As a researcher, you may be asked to conduct a literature review of your research. But what kind of review do you need to complete your research? Is this review needs to be a systematic literature review or a standard literature review? In this DoNotEdit article, we explain the purpose of a systematic literature review, the difference between a standard literature review and a systematic literature review, and other important aspects of a systematic literature review.
What is a Systematic Literature Review?
The purpose of a systematic literature review is simple. Basically, the goal of a literature review is to provide a high-level specific research question. This question itself is highly focused to match the literature review related to the topic at hand, for example, a focused question related to medical or clinical outcomes.
The components of a systematic literature review are quite different from the standard literature review research papers that most of us are used to (more on this below). A systematic literature review usually involves more than one lead author due to the specificity of the research question. There is much more work involved in systematic literature reviews, so it makes sense to divide the work between two or three (or even more) researchers.
Your systematic literature review follows very clear and defined protocols that are decided upon before each review. This review involves extensive planning and a purposefully designed search strategy that is aligned with the specific research question. Every aspect of the systematic literature review, including the research protocols, the databases used, and the dates of each search, should be transparent so that other researchers can ensure that the systematic literature review is comprehensive and focused.
Additional Aspects of a Systematic Literature Review
Most of the systematic literature reviews have been conducted in the world of medical science. Now, they also include any evidence-based research questions. In addition to the focus and transparency of these types of reviews, the other aspects of a high-quality systematic literature review include:
Clear and concise review and summary
Comprehensive coverage of the topic
Accessibility and equality of the research reviewed
Systematic Review vs Literature Review
The difference between a literature review and a systematic review lies in the initial research question. Whereas the systematic review is very specific and focused, the standard literature review is much more general. The components of a literature review, for example, are similar to any other research paper. That is, it includes an introduction, a description of the methods used, a discussion, and a conclusion, as well as a reference list or bibliography.
A systematic review, however, includes entirely different components that reflect the specificity of its research question and the requirement for transparency and inclusion. For instance, the systematic review will include:
Eligibility criteria for included research
A description of the systematic research search strategy
An assessment of the validity of reviewed research
Interpretations of the results of research included in the review
As you can see, unlike an overview or summary of a topic, a systematic literature review involves much more detail and work than a standard literature review. In fact, conducting and writing a systematic literature review can take years. But the information that clinicians and other researchers can gain from systematic reviews is inherently valuable.
This is not to diminish the value of a standard literature review. The importance of literature review in research writing is discussed in this article. The two types of research review answer different questions, and therefore, serve different purposes and roles in the world of evidence-based research and writing.
Systematic Literature Review vs Meta-Analysis
It would be understandable to think that a systematic literature review is similar to a Meta-Analysis. But, whereas a systematic review can include several research studies to answer a specific question, typically a Meta-Analysis includes a comparison of different studies to find out any inconsistencies or discrepancies. Language Editing
With DoNotEdit services, you can relax with our complete language review of your systematic literature review or literature review or any other type of manuscript or scientific presentation. Our editors hold a PhD degree or are PhD candidates, who are native English speakers. Language Editing includes checking the logic and flow of your manuscript, checking references, formatting in accordance with your chosen journal, and even writing a custom cover letter.