Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review
Showing you how to take a structured and organized approach to a wide range of literature review types, this book helps you to choose which approach is right for your research. Packed with constructive tools, examples, case studies and hands-on exercises, the book covers the full range of literature review techniques.New to This Edition: Full re-organization takes you step-by-step through the process from beginning to end New chapter showing you how to choose the right method for your project Practical guidance on integrating qualitative and quantitative data New coverage of rapid reviews Comprehensive inclusion of literature review tools, including concept analysis, scoping and mapping With an emphasis on the practical skills, this guide is essential for any student or researcher needing to get from first steps to a successful literature review.
Systematic Reviews in Health Research: Meta‐Analysis in Context by
Systematic Reviews in Health Research Explore the cutting-edge of systematic reviews in healthcare In this Third Edition of the classic Systematic Reviews textbook, now titled Systematic Reviews in Health Research, a team of distinguished researchers deliver a comprehensive and authoritative guide to the rapidly evolving area of systematic reviews and meta-analysis. The book demonstrates why systematic reviews--when conducted properly--provide the highest quality evidence on clinical and public health interventions and shows how they contribute to inference in many other contexts. The new edition reflects the broad role of systematic reviews, including: Twelve new chapters, covering additional study designs, methods and software, for example, on genetic association studies, prediction models, prevalence studies, network and dose-response meta-analysis Thorough update of 15 chapters focusing on systematic reviews of interventions Access to a companion website offering supplementary materials and practical exercises (www.systematic-reviews3.org) A key text for health researchers, Systematic Reviews in Health Research is also an indispensable resource for practitioners, students, and instructors in the health sciences needing to understand research synthesis.
Research Skills for Medical Students
The revised Tomorrow's Doctors makes it clear that doctors need to be aware on their responsibilities as a scholar and scientist and it is therefore vital that students develop excellent critical thinking and research skills. While there are many 'research skills' books, medical students frequently struggle with understanding the difference between the practices of research, audit, service evaluation, systematic and narrative reviews and when and how to apply them. This book addresses the kinds of questions novice investigators always ask and helps students utilize study designs, data collection tools and analyze effectively.Key Features:Builds an understanding of which approach is more appropriate in a specific contextAcknowledges the diverse types of investigation a doctor may become involved withAddresses the questions most often asked by novice researchers Draws on a variety of relevant examples to illustrate the use of different techniques
Conducting Research Literature Reviews: from the internet to paper
Providing readers with an accessible, in-depth look at how to synthesize research literature, Conducting Research Literature Reviews is perfect for students, researchers, marketers, planners, and policymakers who design and manage public and private agencies, conduct research studies, and prepare strategic plans and grant proposals. Bestselling author Arlene Fink shows readers how to explain the need for and significance of research, as well as how to explain a study's findings. Offering a step-by-step approach to conducting literature reviews, the Fourth Edition features updated examples and covers: how to select databases and evaluate their quality; selecting and organizing key words and other terms in order to effectively search databases and the Web; setting standards for evaluating the quality of research and other literature; extracting and recording information from articles and studies; synthesizing what the reader finds either descriptively or via a meta-analysis; recording and storing the results in a virtual file cabinet; and how to use bibliographic software.
Health Sciences Literature Review Made Easy: the matrix method
How to Read a Paper: the basics of evidence-based medicine and healthcare
Required reading in many medical and healthcare institutions, How to Read a Paper is a clear and wide-ranging introduction to evidence-based medicine and healthcare, helping readers to understand its central principles, critically evaluate published data, and implement the results in practical settings. Author Trisha Greenhalgh guides readers through each fundamental step of inquiry, from searching the literature to assessing methodological quality and appraising statistics. How to Read a Paper addresses the common criticisms of evidence-based healthcare, dispelling many of its myths and misconceptions, while providing a pragmatic framework for testing the validity of healthcare literature. Now in its sixth edition, this informative text includes new and expanded discussions of study bias, political interference in published reports, medical statistics, big data and more. Offers user-friendly guidance on evidence-based healthcare that is applicable to both experienced and novice readers Authored by an internationally recognised practitioner and researcher in evidence-based healthcare and primary care Includes updated references, additional figures, improved checklists and more How to Read a Paper is an ideal resource for healthcare students, practitioners and anyone seeking an accessible introduction to evidence-based healthcare.
Writing Dissertation and Grant Proposals: epidemiology, preventive medicine and biostatistics
Competition for research funds in epidemiology, preventative medicine, and biostatistics has never been more intense and, at the same time, the grant application and review process at such agencies as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is undergoing significant transformation. Writing Dissertation and Grant Proposals: Epidemiology, Preventive Medicine and Biostatisticstargets effective grant proposal writing in this highly competitive and evolving environment. Covering all aspects of the proposal writing process, the text: Provides summary checklists and step-by-step guidelines for grant structure and style alongside broader strategies for developing a research funding portfolio Explains how to avoid common errors and pitfalls, supplying critical do's and don'ts that aid in writing solid grant proposals Demonstrates proven tactics and illustrates key concepts with extensive examples from successfully funded proposals Written by an established NIH reviewer with inside knowledge and an impressive track record of funding, Writing Dissertation and Grant Proposals: Epidemiology, Preventive Medicine and Biostatisticsisa virtual cookbook of the appropriate ingredients needed to construct a winning grant proposal. Therefore, the text is not only relevant for early-stage investigators including graduate students, medical students/residents, and postdoctoral fellows, but also valuable for experienced faculty, clinicians, epidemiologists, and health professionals who cannot seem to break the barrier to obtain NIH-funded research.
Doing a Systematic Review: a student's guide
If you are a Masters or a PhD student conducting a systematic review for your dissertation or thesis, then this is the book for you! Written by an expert team of authors with years of experience in conducting systematic reviews and supervising students doing systematic reviews, the book provides a roadmap to guide you through the process. The book addresses the following questions: - What's the best way to manage my review? - How do I formulate an appropriate review question? - How do I develop my search strategy? - How do I get started on data extraction? - How do I assess the quality of the studies I'm using? - How can I analyse and synthesise my data? - How should I write up the discussion and conclusion sections of my dissertation or thesis? - Where should I publish my data? Throughout the book, the authors make extensive use of questions posed by real students when carrying out reviews to help you through some of the challenges you may face.
Systematic Reviews in Health Care: a practical guide
What do we do if different studies appear to give different answers? When applying research to questions for individual patients or for health policy, one of the challenges is interpreting such apparently conflicting research. A systematic review is a method to systematically identify relevant research, appraise its quality, and synthesize the results. The last two decades have seen increasing interest and developments in methods for doing high quality systematic reviews. Part I of this book provides a clear introduction to the concepts of reviewing, and lucidly describes the difficulties and traps to avoid. A unique feature of the book is its description, in Part II, of the different methods needed for different types of health care questions: frequency of disease, prognosis, diagnosis, risk, and management. As well as illustrative examples, there are exercises for each of the sections. This is essential reading for those interested in synthesizing health care research.
Writing the Literature Review: a practical guide
This accessible text provides a roadmap for producing a high-quality literature review--an integral part of a successful thesis, dissertation, term paper, or grant proposal. Each step of searching for, evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing prior studies is clearly explained and accompanied by user-friendly suggestions, organizational tips, vignettes, and examples of student work. Also featured are excerpts from peer-reviewed quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods articles. This is the first book to focus on crafting different types of reviews (systematic, traditional-narrative, or hermeneutic-phenomenological) that reflect the writer's research question, methodological choices, and approaches to knowledge. It describes what all reviews have in common and highlights distinct characteristics of each type. The book includes dos and don'ts for evaluating studies and constructing an argument, and software suggestions for locating, organizing, and arranging sources. Pedagogical Features *Checklists and "To Do" activities that break down key steps to take. *Boxed examples, graphics that organize and visually illustrate key concepts, and summary tables. *Group activities that invite students to further explore and apply the methods discussed in each chapter. *Detailed directions for using four different organizing strategies: synthesis matrix, summary table, mapping, and topic outline. *End-of-chapter summaries and "What's Next" sections. *Assessment matrices for reviewing and refining the completed literature review.
Here is a short list of sources of writing help available to UC Berkeley students, staff, and faculty:
Ten simple rules for writing a literature review
Pautasso M. PLoS Comput Biol. 2013;9(7):e1003149. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003149
Here is some information and tips on getting your research to a broader, or to a specialized, audience
Through Scopus
Through Web of Science
The journal impact factor is a calculation of how many citations the articles in a journal receive (over a 2-year average). It is used as a proxy measure of the quality of a journal. If the impact factor of a journal is 5, then on average, articles in this journal receive about five citations within the first two years after publication.
In any discussion of journal, article, or author metrics, it is imperative to remember Goodhart's law:
"When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure."
Journal Citation Reports: Find impact factors (Note: Journal websites generally will include the impact factor).
Scopus CiteScore metrics: Click “Sources" - An alternative to the JIF.
You may wish to read this brief article on the Journal Impact Factor:
Is the impact factor the only game in town?. P. Smart. Ann R Coll Surg Engl. 2015;97(6):405-8.
PLoS, a top-tier open access suite of journals, says this: "PLOS does not consider Impact Factor to be a reliable or useful metric to assess the performance of individual articles. PLOS supports DORA – the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment – and does not promote our journal Impact Factors."
In addition, citation counts themselves are not necessarily a good metric of importance; see How citation distortions create unfounded authority: analysis of a citation network. Greenberg SA. BMJ. 2009 Jul 20;339:b2680. doi: 10.1136/bmj.b2680.
Finally, one could argue that journal impact factor manipulation is itself a predatory journal trait.