Literature Search

This section outlines the search strategy and databases used to identify relevant literature. The search terms used, inclusion and exclusion criteria, and any limitations of the search are described.

Literature Analysis

The literature analysis is the main body of the literature review. This section summarizes and synthesizes the literature that is relevant to the research question or hypothesis. The review should be organized thematically, chronologically, or by methodology, depending on the research objectives.

Critical Evaluation

Critical evaluation involves assessing the quality and validity of the literature. This includes evaluating the reliability and validity of the studies reviewed, the methodology used, and the strength of the evidence.

The conclusion of the literature review should summarize the main findings, identify any gaps in the literature, and suggest areas for future research. It should also reiterate the importance of the research question or hypothesis and the contribution of the literature review to the overall research project.

The references list includes all the sources cited in the literature review, and follows a specific referencing style (e.g., APA, MLA, Harvard).

How to write Literature Review

Here are some steps to follow when writing a literature review:

Define your research question or topic : Before starting your literature review, it is essential to define your research question or topic. This will help you identify relevant literature and determine the scope of your review.
Conduct a comprehensive search: Use databases and search engines to find relevant literature. Look for peer-reviewed articles, books, and other academic sources that are relevant to your research question or topic.
Evaluate the sources: Once you have found potential sources, evaluate them critically to determine their relevance, credibility, and quality. Look for recent publications, reputable authors, and reliable sources of data and evidence.
Organize your sources: Group the sources by theme, method, or research question. This will help you identify similarities and differences among the literature, and provide a structure for your literature review.
Analyze and synthesize the literature : Analyze each source in depth, identifying the key findings, methodologies, and conclusions. Then, synthesize the information from the sources, identifying patterns and themes in the literature.
Write the literature review : Start with an introduction that provides an overview of the topic and the purpose of the literature review. Then, organize the literature according to your chosen structure, and analyze and synthesize the sources. Finally, provide a conclusion that summarizes the key findings of the literature review, identifies gaps in knowledge, and suggests areas for future research.
Edit and proofread: Once you have written your literature review, edit and proofread it carefully to ensure that it is well-organized, clear, and concise.

Examples of Literature Review

Here’s an example of how a literature review can be conducted for a thesis on the topic of “ The Impact of Social Media on Teenagers’ Mental Health”:

Start by identifying the key terms related to your research topic. In this case, the key terms are “social media,” “teenagers,” and “mental health.”
Use academic databases like Google Scholar, JSTOR, or PubMed to search for relevant articles, books, and other publications. Use these keywords in your search to narrow down your results.
Evaluate the sources you find to determine if they are relevant to your research question. You may want to consider the publication date, author’s credentials, and the journal or book publisher.
Begin reading and taking notes on each source, paying attention to key findings, methodologies used, and any gaps in the research.
Organize your findings into themes or categories. For example, you might categorize your sources into those that examine the impact of social media on self-esteem, those that explore the effects of cyberbullying, and those that investigate the relationship between social media use and depression.
Synthesize your findings by summarizing the key themes and highlighting any gaps or inconsistencies in the research. Identify areas where further research is needed.
Use your literature review to inform your research questions and hypotheses for your thesis.

For example, after conducting a literature review on the impact of social media on teenagers’ mental health, a thesis might look like this:

“Using a mixed-methods approach, this study aims to investigate the relationship between social media use and mental health outcomes in teenagers. Specifically, the study will examine the effects of cyberbullying, social comparison, and excessive social media use on self-esteem, anxiety, and depression. Through an analysis of survey data and qualitative interviews with teenagers, the study will provide insight into the complex relationship between social media use and mental health outcomes, and identify strategies for promoting positive mental health outcomes in young people.”

Reference: Smith, J., Jones, M., & Lee, S. (2019). The effects of social media use on adolescent mental health: A systematic review. Journal of Adolescent Health, 65(2), 154-165. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2019.03.024

Reference Example: Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number(issue number), page range. doi:0000000/000000000000 or URL

Applications of Literature Review

some applications of literature review in different fields:

Social Sciences: In social sciences, literature reviews are used to identify gaps in existing research, to develop research questions, and to provide a theoretical framework for research. Literature reviews are commonly used in fields such as sociology, psychology, anthropology, and political science.
Natural Sciences: In natural sciences, literature reviews are used to summarize and evaluate the current state of knowledge in a particular field or subfield. Literature reviews can help researchers identify areas where more research is needed and provide insights into the latest developments in a particular field. Fields such as biology, chemistry, and physics commonly use literature reviews.
Health Sciences: In health sciences, literature reviews are used to evaluate the effectiveness of treatments, identify best practices, and determine areas where more research is needed. Literature reviews are commonly used in fields such as medicine, nursing, and public health.
Humanities: In humanities, literature reviews are used to identify gaps in existing knowledge, develop new interpretations of texts or cultural artifacts, and provide a theoretical framework for research. Literature reviews are commonly used in fields such as history, literary studies, and philosophy.

Role of Literature Review in Research

Here are some applications of literature review in research:

Identifying Research Gaps : Literature review helps researchers identify gaps in existing research and literature related to their research question. This allows them to develop new research questions and hypotheses to fill those gaps.
Developing Theoretical Framework: Literature review helps researchers develop a theoretical framework for their research. By analyzing and synthesizing existing literature, researchers can identify the key concepts, theories, and models that are relevant to their research.
Selecting Research Methods : Literature review helps researchers select appropriate research methods and techniques based on previous research. It also helps researchers to identify potential biases or limitations of certain methods and techniques.
Data Collection and Analysis: Literature review helps researchers in data collection and analysis by providing a foundation for the development of data collection instruments and methods. It also helps researchers to identify relevant data sources and identify potential data analysis techniques.
Communicating Results: Literature review helps researchers to communicate their results effectively by providing a context for their research. It also helps to justify the significance of their findings in relation to existing research and literature.

Purpose of Literature Review

Some of the specific purposes of a literature review are as follows:

To provide context: A literature review helps to provide context for your research by situating it within the broader body of literature on the topic.
To identify gaps and inconsistencies: A literature review helps to identify areas where further research is needed or where there are inconsistencies in the existing literature.
To synthesize information: A literature review helps to synthesize the information from multiple sources and present a coherent and comprehensive picture of the current state of knowledge on the topic.
To identify key concepts and theories : A literature review helps to identify key concepts and theories that are relevant to your research question and provide a theoretical framework for your study.
To inform research design: A literature review can inform the design of your research study by identifying appropriate research methods, data sources, and research questions.

Characteristics of Literature Review

Some Characteristics of Literature Review are as follows:

Identifying gaps in knowledge: A literature review helps to identify gaps in the existing knowledge and research on a specific topic or research question. By analyzing and synthesizing the literature, you can identify areas where further research is needed and where new insights can be gained.
Establishing the significance of your research: A literature review helps to establish the significance of your own research by placing it in the context of existing research. By demonstrating the relevance of your research to the existing literature, you can establish its importance and value.
Informing research design and methodology : A literature review helps to inform research design and methodology by identifying the most appropriate research methods, techniques, and instruments. By reviewing the literature, you can identify the strengths and limitations of different research methods and techniques, and select the most appropriate ones for your own research.
Supporting arguments and claims: A literature review provides evidence to support arguments and claims made in academic writing. By citing and analyzing the literature, you can provide a solid foundation for your own arguments and claims.
I dentifying potential collaborators and mentors: A literature review can help identify potential collaborators and mentors by identifying researchers and practitioners who are working on related topics or using similar methods. By building relationships with these individuals, you can gain valuable insights and support for your own research and practice.
Keeping up-to-date with the latest research : A literature review helps to keep you up-to-date with the latest research on a specific topic or research question. By regularly reviewing the literature, you can stay informed about the latest findings and developments in your field.

Advantages of Literature Review

There are several advantages to conducting a literature review as part of a research project, including:

Establishing the significance of the research : A literature review helps to establish the significance of the research by demonstrating the gap or problem in the existing literature that the study aims to address.
Identifying key concepts and theories: A literature review can help to identify key concepts and theories that are relevant to the research question, and provide a theoretical framework for the study.
Supporting the research methodology : A literature review can inform the research methodology by identifying appropriate research methods, data sources, and research questions.
Providing a comprehensive overview of the literature : A literature review provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge on a topic, allowing the researcher to identify key themes, debates, and areas of agreement or disagreement.
Identifying potential research questions: A literature review can help to identify potential research questions and areas for further investigation.
Avoiding duplication of research: A literature review can help to avoid duplication of research by identifying what has already been done on a topic, and what remains to be done.
Enhancing the credibility of the research : A literature review helps to enhance the credibility of the research by demonstrating the researcher’s knowledge of the existing literature and their ability to situate their research within a broader context.

Limitations of Literature Review

Limitations of Literature Review are as follows:

Limited scope : Literature reviews can only cover the existing literature on a particular topic, which may be limited in scope or depth.
Publication bias : Literature reviews may be influenced by publication bias, which occurs when researchers are more likely to publish positive results than negative ones. This can lead to an incomplete or biased picture of the literature.
Quality of sources : The quality of the literature reviewed can vary widely, and not all sources may be reliable or valid.
Time-limited: Literature reviews can become quickly outdated as new research is published, making it difficult to keep up with the latest developments in a field.
Subjective interpretation : Literature reviews can be subjective, and the interpretation of the findings can vary depending on the researcher’s perspective or bias.
Lack of original data : Literature reviews do not generate new data, but rather rely on the analysis of existing studies.
Risk of plagiarism: It is important to ensure that literature reviews do not inadvertently contain plagiarism, which can occur when researchers use the work of others without proper attribution.

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Academic Writing Guides

How to Write a Literature Review? A Beginner’s Guide

Sooner or later in your academic path, you will be required to compose a literature review. So, it’s important to approach this task well-prepared and understand how to write a literature review inside out.

Are you interested in how to write lit review projects correctly and cover the subject comprehensively, from all angles? This article will explore the concept of review of literature , dwell on how to write a literature review in line with your professor’s expectations, and share a universal literature review template for your usage.

What Is the Purpose of a Literature Review?

To understand what should be included in a literature review , you need to understand its purpose and value in a larger work. A well-researched and written lit review usually addresses the following objectives:

Inform . The fundamental purpose of any review of literature is to provide the foundation of knowledge on a specific topic or phenomenon. You explore what people have learned about it from prior studies and summarize those findings to inform your readers.
Give credit . Another purpose of a lit review is to identify researchers who have contributed to the advancement of research on your chosen literature review topic and have produced the most valuable findings. This way, you pay tribute to those researchers and showcase your knowledge of the most considerable influencers.
Identify gaps . By performing a thorough review of literature , you may not only discover what is known about your topic but also find out what it yet to be learned about it. As a result of reviewing the available evidence, you may identify gaps for addressing through your academic inquiry.
Identify patterns . Those who know how to write a literature review can also effectively embrace data trends and patterns in the collected dataset. As a result, they can present a more nuanced analysis of the existing knowledge in your literature review and uncover dependencies that inform people’s understanding of certain phenomena and processes.
Contextualize research . When you perform lit review writing, you can also create a spot for your own study within the broad field of your academic research interest. This way, you show to your readers that you can effectively navigate the landscape of your academic area.

These purposes lay the foundation for understanding how to write a literature review that will attain all academic goals. You simply need to use this list as your checklist for structuring an impactful lit review and including all vital data in it.

How to Write a Literature Review?

Now, we come to the main topic of this article – how to write a good literature review for dissertation projects, research papers, and other works. Follow the steps we’ve covered below to arrive at a consistent, logical piece of lit review .

Identify Relevant Sources

Any literature review writing starts with academic research. You should look for sources that explore your topic from various angles and provide valuable literature review findings to expand your knowledge on the subject. It’s best to look for subject-specific books first and then go through academic databases that publish journal articles. This way, you will start with the evidence of the highest reliability level and move on to expand your literature review dataset conveniently.

Screen Sources for Quality

The best solution on how to write a literature review without challenges is to rely on high-quality evidence. Your task is to research extensively in reliable academic databases to find peer-reviewed academic journals and books written by experts in your field. Don’t over-rely on online sources in your literature review, like blogs or opinion pieces, because they rarely possess the needed degree of credibility for an academic review. By choosing only industry-approved sources from qualified professionals, you can build a solid foundation for your writing and impress the audience.

Determine Data Patterns and Gaps

How to write a literature review of value for your readers? One of the best approaches is to go beyond mere summarization of what other researchers have found on the subject and to apply critical thinking and data categorization. This way, you will manage to uncover existing patterns and trends and examine those dependencies in your literature review. A systematic, critical approach is always evaluated much higher than a simple outline of what people say on your subject.

Draft an Outline

Now, it’s time to compose an outline for a literature review . The outline should include the main concepts you’re planning to cover in the literature review text and should structure the narrative consistently. By means of composing an outline before the actual writing process, you give yourself a hands-on roadmap for composing a logically flowing piece. As a result of using an outline, you will write the literature review faster and will avoid the risk of going off-topic.

Compose the Review

With a good and detailed outline, you should have no more problems or concerns about how to write a literature review . The writing process should go quickly and smoothly when you have all your evidence at your fingertips, categorized by themes and requiring only proper summarization in the text.

We recommend starting with a broad introduction to the topic and concepts related to it. You should give definitions and explain the topic’s features and components that require attention in the research process. After that, you may briefly outline the main sections of your review and then proceed to the exploration of each section in depth.

At times, your professor will give you a specific structure for review writing – such as the general introduction, coverage of theories, and then coverage of empirical evidence. At times, it may be a review of the data search strategy and a report on the identified resources that follow. In any case, you should follow the tutor’s prompt closely to ensure compliance with the task.

Make Use of This Generic Literature Review Template

Looking for a universal, ready-to-use literature review template ? Here is an effective literature review template that everyone can apply with minor tweaks to produce a high-quality review of literature .

LITERATURE REVIEW TEMPLATE

Introduction

Introduce the topic of your literature review
Examine its significance for your academic area
Determine the scope of your literature review inquiry
Give a brief outline of subtopics and sections included in your literature review

Body of the literature review

Describe the subtopic and indicate how it relates to your literature review’s main idea
Summarize the evidence available about it
Compare the available data and voice your opinion

Conclusion

Summarize the main points and findings from your literature review
State the main contribution you have managed to achieve
Identify the research gaps your literature review has revealed

Use this literature review template to pump your writing muscle and get ready for new literature review challenges.

More Pro Tips for Writing a Literature Review

If you’re still unsure about how to do a literature review with excellence, these pro tips may improve your understanding of this task type.

Mind the audience . Understanding how to do a literature review for a research paper often has little to do with how to write literature review for thesis . This difference is explained by the fact that these types of academic work are of different lengths and pursue different scholarly goals. This way, you may need to cover only some basic seminal research in the review of literature for a research paper but will need to dig deeper into theoretical and applied research with deeper analysis and more critical thinking when dealing with a thesis.
Mind the length . How long should a literature review be ? This is a vital question that you should answer before starting the outlining and writing process. Ask your professor if you’re not sure or apply the rule of thumb, where this section usually takes from 15% to 25% of the entire paper.
Mind the structure . It’s important to cover all lit review aspects that your professor wants to see in the paper; otherwise, you risk getting a low grade even if your literature review is comprehensive and interesting. What should a literature review include ? In most cases, you will be required to cover some seminal research works in your literature review to show that you understand who the pioneers in the field are, and what contribution they have made to the topic’s exploration. Next, you should examine relevant theories that inform studies in your subject. At the end of the literature review, you should typically cite a variety of studies of applied nature, thus showing what empirical research is conducted in your academic field.

With these recommendations at your disposal, you’re sure to become much more proficient in how to do a lit review . If you need more help with a literature review project, welcome to use our professional and quick literature review writing service . Our experts know everything about how to write a literature review , so they will handle your literature review task with ease within the timeframe you set for them.

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http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8428-6354 Maarten de Wit 1 ,
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8708-9324 Krystel Aouad 2 ,
Muriel Elhai 3 ,
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9119-5330 Diego Benavent 4 ,
Heidi Bertheussen 5 ,
Steven Blackburn 6 ,
Peter Böhm 7 ,
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9327-6935 Catia Duarte 8 ,
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5928-486X Marie Falahee 9 ,
Susanne Karlfeldt 10 ,
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5668-4497 Uta Kiltz 11 , 12 ,
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0059-2141 Elsa F Mateus 13 , 14 ,
Dawn P Richards 15 ,
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0011-5102 Javier Rodríguez-Carrio 16 ,
Joachim Sagen 17 , 18 ,
Russka Shumnalieva 19 ,
Simon R Stones 20 , 21 ,
Sander W Tas 22 ,
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7531-4125 William Tillett 23 , 24 ,
Ana Vieira 14 , 25 ,
Tanita-Christina Wilhelmer 26 , 27 , 28 ,
Condruta Zabalan 29 , 30 ,
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1049-4150 Jette Primdahl 31 , 32 ,
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8895-6941 Paul Studenic 33 , 34 ,
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4528-310X Laure Gossec 35 , 36
1 Patient Research Partner , EULAR , Amsterdam , The Netherlands
2 Saint George Hospital University Medical Center , Beirut , Lebanon
3 University Hospital Zürich, University of Zürich , Zürich , Switzerland
4 Rheumatology , Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge , Madrid , Spain
5 Patient Research Partner , EULAR , Oslo , Norway
6 Institute of Applied Health Research , Univeristy of Birmingham , Birmingham , UK
7 Patient Research Partner , EULAR , Berlin , Germany
8 Rheumatology , Centro Hospitalar e Universitario de Coimbra , Coimbra , Portugal
9 Institute of Inflammation and Ageing , University of Birmingham Rheumatology Research Group , Birmingham , UK
10 Academic Specialist Center , Karolinska Institutet , Stockholm , Sweden
11 Ruhr University Bochum , Bochum , Germany
12 Rheumazentrum Ruhrgebiet , Herne , Germany
13 Patient Research Partner , EULAR , Lisbon , Portugal
14 Portuguese League Against Rheumatic Diseases (LPCDR) , Lisbon , Portugal
15 Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance , Toronto , Ontario , Canada
16 Area of Immunology, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias (ISPA) , University of Oviedo , Oviedo , Spain
17 Norwegian National Advisory Unit on Rehabilitation in Rheumatology , Oslo , Norway
18 Norwegian Rheumatism Association , Oslo , Norway
19 Rheumatology , University Hospital 'St. Ivan Rilski', Medical University of Sofia, Clinic of Rheumatoloty , Sofia , Bulgaria
20 Patient Research Partner , EULAR , Manchester , UK
21 Envision Pharma Group , Wilmslow , UK
22 Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Amsterdam Rheumatology and Immunology Center , Amsterdam University Medical Centres , Amsterdam , The Netherlands
23 Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Disease , Bath , UK
24 Life Sciences , Centre for Therapeutic Innovation, University of Bath , Bath , UK
25 Patient Research Partner , EULAR , Lissabon , Portugal
26 EULAR Young PARE , Zürich , Switzerland
27 Österreichische Rheumaliga , Maria Alm , Austria
28 EULAR PRP , Vienna , Austria
29 Romanian League Against Rheumatism , Bucharest , Romania
30 EULAR PRP , Bucharest , Romania
31 Danish Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases , University Hospital of Southern Denmark , Sønderborg , Denmark
32 Department of Regional Health Research , University of Southern Denmark , Odense , Denmark
33 Internal Medicine 3, Division of Rheumatology , Medical University Vienna , Vienna , Austria
34 Department of Medicine (Solna), Karolinska Institutet , Division of Rheumatology , Stockholm , Sweden
35 INSERM, Institut Pierre Louis d'Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique, INSERM , Sorbonne Universite , Paris , France
36 APHP, Rheumatology Department , Hopital Universitaire Pitie Salpetriere , Paris , France
Correspondence to Dr Maarten de Wit, Patient research partner, EULAR, Amsterdam, Netherlands; martinusdewit{at}hotmail.com

Background Since the publication of the 2011 European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) recommendations for patient research partner (PRP) involvement in rheumatology research, the role of PRPs has evolved considerably. Therefore, an update of the 2011 recommendations was deemed necessary.

Methods In accordance with the EULAR Standardised Operational Procedures, a task force comprising 13 researchers, 2 health professionals and 10 PRPs was convened. The process included an online task force meeting, a systematic literature review and an in-person second task force meeting to formulate overarching principles (OAPs) and recommendations. The level of agreement of task force members was assessed anonymously (0–10 scale).

Results The task force developed five new OAPs, updated seven existing recommendations and formulated three new recommendations. The OAPs address the definition of a PRP, the contribution of PRPs, the role of informal caregivers, the added value of PRPs and the importance of trust and communication in collaborative research efforts. The recommendations address the research type and phases of PRP involvement, the recommended number of PRPs per project, the support necessary for PRPs, training of PRPs and acknowledgement of PRP contributions. New recommendations concern the benefits of support and guidance for researchers, the need for regular evaluation of the patient–researcher collaboration and the role of a designated coordinator to facilitate collaboration. Agreements within the task force were high and ranged between 9.16 and 9.96.

Conclusion The updated EULAR recommendations for PRP involvement are more substantially based on evidence. Together with added OAPs, they should serve as a guide for researchers and PRPs and will ultimately strengthen the involvement of PRPs in rheumatology research.

Epidemiology
Health services research

This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

https://doi.org/10.1136/ard-2024-225566

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WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ON THIS TOPIC

In 2011, European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) published the first set of recommendations for the involvement of patient representatives in scientific projects and defined the role of patient research partners (PRPs).

The role of PRPs has evolved and the inclusion of PRPs in research has considerably expanded since 2011.

WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS

The updated recommendations for the involvement of PRPs in scientific projects have become more evidence based and cover subjects such as research type (including basic and translational research), involvement from the research project’s inception, the recommended number of PRPs and the support, training and acknowledgement of PRPs.

These recommendations also address new topics such as the support and training of researchers, the role of a PRP coordinator and the need for regular monitoring and evaluation.

HOW THIS STUDY MIGHT AFFECT RESEARCH, PRACTICE OR POLICY

The updated EULAR recommendations for the involvement of PRPs in research will guide researchers and PRPs in enhancing effective partnerships in their research efforts.

The ultimate benefit relates to the conduct of health research that better meets the needs of patients, which is likely to result in improved long-term health outcomes.

Introduction

The benefits of involving patient research partners (PRPs) in research are increasingly recognised by international organisations such as the WHO and European Medicines Agency (EMA). 1 2 To operationalise patient involvement in research, recommendations and guidelines are useful. In rheumatology, the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) has historically been a leader in the field of patient involvement—both for clinical care, teaching and research. 3 EULAR is built on three pillars: rheumatologists, health professionals and patients. In 2011, EULAR published recommendations for the inclusion of PRPs in scientific projects. 4 PRPs were clearly distinguished from patients or study participants in clinical research. PRPs were defined as ‘persons with a relevant disease who operate as active research team members on an equal basis with professional researchers, adding the benefit of their experiential knowledge to any phase of the project. 4

These were, to our knowledge, the first recommendations in rheumatology on this subject. Since then, the role of PRPs has significantly changed and expanded within and beyond the field of rheumatology. They are now not only involved in guideline development and clinical research but also in patient-reported outcomes (PRO) development, patient preference studies, research grant application assessment, regulatory processes and international research consortia. 5–9 While the initial 2011 EULAR recommendations have facilitated the implementation of these collaborative partnerships, there are still areas where PRP involvement is limited or absent such as basic and translational research, randomised controlled trials (RCTs), registries and longitudinal observational studies. 10 11 From research projects that were successful or failed in creating collaborative partnerships, we have gained more knowledge about the challenges and facilitators of PRP involvement. 7 12 13 These challenges revealed gaps where the 2011 recommendations fall short and where an update would be beneficial.

In addition, the 2011 EULAR recommendations prompted the establishment of national 14 and international PRP networks 12 15–17 including over 100 experienced and trained PRPs. EULAR has been proactive in supporting PRP involvement through the development of an online course for PRPs and facilitating an active study group for collaborative research that gathers twice a year. 18 However, the existing recommendations did not address monitoring, evaluation or reporting of lessons learnt regarding the collaboration between PRPs and researchers, which now appear indispensable for increasing our knowledge about PRP involvement and enhancing the implementation of PRPs in rheumatology research.

Finally, while the 2011 recommendations were largely based on expert opinion, since then an increasing number of studies exploring PRP involvement have been published, that now inform this update of the recommendations and provide more evidence.

Therefore, the aim of the current task force was to update the 2011 EULAR recommendations.

The target audience for these recommendations are researchers, PRPs, health providers, journal editors, research funders, ethical review boards and other stakeholders in the field of adult rheumatology and beyond.

According to our aim, we updated the 2011 EULAR recommendations for PRP involvement in research, formulated a set of overarching principles (OAPs) and developed a research agenda for the future. Of note, the scope of these recommendations is specific to the role of patients as collaborative partners in research, which is different from other roles of patients such as study participant, observer, informant or advisor. However, the updated recommendations should always consider the complementary role of PRPs in the broader context of patient and public involvement (PPI).

We followed the updated EULAR Standardised Operational Procedures. 19 The process took place between October 2022 and June 2023 and included an online task force meeting, a systematic literature review (SLR) and an in-person second task force meeting to formulate OAPs and recommendations.

Steering group and task force composition

After the approval of this project by EULAR (September 2022), the steering group, comprising the convenor (MdW), an EULAR methodologist (LG), a junior methodologist (PS), a fellow and EMEUNET member (KA), a health professional (JP) and two PRPs (HB and CZ), had regular meetings between October 2022 and September 2023. They prepared the task force meetings and supported the SLR. Two EMerging EUlar NETwork (EMEUNET) members (ME and DB) joined the Steering Group after the first task force meeting. Including the steering group members, the task force comprised 13 researchers (6 were EMEUNET members) with backgrounds in basic, translational, clinical and social sciences, 2 health professionals and 10 PRPs with Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases (RMDs), of whom 2 represented young people. Members came from 15 European countries and Canada. The PRPs represented five RMDs.

The first task force meeting was held online (December 2022) and resulted in a set of research questions that focused on nine themes ( box 1 ).

Themes of the systematic literature review

Definition of patient research partners (PRPs).

Participation, roles, and activities of PRP.

Added value of PRPs.

Selection and recruitment of PRP.

PRP experience and feedback.

Facilitators and the supportive role of the investigator.

Training or education of PRP and researchers.

Recognition of PRPs.

Monitoring of PRP involvement.

To address these research questions in a data-driven manner, an SLR was performed for the period 2017–2022 in rheumatology journals. 20 The literature assessed in the SLR was complemented by information found on the British, European and American websites of three specialties (oncology, cardiology and diabetology) and those of Food and Drugs Administration and EMA. In addition, the following guidelines were consulted to answer specific questions about training, involvement of PRPs in translational research, and remuneration of PRPs: National Institute for Health and Care Research guidelines in the UK, guide on patient partnerships in rare disease research projects and the European Patients’ Academy on Therapeutic Innovation (EUPATI). 21–23 Finally, the research questions mandated an additional scoping review on the involvement of PRPs in translational and RCT studies in rheumatology in the last years. 24 All findings were presented at our second task force meeting to inform the update of the recommendations.

Based on the literature, the steering group proposed tentative OAPs. Because these had not been developed for the 2011 recommendations, they were formulated here. The existing recommendations were thoroughly revised and new recommendations were proposed.

The second task force meeting took place in Amsterdam, Netherlands (April 2023) as a 1-day meeting with 24 members participating in person and one member online (DPR). Prior to the meeting, an introduction session was held to inform the task force about the applied methodology and to summarise the findings from the SLR. This session was attended by 21 task force participants. During the task force meeting, the SLR findings were presented followed by discussions and voting on each of the new OAPs and revised recommendations. The votes were considered as consensus if 75% agreement was reached in the first round, then if needed for a second round of voting, 66% and 50% in case of a third round. 25 At the end of the meeting, the evidence for three new recommendations was presented and discussed followed by voting on the respective statements.

Because our recommendations are not focused on (pharmaceutical) management of RMDs, we did not use the Oxford framework for assessing the strengths of our recommendations. We decided to base our GoR only on the quality assessment of four categories of articles from our SLR 20 : qualitative, reviews, cross-sectional and mixed-methods studies. For the first three types of studies, the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist was used (n=13) 26 and for the mixed-methods studies we used the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) checklist (n=6). 27 The quality assessment for the 19 articles was classified by the steering group on the basis of consensus as low, medium or high, based on the percentage of items in the quality checklist which were satisfied and the importance of the items in this checklist. The respective cut-offs were the same for the four categories: 25% or lower was considered low, between 25% and 75% was considered medium and more than 75% was considered high.

For determining the GoR, we developed the following grid, based on the LoE of the 19 papers ( table 1 ). Of note, only studies that recommended a theme ( box 1 ) or confirmed its importance for consideration were included.

View inline

Grid for determining the grade of recommendations

Finally, following the second task force meeting, the task force members were invited by email to indicate anonymously their level of agreement with the 5 OAPs and 10 recommendations on a Likert scale between 0 (no agreement) and 10 (full agreement).

The task force derived five new OAPs, six existing recommendations were updated significantly (#1, 2, 4,5, 8, 10), one recommendation was kept unchanged (#3), two were combined into one (#4) and three new recommendations were formulated (#6, 7, 9). The LoE allowed us to obtain moderate GoR (A–D). Agreement with the OAPs and recommendations was high ( table 2 ).

Overarching principles and recommendations

Overarching principles

Prps provide input to research, through active collaboration as equal partners with researchers.

This first OAP is focused on the role of PRPs and highlights not only the added value that they bring to research, but also two key features which are the terms ‘equality’ and ‘active’. This statement emphasises the distinction between the involvement of PRPs and the use of patient consultation strategies. PRPs are not study participants, but people who join research teams to provide their knowledge, skills, experiences and expertise throughout the research cycle. There is a wealth of evidence that shows that research projects benefit from this kind of input. 28–30 The term equality refers to the call to researchers to involve PRPs in a process of shared decision-making; active collaboration refers to the concept of meaningful involvement which includes genuine dialogues and efforts to avoid tokenism.

PRPs are persons with an RMD condition who provide input to research, based on their experiential knowledge and expertise

The first recommendations provided a definition for the role of PRPs. 4 Because this role has evolved, it was deemed necessary to broaden the definition to enable its use in other research contexts than a guideline task force. Our task force agreed to formulate the definition as an OAP and removed reference to the added value of a PRP and to the phase of the study which are now part of OAP #D and recommendation #2, respectively.

Experiential knowledge can be described as the articulated personal experience of living with an RMD, and knowledge obtained from using the healthcare system. 31 Synonyms for experiential knowledge are ‘patient story’ or ‘lived experience’. Experiential expertise refers to the collective articulated experience of PRPs and includes awareness of the heterogeneity of the patients’ perspective, insights into patients’ needs and preferences, and some lay knowledge of research. 31 Expertise in PRPs can be gained over time through experience in research studies as well as through education and training to improve PPI.

Of note, it is not the primary task of PRPs to fully represent the target population. Representativeness is a responsibility of the entire research team and can be obtained through the use of a variety of consultation methods, such as mixed research methods including qualitative studies, Delphi methods or surveys to expand the input from a larger group of people with the condition under investigation. 32–34 PRPs may bring specific knowledge and expertise in developing effective strategies for PPI in a study. In addition, researchers may also consider inviting representatives of patient organisations.

Informal caregivers can provide input to research, complementary to the patients’ lived experience

Informal caregivers (also termed carers) are people who are not health professionals but persons who provide ongoing assistance with activities of daily living or social support to a person with a chronic condition or disability, often without professional education and usually without payment. 35 This person is often a family member but can also be a (close) acquaintance. The task force concluded that a caregiver is not a person with lived experience of the condition and therefore cannot fulfil the role of PRP, with the exception of paediatric rheumatology in which it is justified that a parent of a child with an RMD takes on the role of a PRP and brings their child’s perspective to the table.

Nevertheless, the task force acknowledged that carers have an independent perspective that can add value to research projects: ‘Caregivers have a different lived experience and potentially different concerns than that of a patient so both perspectives should be included when possible’. 36 Because this perspective is complementary to that of PRPs, the task force agreed to formulate this separate OAP on the potential role of informal caregivers.

PRPs add value and relevance to all types of research: their involvement benefits patients, researchers and PRPs

There is a fast-growing number of publications that confirm the added value of PRP involvement in research. 37 PRPs bring experiential knowledge and expertise to research which enhances the relevance and applicability of research findings and improves its impact. 38 PRPs benefit from collaboration because they become more knowledgeable about their conditions, may acquire increased self-confidence and practical skills, experience fulfilment and satisfaction, and gain more insights into research. 12 39 40 Moreover, researchers benefit from PRP involvement too. They obtain a better understanding of research priorities and needs of the community, gain new ideas and become more motivated and focused when being regularly in close contact with someone with the condition under research. 41 They see the implications of their work in real-life, PRPs help them obtain a more holistic view of people with RMDs, and learn to explain research concepts and findings in plain language that is understandable by patients and the general public. 36 41 Finally, at a societal level, PRP involvement increases trust, credibility and accountability of research in the community, improves relationships between researchers and other stakeholders and may ultimately also lead to improved outcomes. 42 43 This is a brief summary of the identified benefits. More illustrative examples can be found in the companion SLR. 20

Open, transparent communication, trust, respect and willingness to learn from each other are key factors for equal and successful collaboration between PRPs and researchers

Communication is crucial to establish successful and equal relationships. 20 Each research project is unique and needs clear communication about the expectations of all team members. 44 45 Based on the SLR and the expert opinion of the task force members, factors such as trust, respect, transparency and colearning were included in the final OAP.

During the task force meeting, the discussion focused on the meaning of ‘respect’ and ‘colearning’. It was argued that ‘listening to each other’ and the willingness to open oneself to the perspective and experiences of others, is a critical component of open communication and reducing power imbalances. ‘Willingness to learn from each other’ was, therefore, accepted as an improved explanation of the concept originally referenced as ‘colearning’. Respect is a principle that not only relates to communication, but is essential for building equal partnerships and collaboration, and thus is integral to this statement.

Finally, the difference between ‘open’ and ‘transparent’ communication was explained by emphasising the personal dimension in the first, and the more ‘formal’ component in the latter. Being clear about mutual expectations and limitations and providing honest feedback to each other when things are not going as envisioned, relates to open communication. Examples of transparent communication are being clear about rights and responsibilities, deadlines for tasks, procedures for communication, available support for PRPs and reimbursement policies.

Recommendations

In the following section, each recommendation will be explained in detail, supported by the identified evidence and examples when appropriate.

PRPs should be involved in all types of research, including basic, translational and clinical research

Task force members, reflecting current thinking, considered that there is a need to adjust the 2011 recommendation that read: ‘Participation of PRPs is strongly recommended for clinical research projects and for the development of recommendations and guidelines and should be considered for all other research projects’. 4 Based on the reported multiple benefits of PRP involvement, 10 41 the task force concluded that PRPs should be included in all types of research. They saw no need to distinguish between clinical research, guideline development and other types of research. They felt value in emphasising that PRP involvement is also possible in types of research in which PRPs are often absent, such as basic and translational research 24 41 as well as clinical trials, observational studies and registries. 10

The task force is aware that the new phrasing is aspirational. Indeed, guidance for researchers on how to involve patients is scarce, especially in basic research, 46 and examples of good practice are limited. 24 41 47

Feasibility of successful recruitment is a concern, given the reported difficulties in identifying PRPs and the risk of overburdening of existing PRPs. The task force felt the current wording would allow researchers and PRPs to tailor the intensity of PRP involvement to the type of research and/or the available resources.

Researchers should involve PRPs from the inception of a research project and throughout all its stages

The SLR showed strong evidence for the benefits of early PRP involvement 39 48 49 as well as prolonged engagement throughout the duration of the research. 37 44 50 Overall, 30% of the studies reported PRP involvement during all stages of the project including conception of the research questions, study design, data collection, interpretation and dissemination. 20 For PRPs, involvement throughout the lifetime of a research project represents a commitment which needs to be clearly stated upfront, and although PRPs are expected to stay involved during the entire research process, the timing and intensity of that involvement may vary, dependent on the scope and objectives of the research, the type of research and personal factors of the researcher(s) or the PRP(s). 51

A minimum of two PRPs should be involved in each project

There is a strong evidence that having more than one PRP is beneficial and that an ideal number of PRPs depends on the research context. 20 The SLR showed that the number of PRPs included in projects varies depending on the size and type of research. Having more than two PRPs can prevent imbalances in power between the PRPs and the researchers; it encourages PRPs to express their opinions, even if this means disagreeing with a researcher. 52 Thus, the task force decided not to change the 2011 recommendation and to advise researchers, in line with the previous recommendation, to tailor the number to the needs of the study. There should be two PRPs as a minimum and more when needed because of the wish for more diversity in knowledge and expertise, or because of the expected workload and to avoid overburdening.

Recruitment of PRPs should be based on a clear and agreed on description of mutual roles and responsibilities and should aim for diversity and inclusivity

The task force combined the 2011 recommendations #4 and #5. In the new formulation, the role description should be the product of cocreation by the researcher, PRP-coordinator and/or the PRPs and reflect mutual expectations. It should contain a description of the activities and responsibilities of the PRPs as well as those of the research team. In addition, the recruitment process should foster diversity and inclusivity. 34 39 53 This is particularly important where PRP involvement is needed to develop effective recruitment strategies and formulate fair inclusion and exclusion criteria to reach these goals. Useful methods for improving diversity in PPI research exist. 53 54

The task force reviewed the 2011 recommendation about the selection of PRPs based on required competencies. The SLR findings demonstrated a wide range of reported competencies that were strongly dependent on the role of the PRPs, the (disease) stage and experience of the PRP, and the kind of research activity. 31 The competencies varied from language skills, research knowledge and mobility to education, motivation, communication skills and PRP experience. The task force decided to remove any reference to competencies from the recommendation and to highlight the relevance of the research context for determining the recommended competences. The SLR demonstrated that there is no evidence for one preferred recruitment strategy over any other. 20 Researchers reported different ways of recruitment such as partnering with charities or patient and advocacy organisations, social media, community outreach and through health professionals or personal contact. 20

The research team must provide a supportive environment and facilitate the contribution of PRPs to research

The task force reached a consensus that the facilitation and support of PRPs should be a shared responsibility among all members of the research team. Collaborative research is all about ‘enabling PRPs to make meaningful contributions’ and requires, therefore, attention to the special needs for support depending on the type of RMD and the associated symptoms. Accessibility, making sure physical and online spaces are providing the right support, is an important condition for successful collaboration. Other potential conditions are, for instance, the need for a personal assistant, lay summaries, organised transfers or sufficient breaks during meetings. In many cases, fellows and junior researchers work closely together with PRPs and should address these conditions while senior researchers facilitate PRP involvement from a distance. 55 Therefore, early career researchers should address PRP’s personal needs, recognise fatigue, establish realistic deadlines, write summaries in plain language, consider the needs of PRPs for whom English is not their first language 7 53 56 and invite PRPs to give their perspective; senior or established researchers are generally responsible to facilitate PRP involvement by establishing optimal circumstances, resources and environments for sustainable involvement of PRPs and removing external, often institutional barriers, for instance, ensuring fair compensation for PRPs. 55

It was discussed whether support (#5) and training (#8) should be combined in one recommendation. However, the task force decided to keep them separated to emphasise the importance of both kinds of facilitators.

A designated coordinator should support the collaboration of researchers and PRPs

Over the last decade, we witnessed the emergence of the PRP coordinator role. 8 57 58 A PRP coordinator was reported or advised in 29% of the articles included in the SLR, and in all cases seen as an important facilitator in reducing the chances of tokenism. The PRP coordinator played a major role in the areas of logistics, information, communication and mediation. The SLR provides a comprehensive overview of the activities of the PRP coordinator ( box 2 ). 20

Potential tasks and responsibilities of a patient research partner (PRP) coordinator

Recruit and select PRPs.

Match PRPs with requests from researchers.

Support the alignment of expectations.

Organise education and support of PRPs and researchers.

Facilitate communication.

Moderate (small) group discussions.

Organise logistics around PRP involvement such as booking travel and accommodation, and arranging reimbursement.

Mentor and support younger and less-experienced PRPs.

Assist researchers at any stage of the research regarding PRP involvement.

Assist PRPs in their dialogue with employers—providing help in certifying PRPs voluntary involvement in Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Disease community work.

Monitoring of the evaluations of PRPs contribution and impact on the project.

This role can be taken up by a research team member or by one of the PRPs but can also be positioned within a patient organisation or academic institution. In most cases, the PRP coordinator is responsible for adequate communication between PRPs and researchers, matching PRPs with new research projects and ensuring continuity and sustainable partnerships. 7 8 59 An example of a new task for PRP coordinators is to provide a ‘certificate of attendance’ after meetings. For some PRPs, such a certificate is important to enhance the dialogue with employers. PRPs may need to take time off from work and a certificate demonstrates that a person is involved in voluntary and important work for the community of people with RMDs so that future involvement is looked on favourably.

In one study included in the SLR, the PRP coordinator was expected to take the lead in setting up meetings and ensuring that ways of communication such as video calling were accessible to PRPs. 39 The PRP coordinator can also facilitate initial discussions to align mutual expectations. 39

Task force members emphasised that this new role may enhance the implementation of OAP #E on communication, trust and respect. A special warning is justified here: the presence of a PRP coordinator should never replace the responsibility of the research team to ensure adequate support for PRPs or the direct dialogue between researchers and PRPs (see recommendation #5).

Researchers should have access to training and support, to achieve effective communication and collaboration with PRPs as equal partners

The SLR revealed that both PRPs and researchers benefit from (peer-)mentoring, education and training, which was reported or advised in 34% of the articles. The SLR resulted in a list of potential topics for training content, such as communication with PRPs, and how to recruit, select and support PRPs in research studies ( box 3 ). 6 60 61

Topics for the training of researchers

Frameworks for collaboration.

Communicating with patient research partners (PRPs).

Different roles of patients in the context of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Disease research.

Recruitment and selection of PRPs.

Methods of enhancing equity, diversity and inclusion.

Involving PRPs in all parts of the research cycle.

Support of PRPs during a study and preventing overburdening of PRPs.

Compensation and acknowledgement of PRPs.

There was a debate about the wording with some members of the task force in favour of ’should receive support and training’ and others of ‘should have access to support and training’. In the end, the wish to homogenise this statement with the formulation on the same topic for PRPs (#8), the task force chose the less stringent version.

The training and support, although currently not broadly available, could come from different sources, for instance, EULAR, patient organisations or academic/research institutions. Implementation of this recommendation is highly dependent on the endorsement by the existing leadership of these organisations. 62

PRPs should have access to training relevant to their roles

Our SLR provided strong evidence that education and training of PRPs increase the quality of the collaboration with researchers. 20 In almost half of the publications, training was either advised (21%) or provided (25%). There is a growing supply of educational opportunities. 63 64 In 2022, the first EULAR online course for PRPs started, and more programmes are available or in development on national level. These training opportunities are provided by different stakeholders. PRPs have a right to access training if they wish, and it is no longer the principal investigator exclusively responsible for organising this. For this reason, the task force decided to adjust the 2011 recommendation by making access to training mandatory. Content of potential courses can be general, such as the EULAR course for PRPs ( box 4 ), 65 as well as tailored to the role and needs of the individual PRP in a specific research context, such as the EUPATI course for patient representatives involved in drug development and regulatory processes 64 or the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) e-learning modules for PRPs involved in core-outcome set development. 66

Topics of the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology online course for patient research partners (PRPs)

Principles of collaborative research.

Basic epidemiology.

Outcome measures in rheumatology.

Critical appraisal of literature.

Development of recommendations.

Researcher–PRP communication.

Medicine development and market authorisation.

Health economics in rheumatology research.

Reviewing research grant applications.

Dissemination of scientific information to patients.

Patient involvement in laboratory research.

Core outcome set development and the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) initiative.

Researchers and PRPs should regularly evaluate their collaboration and adjust their way of working when needed

At the first meeting, the task force requested to explore the need for adequate monitoring and evaluation of PRP involvement in the literature. The results showed that 21% of papers reported or advised a kind of evaluation of PPI. One of the frequently reported challenges for researchers is the measurement of impact of PPI. 50 In addition, PRPs regularly report lack of feedback on their contributions. 8 During the second meeting, the task force discussed the difference between monitoring and evaluation. Monitoring was seen as a way to assess the level of compliance with the EULAR recommendations: how were PRPs recruited, at what stage, how many, and the kind of support and training they received. Evaluation focused on the experiences of the people involved: were they satisfied with the collaboration, were expectations met and what was the impact of the PRP involvement on the project? The task force emphasised that the collaboration should be the object of the evaluation, and that there could be a particular role for the PRP coordinator to monitor whether these evaluations happen. In the SLR, examples were given of moderators who created a safe environment that enabled genuine dialogue between patients and researchers to enhance mutual understanding. It was concluded that continuous reflection is required by all to guarantee that obstacles are removed, and doubts expressed. 67

The contribution of PRPs should be appropriately recognised, including coauthorship when eligible: financial compensation should be considered

The SLR showed that the number of PRPs that are acknowledged by coauthorship is growing. 68 If the Vancouver regulations are fulfilled, ‘coauthorship is a recognition of the contributions made by patients and is the ultimate proof of equal and meaningful partnerships’. 13 69 PRPs who meet the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) criteria are eligible for authorship. If they do not fulfil these criteria or choose not to accept authorship, they should be acknowledged. The task force did not see any reason to change this part of the recommendation. However, in many countries, there is a strong call to compensate PRPs for their time and efforts. Over the past years, several patient and research organisations have developed payment structures to acknowledge the substantial contributions that PRPs provide to research. Some projects are extremely time-consuming. For attending a 2-day annual research meeting, reviewing a series of grant applications or being involved in the development of a decision aid or PRO, PRPs may have to take several days off from work or make other sacrifices. The task force felt that, in addition to reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses, financial compensation for PRPs should be considered. PRPs may decide whether they want to refrain from payment, but researchers should consider financial compensation when developing their research budget. 70 Research institutes should ease the procedures for fair payment of PRPs, 71 and funders should allow researchers to budget for PPI, including payment of PRPs. The NIHR and the Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft have published generic guidelines for remuneration of public contributors. 72–74

We present here the updated recommendations for the involvement of PRPs in scientific projects. Five new OAPs define the roles of PRPs and informal caregivers, describe the added value that PRPs contribute to research and emphasise the importance of trust, respect, and open and transparent communication as critical factors for successful partnerships. Six significantly changed recommendations cover the research type and phases of PRP involvement, and the support necessary for PRPs, training of PRPs and acknowledgement of PRPs contribution. The statement concerning the recommended number of PRPs per project remained unchanged. The task force formulated three new recommendations about the role of a PRP coordinator, the education of researchers and the need for regular evaluations.

Within the EULAR community of People with Arthritis/Rheumatism in Europe, several national members have appointed PRP coordinators, dedicated to recruit, train, support and coordinate the involvement of PRPs in research projects. This new role seems effective for the establishment of sustainable and productive relationships between PRPs and researchers. Publications from national PRP networks 14 as well as from international consortia 8 show that PRPs appreciate having a dedicated person who supports their involvement and acts as a point of contact. For these reasons, the task force formulated a new recommendation (#6) about the appointment of a designated PRP coordinator. The task force highlighted one caveat: research team members should never be released from their responsibility to contribute to a facilitating environment for meaningful collaboration between PRPs and researchers as stated in recommendation #5.

A second new recommendation (#9) calls on researchers and PRPs to regularly evaluate their collaboration. There is a growing number of publications that report surveys or other kinds of formative evaluations that can inform about the current level of PRP involvement in rheumatology research. The 2011 recommendations were cited or mentioned in 50% of the SLR articles. Although the 2011 EULAR recommendations have facilitated the implementation of collaborative partnerships in a variety of research areas, there are still areas where PRP involvement is limited or absent. 24 Evaluation studies are often initiated by principal investigators of international studies and facilitated by the designated PPI or PRP coordinator. However, there is also a need to collect and publish the experiences of PRPs in smaller or single-centre studies. Hitherto, information on the level of implementation of PRP strategies is still lacking, and there is limited understanding of the challenges faced, the nature of the collaboration between PRPs and researchers, its overall impact and instruments for its assessment. A subsequently proposed recommendation on monitoring and reporting did not reach consensus (60%). It was felt that the current updated set of recommendations will help researchers and PRPs to advance PPI. Their implementation will already require additional effort from both researchers and PRPs, and the introduction of mandatory monitoring and reporting of PRP involvement, was considered to be potentially ‘overwhelming’ and not always feasible. Although a reporting checklist for PPI activities (GRIPP2) exists, 75 completion is time-consuming and not always appropriate for all types of research.

By emphasising the need for more regular evaluation, the task force hopes that this will be an incentive for better reporting of good and unsound practices of PRP involvement in all types of research. By doing so, we might incorporate further evidence for PPI practices in a future update of the recommendations for the involvement of PRPs in rheumatology research.

Implementation of recommendations requires full endorsement, coordinated actions and joint efforts of all stakeholders involved, from research institutions to organisations and funders. 62 Additionally, a better understanding of barriers and facilitators influencing PRP involvement at macrolevel and microlevel is needed for the implementation of the new recommendations. The establishment of national-specific or disease-specific networks of trained PRPs could help increase the number of available PRPs for research projects. Creating more support and education programmes for researchers, as formulated in the new recommendation #7, could stimulate researchers to start collaborating with PRPs. Finally, implementation would certainly benefit from appointing more PRP coordinators (#6) who could assist in creating workable partnerships in which there is no place for tokenistic approaches.

This update of the current recommendations has several strengths in comparison with the original recommendations. First, the new statements are more strongly based on existing evidence. While the original statements were largely expert driven and partly based on a limited scoping review of the literature (with almost no publications on PRP involvement), the current SLR provided findings of 53 articles focused on the involvement of patients as partners in rheumatology research. This enabled us to attribute GoR to all statements, which makes these recommendations the first set of evidence-based recommendations on PRP involvement. Second, a wider and more diverse group of experts (n=25) were involved in the update compared with the 16 persons in 2011.

A limitation of this project might be the wide range of articles that were included in the SLR, varying from original research studies to meeting reports and opinion articles. For this reason, it was a challenge to assess in a uniform way the literature giving us the level of evidence behind each recommendation since the literature was issued from several different types of studies and the quality assessment grids were adapted to each type of study. Here, we chose to apply a semiquantitative assessment to the quality of the articles. This method may be applicable to other consensus groups dealing with diverse literature.

It is fair to say that, despite the fast-growing body of knowledge on PPI, the quantity of literature pertaining to the participation of PRPs continue to lag behind. The reasons for this may be diverse. Researchers are traditionally not expected, let alone rewarded for detailed reporting of PRP involvement and funders may be reluctant to accept reasonable budgets for PRP strategies in the studies they sponsor. Furthermore, journals may not allow for comprehensive reporting of PRP involvement due to limited word counts, although they start to encourage authors to provide information about their PPI strategy during submission, which enhances the awareness of its importance. Another limitation is the difficulty to develop recommendations appropriate both for adult and for paediatric rheumatology, given the specific challenges of young PRPs. In fact, these recommendations do not address the specific needs and approaches to the engagement of children and young people with RMDs in research. We recognise the need for separate recommendations based on evidence from the field of paediatric rheumatology.

The resulting lack in reporting also reveals many items that belong to the current research agenda around PRP involvement ( box 5 ).

Research agenda

Assessment of the level of implementation of patient research partner (PRP) involvement.

Monitoring of patient and public involvement in research and the added value of the GRIPP-2 framework.

Assessing the impact of diverse PRP perspectives on research outcomes.

Exploring power dynamics and the impact of sociodemographic, cultural, regional and financial factors in PRP involvement.

Understanding differences in PRP involvement between sexes/genders.

Reporting of PRP involvement.

Understanding the perspectives and experiences of PRP and researchers engaged in research.

Evaluating the added value of a designated coordinator.

Optimising the interactions between PRP and researchers through the PRP coordinator.

Establishing fair compensation for PRP contributing to research projects.

Delineate the role of informal caregivers as PRP.

Assess the added value of European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology as an umbrella PRP network of national networks.

Raising awareness on the need of a global approach (directed to all stakeholders) to facilitate PRP involvement.

Education/training

Evaluating educational needs and preferences for courses for PRP and researchers.

Evaluating usefulness of refresher courses for PRP over time.

Assess the added value of different training opportunities/formats for PRP and researchers (eg, Booklets, online training, live training).

Assessing the feasibility and usefulness of an online course for researchers.

Evaluating the role of PRPs in researcher/student training/education.

Basic/translational projects

Assess means of PRP participation in basic and translational projects.

Evaluate specific needs for PRP engaging in basic and translational projects.

Understanding how to stimulate PRP involvement in basic and translational research.

Developing informative materials to guide basic/translational researchers how to effectively communicate and engage with PRP.

Producing materials guiding researchers how to assess the added value of PRP involvement in basic/translational studies.

Clinical studies projects

Evaluate needs for PRP engaging in specific clinical projects (registries, randomised controlled trial, etc).

Assessing barriers and facilitators to PRP involvement in industry led/sponsored research projects.

Implementation

Identifying barriers and facilitators at different levels that may impact PRP involvement.

Assessing implementation models to develop and optimise implementation practices in PRP research

Establishing solid evaluation practices and framework for PRP involvement.

In conclusion, the EULAR recommendations for the involvement of PRPs in scientific projects were successfully updated by adding five OAPs, revising seven recommendations and adding three new recommendations using an evidence-based approach. This is a significant step forward in advancing PRP involvement in research. Importantly, these recommendations provide a framework for the whole rheumatology research community to improve research practices and culture, and foster collaborative research. Moreover, these recommendations may be applicable in other specialties beyond rheumatology. However, challenges remain, such as reporting limitations and lack of evidence regarding the added value of PRPs in specific research projects and the role of a PRP coordinator. Further efforts are needed to address these challenges, gain consensus on the research agenda and fully implement the updated recommendations.

Ethics statements

Patient consent for publication.

Not applicable.

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Handling editor Désirée van der Heijde

Collaborators This work is the result of the EULAR Task Force for updating the recommendations for the involvement of patient research partners in rheumatology research. All members are included as co-authors of this manuscript.

Contributors All authors have contributed to this work and approved the final version. MdW is the guarantor.

Funding Funded by EULAR grant RES 005.

Competing interests MdW: over the last 3 years, Stichting Tools has received fees for lectures or consultancy provided by Maarten de Wit from UCB, not related to this project. LG reports grants from AbbVie, Biogen, Lilly, Novartis, UCB, personal fees from AbbVie, Amgen, BMS, Celltrion, Janssen, Lilly, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, UCB, non-financial support from AbbVie, Amgen, Galapagos, Janssen, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, UCB, outside the submitted work. KA: funded by EULAR grant RES005 this project; research grants: UCB; consulting fees: Novartis. ME: congress travel support from Janssen and AstraZeneca outside of the submitted work. DB: Speakers bureau: AbbVie, BMS, Galapagos, Janssen, Lilly, MSD. Research grants: Novartis. Consultancy: Sandoz, UCB. Part-time work in Savana Research. EFM has received consultancy fees from Boehringer Ingelheim Portugal outside of the submitted work, LPCDR has received fees for lectures or consultancy provided by Elsa Mateus from Lilly Portugal, GSK and Novartis, outside of the submitted work. SWT has received research funding, consultancy and/ or speaker fees from: Abbvie, Arthrogen, AstraZeneca, BMS, Celgene, Galapagos, Galvani bioelectronics, GSK, Lilly, MSD, Pfizer, Roche, and Sanofi-Genzyme, all outside the submitted work. WT has received research funding, consultancy and/ or speaker fees from: AbbVie, Amgen, BMS, Celgene, Eli-Lilly, GSK, Janssen, MSD, Novartis, Ono-Pharma, Pfizer and UCB all outside of the submitted work. HB, SB, PB, JP, CD, MF, SK, UK, DPR, JR-C, JS, RS, SRS, AV, T-CW, CZ and JP report no competing interests for this project.

Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

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Literature reviews: functions, types and methods

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Literature Review: The What, Why and How-to Guide — Introduction

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Literature Reviews by Lawrence A. Machi , Brenda T. McEvoy LAST REVIEWED: 27 October 2016 LAST MODIFIED: 27 October 2016 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756810-0169

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