Defining Characteristics of Reviews of Literature

ANS 45:3 has just been published, and the first featured article is titled “Reviews of Literature in Nursing Research: Methodological Considerations and Defining Characteristics” authored by Amina Regina Silva, MN; Maria Itayra Padilha, PhD; Stefany Petry, MN; Vanessa Silva E Silva, PhD; Kevin Woo, PhD; Jacqueline Galica, PhD; Rosemary Wilson, PhD; and Marian Luctkar-Flude, PhD. This article is free to download while it is featured, and leave your comments here for what can be a lively discussion! Here is a message from lead author Amina Silva:

Literature reviews have been increasing in popularity among nurse researchers. Still, despite the availability of guidelines about the different types of reviews, the identification of the best approach is not always clear for scholars. In this paper we add to the existing literature through providing a comprehensive guide to be used by healthcare and nursing researchers while choosing among four popular types of reviews (narrative, integrative, scoping and systematic), including a descriptive discussion, philosophical underpinnings, critical analysis and decision map tree.