DNP Research Support

For guidance on conducting a literature review in nursing and health sciences, including setting up a process, defining a topic, searching relevant literature, managing results and advice in tracking, recording and citing your research, please have a look at this comprehensive library guide.

Conducting a Literature Review.

Systematic reviews, scoping reviews and meta-analyses based on evaluating unfiltered original studies are increasingly used in the biomedical field.  

These knowledge syntheses are disseminated as evidence-based clinical recommendations in medical settings.

• Evidence-based content such as systematic reviews, scoping reviews, literature reviews, and meta-analyses are at the highest level of research evidence to answer health research questions.

• These analyses aggregate unfiltered information (such as original research studies) after critical appraisal and evaluation to recommend them for application in practice.

• In contrast, while credible, scholarly, and often peer-reviewed, original research is unfiltered information that is not considered evidence-based

The linked articles provide insight into the structured reviews used in the medical field and define evidence synthesis.