Literature Review Assessment¶
Consider the following when providing feedback on or assessing a literature review.
Purpose¶
Is the purpose of the literature review clearly stated (preferably in an introduction)?
Identifying relevant literature¶
Is the search methodology clearly reported, including databases / search engines, search terms, and the process for selecting publications for inclusion in the review?
How appropriate is the search methodology for the purposes of the literature review?
Have multiple databases / search engines been used?
Has any manual searching been performed (e.g. looking at reference lists of publications, consulting other researchers)
Synthesising evidence¶
How well has the evidence been synthesised?
Are key messages identified from the literature?
Are studies suitably appraised by highlighting their relevance to the project whilst appreciating their limitations?
Relevance to the project¶
Does the review cover the key topics for the project? Consider the following topics:
Background to the clinical problem being tackled.
Current approaches to tackle the problem.
Potential future research directions to address the problem.
Does the review help inform the choice of research questions?
Does the review help inform the experimental design?
Does the review provide sufficient motivation for the project?
Referencing¶
Is a list of references provided using suitable referencing formatting?
Are references correctly cited in the text?
Are references appropriately used to support points made in the text?
Style¶
Is the review well written? Consider:
Does the review contain an introduction and conclusion?
Is the content logically ordered?
Are the key messages clearly communicated?
Could its length be reduced without detriment to the content?
Are key publications in the field referenced?
Spelling, grammar, paragraphs, formatting, subheadings, tables and figures