One of the most significant academic assignments the nursing students should be taught to complete is writing a literature review. Whether doing a BSN evidence based assignment, a capstone review in an MSN degree or whether you are going to complete the DNP project, one should be aware of how to consult the available existing research and critique scholarly sources. However, other nursing students struggle to structure the review, summarizing research and indicating the information in a lucid and scholarly manner.
It is a guide to a literature review step-by-step as a major in nursing i.e. how I/she can select the topic he/she will review and how he/she may organize his/her literature review. It also involves evidence-based proposals, examples, and recommended steps that would otherwise be applied to professional thesis for nursing students and the Nursing Dissertation Writing services.
What is a Literature Review in Nursing?
The literature review is a thorough research on a study that has been done on a specific nursing issue, or a clinical problem. It helps you:
- Take mastery of already amassed things in control.
- Determine violations of existing evidence.
- School performance.Comparison and contrast.
- Elaborate upon the basis of your research question or nursing thesis.
The articles in the literature review of the nursing curriculums are:
- Care plans
- Research articles: evidence-based practice.
- Research proposals
- Nursing theses
- Dissertations
- Capstone projects
The quality literature review demonstrates critical thinking, and the possibility to utilize the skills of critical thinking which are very significant in professional practice.
Nursing Studies Require Research That Uses The Literature Review
Learning how to write a literature review is not only an academic necessity, but also has a direct relation to your career as a medical decision maker. The literature reviews assist the nursing students to:
- Clinical intervention support via evidence based support.
- Be familiar with the trends in patient care and safety.
- Review optimal nursing practice.
- Ready to conduct higher research and dissertation.
- What to write about academic papers that are obligatory in graduate studies.
The missing point is that, most of the students in the project of Thesis writing of the nursing students or Nursing Dissertation Writing Help are unable to structure the various articles, how to detect gaps in research or how to synthesize research. The present article would enable you to cross such obstacles step by step with illustrations.
Step-by-Step Guide on How to Write a Literature Review on Nursing
The process through which the nursing students are supposed to pass through to write high quality and sound literature review in a comprehensive manner is outlined as below.
Step 1: Educational Prerequisite of The Task
Read the instructions of the teacher. Nursing education is anticipated in many dimensions. Some key questions to ask:
- Should research articles be exclusively used or can you use systematic reviews and clinical-guidelines?
- How many sources are one supposed to have?
- Is the review included in the bigger article (e.g. thesis, dissertation or evidence based project)?
- Citation style required (As a rule, Open referenced copywriting style APA 7 th)?
A primitive explanation will liberate you in the future from the task of re-writing.
Step 2: Select a Narrowed Down and Specific Topic.
Your subject should also be clear and relevant, as well as research. Topics in your review are not focused giving rise to broad topics and vice versa.
Concentrated Nursing Literature Review Topics
- Concentrated nursing literature review topics may be exemplified in the following way:
- Effect of nurse to patient ratio on patient safety.
- Simulation training efficiency in the nursing field.
- Adults Treatment of acute pain.
- Reducing hospital-acquired illnesses.
- Prevention of pressure ulcer infection in nursing.
When composing a thesis among the nursing students, your literature review topic area must be based on your research problem / question.
Step 3: Market and Ethnographic Literature Review
Refer to the reliable academic data bases and sources of evidence:
- CINAHL
- PubMed
- Cochrane Library
- Google Scholar
- Medline
- Nursing-specific journals
Applicability of Keywords and Boolean Operators.
The statistical approach to keywords:
- “nurse intervention” and “patient outcome”.
- “prevention of pressure ulcers”: OR “decubitus ulcers”.
- “simulation” and “nurse education”.
Filter results by:
- Peer-reviewed
- Scholarly articles
- In past 5-10 years (not research of backgrounds)
Hint: When a lot of students are also required to write a thesis and locate articles, they will turn to Nursing Dissertation Writing Help that is professional and thus provides them with a chance to locate an article within the shortest time possible and gain easy access when databases can frighten him or her.
Step 4: Find Quality Improvements and Find Quality Sources
Not every article you find should be included:
Ask yourself:
- Is it the appropriate methodology to your reason for review?
- Can it be applied to your study subject?
- Does it qualify as valid and peer reviewed research?
- Is there anything original or superfluous in the article?
Utilize the optimum level of evidence:
- Systematic reviews
- Meta-analyses
- Clinical-guidelines
- Randomised controlled studies
- Minor evidences
Step 5: Organize Your Sources
Develop a system of sorting the articles. You may use:
- A table
- Matrix
- Spreadsheet
Track details like:
- Author, year
- Research question
- Methodology
- Sample size
- Key findings
- Limitations
This will rescue the future and provide some form of logic to your literature review.
Step 6: Identification of themes, Patterns and Gaps
Discuss your results and define:
✔ Common themes
✔ Conflicting evidence
✔ Emerging trends
✔ Research gaps
Example Themes
- Nurse burnout and workload
- Technology acceptance to patient care.
- Evidence based wound care
- Patient satisfaction and nurse communication.
Of particular importance is to identify the gaps that exist as in case you are writing a Thesis on nursing students: your research question should make an effort of filling in one of those gaps.
Step 7: Literature Review Structure
Your literature review should include concrete scholarly format.
A. Introduction
- In this section, provide:
- Background of your topic
- Importance of the issue in nursing.
- Scope of the review
- Problem/purpose of research.
Example:
The article in question is a review of simulation-based training impact on the creation of clinical skills among nursing students.
B. Body (Organized by Themes)
The most important one is the body. Sort your material by theme as opposed to summarizing the article by article.
Walmart Infection: Strategic Planning of “Yearbook Themes.
- Chronologically
- Thematically
- Methodologically
- Through ethnography (Industrialized or developing world).
For each theme:
- Summarize findings
- The comparative and contrast studies.
- Focus on the agreement and disagreements.
- Discuss study limitations
One is not supposed to write: Smith (2020) said this… Jones (2021) said that…”
Instead, synthesize:
Based on various studies, simulation training is incredibly very effective in developing clinical judgment on the part of the undergraduate nursing students.
Quality and scholarly reviews are made so because of good synthesis.
C. Conclusion of the Review
Your conclusion should:
- Summarize major findings
- Discuss implications to nursing practice.
- Indicate the ample gaps in the current research.
- Suggest future directions
Whereas in case of a thesis or a dissertation, then these gaps are to be in direct relation to your proposed research question.
Step 8: Assume Academic Style of Writing
Follow writing professional suggestions:
✔ Write in third person
✔ Maintain academic tone
✔ give reference to claims on support.
✔ Do not use emotional, general, and biased words.
✔ Ensure APA 7 formatting
In addition to that, clarify things and make them definite:
Should avoid long and wordy paragraphs. Break ideas logically.
Step 9: Edit and Make Amendments and Proofread
In order to get an excellent literature review, it must be refined:
- Check flow and coherence
- Ensure that the references are cited well.
- Do away with repetitive statements.
- Improve transitions
- Correct use of grammar and punctuations.
In order to ensure the quality and originality, professional editors or Nursing Dissertation Writing Help experts tend to use such programs as Turnitin, Grammarly, and APA citation checkers.
Step 10: Your References to Be Finalized
Ensure your reference list:
- Follows APA 7 formatting
- References all the references of the review.
- There has been the inclusion of peer-reviewed research.
- Is current and relevant
Check capitalization, italics and DOI number and proper alphabetization.
Errors that Nursing Students should not commit.
Such are The Most Frequent Errors in Nursing Literature Reviews:
❌ Use of conclusions compared to summarizing.
❌ Inclusion of either out of date studies or poor research.
❌ Writing without themes
❌ Using unreliable websites
❌ Irrelevance of the studies.
❌ defects in defining research gaps.
❌ Poor APA formatting
By avoidance of these errors, you render your review extremely potent.
Final Thoughts
Although literature review is a very daunting task, the right structure and approach towards research can help you to create a strong and academic review. It is one of the essential skills that you have to master without taking into account whether you are preparing an evidence based paper, a capstone project, or a full-fledged thesis as a part of your nursing training.
In case of writing a complex Thesis in the discipline of Nursing students would demand, students are likely to engage in Nursing Dissertation Writing Help or professional guidance in cohorting research. However, with practice and by following the arguments discussed in this guide, you will not be doubtful of and would have created a clear, well laid out and academically valid literature review.