Certain aspects of conducting a standard review of literature have not yet been covered in this course. Therefore, while you are invited to critically examine any aspect of the studies (e.g., a study’s design, appropriateness of the theoretic framework, data sampling methods), your conclusion should be considered preliminary. Bear in mind that five studies are typically not enough to reflect the full range of knowledge on a particular question and you are not expected to be familiar enough with research methodology to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of all aspects of the studies.

Conducting a review of the literature is a comprehensive and systematic process that involves searching through relevant research to evaluate and identify existing studies on a topic. Consider these key points when reviewing literature.

1. Define your research topic or question. It will allow you to focus your search and identify relevant literature.
2. Utilize multiple databases, engines of search, and other resources to conduct a thorough search. Searching by keywords, subject headings or Boolean operators will help you refine your results. You should include published as well as unpublished material.
3. Screen and select the literature. Review titles and abstracts to assess their relevance for the research question. The full text of articles must be evaluated carefully for inclusion according to predetermined criteria.
4. Extract data: Extract relevant data, such as information about the design of the study, the sample size, the data collection methods and the results, from included literature.
5. Evaluating the Quality of Literature: Evaluate the inclusion of literature using criteria such as Cochrane Risk of Bias or GRADE. The study design, sample methods, data analyses, and all other factors that could affect validity and reliability are evaluated.
6. Then, summarize your findings by analyzing the collected data. You may need to use tables and diagrams as an easy way to visualize the data. Also, you will want identify any patterns or common themes in the literature.
7. Drawing conclusions: Based upon the analysis and the synthesis of literature, make conclusions regarding the current state of knowledge about the research question. You may need to highlight disagreements or areas of agreement in the literature and recommend future research.

Note that a literature review is a time-consuming process requiring a lot of effort, but can provide valuable insights into existing research on a particular topic. This is a lengthy process that takes a lot of time and effort. However, it can give valuable insight into the existing research.