To carry out a scientific literature review article, it is essential to select the most relevant articles in the field of interest. However, given that the scientific production is enormous, the number of articles is also huge, so this task is not easy. The key to being able to carry out an excellent review of scientific literature is the identification of the main topic and the establishment of an initial structure. In addition, a critical approach that considers the different positions that exist in relation to the chosen topic will undoubtedly help to have a better overview of the advances in the chosen topic. Literature review questions examples
In this article, we share with you the top 10 questions you can ask to achieve an excellent review article, both in the consideration of the most relevant articles and in the analysis and relevance of your publication.
10 useful questions to get the best previous literature review
To prepare your literature review article , we suggest asking yourself the following questions:
1. What is the topic of the review article?
First, select the topic of interest to prepare the review article, considering if there are preferential or conflicting positions and which of them is the one that seems most plausible. When choosing the topic, also think about the scope you want your article to have as this will affect the search for articles by means of keywords and search criteria that are determined
2. What type of review article will I carry out?
There are several types of literature review articles that you can write, depending on the approach you want to take to yours. You can concentrate on the theoretical or propositional advances, on the methodology or procedures that have been followed, the results obtained, whether quantitative or qualitative, or some other aspect that you want to analyze. Literature review questions examples
3. What type of audience will my article be aimed at?
In order to establish the development of your literature review article, you should think about the type of audience that might be interested in your article. They may be researchers working in the same field of study, or perhaps researchers from various disciplines who may be interested in your review.
4. What will the structure of the article be like?
To define the structure of the article , consider the general aspects involved in a literature review article. Once you have defined the topic, the type of article and your potential audience, you can draft a draft of the main sections that your article will include and that will be refined according to the results that you obtain from the review of the existing literature.
5. What is the background to the issue?
It is important that you provide a general background on the topic so that the reader understands the subsequent analyzes of your review article. These antecedents can consider the historical aspects related to the topic, the most common problems that arise or the best-known results that serve as the basis for the discussion of a development focused on the topic of your article. Literature review questions examples
6. How can I do an exhaustive search for articles?
To carry out the scientific literature search that your review article will cover, you can create a checklist that considers the main bibliographic reference databases for scientific literature such as Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, Medline, and PubMed, the publications found in your institution (including undergraduate or graduate theses) and the most prominent journals in the area of interest. You can also consult with your colleagues about important articles related to the topic you selected.
7. Has there been an important problem or aspect to deal with?
In the literature review, it is possible that an important or controversial problem or aspect has arisen. Depending on the approach you have decided to take for your article, consider whether this aspect is relevant to your article. If necessary, slightly modify the draft from its initial structure.
In addition to this, you can also keep informed of the latest advances in research , for which, you can consult publications on social networks such as Twitter, FaceBook and YouTube. In them, create alerts with the topic of your interest in case any investigation comes up that seems relevant to you while preparing your review article. Literature review questions examples
8. Is there any outstanding research or methodology?
When conducting your search for articles, identify those that concern the same research topic or methodology. Among them, there may be one that is outstanding and with which you can carry out a more in-depth discussion or that may even serve as a basis for defending a position that may result in a more attractive article .
9. Are there controversial or debatable results?
It is always interesting to know the different points of view related to a topic of interest, so a review article that includes conflicting results and conclusions can be of great interest to the rest of the researchers. You can carry out a rigorous analysis of the different points of view and conclude which one has the most informed results. Make sure you do a critical and objective analysis of the different positions. Present and contrast the evidence.
10. Have I reviewed my article well?
Although the answer to this question seems obvious, do not forget that, both during the entire process of writing your review article and preparing to submit it to a journal for publication, be sure to verify that your writing is always consistent and that it does not there are spelling mistakes. Since this is a review article, make sure that all reviewed articles have a balanced discussion regarding their relevance in the correct sections . Check the references carefully and check that they are complete and can be easily found in bibliographic reference databases. Also review your analysis and conclusions. Many articles that neglect these aspects can be rejected by the most important magazines. Literature review questions examples
Conclusions
The process of preparing an article, in general, has several branches that can be identified with the help of diagrams to visualize the process more easily. In order to write a literature review article, you can answer questions like the ones we have shown in this publication and we hope they will be of help to you.
The first part of those questions refers to searching for literature in popular publication sources such as Google Scholar , PubMed , Medline , Web of Science, and Scopus . To do this, it is necessary to define the topic to be investigated, the type of article that is going to be made and the audience to which it is directed. Once this is done, an initial draft of the structure that the article will follow can be made, taking into account that it may change slightly depending on the results obtained and the approach that is given to it.
Previous results that stand out or that run counter to your proposition can be an excellent source of analysis. When crafting your article, be careful and objective. Review both the content and the presentation, be sure to discuss each article in sufficient depth and its relevance in each of the sections presented. Do not forget that at Enago we offer editorial services to help you review your articles in aspects related to the writing, spelling and consistency of the text. Literature review questions examples
