RESEARCH GUIDE / 02
A literature review is not a list of article summaries. It is a transparent process for locating, assessing, comparing, and synthesising evidence so the reader understands what is known, what remains uncertain, and why a new study is justified.
Follow the reasoning
Start in order, but do not treat research as a straight line. Later evidence often sends you back to fix an earlier decision—and that is part of doing the work properly.
Translate the research problem into concepts such as population, exposure or intervention, outcome, context, and study type.
Quality check: The review question may be broader than the final study question, but its boundaries must be clear.List keywords, synonyms, spelling variants, and relevant subject headings. Combine related terms with OR and different concepts with AND.
Quality check: Save the exact search strings and dates so the process can be explained or repeated.Use databases and repositories appropriate to the topic, then supplement carefully with reference-list checking and credible grey literature.
Quality check: One search engine rarely represents the whole body of evidence.Apply pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria to titles, abstracts, and then full texts. Record why potentially relevant studies were excluded.
Quality check: Criteria should reflect the question rather than the results you hope to find.Record each study’s design, setting, sample, measures, analysis, findings, strengths, limitations, and relevance. Assess quality with a suitable framework.
Quality check: A large number of papers does not automatically mean strong evidence.Organise evidence by theme, method, population, or result. Explain agreements, contradictions, quality issues, and under-studied contexts before stating the gap.
Quality check: A research gap is an evidence-based conclusion—not simply the claim that no study exists.See it in context
Break the question into concept groups, search each group with synonyms, document the strategy, and then screen against stated criteria.
university student OR college student OR undergraduate
smartphone use OR mobile phone use OR screen time
sleep quality OR sleep duration OR insomnia
Population AND exposure AND outcome concept groups
Design, sample, exposure measure, outcome measure, effect estimate, and limitations
Limited locally relevant evidence using clearly defined night-time exposure and adjusted analysis
Before you move on
The review question and boundaries are stated.
01Search terms, databases, dates, and selection criteria are documented.
02Study quality and relevance are assessed—not assumed.
03Evidence is synthesised by patterns rather than listed paper by paper.
04Every claim is cited and the gap follows logically from the evidence.
05The strongest literature review shows the path from evidence to gap, not just the size of the reference list.
Follow the next decision
A good question should shape the literature search; the evidence should sharpen the design; and the methods should make the result possible to understand and challenge.