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Research projects and literature reviewsFinal year projects and proposals are varied and you might conduct primary or secondary research as part of your studies.
Before conducting any type of research it is important to understand the context of your topic/research area by carrying out a thorough review of the literature.
Literature reviews are a form of secondary research, sometimes known as desk-based or library based research.
A comprehensive search is always valuable, but it is not always necessary to document or provide evidence of your search.
There are some examples of the different types of projects students undertake in this guide and on the Research Methods guide. Remember to check your assessment guidelines for the criteria and expectations for your specific assessment.
Systematic reviews are at the heart of evidence based practice as they are considered one of the highest levels of evidence. They assess the quality of research, providing a summary and synthesis of all relevant, available research on a topic. A comprehensive search strategy is usually included in the review, as it should be transparent and replicable. Rigorous methods are used to limit bias in identifying or rejecting studies. Each study is assessed and the results of the individual studies are synthesised in an unbiased way, and an impartial summary of the findings is presented.
Inclusion and exclusion criteria
Inclusion and exclusion criteria are usually defined before starting a systematic review. These criteria will be used to assess the relevance and quality of the research found in the searches and will help determine whether they will be included in the final review.
Using a framework can be useful to develop which concepts need to be included in the research and this will form the basis of your inclusion and exclusion criteria. This can help your search strategy become more focused, targeting the papers which will help to answer your review question and excluding others.
You might consider the types of study design which will be included/excluded in the review. For example, will the review include Randomised Controlled Trials and Clinical Controlled Trials but exclude qualitative studies or case studies?
Other inclusion/exclusion criteria might cover:
Stages
There are different stages/steps to take into account when undertaking a systematic review. Khan et al. (2003) outline 5 main steps:
There is more detailed guidance for the steps involved in systematic reviews available from the The Cochrane Collaboration, The Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (University of York), PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses) and The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Collaboration.
Useful sources for locating systematic reviews include: the Cochrane Library, the Campbell Collaboration and Prospero.
1. Scope out your topic first
A scoping search enables you to:
One of the main errors when working on a systematic review is not taking the time to do a a scoping search before committing to a topic. To avoid this do a basic search, using some of the keywords from your area of interest, in Discovery or Google Scholar first.
2. Choose an appropriate number of databases to search (not too many)
It is difficult and time consuming to translate a search into multiple databases, so focus on the ones which are most useful for your subject area. The main databases used in health are CINAHL and Medline, but there may be other key resources, dependant on your topic. Remember, to use the correct database name when you are writing up where you have searched .
3. Use the correct Boolean operators and advanced searching techniques
Make sure keywords are grouped together correctly with ANDs/ORs. Synonyms (alternative keywords) are combined with OR. Keywords with different meanings are usually combined with AND.
Advanced searching can be different in the databases and some platforms use different symbols. If something does not work as you would expect in a database, check the online help.
4. Evaluate and critique your search and be aware of any limitations with your search
Don't just describe the search, evaluate it. To do this you need to :
It is also important to explain how the results will be managed and why have you chosen that tool.
As you are searching, it can be helpful to use a template for recording the search terms used, the databases searched, the number of results and if the results were relevant. Click on the links below to download a blank template which you might find useful to use for this.
Once you have finalised your search, make sure to report the final search strategy correctly. This usually involves providing evidence of the search in the appendix. Include the date the search was conducted, the detail of the database, the platform and coverage, along with the key terms used and search techniques applied. (See the Saving, re-running and evidencing searches page for more information).
If using a flowchart (such as the Prisma flow diagram) to record the flow of results from your searches, through to which resources are included in the final review, ensure the numbers add up correctly.
Service improvement or quality improvement projects usually analyse existing data and processes in order to inform changes in practice. They rely on robust searches, as any suggested changes to practice will need to justified and based on good quality evidence.
When searching for the evidence for service improvements, you may need to think more widely for your search, as the improvements may not be in place in your profession yet and therefore research may not be available on that exact topic. Also, some new innovations may not have been rigorously researched yet, so you might find it it useful to think about ‘non-research’ evidence too, for example, policy and guidance, audit, patient satisfaction surveys, patient care studies (some of this information could be found in Grey Literature resources).
Some guidelines and frameworks are available on the Searching for Information in Health and Life Sciences reading list.
A systematic review may include a quantitative meta-analysis or a qualitative meta-synthesis of the data. However, a final year project could also be a stand alone meta analysis or meta synthesis of existing data.
"A meta-analysis is the combination of data from several independent primary studies that address the same question to produce a single estimate like the effect of treatment or risk factor" (Gopalakrishnan and Ganeshkumar, 2013, p.10).
Meta-synthesis involves bringing the findings from multiple qualitative research studies together and combining "the themes, concepts, or metaphors from each study" (Murray and Stanley, 2015, p. 175) to create a new understanding.
Some sources of datasets can be found in open access repositories and on the life sciences subject guides.
Some tools are available to assist with data analysis (such as SPSS and NVivo). Resources for how to use these tools can be found by searching in Discovery.
MERIT, the Maths Enhancement, Retention, and Improvement Team also offers group support for students having difficulties with mathematical elements of their course, including SPSS support. They can be contacted via: MERIT@tees.ac.uk
