To synthesise information and present it to your target audience, you have to review the previous studies in your study domain. In academics, you often find different types of literature review process, of which includes, meta-analysis, systematic and narrative review. Among these, the most widely used is systematic review process. The reason behind being, although it has a defined structure, it compares and answers the research question as well as describes methodological approach.  However, performing a systematic review process is a tough row to hoe. It stages involved in the process are inclusion of research question, location of data sources, study evaluation, data collection, analysis & interpretation. Among the various stages, the most challenging step is locating and choosing the studies for the review process. 

The search of multiple databases to locate a study that is used to determine the effectiveness of intervention is the first step in the systematic review process. However, the search process will be based on the eligibility criteria a reviewer establishes before starting with the process of identifying, locating, and retrieving the study required to address the problem of evidence-based practice. 

The eligibility criteria specifies which study can be included and which must be excluded from the systematic review. As per the PhD dissertation consultants in US, some of the key elements to be considered while choosing the study for your review process are:

• Apply inclusion or exclusion criteria to titles & abstracts – The search process produces a bibliography of studies including titles and abstracts of relevant studies. The integrity of the study selection task is analysed by (1) assessing the inclusion/exclusion criteria from the bibliography of studies, and (2)  inspecting the reliability of evaluator’s decisions. The result of piloting, the inclusion/ exclusion criteria can be modified to identify relevant studies and are subject to change throughout the selection process.

• Eliminate studies that meet one or more exclusion criteria – Here, the emphasis is on excluding studies that meet the exclusion criteria. Bibliography of studies must be eliminated if the titles as well as abstracts disqualify them. The abstracts in journal databases consist of (1) a statement of the problem, (2) details about participants, and (3) specification of the experimental design. 

• Include studies that meet inclusion criteria but not exclusion criteria – As per the consultants at PhD writing coach, evaluate the studies to make sure that individual study meets all the inclusion criteria and none of the exclusion criteria. If the studies report incomplete or ambiguous approaches, you can seek further details from the original authors. However, if essential information is not available, a decision to exclude such studies can be justified. 

The concept of inclusion and exclusion of studies in a systematic review offers a basis on which you can draw valid and reliable conclusions regarding the review process. If you need some assistance in choosing the studies for your review process, take help from PhD dissertation consultants in US.

To synthesise information and present it to your target audience, you have to review the previous studies in your study domain. In academics, you often find different types of literature review process, of which includes, meta-analysis, systematic and narrative review. Among these, the most widely used is systematic review process. The reason behind being, although it has a defined structure, it compares and answers the research question as well as describes methodological approach.  However, performing a systematic review process is a tough row to hoe. It stages involved in the process are inclusion of research question, location of data sources, study evaluation, data collection, analysis & interpretation. Among the various stages, the most challenging step is locating and choosing the studies for the review process. 

The search of multiple databases to locate a study that is used to determine the effectiveness of intervention is the first step in the systematic review process. However, the search process will be based on the eligibility criteria a reviewer establishes before starting with the process of identifying, locating, and retrieving the study required to address the problem of evidence-based practice. 

The eligibility criteria specifies which study can be included and which must be excluded from the systematic review. As per the PhD dissertation consultants in US, some of the key elements to be considered while choosing the study for your review process are:

1. 1. Apply inclusion or exclusion criteria to titles & abstracts – The search process produces a bibliography of studies including titles and abstracts of relevant studies. The integrity of the study selection task is analysed by (1) assessing the inclusion/exclusion criteria from the bibliography of studies, and (2)  inspecting the reliability of evaluator’s decisions. The result of piloting, the inclusion/ exclusion criteria can be modified to identify relevant studies and are subject to change throughout the selection process.

   2. Eliminate studies that meet one or more exclusion criteria – Here, the emphasis is on excluding studies that meet the exclusion criteria. Bibliography of studies must be eliminated if the titles as well as abstracts disqualify them. The abstracts in journal databases consist of (1) a statement of the problem, (2) details about participants, and (3) specification of the experimental design.

   3. Include studies that meet inclusion criteria but not exclusion criteria – As per the consultants at PhD writing coach, evaluate the studies to make sure that individual study meets all the inclusion criteria and none of the exclusion criteria. If the studies report incomplete or ambiguous approaches, you can seek further details from the original authors. However, if essential information is not available, a decision to exclude such studies can be justified. 

The concept of inclusion and exclusion of studies in a systematic review offers a basis on which you can draw valid and reliable conclusions regarding the review process. If you need some assistance in choosing the studies for your review process, take help from PhD dissertation consultants in US. 

T.S. Eliot says, “The purpose of literature is to turn blood into ink”. Logically, it is possible when something comprehensive, contextual and collaborative is presented at a single platform, and so is the ‘literature review’ in any dissertation. To have a clearer concept about the term, let’s go through Harts’ definition, “A literature review is an objective, thorough summary and critical analysis of the relevant available research and non-research material on the topic being studied.” The definition could be elaborated into further annexations that give an in-depth learning to the literature review-

Focused: The topic should be narrow and clear.
Concise: The idea presented should be brief.
Logical: The flow within and among paragraphs should be smooth and reflect logical progression from one step to another.
Integrative: It should reflect that all ideas are linked with each other.
The functional reliance of these ‘should be’ points go into the crux of the research that includes–
It helps in establishing theoretical roots of the research study.
It enhances and consolidates the knowledge base in the subject area.
It brings clarity and focus to your research problem.
It enables you to improve your research methodology.
It helps in identifying important variables to the research topic.

All the purpose of literature review can only be solved only when it is worked upon thoroughly. Therefore, one has to be quick and effective reader, notes taker, have the ability to summarize, reference keeper and has ability to make use of subject index and using databases. Once the scholar is well versed with all these qualities and awareness of literature review, the steps to follow the same should be read-

I. Searching for the existing literature in the area of your study- Books: Textbooks, specialized books and reference books, journal articles, published research, reports and reviews, grey literature, popular media, and specialized literature.

II. Reviewing the selected literature – Read critically to pull together themes and issues relevant to the study, use separate sheets for each theme, you may need more themes as you go along, go on noting the theories put forward.

III. Developing a theoretical framework- Problem which you wish to study, try locating its roots, highlight agreement/ Disagreement of various authors and identify gaps, use these aspects in developing your theoretical framework, literature pertinent to your study may be universal or general or more specific to your study- go from generic to specific.

IV. Developing a conceptual framework – It is the basis of your research problem. It stems from your theoretical framework and focuses on sections which become the basis of your study, the conceptual framework relates only and specifically to your research problem.

Literature review serves as the foundation of your research study.

When we talk about literature reviews, we must remember that they can be a part of a comprehensive research report, as well as a standalone review report. In case you are writing a literature review as a separate document, then you will need to include an introduction, details about the topic you are covering, and a conclusion mentioning the scope of further research on the topic.

A literature review chapter, which is a part of a wider research report will comprise of a critical analysis of the sources which are used in the study, along with a brief introduction, stating the hypothesis of the study. Writing the hypothesis is important because you will be studying and grouping the references according to the relation that they hold with the theory proposed. The references will not just be listed, but will be analyzed to point out their salient features. You will need to critically study the ideas presented in the references to judge how they have been structured, whether they are valid and have any practical implications, whether the analysis done is accurate and clear, and what methods were used to justify these theories. Some ways in which the references can be organized in the review are:

• Chronological: this is a common method, wherein the references you are using are arranged on the basis of the date when they were published. In case you have selected some sources which are unpublished (like a thesis or conference report) then you will consider the date when they were drafted. This method shows the evolution of an idea over time.
• Alphabetical: if you follow this method, the sources will be organized according to the names of the authors. This style is also used when you are drafting the bibliography.
• Theoretical Relation: studying the relation that the sources have with the present research work is the motive of the literature review. So arranging them according to the relation that the bear with the hypothesis is a logical method. Here, sources which support the idea you present are presented first, followed by those which oppose it.
• Methodological: many colleges ask scholars to arrange the sources as per the method that they follow for research. So, they are grouped on the basis of qualitative, quantitative, experimental and other forms of methodologies.

Whatever method you follow for arrangement, make sure that it is uniform throughout the chapter. Citations are crucial part of presentation of a literature review. It is said that it’s better to over cite than under cite. Follow the precise citation style that is prescribed by your college and give all details required (name of author, publisher name, publication year, page numbers, etc.) in proper order. In the end of the chapter, you have to give a summary, comparing all the sources. Such comparison will be on the basis of methods of study, sample considered and key findings.