Doing a literature review in health and social care : a practical guide

""This book is superb. Most undergraduates have to undertake some form of literature review which may be daunting, this book explains it in an clear, easy to understand format. Explanations are given as to why undertaking a literature review is undertaken. Summery sections at the end of each chapter allow the reader to reflect on what they have just read, allowing the information to sink in. This book should be on every university's recommended reading list."
Kerry Davis, Student Nurse, University Campus Suffolk, UK"

""This book is fantastic It gives a clear, concise guide to carrying out a literature review, which is of course a widely used formative assessment technique in a nursing program ... (it includes) in depth explanations and reasons as to how and why it is important to do a literature review ... the summary section at the end of each chapter is excellent, and allows the reader to review their understanding of what they're just read. Overall an excellent book which is a must for any student nurse "
Gem Smith, Student Nurse, Northumbria University, UK"

""This book is superb. It explains the entire process of writing a literature review very clearly ... extremely helpful as the prospect of reviewing literature can be quite daunting."
Vicky Bain, Student Nurse, University of Nottingham, UK

"A comprehensive, easy to read guide which will help students to understand how to undertake a literature review, and how to use the resultant information effectively."
Anne-Marie Warnes, University of Central Lancashire, UK

"As a student, currently writing a literature review, I found this an extremely helpful book, which is invaluable in demystifying some of the more challenging elements, while at the same time providing clear, simple, appealing and appropriate guidance. This is a must have for undergraduate nursing students, and indeed all healthcare students embarking on such projects."
Audrey Grace, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland"

This bestselling book is a step-by-step guide to doing a literature review in health and social care. It is vital reading for all those undertaking their undergraduate or postgraduate dissertation or any research module which involves a literature review.

The new edition has been fully updated and provides a practical guide to the different types of literature that you may come across when undertaking a literature review. It includes: Examples of commonly occurring real life scenarios encountered by students Emphasis on the importance of setting a question at the very start of the project Advice on how to follow a clearly defined search strategy Details of a wide range of critical appraisal tools "Doing a Literature Review in Health and Social Care 2/e" is essential reading for students at all levels within the health and social care field - and a useful text for anyone new to reviewing and appraising evidence.

• Introduction p. 1
• 1 Why do a literature review in health and social care? p. 5
• What is a literature review? p. 5
• Why are literature reviews important? p. 6
• Literature reviews present the whole jigsaw p. 8
• Analysis of many papers can lead to new discoveries p. 8
• The importance of a comprehensive or systematic approach p. 9
• Why is there so much available information? p. 11
• Evidence-based practice p. 11
• Why does one piece of research often contradict another? p. 12
• The importance of a systematic approach to the literature review p. 13
• The systematic review p. 14
• Less detailed systematic reviews p. 15
• Narrative reviews p. 16
• Why you should be doing a 'systematic' rather than a 'narrative' review p. 18
• The literature review as a research methodology p. 19
• Can I undertake a literature review for my dissertation? p. 20
• In summary p. 22
• Key points p. 22
• 2 How do I develop a research question? p. 23
• The importance of a research question p. 23
• Step 1 Identify a research topic p. 25
• How do I begin to select a good topic? p. 27
• Step 2 Identify a research question p. 29
• Hints for writing a good research question p. 31
• Refining the research question p. 35
• Remind yourself (often) of your question p. 36
• Use of theory and a theoretical framework p. 37
• Reconsideration of your research question p. 39
• Writing up the development of your research question p. 39
• Tips for writing up the development of your research question p. 40
• In summary p. 40
• Key points p. 41
• 3 What literature will be relevant to my literature review? p. 42
• Types of research you are likely to encounter p. 47
• Systematic literature reviews p. 47
• Quantitative research p. 47
• Types of quantitative research p. 48
• Qualitative studies p. 56
• Types of qualitative research p. 58
• The merits of quantitative and qualitative research p. 60
• The use of secondary sources p. 60
• What does the term 'hierarchy of evidence' mean? p. 61
• Why do some literature reviews include predominantly RCTs? p. 62
• Does the 'hierarchy of evidence' apply to my literature review? p. 63
• Identifying your own hierarchy of evidence in your review p. 64
• Should I always focus my search on research findings? p. 66
• In summary p. 67
• Key points p. 67
• 4 How do I search for literature? p. 68
• Developing a systematic approach to searching for literature p. 69
• Identify the literature that will address your review question p. 70
• Inclusion and exclusion criteria p. 71
• Carrying out your search strategy p. 74
• Electronic searching p. 74
• Recording your searching strategy p. 80
• Additional methods of identifying relevant articles p. 81
• Use of abstracts to confirm the relevance of the paper p. 83
• Getting hold of your references p. 84
• Managing your references p. 85
• Strengths and limitations of your searching strategy p. 86
• Tips for writing up your search strategy p. 86
• In summary p. 87
• Key points p. 88
• 5 How do I critically appraise the literature? p. 89
• Getting to know your literature p. 90
• The importance of critical appraisal p. 92
• What is critical appraisal? p. 93
• Do I need to critically appraise all the literature I include in my review? p. 95
• Getting started with critical appraisal p. 95
• Identifying research, theoretical, practice and policy papers p. 96
• Critical appraisal tools p. 97
• Which appraisal tool should I use? p. 98
• Critical appraisal for new researchers p. 99
• Critical appraisal of theory p. 100
• Critical appraisal of research p. 100
• Critical appraisal of review articles p. 101
• Dealing with existing literature reviews in your review p. 102
• How should we critique quantitative studies? p. 103
• Additional resources for critical appraisal p. 105
• Critical appraisal of qualitative studies p. 108
• How should we critique qualitative research? p. 109
• Critical appraisal tools for qualitative studies p. 110
• Critical appraisal of practice literature p. 116
• Critical appraisal of policy and guidelines p. 118
• An approach to evaluating information contained on websites p. 118
• Now I have critically appraised all my literature - what next? p. 119
• Tips for doing your critique of the literature p. 121
• In summary p. 121
• Key points p. 122
• 6 How do I synthesize my findings? p. 123
• Combining the evidence p. 124
• Three 'advanced' approaches for summing up the literature p. 125
• Meta-analysis p. 125
• Meta-ethnography p. 126
• Meta-study p. 127
• A simplified approach p. 128
• Providing a summary of your information p. 128
• Comparing and contrasting the results of each study p. 129
• Working with codes and themes that do not support each other p. 131
• Discussion of the strength of evidence p. 132
• Be aware of results that appear too neat p. 133
• Be creative! p. 133
• Writing up your results p. 134
• Writing your critical appraisal of each paper p. 134
• Telling a story with your data p. 135
• Incorporating your critical appraisal p. 135
• What do I do if I cannot really answer my research question? p. 137
• Tips for writing up your synthesis of the literature p. 139
• In summary p. 139
• Key points p. 140
• 7 How do I discuss my findings and make recommendations? p. 141
• Statement of findings p. 143
• Strengths and limitations of your study p. 144
• Discussion of unanswered questions and future research p. 145
• Tips for writing up your discussion section p. 145
• Key points p. 146
• 8 How do I present my literature review? And other key questions p. 147
• A suggested structure p. 148
• Top tips for writing up your literature review p. 150
• Key points in presenting your literature review p. 151
• Commonly asked questions p. 152
• What is the difference between a dissertation and an essay? p. 152
• How should I structure my work? p. 154
• Should I use first or third person? p. 155
• How should I use references? p. 156
• How do I avoid plagiarism and misrepresentation? p. 157
• What is the role of my supervisor? p. 158
• Glossary p. 159
• References p. 163
• Index p. 167