What a literature review is (and which kind you are writing)
Imagine ten friends each tried a different way to grow tomatoes. A literature review is not ten separate stories. It is you putting all their results side by side and saying: "Here is what works, here is where they disagree, and here is what nobody has tried yet."
- Before this course: Research Methods: search and evaluate (course 13.10.2). You should already plan searches with concept tables, use Boolean operators, Google Scholar and citation chaining, judge articles (peer review, retractions) and cite in APA or MLA. This course turns those skills into a full literature review.
- A literature review surveys existing research on a topic, evaluates it critically and shows where your own question fits. The USC Libraries guide lists its jobs: put each work in context, show how works relate, find gaps and conflicts, and avoid repeating work that was already done.
- Reviews come in different strengths. Three you will meet most:
| Type | Main aim | How strict |
|---|---|---|
| Narrative (traditional) review | Give an overview of a topic and argue a position | Flexible. Methods are often not written down |
| Scoping review | Map how much research exists on a topic and find gaps | Systematic search, but quality appraisal is not required. PRISMA-ScR says scoping reviews can help decide whether a systematic review is needed |
| Systematic review | Answer one specific question using all the evidence that meets set criteria | Very strict: question, criteria and methods are fixed in advance and reported so others can repeat them |
- Cochrane describes a systematic review as trying to collate all the empirical evidence that fits pre-specified eligibility criteria to answer a specific question, using explicit, systematic methods chosen to reduce bias.
- A meta-analysis uses statistics to combine the numerical results of several similar studies. It is often part of a systematic review, but not every systematic review has one.
- Most school and first-year university tasks ask for a narrative review that uses systematic habits: a clear question, a logged search, stated criteria and an honest quality check. That is what this course trains.
- Read your assignment sheet and copy out every word about the review (length, number of sources, "systematic", "critical", date range).
- Write one sentence: "My task is a ___ review because ___."
- Compare your task with the table above and circle the type that matches.
- If the sheet is unclear, write one question to ask your teacher (for example: "Do you want a search log and a flow of records?").
- Find one published review on any topic and label it narrative, scoping or systematic, using the Methods section as your clue.
- Check: you can say in one sentence which kind of review you are writing and why.
Videos by other creators on YouTube, for reference. They are not made by or affiliated with The Future Market.
Read the video script
[Host] "A literature review is not a list of summaries. It is a map of what we know."
[Text on screen: Narrative, Scoping, Systematic] "There are different kinds. Narrative reviews give an overview. Scoping reviews map a field. Systematic reviews answer one question with strict rules."
[Screen: Methods section of a review highlighted] "To tell which kind you are reading, look at the Methods. Strict reviews explain exactly how they searched and chose studies."
[Host] "Most school tasks want a narrative review with systematic habits. That is what we will build."
Find two published reviews on a topic you like. For each, write: its type, its question, and one sentence on how it chose its studies.
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I'm learning "Academic Research: literature reviews" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "What a literature review is (and which kind you are writing)". What the lesson teaches: - Before this course: Research Methods: search and evaluate (course 13.10.2). You should already plan searches with concept tables, use Boolean operators, Google Scholar and citation chaining, judge articles (peer review, retractions) and cite in APA or MLA. This course turns those skills into a full literature review. - A literature review surveys existing research on a topic, evaluates it critically and shows where your own question fits. The USC Libraries guide lists its jobs: put each work in context, show how works relate, find gaps and conflicts, and avoid repeating work that was already done. - Reviews come in different strengths. Three you will meet most: - Type - Main aim - How strict - Narrative (traditional) review - Give an overview of a topic and argue a position - Flexible. Methods are often not written down - Scoping review - Map how much research exists on a topic and find gaps - Systematic search, but quality appraisal is not required. PRISMA-ScR says scoping reviews can help decide whether a systematic review is needed - Systematic review - Answer one specific question using all the evidence that meets set criteria - Very strict: question, criteria and methods are fixed in advance and reported so others can repeat them The exercise I'm working on: Find two published reviews on a topic you like. For each, write: its type, its question, and one sentence on how it chose its studies. I'm stuck. Please: 1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example. 2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step. 3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.
I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "What a literature review is (and which kind you are writing)" from the course "Academic Research: literature reviews". Here's what the lesson says: Imagine ten friends each tried a different way to grow tomatoes. A literature review is not ten separate stories. It is you putting all their results side by side and saying: "Here is what works, here is where they disagree, and here is what nobody has tried yet." The activity: Find two published reviews on a topic you like. For each, write: its type, its question, and one sentence on how it chose its studies. Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words. Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.
Sources
- USC Libraries, Organizing your social sciences research paper: the literature review: libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/literaturereview
- Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions, Chapter 1: Starting a review: www.cochrane.org/authors/handbooks-and-manuals/handbook/current/chapte
- PRISMA, Scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR): www.prisma-statement.org/scoping
Frame the question and set your rules first
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A search someone else could repeat
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Screening and counting the flow of records
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Judging study quality
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Synthesis, not summary
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Write, cite and revise the review
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Final project
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Quiz
What is the main difference between a summary and a synthesis?
A summary recaps one source; a synthesis connects several sources to show agreement, disagreement and gaps.
What does a scoping review mainly do?
Maps how much research exists on a topic and where the gaps are.
What does PICO stand for?
Population, Intervention, Comparison and Outcome.
When should you write your eligibility criteria?
Before you search, in a dated protocol.
Why search grey literature as well as journals?
To reduce publication bias, because studies with exciting results are more likely to be published.
What should a search log record?
The date, the source, the exact search as run, the limits and the number of records.
At the title-and-abstract stage, what should you do with a record you are unsure about?
Keep it for full-text screening.
What must you write for every full text you exclude?
At least one clear reason.
325 records were screened and 280 were excluded. How many full texts were sought?
45.
Why use a checklist that matches the study design?
Different designs have different weaknesses, so the questions need to fit the design.
What does reading down a column of a synthesis matrix help you see?
Where studies agree, where they disagree and what is missing.
An AI tool suggests a perfect study for your review. What must you do before using it?
Find and read the real study yourself, and follow your school's AI policy.
Final exam
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Certificate
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