The core of the literature review is a systematic information search. A literature review is not just about building a knowledge base for a thesis, making a bibliography, writing a literature review or writing a book review. Literature review is a systematic and critical collection and analysis of literature with a well-formulated research problem. The search process is carefully planned and described in advance, and the method is reproducible.

So how do you do a systematic search? The key to a systematic search is that the search is planned, carried out according to the plan, and documented. Peer-reviewed, scientific/research articles are used for the review. The main purpose of a literature review is to develop, compare and utilize existing, fresh research evidence.

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Steps of a literature review

1. Purpose of the review, defining the research problem Think about what your research question is. The question should not be too broad, otherwise there will be too much data and it will be difficult to deal with. A question that is too narrow will not produce enough research results.

2. Search and selection of material/literature The formulation of keywords and search phrases requires a strategy, i.e. a search plan. A systematic search of different databases is then carried out according to the plan. Different databases may have different synonyms for terms, so it is advisable to make extensive use of alternative terms. Inclusion and exclusion criteria should be designed to maintain the focus of the review. The reliability and professional quality of the data is of paramount importance. The literature search is a time-consuming exercise, as it involves editing and modifying search terms, refining searches and testing different search combinations. Before defining the search plan, it is worthwhile to carry out preliminary searches to test whether there is any material on the subject.

3. Evaluation of studies The studies accepted are justified according to the reasons for their eligibility. Data can be divided into qualitative and quantitative studies. What is the strength or weakness of the selected studies? You can compare target groups, sample, and study design.

4. Data analysis and synthesis This stage involves organizing the data and classifying both similarities and differences. The analysis records the content of the studies: authors, years, countries, purpose of the studies, data collection, target group, sample, results. Evaluation (analysis) and synthesis go hand in hand. The data found are tabulated.

5. Reporting the results

Reporting is the process of documenting the review in its final form. This is a kind of summary/reflection. It can be used to highlight how much new information has been found that could be further explored. Can this information be directly applied to recommendations?

Literature reviews only use research data. Licensed theses, dissertations, scientific articles (Academic journals, Scholarly journals, Peer reviewed journals, Systematic Review; Meta-analysis). Studies from different research institutions or ministries are eligible (Kela, THL, STM).

Good research articles can also be found on Google Scholar.

Video of the method

Watch the short video by Greg Martin, Editor-in-Chief, Globalization and Health, on Youtube about making systematic literature review.

Sage Research Methods tutorial

Greg Martin, Editor-in-Chief, Globalization and Health, explains how to search databases for a literature review in public health, including how to use Boolean operators and MeSH terms.

Martin, G. (Practitioner). (2018). How to write a literature review in public health [Video]. Sage Research Methods.
https://doi.org/10.4135/9781529770452