Table Of Contentv
2nd Edition
2nd Edition
“this new and updated version includes consideration of the latest discourses and
developments, making it an even more vital resource.”
Victoria Sweetmore, University of derby, UK A
P
“A unique and thorough step-by-step guide to post-graduate systematic o
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literature reviews.” t
-
dr neil Gopee, Lecturer in Health Sciences, Coventry University, UK g
r
A
“Engagement with the process of how to undertake a literature review takes d
motivation and devotion. this book is a fantastic source of explanation and guidance.” u
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dr Rachel Erskine, Senior Fellow Adult nursing, University of the Highlands & islands, UK t
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This highly readable guide to undertaking a literature review in health and social g
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care, is tailored specifically for postgraduate study. Essential reading for all those id
undertaking any study of health or social care at post-graduate level, the book e
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provides clarity and a step-by-step approach to doing a literature review from start o
to finish which will enable you to: d
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• identify which type of review is appropriate for your study n
g
• Pinpoint the literature that you need to include in your review A
• Search for, appraise and analyse relevant literature L
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• Write up your review t
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r
Fully updated, the book explores the common features of a broad range of types of A
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literature review – including the literature review that is a pre-requisite prior to a u
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larger empirical study, and the literature review that is a study in its own right. e
r A Post-grA duAte’s
With real-life examples of written research and succinct summaries at the end of e
v
each chapter, A Post-Graduate’s Guide to Doing a Literature Review in Health and ie guide to
w
Social Care is the ideal text for students wanting to get the most from their study.
doing A
HeLen AveyArd is a Principal Lecturer at Oxford Brookes University, UK with a
background in nursing.
LiterAture review
sHeiLA PAyne is a health psychologist with a background in nursing. She holds an
Emeritus Chair at the International Observatory on End of Life Care at Lancaster
University, UK. in Health and Social Care
nAncy Preston is Professor of Supportive and Palliative Care at Lancaster
University, UK, with a background in nursing.
Helen Aveyard, Sheila Payne,
nancy Preston
Cover design by Tiger Finch Creatives
A post-graduate’s guide to
doing a literature review
A post-graduate’s
guide to doing a
literature review
in health and
social care
Helen Aveyard, Sheila Payne
and Nancy Preston
Open University Press
McGraw Hill
8th Floor, 338 Euston Road
London
England
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email: [email protected]
world wide web: www.openup.co.uk
and Two Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121-2289, USA
Previous edition published 2016
First published in this edition 2021
Copyright © Open International Publishing Limited, 2021
All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes
of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written
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Limited. Details of such licences (for reprographic reproduction) may be
obtained from the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd of Saffron House,
6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.
A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library
ISBN-13: 978-0-33-524991-6
ISBN-10: 0-33-524991-4
eISBN: 978-0-33-524992-3
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
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Fictitious names of companies, products, people, characters and/or data
that may be used herein (in case studies or in examples) are not intended to
represent any real individual, company, product or event.
Praise for this book
This guide is an excellent resource which I consistently recom-
mend to students, as well as using it to support my own academic
endeavours. This new and updated version includes consider-
ation of the latest discourses and developments in the subject
area, making it an even more vital resource for those embarking
on a literature review. The intuitive layout means that the reader
can competently grasp the literature review process from incep-
tion through to publication, should they so desire. Clear and com-
prehensive chapters allow for easy reference and prompt
troubleshooting when tricky issues arise during the process.
Victoria Sweetmore, University of Derby, UK
This book represents a unique and thorough step-by-step guide
to post-graduate systematic literature reviews which students
working on their master’s dissertation will find very useful. It
takes a methodical, yet analytical approach in its coverage of
how to conduct different types of literature reviews, addresses
the appropriate academic levels, and is competently written by
experts on the topic area. The book builds on its first edition,
and students studying in UK or in any country will find its cover-
age easy to follow, and yet comprehensive and complete.
Dr Neil Gopee, Lecturer in Health Sciences,
Coventry University, UK
This book is thoroughly recommended as the “go to book” for
postgraduate students and academic staff teaching or supervis-
ing literature reviews, dissertations and research. Engagement
with the process of how to undertake a literature review takes
motivation, devotion and time for this significant piece of work
and this book is a fantastic source of explanation and guidance.
The coronavirus pandemic has had an impact on the ability of
postgraduate students in health and social care to undertake pri-
mary research but this should be seen as an opportunity to encour-
age health and social care students in undertaking literature
reviews. This book give strength to the importance of completing
literature reviews with the encouragement to publish to add to the
evidence base in all areas of health and social care.
Dr Rachel Erskine, Senior Fellow Adult Nursing,
University of the Highlands & Islands, UK
Contents
Introduction viii
1 What is a literature review? 1
2 Different methods for doing a literature
review 15
3 What research and other evidence should
I include in my literature review? 39
4 How do I search for relevant literature? 64
5 Selection of relevant papers and data extraction 91
6 Critical appraisal of the literature 106
7 How do I analyse and synthesize my literature? 119
8 How do I write up my literature review? 150
Appendix 162
References 170
Index 183
Introduction
We have written this book in order to highlight the importance and rele-
vance of the literature review to your post-graduate project; whether
your project is a small-scale study or a larger project at PhD or doctoral
level – or somewhere in between. At all levels of post-graduate study,
you need to engage with an extensive amount of existing literature, in
order to justify, inform and develop your project.
As you start to think about your post-graduate studies, you have
already begun to read around your topic and you may have encountered
a vast selection of literature: for example, research, discussion, theories,
views and opinions. You may be wondering how to make sense of what
you are reading and how you might integrate these different types
of evidence into your literature review at the level expected of a post-
graduate student.
While this can seem daunting, the aim of this book is to guide you
through the types of literature you will encounter and the ways these
can be integrated into your post-graduate project. We will also describe
the different methods of literature review that can be used and help you
to identify the one that is most appropriate for your study. You will see
that we refer to a variety of methods for conducting a literature review.
It is beyond the scope of this book to discuss all the approaches in detail.
If you decide to focus in depth on a particular method, we will refer you
to further appropriate texts.
Literature reviews are becoming increasingly important in health
and social care. This is because there is an increasing amount of pub-
lished material, which means that it is impossible for a practitioner to
keep up to date with every piece of research in his or her area. A litera-
ture review therefore provides a summary of the research and other rel-
evant information on a particular research question to inform practice.
A literature review is also an essential pre-requisite prior to any empiri-
cal study.
Therefore, different projects need different approaches to literature
reviewing. Some projects will use the existing literature to justify a
larger empirical research study while others will use the existing
INTRODUCTION ix
literature to answer a question without proceeding on to an empirical
study. The methods of doing these literature reviews are the same, but
there may be a subtle difference in the emphasis of the review, depend-
ing on its role in your project (Figure I.1).
The importance of a rigorous approach to reviewing the literature,
rather than simply ‘cherry picking’ literature that is relevant to your
review, prior to an empirical study is increasingly recognized. It is also
acknowledged that the literature review can be a study in its own right.
The importance of the literature review has been influenced by the
emergence of the Cochrane and Campbell Collaborations and their sys-
tematic approach to literature reviewing. These collaborations were
developed as part of the move towards evidence-based practice, which
has challenged practitioners to use the best available evidence to inform
their practice. The Cochrane and Campbell Collaborations have drawn
attention to the importance of the literature review and, as a result, in
many areas of health and social care, there are summaries of evidence
to guide practice and online access to systematic reviews, which are
published through various professional organizations.
The increasing importance of the literature review within health
and social care has led to a re-energizing of the role of the literature
Your literature review is likely to have one
of the following roles in your project
As a pre-requisite to a subsequent As a standalone literature review;
empirical study; the literature review the literature review is a project in
identifies gaps in knowledge and its own right and does not directly
justifies your forthcoming research lead to an empirical study, although
study. it might indicate that further
research is needed.
Figure I.1 Different role of a literature in a review
