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Literature review

Review of the current knowledge of a particular topic

Review of the current knowledge of a particular topic

A literature review is an overview of previously published works on a particular topic. The term can refer to a full scholarly paper or a section of a scholarly work such as books or articles. Either way, a literature review provides the researcher/author and the audiences with general information of an existing knowledge of a particular topic. A good literature review has a proper research question, a proper theoretical framework, and/or a chosen research methodology. It serves to situate the current study within the body of the relevant literature and provides context for the reader. In such cases, the review usually precedes the methodology and results sections of the work.

Producing a literature review is often part of a graduate and post-graduate requirement, included in the preparation of a thesis, dissertation, or a journal article. Literature reviews are also common in a research proposal or prospectus (the document approved before a student formally begins a dissertation or thesis).

A literature review can be a type of a review article. In this sense, it is a scholarly paper that presents the current knowledge including substantive findings as well as theoretical and methodological contributions to a particular topic. Literature reviews are secondary sources and do not report new or original experimental work. Most often associated with academic-oriented literature, such reviews are found in academic journals and are not to be confused with book reviews, which may also appear in the same publication. Literature reviews are a basis for research in nearly every academic field.

Types

Since the concept of a systematic review was formalized in the 1970s, a basic division among types of reviews is the dichotomy of narrative reviews versus systematic reviews. The main types of narrative reviews are evaluative, exploratory, and instrumental.

A fourth type of review of literature (the scientific literature) is the systematic review but it is not called a literature review, which absent further specification, conventionally refers to narrative reviews. A systematic review focuses on a specific research question to identify, appraise, select, and synthesize all high-quality research evidence and arguments relevant to that question. A meta-analysis is typically a systematic review using statistical methods to effectively combine the data used on all selected studies to produce a more reliable result.

Torraco (2016) describes an integrative literature review. The purpose of an integrative literature review is to generate new knowledge on a topic through the process of review, critique, and synthesis of the literature under investigation.

George et al (2023) offer an extensive overview of review approaches. They also propose a model for selecting an approach by looking at the purpose, object, subject, community, and practices of the review. They describe six different types of review, each with their own unique purposes:

  1. Exploratory or scoping reviews focus on breadth as opposed to depth
  2. Systematic or integrative reviews integrate empirical studies on a topic
  3. Meta-narrative reviews are qualitative and use literature to compare research or practice communities
  4. Problematizing or critical reviews propose new perspectives on a concept by association with other literature
  5. Meta-analyses and meta-regressions integrate quantitative studies and identify moderators
  6. Mixed research syntheses combine other review approaches in the same paper

Process and product

Shields and Rangarajan (2013) distinguish between the process of reviewing the literature and a finished work or product known as a literature review. The process of reviewing the literature is often ongoing and informs many aspects of the empirical research project.

The process of reviewing the literature requires different kinds of activities and ways of thinking. Shields and Rangarajan (2013) and Granello (2001) link the activities of doing a literature review with Benjamin Bloom's revised taxonomy of the cognitive domain (ways of thinking: remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating).

Use of artificial intelligence in a literature review

Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping traditional literature reviews across various disciplines. Generative pre-trained transformers, such as ChatGPT, are often used by students and academics for review purposes. Since 2023, an increasing number of tools powered by large language models and other artificial intelligence technologies have been developed to assist, automate, or generate literature reviews. Nevertheless, the employment of ChatGPT in academic reviews is problematic due to ChatGPT's propensity to "hallucinate". In response, efforts are being made to mitigate these hallucinations through the integration of plugins. For instance, Rad et al. (2023) used ScholarAI for review in cardiothoracic surgery.

References

References

  1. Baglione, L.. (2012). "Writing a Research Paper in Political Science". CQ Press.
  2. (2007). "Research methods for graduate business and social science students". SAGE Publications.
  3. (June 2008). "Writing an Effective Literature Review". Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences.
  4. Torraco, Richard J.. (December 2016). "Writing Integrative Literature Reviews: Using the Past and Present to Explore the Future". Human Resource Development Review.
  5. (December 2023). "Writing impactful reviews to rejuvenate public administration: A framework and recommendations". Public Administration Review.
  6. (2013). "A Playbook for Research Methods: Integrating Conceptual Frameworks and Project Management". New Forums Press.
  7. Baker, P.. (2000). "Writing a Literature Review". The Marketing Review.
  8. Granello, D. H.. (2001). "Promoting cognitive complexity in graduate written work: Using Bloom's taxonomy as a pedagogical tool to improve Literature Reviews.". Counselor Education and Supervision.
  9. (2022). "Artificial intelligence and the conduct of literature reviews". Journal of Information Technology.
  10. (2023-02-02). "What Students Are Saying About ChatGPT". The New York Times.
  11. (2023-03-06). "Using ChatGPT to conduct a literature review". Accountability in Research.
  12. (2024). "Artificial intelligence for literature reviews: Opportunities and challenges". Springer.
  13. (2023-02-19). "Artificial Hallucinations in ChatGPT: Implications in Scientific Writing". Cureus.
  14. (2023). "ChatGPT: revolutionizing cardiothoracic surgery research through artificial intelligence". Interdisciplinary CardioVascular and Thoracic Surgery.
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