HTML Preview Nursing Literature Article Summary Review page number 1.
Writing Literature Reviews in Nursing
Most nursing papers follow a standard format that includes some or all of the following sections: an
introduction, statement of the research question, background and significance of the topic, methods (of
finding articles for review), a literature review containing article summaries and critiques, discussion, a study
proposal, and a conclusion. Since nursing papers follow APA style, these sections are usually noted by the use
of headings. Subheadings may be used to break up information within major headings.
Introduction:
The introduction establishes the relevance and urgency of the topic at hand. It also contains the research
question. Sometimes this question is referred to as a PICOT question. This stands for Population/Patient
Problem, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, Time. You can find many great resources for understanding the
levels of evidence involved in research questions and templates for formulating PICOT questions here. Note
that the introduction never uses a heading titled “Introduction.” Instead, the title of the paper appears at the
top of the page and the introduction paragraph begins just below.
Background and Significance:
In this section, the writer gives a historical overview of the research topic. They will explain current evidence-
based practice in the field regarding their topic as well as “gold standard” practice. The writer may go into
depth about the significance of the topic in light of changes in the field or current patient needs. The
background and significance section should be much more in depth than the introduction, and it will contain
citations for scholarly sources throughout.
Methods:
This section is brief (usually 1-2 paragraphs). It explains how the writer identified and selected relevant
research on their topic. The writer should list all databases searched. Key terms and search phrases should be
listed. The writer should explain how search results were narrowed down to the final list of articles used for
the literature review.
Literature Review:
The literature review provides a summary of each article/study selected by the writer (see next page for the
components of a strong article summary). At the end of each summary, the writer should identify strengths,
weaknesses, and limitations of the study. A good literature review will have intentional organization. The
author might organize articles chronologically, reverse-chronologically, by study design, or by theme.
Transitions are used to move from one summary to the next.
Discussion:
The discussion synthesizes the findings of all studies summarized in the literature review. Common themes
and disparities among studies are noted and examined in depth. The writer also identifies any gaps in research
revealed by the literature review.
Study Proposal:
The writer will propose a study based on the findings of the literature review and any gaps in research
identified in the discussion.
Conclusion:
The writer will discuss the significance of their findings and/or study proposal as well as ideas for future
research.