Free research guide
Literature Review Guide
A reproducible workflow for searching, screening, evaluating, synthesizing, and documenting scholarly evidence.
Define the review
- Research question and concepts
- Review type
- Databases and sources
- Date and language limits
Search transparently
- Keywords and controlled vocabulary
- Boolean logic
- Search strings by database
- Search date and result count
Screen consistently
- Inclusion criteria
- Exclusion criteria
- Duplicate removal
- Title, abstract, and full-text decisions
Synthesize critically
- Evidence matrix
- Quality or risk-of-bias review
- Themes and contradictions
- Limitations and research gap
Apply the guide
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