examples of social work literature reviews

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Social Work Literature Review Guidelines

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Literature reviews are designed to do two things: 1) give your readers an overview of sources you have explored while researching a particular topic or idea and 2) demonstrate how your research fits into the larger field of study, in this case, social work.

Unlike annotated bibliographies which are lists of references arranged alphabetically that include the bibliographic citation and a paragraph summary and critique for each source, literature reviews can be incorporated into a research paper or manuscript. You may quote or paraphrase from the sources, and all references to sources should include in-text parenthetical citations with a reference list at the end of the document. Sometimes, however, an instructor may require a separate literature review document and will have specific instructions for completing the assignment.

Below you will find general guidelines to consider when developing a literature review in the field of social work. Because social work is a social science field, you will most likely be required to use APA style. Please see our APA materials for information on creating parenthetical citations and reference lists.

1. Choose a variety of articles that relate to your subject, even if they do not directly answer your research question. You may find articles that loosely relate to the topic, rather than articles that you find using an exact keyword search. At first, you may need to cast a wide net when searching for sources.

For example: If your research question focuses on how people with chronic illnesses are treated in the workplace, you may be able to find some articles that address this specific question. You may also find literature regarding public perception of people with chronic illnesses or analyses of current laws affecting workplace discrimination.

2. Select the most relevant information from the articles as it pertains to your subject and your purpose. Remember, the purpose of the literature review is to demonstrate how your research question fits into a larger field of study.

3. Critically examine the articles. Look at methodology, statistics, results, theoretical framework, the author's purpose, etc. Include controversies when they appear in the articles.

For example: You should look for the strengths and weaknesses of how the author conducted the study. You can also decide whether or not the study is generalizable to other settings or whether the findings relate only to the specific setting of the study. Ask yourself why the author conducted the study and what he/she hoped to gain from the study. Look for inconsistencies in the results, as well.

4. Organize your information in the way that makes most sense. Some literature reviews may begin with a definition or general overview of the topic. Others may focus on another aspect of your topic. Look for themes in the literature or organize by types of study.

For example: Group case studies together, especially if all the case studies have related findings, research questions, or other similarities.

5. Make sure the information relates to your research question/thesis. You may need to explicitly show how the literature relates to the research question; don't assume that the connection is obvious.

6. Check to see that you have done more than simply summarize your sources. Your literature review should include a critical assessment of those sources. For more information, read the Experimental Psychology - Writing a Literature Review handout for questions to think about when reading sources.

7. Be sure to develop questions for further research. Again, you are not simply regurgitating information, but you are assessing and leading your reader to questions of your own, questions and ideas that haven't been explored yet or haven't been addressed in detail by the literature in the field.

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Social Work Research Guide: Literature Review

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Literature Review Overview

NCSU. (n.d.). “Literature Reviews: An Overview for Graduate Students.” [YouTube]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/t2d7y_r65HU

What is a literature review?

A literature review is a systematic review of the published literature on a specific topic or research question.  The literature review is designed to analyze-- not just summarize-- scholarly writings that are related directly to your research question.  That is, it represents the literature that provides background information on your topic and shows a correspondence between those writings and your research question.

University of Pittsburgh. (n.d.).  Retrieved from  http://pitt.libguides.com/c.php?g=210872&p=1391698

• Social Work Literature Review Guidelines

Planning your literature review

Planning your literature review.

Writing a literature review will take time to gather and analyze the research relevant to your topic, so it best to start early and give yourself enough time to gather and analyze your sources.  The process of writing a literature review usually covers the following steps:

• Define your Research question
• Plan your approach to your research and your review
• Search the Literature
• Analyze the material you’ve found
• Manage the results of your research
• Write your Review

Defining Your Research Question

One of the hardest parts of a literature review is developing a good research question.  You don't want a research question that is so broad it encompasses too many research areas and can't be reasonably answered. 

Defining your topic may require an initial review of literature to get a sense of the scope about your topic.   Select a topic of interest, and do a preliminary search to see what kinds of research is being done and what is trending in that area.  This will give you a better sense of the subject and help you focus your research question.

In specifying your topic or research question, you should think about setting appropriate limitations on the research you are seeking. Limiting, for example, by time, personnel, gender, age, location, nationality etc. results in a more focused and meaningful topic. 

Using an example from the Duke University Writing Studio, you may start with a general question: 

Why did the chicken cross the road ?  This question is so general that you could be gathering relevant research for days. 

A more precise research question might be: 

What are some of the environmental factors that occurred in New York City between November and December 2017 that would cause a chicken to cross Amsterdam Avenue at 185th Street?   This research question is specific about a number of variables like time, geography, etc.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

These are the most common mistakes made in reviewing social science research literature:

• Sources in your literature review do not clearly relate to the research problem
• You do not take sufficient time to define and identify the most relevant sources to use in the literature review related to the research problem
• Relying exclusively on secondary analytical sources rather than including relevant primary research studies or data
• Uncritically accepting another researcher's findings and interpretations as valid, rather than examining critically all aspects of the research design and analysis
• Not describing the search procedures that were used in identifying the literature to review
• Reporting isolated statistical results rather than synthesizing them in chi-squared or meta-analytic methods
• Only includes research that validates assumptions and not considering contrary findings and alternative interpretations found in the literature

USC. (n.d.). Retrieved from  http://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/literaturereview

• When working on a literature review, it's a good idea to save your research in a citation manager such as RefWorks or Zotero.
• If a book or article is not available in the YU Libraries, it can be ordered through Interlibrary Loan.  You should never need to pay for your information.
• The Dissertations & Theses Global database is a good place to start.  You will see what research has already been done on your topic.
• For more detailed information, see below:
• Systematic Literature Searching in Social Work: A Practical Guide with Database Appraisal
• Writing Integrative Literature Reviews: Guidelines and Examples
• Literature Reviews (From UNC College of Arts & Sciences)
• The Literature Review: a Few Tips on Conducting It
• Conducting a Literature Review: A Brief Interactive Tutorial

Books on Literature Review

These books can be found on reserve at the Pollack Library:

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Doctoral Social Work Research: Literature Reviews

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Literature Review Resources

A literature review is a very practical part of the research process.  It's how you build on other research in the field - identify best practices and tools and learn what doesn't work.  The resources on the page are here to help you structure you literature review so it's as useful as possible.  

Also take a look at any literature reviews you find as you search for articles - in addition to content and further references they'll also provide helpful structural hints. 

• Social Work Literature Review Guidelines Literature reviews are designed to do two things: 1) give your readers an overview of sources you have explored while researching a particular topic or idea and 2) demonstrate how your research fits into the larger field of study, in this case, social work.
• Considerations in Writing a Literature Review This article will briefly outline key points for you to keep in mind when writing literature reviews for social work.
• Undertaking a literature review: a step-by-step approach The purpose of this article is to present a step-by-step guide to facilitate understanding by presenting the critical elements of the literature review process. While reference is made to different types of literature reviews, the focus is on the traditional or narrative review that is undertaken, usually either as an academic assignment or part of the research process.

"Literature reviews are systematic syntheses of previous work around a particular topic. Nearly all scholars have written literature reviews at some point; such reviews are common requirements for class projects or as part of theses, are often the first section of empirical papers, and are sometimes written to summarize a field of study. Given the increasing amount of literature in many fields, reviews are critical in synthesizing scientific knowledge." - Encyclopedia of Research Design

• Literature Review Overview and Sample Paper (University of Arizona)
• Sample APA Paper (lit. review begins page 3)
• Why search here? ProQuest Dissertations and Theses: Global (PQDTGlobal) is the world's most comprehensive collection of full-text dissertations and theses.
• What's included? PQDTGlobal includes millions of searchable citations to dissertations and theses from 1861 to the present day together with over a million full-text dissertations that are available for download in PDF format.

• CSU, Chico Office of Graduate Studies - Thesis Assistance Instructions, policies, and guidelines for graduate studies theses/projects.
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• Learn How to Write a Review of the Literature University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Literature Review: An Overview for Graduate Students Video overview by North Carolina State University Libraries
• Literature Review: The What, Why and How-to Guide University of Connecticut University Libraries
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Basics of a Literature Review

Examples of literature reviews, citation searching.

• SWRK 1000 - Introduction to Social Work

Useful Books

• Conducting Research Literature Reviews Pius Library Q180.55.M4 F56 2010
• Preparing Literature Review Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches Pius Library Q180.55.E9 P36 2008 There are several example literature reviews in the appendix of this book.
• Evaluating Research Articles From Start to Finish Pius Library Q180.55.E9 G57 2011
• Evaluating Research Methodology for People Who Need to Read Research Pius Library Q180.55 .E9 D355 2011
• Encyclopedia of Measurement and Statistics eBook
• Encyclopedia of Research Design
• Statistics for People Who Think They Hate Statistics Pius Library HA29 .S2365 2009
• Systematic Reviews in the Social Sciences Pius Library H62.P457 2006
• Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review Pius Library LB1047.3.B66 2012

A literature review may be conducted in order to inform practice and/or policy, serve as a basic element in a thesis or dissertation or as part of a proposal to obtain funding. The process can be divided into a series of steps:

• Choose a topic. Look at recent literature for ideas and do a bit of preliminary searching of the existing literature.
• Clarify your review question and the scope of your review
• Brainstorm search terms to use and think about your search strategy
• Begin searching for articles. I strongly recommend you keep a search log to document which databases you searched and what search terms you used.
• Capture and manage search results. You may want to export results to Endnote or other citation management tool (see Managing Citations tab in this guide)
• Screen results for inclusion based on critera you define
• Evaluate the  the articles. A worksheet which includes the bibliographic information about the article and summarizes elements of the article such as research design, interventions, findings, main variables etc. may give you a helpful overview
• Synthesize results (this is the whole point!).

Literature reviews are part of a PhD dissertation. Use the Dissertations and Theses Full Text database to see the literature review chapters in the two PhD theses listed below. Just enter the dissertation title in quotes and you will retrieve the full text of the dissertation.

• Using concurrent operants to evaluate perserverative conversation in children and adolescents diagnosed with Asperger's disorder by Matthew J. O'Brien
• The effectiveness of specialized applied behavior analysis (ABA) on daily living skills for individuals with autism and related disorders ages 8 to 19 by Adriana Weyandt

• Social Services Abstracts This link opens in a new window 1980-present. Indexes and abstracts over 1,000 journals and magazines in the social services in addition to social work dissertations. Includes citation tracking for articles included in the database.
• Web of Science This link opens in a new window 1990-present. Brings together Arts & Humanities Citation Index , Social Sciences Citation Index , Science Citation Index Expanded and the newer Emerging Sources Citation Index . Search thousands of research journals by topic or do a Cited Reference search.
• Scopus This link opens in a new window Some 1788-present. Search one of the largest abstract and citation databases for materials on science, engineering, technology, and medicine along with some social sciences and humanities.

To see the Find It @ SLU link when searching Google Scholar off-campus:

• Sign in to Google Scholar Settings-Library Links
• Search for “Saint Louis University”
• Select “Find It @ SLU” 
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What is a Literature Review?

A literature review is an essential component of every research project! It requires reviewing what credible scholars in the field have said, done, and found in order to help you:

• Identify what is currently known in your area of interest
• Establish an empirical/ theoretical/ foundation for your research
• Identify potential gaps in knowledge that you might fill
• Develop viable research questions and hypotheses
• Determine appropriate methodologies
• Decide upon the scope of your research
• Demonstrate the importance of your research to the field

Helpful Tools for Literature Reviews

• Academic Phrasebank Examples of common phrases used in literature reviews and reports of research findings. The items in the Academic Phrasebank are mostly content neutral and generic in nature; in using them, therefore, you are not stealing other people’s ideas and this does not constitute plagiarism.
• How to Read a Journal Article Tips and tricks to make reading and understanding social science journal articles easier from ICPSR.

As you read, you'll encounter various ideas, disagreements, methods, and perspectives which can be hard to organize in a meaningful way. Because you'll be reading a number of resources, a synthesis matrix helps you record the main points of each source and document how sources relate to each other.

• Writing a Literature Review & Using a Synthesis Matrix
• Excel Matrix Customize columns to fit your needs

Introduction to Literature Reviews in Social Work

Kelsey Cheshire, Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Librarian from VCU Libraries, and Audrey Wells, Student Success Writing Advisor from the School of Social Work, present an introduction to literature reviews.

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Frequently Asked Questions (And Answers) About Literature Reviews

• Literature Review FAQ
• Literature Review FAQ Videos

If you feel overwhelmed or confused about writing a literature review, you are not alone! Read on for some frequently asked questions about literature reviews...

What is a literature review?

Flip the words around and you have the beginning of your answer: a review of the literature.

“The literature”  means scholarly sources (mostly academic journal articles and books) conducted on a specific topic.

“Review”  means that you’ve read that work carefully in order to create a piece of writing that  organizes, summarizes, analyzes, and makes connections between sources , as well as  identifying areas of research still needed .

Why write a literature review?

A lit review can serve several purposes:

• Orient the reader to a topic of study  in order to validate the need for a new study.
• Reveal patterns or problems in previous research , which is its own kind of “finding” or result.

In primary research that includes the results of an experiment or fieldwork, it precedes the results and  sets up a later discussion of the results  in the context of previous findings.

What is the difference between a literature review and an annotated bibliography?

There is not just one way to write a literature review or an annotated bibliography, so differences vary. However,  one of the main differences is that an annotated bibliography is typically organized source by source —each one has its own paragraph of explanation, analysis, etc.

In a literature review, the   writing is organized thematically , often with multiple sources addressed in each paragraph, and there is an overarching narrative driving the review.

Although there are “bibliographic essays” that are essentially narratively-driven annotated bibliographies ,  in general  annotated bibliographies are a drafting step toward a more formal piece of writing , while a literature review is more likely to be that more formal piece itself.

Ok, what about the difference between a literature review and a research paper?

Here’s a secret: there’s no such thing as “A Research Paper.” There are papers that use research in many different ways, and a literature review is one of those ways. Typically, though, if your assignment is specifically to write a “literature review,” it may mean you are being asked to focus  less  on creating your own argument, driven by a thesis with research as supporting evidence, and more on  finding something to say based on the patterns and questions of the research you’ve read .

How should I organize a literature review?

Typically,  literature reviews are organized thematically , not chronologically or source by source. This means that you will need to identify several sub-topics and figure out how to group sources to tell a story in themes. Some sources may show up in multiple sections, and some sources will only appear once. For practical suggestions on how to organize, see  organizing a literature review (as of 3/23/20: in progress!).

How comprehensive should my review be?

This really depends on the assignment or type of literature review that you’re doing. Some reviews are quite extensive and aim to be “exhaustive,” looking at every article on a particular topic. Chances are, yours is not that. For guidance  you may want to ask your professor this question , or more specific questions like, “should I consider articles published more than 20 years ago? What about 10?” etc.

You may also want to consider  if it makes sense to narrow your focus to a particular region, demographic, or even type of study or article,  such as focusing on specific methods used.

Finally,  the scope of your review may also be influenced by the state of prior research . If you are exploring a relatively under-researched or interdisciplinary topic, you may draw from a broader and more diverse set of articles. If you are looking at something that has a well-established scholarly history, your focus will likely be much narrower.

How do I know if I’m “done” researching/haven’t missed anything?

The truth is, research is never “done.” But it’s true you have to come to a stopping point so you can write and finish your review! Here are a few tips for making this assessment:

• You see the same authors being cited over and over again in your sources and you have those sources, too . That can be a sign that you’ve hit on a particular scholarly conversation and identified most of the major voices in it.
• Ask a librarian to help you!  While librarians are great at finding sources, we can also help you determine if there are no more sources available to find. 
• Outline your review  and make sure that each section of your review is supported by adequate research. If you have sections that are much lighter than others, you may want to give those a second look.
• Make sure you’ve given yourself achievable parameters . If you feel like there are just thousands more articles on your exact topic, you may need to narrow yours down, or at least explain why you have selected certain articles instead of other, similar ones.
• Finally, don’t forget  to evaluate as you write . It’s likely that the writing process itself will help you determine whether you have the sources you need to achieve your goals.

A literature review can be challenging, and requires a lot of careful thinking as well as the steps of finding articles and writing. But with time, patience, and help, you can do it, and you'll be proud of the results once you're done.

Gallin-Parisi, A. (n.d.).  Social Science Research Skills . Coates Library: Trinity University.  https://libguides.trinity.edu/socialresearch/faq

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Helpful Resources for Social Work Literature Reviews

• Social Work Literature Review Guidelines Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) general guidelines to consider when developing a literature review in the field of social work
• Considerations in Writing a Literature Review From THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER, the social work careers magazine, this article will briefly outline key points for you to keep in mind when writing literature reviews for social work.
• Guidebook for Social Work Literature Reviews and Research Questions This short guidebook provides information about selecting a research topic and research questions, searching for literature, reading and understanding scholarly writing, and writing a literature review to synthesize what is known and what remains to be learned about a social problem.
• The Columbia Guide to Social Work Writing SBU Libraries Ebook. See the section on literature reviews in Chapter 2 'Writing Strategies for Academic Papers'
• Research Methods for Social Workers SBU Libraries Ebook. See Chapter 4 Literature Review

Literature Reviews: An Overview for Graduate Students

So You Need to Write a Literature Review

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Literature Reviews

• What's a literature review?

Literature Review Examples

Articles (free for csuc users), additional how-to guides and help.

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Books On Literature Reviews in the Meriam Library

• Conducting Research Literature Reviews : From the Internet to Paper Call Number: Main Collection - Q180.55.M4 F56 2014
• Literature Reviews Made Easy: A Quick Guide to Success Call Number: Main Collection - PN98.B7 D37 2010
• Preparing Literature Reviews: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches Call Number: Main Collection - Q180.55.E9 P36 2008
• Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review Call Number: Main Collection - LB1047.3 .B66 2012
• The Literature Review: Six Steps to Success Call Number: Main Collection - LB1047.3 .M33 2009
• Writing Literature Reviews: A Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Call Number: Reference H61.8 .G34 2013

Books on Research Methodology in the Meriam Library

• Doing Case Study Research : A Practical Guide for Beginning Researchers Call Number: Main Collection - LB1028 .H313 2006
• Evaluating Research Articles from Start to Finish Call Number: Main Collection - Q180.55.E9 G57 2011
• How to do a Research Report: A Guide for Undergraduate Students Call Number: Main Collection - LB2369 .R575 2007
• How to Write a Master's Thesis Call Number: Main Collection - LB2369 .B75 2014
• Understanding Research Methods: An Overview of the Essentials Call Number: Main Collection - Q180.55.M4 P38 2018
• Master's Theses Database of master's theses written by CSU, Chico students, from 2009 on. Many of these will contain published examples of literature reviews.
• Proquest Dissertations and Theses: The Humanities and Social Sciences Collection Containes over 2 million dissertations and theses with abstracts, 24 page free previews, and full-text PDF, if available, for dissertations and theses dating back to 1637.
• Sample APA Paper (lit. review begins page 3) Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
• A Commentary on Literature Reviews Rhodes, E.A. (2011). A commentary on literature reviews. Volta Reviews, 111(3), 353-368.
• A Guide to Writing the Dissertation Literature Review Randolph, J.J. (2009). A guide to writing the dissertation literature review. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 14(13), 1-13.
• The Value and Purpose of the Traditional Qualitative Literature Review Rozas, L.W. & Klein, W.C. (2010). The value and purpose of the traditional qualitative literature review. Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work, 7(5), 382-399.
• Undertaking a Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Approach Cronin, P., Ryan, F., & Coughlan, M. (2008). Undertaking a literature review: a step-by-step approach. British Journal of Nursing, 17(1), 38-43.
• Undertaking a Structured Literature Review or Structuring a Literature Review: Tales from the Field Armitage, A. & Keeble-Allen, D. (2008). Undertaking a structured literature review or structuring a literature review: tales from the field. Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 6(2), 103-114.
• CSU, Chico Office of Graduate Studies - Thesis Assistance Instructions, policies, and guidelines for graduate studies theses/projects.
• CSU, Chico Writing Center Make a one-on-one appointment with a writing tutor to help with your writing assignments.
• Learn How to Write a Review of the Literature University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Literature Review: An Overview for Graduate Students Video overview by North Carolina State University Libraries
• Literature Review: The What, Why and How-to Guide University of Connecticut University Libraries
• Social Work Literature Review Guidelines Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
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SW 470: Social Research & Evaluation (Salgado)

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Example Literature Reviews

• Social Work Students' Well-being: A Literature Review
• Research in Social Work in the Last Decade Literature Review for 10 Years

Example Methods

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Literature Reviews in Social Work

Types of reviews, literature review vs. systematic review.

• Guidelines for Writing a Literature Review
• Starting Your Search and Search Strategies
• Associations and Research Institutes
• Citing Your Sources

Reviews can have different structures and goals. The primary forms of reviews in our discipline are literature reviews and systematic reviews:

A  literature review  provides a reader with a critical overview of the sources relevant to a specific research subject, question, or idea. In writing a literature review, it is important to contextualize each resource, evaluate the content, and provide a critical analysis of the strengths, contributions, and issues.

A guide to writing literature reviews is available  here.

A  systematic review  uses a specific methodology to identify all relevant studies on a specific topic and then select appropriate studies based on very specific criteria for inclusion/exclusion. By having transparent frameworks, systematic reviews seek to be verifiable and reproducible. Systematic reviews in the discipline can often include statistical analysis techniques.

A guide to writing systematic reviews is available  here.  

A comprehensive list of all the types of reviews you might encounter as a social science researcher and their search strategies is available  here.

The following chart can guide you through deciding if a literature review or systematic review is right for you. This is available to download or print by clicking below:

Difference Between Literature Review and Systematic Review

Adopted and reformatted for social science analysis purposes from: Kysh, Lynn (2013):  Difference between a systematic review and a literature review . Figshare. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.766364.v1

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What is a Literature Review?

A literature review, generally, is a summary and synthesis of existing research on a topic. Most scholarly articles or papers include a literature review to introduce the research question or thesis. But some literature reviews stand alone as individual papers.

There are also different types of review articles that have other purposes; read more below.

If you are asked to write a literature review for an assignment, read the instructions and consult with your instructor to be sure you understand exactly what is expected of the literature review for this assignment.

• Literature Reviews - UNC Writing Center An introduction to literature reviews and ways to organize a literature review.
• The Literature Review: Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper - USC Libraries A good overview including types of literature reviews, ways to organize a literature review, and a recommended process.
• Social Work Literature Review Guidelines Brief guidelines from Purdue OWL
• Social Work Research Skills Workbook : A Step-By-Step Guide to Conducting Agency-Based Research Chapter 3, Review of the Literature, provides excellent guidance on conducting a literature review. This library ebook requires an EMU NetID.

More Types of Review Articles

Review articles are generally a kind of secondary source.  That is, they are not presenting empirical findings from a single research project.  They are, however, original , in the sense that the author is using skill, knowledge and creativity to compile and write something new about the material (books, articles) under review.

There are several kinds of review articles.  Book Reviews are a special case, because sometimes they are written by experts but sometimes they are written by journalists or just fans of the book. Typically, a book review describes the main contents of the book, how it relates to existing ideas or works, and gives a judgment as to its value to various readers.  Some book reviews are just a paragraph, but the reviews in scholarly journals can be several pages.  In Esearch, you can limit search results to book reviews only, or screen book reviews out of the results, by clicking into the left-hand column under Content Type . 

Stand-alone Review Articles or Literature Reviews are common in the social sciences. The authors of these articles are experts, usually scholars. The review articles will address a current topic, lay out the main theories or ideas, recent developments in research, and suggest where further research is needed. Typical review articles are published in series such as:

• Annual Reviews This link opens in a new window Critical reviews of primary research literature in the sciences and social sciences. EMU access does not include the most recent 5 years.

In the health fields, Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses are articles that go a step further. Not only do they summarize and research on a topic, but they carefully analyze the research and may attempt to draw conclusions based on the compiled studies.  For more on these kinds of reviews, see:

• What is a Systematic Review? (Curtin Univ) This guide distinguishes several different kinds of reviews, such as literature review, systematic review, scoping review, etc.
• What is a systematic review? (Cochrane)
• Systematic Reviews (EPPI centre)

Search relevant library databases and other resources as part of your literature review. Use the sources recommended on these sections of the Social Work guide:

• Find Articles

Use Key Articles to Find More Sources

Approaches for finding more sources related to key articles. Many library databases offer these features:

• References - look for relevant sources cited in the key article
• Cited By - find more recent sources that cite the key article
• Related Items / Related Articles - finds sources that the database calculates to be related to the key article.

Google Scholar : look for Cited By and Related articles links

Esearch : look for References / Cited by links

Reading Research Articles

• How to Read a Social Science Journal Article Explains the structure of a research article and offers tips for reading strategically.
• Notetaking template for reading research articles Copy this Google Doc template and use it to take organized notes when reading research articles.
• Use a Literature Matrix for Note Taking How to use a matrix to summarize and synthesize the sources you read. Matrix templates available for Microsoft Word and Excel .

Organizing References

• Citation Tools Zotero and other citation tools are useful for saving and organizing your sources, and also help you create citations and reference lists.
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Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

Book Title: Guidebook for Social Work Literature Reviews and Research Questions

Authors: Rebecca L. Mauldin and Matthew DeCarlo

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Book Description: This short guidebook provides information about selecting a research topic and research questions, searching for literature, reading and understanding scholarly writing, and writing a literature review to synthesize what is known and what remains to be learned about a social problem. For students who appreciate the availability of resources on the internet, it also provides links to additional materials. It can be used with its companion textbook, Foundations of Social Work Research by Rebecca L. Mauldin and Matthew DeCarlo, or as a stand-alone guide.

Book Information

Book description.

As an introductory textbook for social work students studying research methods, this book guides students through the process of writing a literature review and determining research questions for a research project. Students will learn how to discover a researchable topic that is interesting to them, examine scholarly literature, and write a literature review. The guidebook is aligned with the Council on Social Work Education’s 2015 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards. Students and faculty can download copies of this guidebook using the links provided in the front matter. As an open textbook, users are free to retain copies, redistribute copies (non-commercially), revise the contents, remix it with other works, and reuse for any purpose.

Guidebook for Social Work Literature Reviews and Research Questions Copyright © 2020 by Rebecca Mauldin and Matthew DeCarlo is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Research methods: general

This open textbook is based on the open textbook Scientific Inquiry in Social Work by Matthew DeCarlo.

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Social Work (and how to find Tests and Measurements): Writing a Literature Review

• Beginning Your Research
• Locating Books and Articles
• Writing a Literature Review
• Locating Tests and Measurements

Books on Literature Reviews!

What is a Literature Review?

A literature review is used to show that you have read, evaluated, and comprehended the published research on a particular topic. A literature review is structured to show to your professors that you understand the work that has been done in the past on a topic, and will serve as a jumping off point for whatever research you are conducting.   It can either be a stand-alone document, or a section at the beginning of a research paper, master’s thesis, special project, or report. Writing a literature review will require you to locate published research on a topic, read those materials, and write a description and evaluation of the works.

How to Write a Literature Review

STEP ONE: What is your topic?

What is your research project? You really can’t begin to write a literature review until you have determined what your own research is about. Determine the problem and the population you are studying.  

STEP TWO: Time to visit the library!

Search the library catalog and relevant online databases, such as Social Work Abstracts and PsychInfo, to locate previously published research on your subject. This will involve finding books, journal articles, dissertations and theses, and possibly reports from governmental agencies or independent organizations.   

STEP THREE: Read and think!

Read and critically evaluate each item that you have located.   What are the researcher’s credentials? What kind of methodology was used? Do you find the research to be objective? Do you find the conclusions persuasive?   How does the research contribute to your understanding of the issue that you are researching? Are the researchers saying the same things, or are they coming to different conclusions? What are the relationships between the articles? What has been said, and what has not been said? What are some areas for future research?   

STEP FOUR: Start writing!

You may want to sort the materials you have read based on their different themes, theoretical foundations, or varying conclusions. Then, for each article, describe the research that was done and the conclusions of the authors. Discuss how that particular work contributes to the understanding of the subject that you are working on.

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• Specific Examples/Applications of APA Style, 7th edition

Sample APA-Style Papers (7th edition)

The following links provide samples of student-paper formatting in APA's 7th edition style.  The first is from APA's web site; the second is from Purdue OWL's web site.

• Sample APA Student Paper This document from the APA web site illustrates the 7th edition formatting of a student paper. This format is a simplified version of the professional paper format (excluding things like running heads, etc.).
• Purdue OWL Sample Student Paper This sample student paper in APA 7th edition comes from PurdueOWL. It can be used to supplement the example from the APA web site, or stand on its own.

The following links provide samples of professional-paper formatting in APA's 7th edition style.  The first is from APA's web site; the second is from Purdue OWL's web site.  The formatting of these professional papers is a bit more involved than that of the student sample papers.

• Sample APA Professional Paper This sample professional paper from the APA web site illustrates the 7th edition formatting for a paper submitted for publication to a professional journal.
• Purdue OWL Sample Professional Paper This sample paper from Purdue OWL illustrates in 7th edition formatting a professional paper. It can be used to supplement the APA sample paper or it can stand alone.

Quotations and Paraphrases in APA Style (7th edition)

• Quotations (APA 7th Edition) This link takes you to a page on the official APAstyle.org web site with information that includes how to cite both direct and indirect quotations (short and long), how to cite material for direct quotations that do not contain page numbers, and more.
• Quotations--PurdueOWL (APA 7th edition) On this "Basics: In-Text Citations" page from PurdueOWL, scroll down to see explanations and example for quotations both short (under 40 words) and long (40+ words). In addition, it gives guidance about paraphrases/summaries and how to use in-text citations to document their original source(s).

Formatting an Annotated Bibliography in APA Style (7th edition)

• Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL): Annotated Bibliographies This helpful page from PurdueOWL explains the purpose of annotated bibliographies, what they often contain, and why they're helpful.
• Guidelines for Formatting Annotated Bibliographies (APA, 7th ed.) This document provides guidance for formatting annotated bibliographies, including a sample annotated bib.

Formatting a Literature Review in APA Style (7th edition)

While APA doesn't itself provide an example of how to format a literature review, it does provide some guidance in its Publication Manual * about the content of a lit review:

Literature Reviews:

• provide summaries and evaluations of findings/theories in the research literature of a particular discipline or field;
• may include qualitative, quantitative, or a variety of other types of research;
• should define and clarify the problem being reviewed;
• summarize previous research to inform readers of where research stands currently in regard to the problem;
• identify relationships, contradictions, gaps, and inconsistencies in the current literature;
• suggest next steps or further research needed to move toward solving the problem.  (APA, 2020, Section 1.6, p. 8)

* American Psychological Association. (2020).  Publication manual of the American Psychological Association: The official guide to APA style (7th ed.). American Psychological Association.

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Social Work

• Background Info
• Streaming Video
• EndNote / APA Style
• Datasets & Statistics
• Public Policy
• Tests & Measures
• Clinical Social Work
• Systematic Reviews (DSW & PhD)
• Publishing in Social Work Journals

Systematic Reviews in Social Work

This page contains guidance for conducting a systematic review in social work, including comprehensive database searches, gray literature searching, forming a research question, brainstorming keywords, and examples of eligibility criteria and search logs.

Planning Your Systematic Review

• Examples of Eligibility Criteria
• Brainstorming Keywords
• Common Synonyms & Related Terms in Social Work
• Process for Selecting Databases
• Social Work Database Comparison Chart

Find out if a systematic review has already been published on your topic:

• Campbell Collaboration Check here for published reviews and protocols by the Campbell Collaboration, which focuses on reviews outside of clinical medicine.
• Google Scholar This link opens in a new window Find open access scholarly articles using a friendly Google interface. UK users can set up "Library Links" in your Google settings to identify your affiliation with UK Libraries, giving you additional online fulltext articles based on your institutional affiliation. Ask Us if you need help.

Creating Your Question (PICO)

• Types of Questions
• PICO Matrix
• PICO Prompts

Background vs Foreground Questions

In order to locate the most useful research, social workers must ask well-defined questions:

Background questions  - the "forest" (broad in scope)

• seek general knowledge about a condition or thing
• not intended for making a clinical decision about a specific patient
• contain two essential components: 1) a question root (who, what, when, etc) with a verb, and 2) a disorder, test, treatment, or other aspect of care 

Foreground questions  - the "trees" (focused in scope)

• seek specific knowledge to inform clinical decisions or actions
• require a grasp of basic concepts to fully comprehend
• typically found in journals and conference proceedings
• contain 3-4 essential components (see PICO)

Content in this guide based on the nursing research guide at Oregon Health and Science University Library, created by Loree Hyde.

Typically used in evidence-based medicine, the PICO model is a useful way of formulating client, community, or policy-related research questions.

Example PICO-based research question:

Among family members of patients undergoing diagnostic procedures, does standard care, listening to tranquil music, or audio-taped comedy routines make a difference in the reduction of reported anxiety?

Original PICO model by Richardson, W.S., et al (1995). The well-built clinical question: a key to evidence-based decisions. ACP Journal Club, 123(3), A12-A13.

From Melnyk, B. M., & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2011). Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare: A guide to best practice. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Fill in the blanks with information from your clinical scenario:

THERAPY In_______________, what is the effect of ________________on _______________ compared with _________________?

PREVENTION For ___________ does the use of _________________ reduce the future risk of ____________ compared with ______________?  

DIAGNOSIS OR DIAGNOSTIC TEST Are (Is) ________________ more accurate in diagnosing _______________ compared with ____________?  

PROGNOSIS Does ____________ influence ______________ in patients who have _____________?  

ETIOLOGY Are ______________ who have _______________ at ______________ risk for/of ____________ compared with _____________ with/without______________?  

MEANING How do _______________ diagnosed with _______________ perceive __________________?

Databases for Social Work (published research articles)

• Database Descriptions Disciplines covered, date range, and types of sources in each database.

MULTIDISCIPLINARY DATABASES

SUBJECT-SPECIFIC DATABASES:

EBSCO databases. Search these together on the EBSCO platform:

ProQuest databases (optional). Search these together on the ProQuest platform:

Additional Databases (published research studies)

Provides full-text for thousands of business journals and other sources, peer-reviewed business publications, trade journals/general business magazines, books (most indexed by chapter), industry reports and market research reports.

Googling Gray Literature Sources

Include your topic keywords, along with the word research report.  Consider limiting to . org or . gov domain. Consider limiting to PDF filetype

Example: community violence research report site:.org filetype:pdf

Theses and Dissertations (Gray Literature)

Theses and dissertations completed by University of Kentucky students can be found in InfoKat Discovery . For new theses and dissertations that have just been released, they may be findable on UKnowledge only until after they have been added to InfoKat Discovery.

Other resources for finding theses and dissertations include:

• Open Access Theses & Dissertations (OATD) Database of open access graduate theses and dissertations published around the world. Metadata (information about the theses) comes from over 1,100 colleges, universities, and research institutions. OATD currently indexes over 5 million theses and dissertations (as of 10/1/19).
• EBSCO Open Dissertations
• Thesis Commons

Conference Papers and Proceedings (Gray Literature)

• F1000 Research Articles and other research outputs reporting basic scientific, scholarly, translational and clinical research across the physical and life sciences, engineering, medicine, social sciences and humanities

Preprint Articles (Gray Literature)

• SSRN (Social Sciences Research Network) Articles, papers, and presentations in social science disciplines.
• OSF Preprints | Center for Open Science Preprint papers from multiple disciplines.
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Getting Started

• Search Strategies for Social Work Systematic Reviews
• DSW/PhD UK Library Checklist
• DSW 2022 Accessing Scholarly Literature (Rez Wk)
• Search Log Example

Keep a search log during your systematic review, to save yourself time later.

Purpose:  

Documentation of methodology

Capture databases and keywords

What to document: 

Databases and platforms

Limiters used

# of results from each database 

• Last Updated: Aug 22, 2024 12:58 PM
• URL: https://libguides.uky.edu/socialwork

Social Work

• Getting Started - FInd Books
• Find Articles
• Types of Reviews
• Steps for Conducting a Lit Review
• Statistics and Data
• APA Formatting Guide
• Citation Managers - Zotero
• Ask a Librarian

What are the types of reviews?

As you begin searching through the literature for evidence, you will come across different types of publications. Below are examples of the most common types and explanations of what they are. Although systematic reviews and meta-analysis are considered the highest quality of evidence, not every topic will have an SR or MA.

Literature Review Examples

Remember, a literature review provides an overview of a topic. There may or may not be a method for how studies are collected or interpreted. Lit reviews aren't always obviously labeled "literature review"; they may be embedded within sections such as the introduction or background. You can figure this out by reading the article. 

• Pandemics though History Full Citation: Sampath, S., Khedr, A., Qmar, S., Tekin, A., Singh, R., Green, R. & Kashyap, R. (2021). Pandemics Through History. Cureus 13(9).
• The Evolution of Public Health Genomics: Exploring Its Past, Present, and Future Full Citation: Molster, C,M. et al. (2018). The Evolution of Public Health Genomics: Exploring Its Past, Present, and Future. Frontiers in Public Health. 6(247).

Systematic Review Examples

Systematic reviews address a clinical question.  Reviews are gathered using a specific, defined set of criteria.

• Selection criteria is defined
• The words "Systematic Review" may appear int he title or abstract
• BTW -> Cochrane Reviews aka Systematic Reviews
• Additional reviews can be found by using a systematic review limit 
• A systematic review of the mental health changes of children and young people before and during the COVID‑19 pandemic Full Citation: Kauhanen, L. et. al. (2023). A systematic review of the mental health changes of children and young people before and during the COVID‑19 pandemic. European Child & Health Psychiatry. 32., p. 995-1013
• Protocol for a systematic review to understand the long-term mental-health effects of influenza pandemics in the pre-COVID-19 era Full Citation:Dinka, J. et. al. (2023). Protocol for a systematic review to understand the long-term mental-health effects of influenza pandemics in the pre-COVID-19 era. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health.
• Cochrane Library (Wiley) This link opens in a new window Over 5000 reviews of research on medical treatments, practices, and diagnostic tests are provided in this database. Cochrane Reviews is the premier resource for Evidence Based Practice.
• PubMed (NLM) This link opens in a new window PubMed comprises more than 22 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books.

Meta-Analysis Examples

Meta-analysis is a study that combines data from OTHER studies. All the studies are combined to argue whether a clinical intervention is statistically significant by combining the results from the other studies.  For example, you want to examine a specific headache intervention without running a clinical trial.  You can look at other articles that discuss your clinical intervention, combine all the participants from those articles, and run a statistical analysis to test if your results are significant. Guess what? There's a lot of math. 

• Include the words "meta-analysis" or "meta analysis" in your keywords
• Meta-analyses will always be accompanied by a systematic review, but a systematic review may not have a meta-analysis
• See if the abstract or results section mention a meta-analysis
• Use databases like Cochrane or PubMed
• Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the proportion of physically active children and adults worldwide: A systematic review and meta-analysis Full Citation:Chaabna, K. et.al. (2022@. Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the proportion of physically active children and adults worldwide: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Public Health. 10. p. 1-14
• Effects of training and competition on the sleep of elite athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis Full Citation: Zhang, C.C. (2020). Utilization of public health care by people with private health insurance: a systematic reviep. 1-12w and meta-analysis. BMC Public Health. 20(1).
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• Last Updated: Aug 9, 2024 9:13 AM
• URL: https://libguides.uwf.edu/socialwork

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Literature Reviews in Social Work

• Robin Kiteley - University of Huddersfield, UK
• Christine Stogdon
• Description

 Drawing on their wealth of teaching experience, the authors outline best practice in:

-Choosing your topic

-Effective search strategies

-Taking notes

-Organising your material

-Accurate referencing

-Managing the process of writing your literature review

-Enhancing evidence-based practice. Trying to complete a literature review, research project or dissertation as part of your social work degree? This book will prove the perfect companion. Robin Kiteley is Lecturer at the University of Huddersfield. Chris Stogdon is a social work educator and practitioner.

This well constructed, very accessible book is full of practice wisdom, hints, tips and sound advice. Students and more experienced colleagues will all benefit from studying this highly recommended essential guide.

This is a good book particularly for undergraduate social work students undertaking literature based projects or dissertations

An excellent book which takes the reader through the core elements around conducting a literature review. Clear explanations, with helpful easy to follow boxes to guide the reader to important aspects of the literature. The referencing skills section is particularly useful to aid the reader to follow the correct protocols for referencing, with illustrative examples. Overall an excellent read to support and aid students understanding for conducting a literature review.

This book provides students with a clear and well argued framework. The author clearly understands the needs of students in both graduate and undergraduate courses.

This is an excellent introduction to the principles and skills required to produce a high quality literature review. I have recommended to my students as a good primer for their CLRs or dissertations.

This books provides a really easy to use guide for students gaining an understanding of how to search for literature, read the literature, critique and review and reference the literature. It is presented in a clearly laid out format and contains some useful exercises and tips. This book would be suitable for students from level 4 onwards.

An very accessible book for students and gives clear guidance on methodology and processes for conducting a literature review. A recommended practical guide to encourage students to get planning and writing their dissertations.

Many students are concerned about writing their first dissertation. However this book offers an excellent introductory guide to help them complete their literature review - the foundation of the dissertation.

This text is a very useful supplement to Stogdon and Kitely's "Study Skills for Social Workers" which I recommend to my year 1 - 3 students. This extensive coverage of literature reviews will form the basis for year four teaching and support for our students undertakign a literature based dissertation.

This is proving to be a useful text for students in their final year of social work training, and as they complete their Literature Reviews with their Research Methods. This text is nicely set out and easily accessible, crucial when time is of the essence for beleaguered students!

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