sample of the literature review

• UWF Libraries

Literature Review: Conducting & Writing

• Sample Literature Reviews
• Steps for Conducting a Lit Review
• Finding "The Literature"
• Organizing/Writing
• APA Style This link opens in a new window
• Chicago: Notes Bibliography This link opens in a new window
• MLA Style This link opens in a new window

Sample Lit Reviews from Communication Arts

Have an exemplary literature review.

• Literature Review Sample 1
• Literature Review Sample 2
• Literature Review Sample 3

Have you written a stellar literature review you care to share for teaching purposes?

Are you an instructor who has received an exemplary literature review and have permission from the student to post?

Please contact Britt McGowan at [email protected] for inclusion in this guide. All disciplines welcome and encouraged.

• << Previous: MLA Style
• Next: Get Help! >>
• Last Updated: Mar 22, 2024 9:37 AM
• URL: https://libguides.uwf.edu/litreview

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Writing a Literature Review

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

A literature review is a document or section of a document that collects key sources on a topic and discusses those sources in conversation with each other (also called synthesis ). The lit review is an important genre in many disciplines, not just literature (i.e., the study of works of literature such as novels and plays). When we say “literature review” or refer to “the literature,” we are talking about the research ( scholarship ) in a given field. You will often see the terms “the research,” “the scholarship,” and “the literature” used mostly interchangeably.

Where, when, and why would I write a lit review?

There are a number of different situations where you might write a literature review, each with slightly different expectations; different disciplines, too, have field-specific expectations for what a literature review is and does. For instance, in the humanities, authors might include more overt argumentation and interpretation of source material in their literature reviews, whereas in the sciences, authors are more likely to report study designs and results in their literature reviews; these differences reflect these disciplines’ purposes and conventions in scholarship. You should always look at examples from your own discipline and talk to professors or mentors in your field to be sure you understand your discipline’s conventions, for literature reviews as well as for any other genre.

A literature review can be a part of a research paper or scholarly article, usually falling after the introduction and before the research methods sections. In these cases, the lit review just needs to cover scholarship that is important to the issue you are writing about; sometimes it will also cover key sources that informed your research methodology.

Lit reviews can also be standalone pieces, either as assignments in a class or as publications. In a class, a lit review may be assigned to help students familiarize themselves with a topic and with scholarship in their field, get an idea of the other researchers working on the topic they’re interested in, find gaps in existing research in order to propose new projects, and/or develop a theoretical framework and methodology for later research. As a publication, a lit review usually is meant to help make other scholars’ lives easier by collecting and summarizing, synthesizing, and analyzing existing research on a topic. This can be especially helpful for students or scholars getting into a new research area, or for directing an entire community of scholars toward questions that have not yet been answered.

What are the parts of a lit review?

Most lit reviews use a basic introduction-body-conclusion structure; if your lit review is part of a larger paper, the introduction and conclusion pieces may be just a few sentences while you focus most of your attention on the body. If your lit review is a standalone piece, the introduction and conclusion take up more space and give you a place to discuss your goals, research methods, and conclusions separately from where you discuss the literature itself.

Introduction:

• An introductory paragraph that explains what your working topic and thesis is
• A forecast of key topics or texts that will appear in the review
• Potentially, a description of how you found sources and how you analyzed them for inclusion and discussion in the review (more often found in published, standalone literature reviews than in lit review sections in an article or research paper)
• Summarize and synthesize: Give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole
• Analyze and interpret: Don’t just paraphrase other researchers – add your own interpretations where possible, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole
• Critically Evaluate: Mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources
• Write in well-structured paragraphs: Use transition words and topic sentence to draw connections, comparisons, and contrasts.

Conclusion:

• Summarize the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasize their significance
• Connect it back to your primary research question

How should I organize my lit review?

Lit reviews can take many different organizational patterns depending on what you are trying to accomplish with the review. Here are some examples:

• Chronological : The simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time, which helps familiarize the audience with the topic (for instance if you are introducing something that is not commonly known in your field). If you choose this strategy, be careful to avoid simply listing and summarizing sources in order. Try to analyze the patterns, turning points, and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred (as mentioned previously, this may not be appropriate in your discipline — check with a teacher or mentor if you’re unsure).
• Thematic : If you have found some recurring central themes that you will continue working with throughout your piece, you can organize your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic. For example, if you are reviewing literature about women and religion, key themes can include the role of women in churches and the religious attitude towards women.
• Qualitative versus quantitative research
• Empirical versus theoretical scholarship
• Divide the research by sociological, historical, or cultural sources
• Theoretical : In many humanities articles, the literature review is the foundation for the theoretical framework. You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts. You can argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach or combine various theorical concepts to create a framework for your research.

What are some strategies or tips I can use while writing my lit review?

Any lit review is only as good as the research it discusses; make sure your sources are well-chosen and your research is thorough. Don’t be afraid to do more research if you discover a new thread as you’re writing. More info on the research process is available in our "Conducting Research" resources .

As you’re doing your research, create an annotated bibliography ( see our page on the this type of document ). Much of the information used in an annotated bibliography can be used also in a literature review, so you’ll be not only partially drafting your lit review as you research, but also developing your sense of the larger conversation going on among scholars, professionals, and any other stakeholders in your topic.

Usually you will need to synthesize research rather than just summarizing it. This means drawing connections between sources to create a picture of the scholarly conversation on a topic over time. Many student writers struggle to synthesize because they feel they don’t have anything to add to the scholars they are citing; here are some strategies to help you:

• It often helps to remember that the point of these kinds of syntheses is to show your readers how you understand your research, to help them read the rest of your paper.
• Writing teachers often say synthesis is like hosting a dinner party: imagine all your sources are together in a room, discussing your topic. What are they saying to each other?
• Look at the in-text citations in each paragraph. Are you citing just one source for each paragraph? This usually indicates summary only. When you have multiple sources cited in a paragraph, you are more likely to be synthesizing them (not always, but often
• Read more about synthesis here.

The most interesting literature reviews are often written as arguments (again, as mentioned at the beginning of the page, this is discipline-specific and doesn’t work for all situations). Often, the literature review is where you can establish your research as filling a particular gap or as relevant in a particular way. You have some chance to do this in your introduction in an article, but the literature review section gives a more extended opportunity to establish the conversation in the way you would like your readers to see it. You can choose the intellectual lineage you would like to be part of and whose definitions matter most to your thinking (mostly humanities-specific, but this goes for sciences as well). In addressing these points, you argue for your place in the conversation, which tends to make the lit review more compelling than a simple reporting of other sources.

Get science-backed answers as you write with Paperpal's Research feature

What is a Literature Review? How to Write It (with Examples)

A literature review is a critical analysis and synthesis of existing research on a particular topic. It provides an overview of the current state of knowledge, identifies gaps, and highlights key findings in the literature. 1 The purpose of a literature review is to situate your own research within the context of existing scholarship, demonstrating your understanding of the topic and showing how your work contributes to the ongoing conversation in the field. Learning how to write a literature review is a critical tool for successful research. Your ability to summarize and synthesize prior research pertaining to a certain topic demonstrates your grasp on the topic of study, and assists in the learning process. 

Table of Contents

• What is the purpose of literature review? 
• a. Habitat Loss and Species Extinction: 
• b. Range Shifts and Phenological Changes: 
• c. Ocean Acidification and Coral Reefs: 
• d. Adaptive Strategies and Conservation Efforts: 
• How to write a good literature review 
• Choose a Topic and Define the Research Question: 
• Decide on the Scope of Your Review: 
• Select Databases for Searches: 
• Conduct Searches and Keep Track: 
• Review the Literature: 
• Organize and Write Your Literature Review: 
• Frequently asked questions 

What is a literature review?

A well-conducted literature review demonstrates the researcher’s familiarity with the existing literature, establishes the context for their own research, and contributes to scholarly conversations on the topic. One of the purposes of a literature review is also to help researchers avoid duplicating previous work and ensure that their research is informed by and builds upon the existing body of knowledge.

What is the purpose of literature review?

A literature review serves several important purposes within academic and research contexts. Here are some key objectives and functions of a literature review: 2  

• Contextualizing the Research Problem: The literature review provides a background and context for the research problem under investigation. It helps to situate the study within the existing body of knowledge. 
• Identifying Gaps in Knowledge: By identifying gaps, contradictions, or areas requiring further research, the researcher can shape the research question and justify the significance of the study. This is crucial for ensuring that the new research contributes something novel to the field. 
• Understanding Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks: Literature reviews help researchers gain an understanding of the theoretical and conceptual frameworks used in previous studies. This aids in the development of a theoretical framework for the current research. 
• Providing Methodological Insights: Another purpose of literature reviews is that it allows researchers to learn about the methodologies employed in previous studies. This can help in choosing appropriate research methods for the current study and avoiding pitfalls that others may have encountered. 
• Establishing Credibility: A well-conducted literature review demonstrates the researcher’s familiarity with existing scholarship, establishing their credibility and expertise in the field. It also helps in building a solid foundation for the new research. 
• Informing Hypotheses or Research Questions: The literature review guides the formulation of hypotheses or research questions by highlighting relevant findings and areas of uncertainty in existing literature. 

Literature review example

Let’s delve deeper with a literature review example: Let’s say your literature review is about the impact of climate change on biodiversity. You might format your literature review into sections such as the effects of climate change on habitat loss and species extinction, phenological changes, and marine biodiversity. Each section would then summarize and analyze relevant studies in those areas, highlighting key findings and identifying gaps in the research. The review would conclude by emphasizing the need for further research on specific aspects of the relationship between climate change and biodiversity. The following literature review template provides a glimpse into the recommended literature review structure and content, demonstrating how research findings are organized around specific themes within a broader topic. 

Literature Review on Climate Change Impacts on Biodiversity:

Climate change is a global phenomenon with far-reaching consequences, including significant impacts on biodiversity. This literature review synthesizes key findings from various studies: 

a. Habitat Loss and Species Extinction:

Climate change-induced alterations in temperature and precipitation patterns contribute to habitat loss, affecting numerous species (Thomas et al., 2004). The review discusses how these changes increase the risk of extinction, particularly for species with specific habitat requirements. 

b. Range Shifts and Phenological Changes:

Observations of range shifts and changes in the timing of biological events (phenology) are documented in response to changing climatic conditions (Parmesan & Yohe, 2003). These shifts affect ecosystems and may lead to mismatches between species and their resources. 

c. Ocean Acidification and Coral Reefs:

The review explores the impact of climate change on marine biodiversity, emphasizing ocean acidification’s threat to coral reefs (Hoegh-Guldberg et al., 2007). Changes in pH levels negatively affect coral calcification, disrupting the delicate balance of marine ecosystems. 

d. Adaptive Strategies and Conservation Efforts:

Recognizing the urgency of the situation, the literature review discusses various adaptive strategies adopted by species and conservation efforts aimed at mitigating the impacts of climate change on biodiversity (Hannah et al., 2007). It emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary approaches for effective conservation planning. 

How to write a good literature review

Writing a literature review involves summarizing and synthesizing existing research on a particular topic. A good literature review format should include the following elements. 

Introduction: The introduction sets the stage for your literature review, providing context and introducing the main focus of your review. 

• Opening Statement: Begin with a general statement about the broader topic and its significance in the field. 
• Scope and Purpose: Clearly define the scope of your literature review. Explain the specific research question or objective you aim to address. 
• Organizational Framework: Briefly outline the structure of your literature review, indicating how you will categorize and discuss the existing research. 
• Significance of the Study: Highlight why your literature review is important and how it contributes to the understanding of the chosen topic. 
• Thesis Statement: Conclude the introduction with a concise thesis statement that outlines the main argument or perspective you will develop in the body of the literature review. 

Body: The body of the literature review is where you provide a comprehensive analysis of existing literature, grouping studies based on themes, methodologies, or other relevant criteria. 

• Organize by Theme or Concept: Group studies that share common themes, concepts, or methodologies. Discuss each theme or concept in detail, summarizing key findings and identifying gaps or areas of disagreement. 
• Critical Analysis: Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each study. Discuss the methodologies used, the quality of evidence, and the overall contribution of each work to the understanding of the topic. 
• Synthesis of Findings: Synthesize the information from different studies to highlight trends, patterns, or areas of consensus in the literature. 
• Identification of Gaps: Discuss any gaps or limitations in the existing research and explain how your review contributes to filling these gaps. 
• Transition between Sections: Provide smooth transitions between different themes or concepts to maintain the flow of your literature review. 

Conclusion: The conclusion of your literature review should summarize the main findings, highlight the contributions of the review, and suggest avenues for future research. 

• Summary of Key Findings: Recap the main findings from the literature and restate how they contribute to your research question or objective. 
• Contributions to the Field: Discuss the overall contribution of your literature review to the existing knowledge in the field. 
• Implications and Applications: Explore the practical implications of the findings and suggest how they might impact future research or practice. 
• Recommendations for Future Research: Identify areas that require further investigation and propose potential directions for future research in the field. 
• Final Thoughts: Conclude with a final reflection on the importance of your literature review and its relevance to the broader academic community. 

Conducting a literature review

Conducting a literature review is an essential step in research that involves reviewing and analyzing existing literature on a specific topic. It’s important to know how to do a literature review effectively, so here are the steps to follow: 1  

Choose a Topic and Define the Research Question:

• Select a topic that is relevant to your field of study. 
• Clearly define your research question or objective. Determine what specific aspect of the topic do you want to explore? 

Decide on the Scope of Your Review:

• Determine the timeframe for your literature review. Are you focusing on recent developments, or do you want a historical overview? 
• Consider the geographical scope. Is your review global, or are you focusing on a specific region? 
• Define the inclusion and exclusion criteria. What types of sources will you include? Are there specific types of studies or publications you will exclude? 

Select Databases for Searches:

• Identify relevant databases for your field. Examples include PubMed, IEEE Xplore, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. 
• Consider searching in library catalogs, institutional repositories, and specialized databases related to your topic. 

Conduct Searches and Keep Track:

• Develop a systematic search strategy using keywords, Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT), and other search techniques. 
• Record and document your search strategy for transparency and replicability. 
• Keep track of the articles, including publication details, abstracts, and links. Use citation management tools like EndNote, Zotero, or Mendeley to organize your references. 

Review the Literature:

• Evaluate the relevance and quality of each source. Consider the methodology, sample size, and results of studies. 
• Organize the literature by themes or key concepts. Identify patterns, trends, and gaps in the existing research. 
• Summarize key findings and arguments from each source. Compare and contrast different perspectives. 
• Identify areas where there is a consensus in the literature and where there are conflicting opinions. 
• Provide critical analysis and synthesis of the literature. What are the strengths and weaknesses of existing research? 

Organize and Write Your Literature Review:

• Literature review outline should be based on themes, chronological order, or methodological approaches. 
• Write a clear and coherent narrative that synthesizes the information gathered. 
• Use proper citations for each source and ensure consistency in your citation style (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.). 
• Conclude your literature review by summarizing key findings, identifying gaps, and suggesting areas for future research. 

The literature review sample and detailed advice on writing and conducting a review will help you produce a well-structured report. But remember that a literature review is an ongoing process, and it may be necessary to revisit and update it as your research progresses. 

Frequently asked questions

A literature review is a critical and comprehensive analysis of existing literature (published and unpublished works) on a specific topic or research question and provides a synthesis of the current state of knowledge in a particular field. A well-conducted literature review is crucial for researchers to build upon existing knowledge, avoid duplication of efforts, and contribute to the advancement of their field. It also helps researchers situate their work within a broader context and facilitates the development of a sound theoretical and conceptual framework for their studies.

Literature review is a crucial component of research writing, providing a solid background for a research paper’s investigation. The aim is to keep professionals up to date by providing an understanding of ongoing developments within a specific field, including research methods, and experimental techniques used in that field, and present that knowledge in the form of a written report. Also, the depth and breadth of the literature review emphasizes the credibility of the scholar in his or her field.  

Before writing a literature review, it’s essential to undertake several preparatory steps to ensure that your review is well-researched, organized, and focused. This includes choosing a topic of general interest to you and doing exploratory research on that topic, writing an annotated bibliography, and noting major points, especially those that relate to the position you have taken on the topic. 

Literature reviews and academic research papers are essential components of scholarly work but serve different purposes within the academic realm. 3 A literature review aims to provide a foundation for understanding the current state of research on a particular topic, identify gaps or controversies, and lay the groundwork for future research. Therefore, it draws heavily from existing academic sources, including books, journal articles, and other scholarly publications. In contrast, an academic research paper aims to present new knowledge, contribute to the academic discourse, and advance the understanding of a specific research question. Therefore, it involves a mix of existing literature (in the introduction and literature review sections) and original data or findings obtained through research methods. 

Literature reviews are essential components of academic and research papers, and various strategies can be employed to conduct them effectively. If you want to know how to write a literature review for a research paper, here are four common approaches that are often used by researchers.  Chronological Review: This strategy involves organizing the literature based on the chronological order of publication. It helps to trace the development of a topic over time, showing how ideas, theories, and research have evolved.  Thematic Review: Thematic reviews focus on identifying and analyzing themes or topics that cut across different studies. Instead of organizing the literature chronologically, it is grouped by key themes or concepts, allowing for a comprehensive exploration of various aspects of the topic.  Methodological Review: This strategy involves organizing the literature based on the research methods employed in different studies. It helps to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of various methodologies and allows the reader to evaluate the reliability and validity of the research findings.  Theoretical Review: A theoretical review examines the literature based on the theoretical frameworks used in different studies. This approach helps to identify the key theories that have been applied to the topic and assess their contributions to the understanding of the subject.  It’s important to note that these strategies are not mutually exclusive, and a literature review may combine elements of more than one approach. The choice of strategy depends on the research question, the nature of the literature available, and the goals of the review. Additionally, other strategies, such as integrative reviews or systematic reviews, may be employed depending on the specific requirements of the research.

The literature review format can vary depending on the specific publication guidelines. However, there are some common elements and structures that are often followed. Here is a general guideline for the format of a literature review:  Introduction:   Provide an overview of the topic.  Define the scope and purpose of the literature review.  State the research question or objective.  Body:   Organize the literature by themes, concepts, or chronology.  Critically analyze and evaluate each source.  Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the studies.  Highlight any methodological limitations or biases.  Identify patterns, connections, or contradictions in the existing research.  Conclusion:   Summarize the key points discussed in the literature review.  Highlight the research gap.  Address the research question or objective stated in the introduction.  Highlight the contributions of the review and suggest directions for future research.

Both annotated bibliographies and literature reviews involve the examination of scholarly sources. While annotated bibliographies focus on individual sources with brief annotations, literature reviews provide a more in-depth, integrated, and comprehensive analysis of existing literature on a specific topic. The key differences are as follows: 

References 

• Denney, A. S., & Tewksbury, R. (2013). How to write a literature review.  Journal of criminal justice education ,  24 (2), 218-234. 
• Pan, M. L. (2016).  Preparing literature reviews: Qualitative and quantitative approaches . Taylor & Francis. 
• Cantero, C. (2019). How to write a literature review.  San José State University Writing Center . 

Paperpal is an AI writing assistant that help academics write better, faster with real-time suggestions for in-depth language and grammar correction. Trained on millions of research manuscripts enhanced by professional academic editors, Paperpal delivers human precision at machine speed.  

Try it for free or upgrade to  Paperpal Prime , which unlocks unlimited access to premium features like academic translation, paraphrasing, contextual synonyms, consistency checks and more. It’s like always having a professional academic editor by your side! Go beyond limitations and experience the future of academic writing.  Get Paperpal Prime now at just US$19 a month!

Related Reads:

• Empirical Research: A Comprehensive Guide for Academics 
• How to Write a Scientific Paper in 10 Steps 
• Life Sciences Papers: 9 Tips for Authors Writing in Biological Sciences
• What is an Argumentative Essay? How to Write It (With Examples)

6 Tips for Post-Doc Researchers to Take Their Career to the Next Level

Self-plagiarism in research: what it is and how to avoid it, you may also like, how paperpal’s research feature helps you develop and..., how paperpal is enhancing academic productivity and accelerating..., how to write a successful book chapter for..., academic editing: how to self-edit academic text with..., 4 ways paperpal encourages responsible writing with ai, what are scholarly sources and where can you..., how to write a hypothesis types and examples , measuring academic success: definition & strategies for excellence, what is academic writing: tips for students, why traditional editorial process needs an upgrade.

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, automatically generate references for free.

• Knowledge Base
• Dissertation
• What is a Literature Review? | Guide, Template, & Examples

What is a Literature Review? | Guide, Template, & Examples

Published on 22 February 2022 by Shona McCombes . Revised on 7 June 2022.

What is a literature review? A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources on a specific topic. It provides an overview of current knowledge, allowing you to identify relevant theories, methods, and gaps in the existing research.

There are five key steps to writing a literature review:

• Search for relevant literature
• Evaluate sources
• Identify themes, debates and gaps
• Outline the structure
• Write your literature review

A good literature review doesn’t just summarise sources – it analyses, synthesises, and critically evaluates to give a clear picture of the state of knowledge on the subject.

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Be assured that you'll submit flawless writing. Upload your document to correct all your mistakes.

Table of contents

Why write a literature review, examples of literature reviews, step 1: search for relevant literature, step 2: evaluate and select sources, step 3: identify themes, debates and gaps, step 4: outline your literature review’s structure, step 5: write your literature review, frequently asked questions about literature reviews, introduction.

• Quick Run-through
• Step 1 & 2

When you write a dissertation or thesis, you will have to conduct a literature review to situate your research within existing knowledge. The literature review gives you a chance to:

• Demonstrate your familiarity with the topic and scholarly context
• Develop a theoretical framework and methodology for your research
• Position yourself in relation to other researchers and theorists
• Show how your dissertation addresses a gap or contributes to a debate

You might also have to write a literature review as a stand-alone assignment. In this case, the purpose is to evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your knowledge of scholarly debates around a topic.

The content will look slightly different in each case, but the process of conducting a literature review follows the same steps. We’ve written a step-by-step guide that you can follow below.

The only proofreading tool specialized in correcting academic writing

The academic proofreading tool has been trained on 1000s of academic texts and by native English editors. Making it the most accurate and reliable proofreading tool for students.

Correct my document today

Writing literature reviews can be quite challenging! A good starting point could be to look at some examples, depending on what kind of literature review you’d like to write.

• Example literature review #1: “Why Do People Migrate? A Review of the Theoretical Literature” ( Theoretical literature review about the development of economic migration theory from the 1950s to today.)
• Example literature review #2: “Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines” ( Methodological literature review about interdisciplinary knowledge acquisition and production.)
• Example literature review #3: “The Use of Technology in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Thematic literature review about the effects of technology on language acquisition.)
• Example literature review #4: “Learners’ Listening Comprehension Difficulties in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Chronological literature review about how the concept of listening skills has changed over time.)

You can also check out our templates with literature review examples and sample outlines at the links below.

Download Word doc Download Google doc

Before you begin searching for literature, you need a clearly defined topic .

If you are writing the literature review section of a dissertation or research paper, you will search for literature related to your research objectives and questions .

If you are writing a literature review as a stand-alone assignment, you will have to choose a focus and develop a central question to direct your search. Unlike a dissertation research question, this question has to be answerable without collecting original data. You should be able to answer it based only on a review of existing publications.

Make a list of keywords

Start by creating a list of keywords related to your research topic. Include each of the key concepts or variables you’re interested in, and list any synonyms and related terms. You can add to this list if you discover new keywords in the process of your literature search.

• Social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok
• Body image, self-perception, self-esteem, mental health
• Generation Z, teenagers, adolescents, youth

Search for relevant sources

Use your keywords to begin searching for sources. Some databases to search for journals and articles include:

• Your university’s library catalogue
• Google Scholar
• Project Muse (humanities and social sciences)
• Medline (life sciences and biomedicine)
• EconLit (economics)
• Inspec (physics, engineering and computer science)

You can use boolean operators to help narrow down your search:

Read the abstract to find out whether an article is relevant to your question. When you find a useful book or article, you can check the bibliography to find other relevant sources.

To identify the most important publications on your topic, take note of recurring citations. If the same authors, books or articles keep appearing in your reading, make sure to seek them out.

You probably won’t be able to read absolutely everything that has been written on the topic – you’ll have to evaluate which sources are most relevant to your questions.

For each publication, ask yourself:

• What question or problem is the author addressing?
• What are the key concepts and how are they defined?
• What are the key theories, models and methods? Does the research use established frameworks or take an innovative approach?
• What are the results and conclusions of the study?
• How does the publication relate to other literature in the field? Does it confirm, add to, or challenge established knowledge?
• How does the publication contribute to your understanding of the topic? What are its key insights and arguments?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research?

Make sure the sources you use are credible, and make sure you read any landmark studies and major theories in your field of research.

You can find out how many times an article has been cited on Google Scholar – a high citation count means the article has been influential in the field, and should certainly be included in your literature review.

The scope of your review will depend on your topic and discipline: in the sciences you usually only review recent literature, but in the humanities you might take a long historical perspective (for example, to trace how a concept has changed in meaning over time).

Remember that you can use our template to summarise and evaluate sources you’re thinking about using!

Take notes and cite your sources

As you read, you should also begin the writing process. Take notes that you can later incorporate into the text of your literature review.

It’s important to keep track of your sources with references to avoid plagiarism . It can be helpful to make an annotated bibliography, where you compile full reference information and write a paragraph of summary and analysis for each source. This helps you remember what you read and saves time later in the process.

You can use our free APA Reference Generator for quick, correct, consistent citations.

To begin organising your literature review’s argument and structure, you need to understand the connections and relationships between the sources you’ve read. Based on your reading and notes, you can look for:

• Trends and patterns (in theory, method or results): do certain approaches become more or less popular over time?
• Themes: what questions or concepts recur across the literature?
• Debates, conflicts and contradictions: where do sources disagree?
• Pivotal publications: are there any influential theories or studies that changed the direction of the field?
• Gaps: what is missing from the literature? Are there weaknesses that need to be addressed?

This step will help you work out the structure of your literature review and (if applicable) show how your own research will contribute to existing knowledge.

• Most research has focused on young women.
• There is an increasing interest in the visual aspects of social media.
• But there is still a lack of robust research on highly-visual platforms like Instagram and Snapchat – this is a gap that you could address in your own research.

There are various approaches to organising the body of a literature review. You should have a rough idea of your strategy before you start writing.

Depending on the length of your literature review, you can combine several of these strategies (for example, your overall structure might be thematic, but each theme is discussed chronologically).

Chronological

The simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time. However, if you choose this strategy, be careful to avoid simply listing and summarising sources in order.

Try to analyse patterns, turning points and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred.

If you have found some recurring central themes, you can organise your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic.

For example, if you are reviewing literature about inequalities in migrant health outcomes, key themes might include healthcare policy, language barriers, cultural attitudes, legal status, and economic access.

Methodological

If you draw your sources from different disciplines or fields that use a variety of research methods , you might want to compare the results and conclusions that emerge from different approaches. For example:

• Look at what results have emerged in qualitative versus quantitative research
• Discuss how the topic has been approached by empirical versus theoretical scholarship
• Divide the literature into sociological, historical, and cultural sources

Theoretical

A literature review is often the foundation for a theoretical framework . You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts.

You might argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach, or combine various theoretical concepts to create a framework for your research.

Like any other academic text, your literature review should have an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion . What you include in each depends on the objective of your literature review.

The introduction should clearly establish the focus and purpose of the literature review.

If you are writing the literature review as part of your dissertation or thesis, reiterate your central problem or research question and give a brief summary of the scholarly context. You can emphasise the timeliness of the topic (“many recent studies have focused on the problem of x”) or highlight a gap in the literature (“while there has been much research on x, few researchers have taken y into consideration”).

Depending on the length of your literature review, you might want to divide the body into subsections. You can use a subheading for each theme, time period, or methodological approach.

As you write, make sure to follow these tips:

• Summarise and synthesise: give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole.
• Analyse and interpret: don’t just paraphrase other researchers – add your own interpretations, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole.
• Critically evaluate: mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources.
• Write in well-structured paragraphs: use transitions and topic sentences to draw connections, comparisons and contrasts.

In the conclusion, you should summarise the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasise their significance.

If the literature review is part of your dissertation or thesis, reiterate how your research addresses gaps and contributes new knowledge, or discuss how you have drawn on existing theories and methods to build a framework for your research. This can lead directly into your methodology section.

A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources (such as books, journal articles, and theses) related to a specific topic or research question .

It is often written as part of a dissertation , thesis, research paper , or proposal .

There are several reasons to conduct a literature review at the beginning of a research project:

• To familiarise yourself with the current state of knowledge on your topic
• To ensure that you’re not just repeating what others have already done
• To identify gaps in knowledge and unresolved problems that your research can address
• To develop your theoretical framework and methodology
• To provide an overview of the key findings and debates on the topic

Writing the literature review shows your reader how your work relates to existing research and what new insights it will contribute.

The literature review usually comes near the beginning of your  dissertation . After the introduction , it grounds your research in a scholarly field and leads directly to your theoretical framework or methodology .

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.

McCombes, S. (2022, June 07). What is a Literature Review? | Guide, Template, & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 6 May 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/thesis-dissertation/literature-review/

Is this article helpful?

Shona McCombes

Other students also liked, how to write a dissertation proposal | a step-by-step guide, what is a theoretical framework | a step-by-step guide, what is a research methodology | steps & tips.

Reference management. Clean and simple.

What is a literature review? [with examples]

What is a literature review?

The purpose of a literature review, how to write a literature review, the format of a literature review, general formatting rules, the length of a literature review, literature review examples, frequently asked questions about literature reviews, related articles.

A literature review is an assessment of the sources in a chosen topic of research.

In a literature review, you’re expected to report on the existing scholarly conversation, without adding new contributions.

If you are currently writing one, you've come to the right place. In the following paragraphs, we will explain:

• the objective of a literature review
• how to write a literature review
• the basic format of a literature review

Tip: It’s not always mandatory to add a literature review in a paper. Theses and dissertations often include them, whereas research papers may not. Make sure to consult with your instructor for exact requirements.

The four main objectives of a literature review are:

• Studying the references of your research area
• Summarizing the main arguments
• Identifying current gaps, stances, and issues
• Presenting all of the above in a text

Ultimately, the main goal of a literature review is to provide the researcher with sufficient knowledge about the topic in question so that they can eventually make an intervention.

The format of a literature review is fairly standard. It includes an:

• introduction that briefly introduces the main topic
• body that includes the main discussion of the key arguments
• conclusion that highlights the gaps and issues of the literature

➡️ Take a look at our guide on how to write a literature review to learn more about how to structure a literature review.

First of all, a literature review should have its own labeled section. You should indicate clearly in the table of contents where the literature can be found, and you should label this section as “Literature Review.”

➡️ For more information on writing a thesis, visit our guide on how to structure a thesis .

There is no set amount of words for a literature review, so the length depends on the research. If you are working with a large amount of sources, it will be long. If your paper does not depend entirely on references, it will be short.

Take a look at these three theses featuring great literature reviews:

• School-Based Speech-Language Pathologist's Perceptions of Sensory Food Aversions in Children [ PDF , see page 20]
• Who's Writing What We Read: Authorship in Criminological Research [ PDF , see page 4]
• A Phenomenological Study of the Lived Experience of Online Instructors of Theological Reflection at Christian Institutions Accredited by the Association of Theological Schools [ PDF , see page 56]

Literature reviews are most commonly found in theses and dissertations. However, you find them in research papers as well.

There is no set amount of words for a literature review, so the length depends on the research. If you are working with a large amount of sources, then it will be long. If your paper does not depend entirely on references, then it will be short.

No. A literature review should have its own independent section. You should indicate clearly in the table of contents where the literature review can be found, and label this section as “Literature Review.”

The main goal of a literature review is to provide the researcher with sufficient knowledge about the topic in question so that they can eventually make an intervention.

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

• View all journals
• Explore content
• About the journal
• Publish with us
• Sign up for alerts
• CAREER FEATURE
• 04 December 2020
• Correction 09 December 2020

How to write a superb literature review

Andy Tay is a freelance writer based in Singapore.

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Literature reviews are important resources for scientists. They provide historical context for a field while offering opinions on its future trajectory. Creating them can provide inspiration for one’s own research, as well as some practice in writing. But few scientists are trained in how to write a review — or in what constitutes an excellent one. Even picking the appropriate software to use can be an involved decision (see ‘Tools and techniques’). So Nature asked editors and working scientists with well-cited reviews for their tips.

Access options

Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals

Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription

24,99 € / 30 days

cancel any time

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 51 print issues and online access

185,98 € per year

only 3,65 € per issue

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-03422-x

Interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

Updates & Corrections

Correction 09 December 2020 : An earlier version of the tables in this article included some incorrect details about the programs Zotero, Endnote and Manubot. These have now been corrected.

Hsing, I.-M., Xu, Y. & Zhao, W. Electroanalysis 19 , 755–768 (2007).

Article   Google Scholar  

Ledesma, H. A. et al. Nature Nanotechnol. 14 , 645–657 (2019).

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Brahlek, M., Koirala, N., Bansal, N. & Oh, S. Solid State Commun. 215–216 , 54–62 (2015).

Choi, Y. & Lee, S. Y. Nature Rev. Chem . https://doi.org/10.1038/s41570-020-00221-w (2020).

Download references

Related Articles

• Research management

How I fled bombed Aleppo to continue my career in science

Career Feature 08 MAY 24

Illuminating ‘the ugly side of science’: fresh incentives for reporting negative results

Hunger on campus: why US PhD students are fighting over food

Career Feature 03 MAY 24

Japan can embrace open science — but flexible approaches are key

Correspondence 07 MAY 24

US funders to tighten oversight of controversial ‘gain of function’ research

News 07 MAY 24

France’s research mega-campus faces leadership crisis

News 03 MAY 24

Mount Etna’s spectacular smoke rings and more — April’s best science images

Plagiarism in peer-review reports could be the ‘tip of the iceberg’

Nature Index 01 MAY 24

Southeast University Future Technology Institute Recruitment Notice

Professor openings in mechanical engineering, control science and engineering, and integrating emerging interdisciplinary majors

Nanjing, Jiangsu (CN)

Southeast University

Staff Scientist

A Staff Scientist position is available in the laboratory of Drs. Elliot and Glassberg to study translational aspects of lung injury, repair and fibro

Maywood, Illinois

Loyola University Chicago - Department of Medicine

W3-Professorship (with tenure) in Inorganic Chemistry

The Institute of Inorganic Chemistry in the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Bonn invites applications for a W3-Pro...

53113, Zentrum (DE)

Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität

Principal Investigator Positions at the Chinese Institutes for Medical Research, Beijing

Studies of mechanisms of human diseases, drug discovery, biomedical engineering, public health and relevant interdisciplinary fields.

Beijing, China

The Chinese Institutes for Medical Research (CIMR), Beijing

Research Associate - Neural Development Disorders

Houston, Texas (US)

Baylor College of Medicine (BCM)

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Quick links

• Explore articles by subject
• Guide to authors
• Editorial policies

Literature Review Guide: Examples of Literature Reviews

• What is a Literature Review?
• How to start?
• Search strategies and Databases
• Examples of Literature Reviews
• How to organise the review
• Library summary
• Emerald Infographic

All good quality journal articles will include a small Literature Review after the Introduction paragraph.  It may not be called a Literature Review but gives you an idea of how one is created in miniature.

Sample Literature Reviews as part of a articles or Theses

• Sample Literature Review on Critical Thinking (Gwendolyn Reece, American University Library)
• Hackett, G and Melia, D . The hotel as the holiday/stay destination:trends and innovations. Presented at TRIC Conference, Belfast, Ireland- June 2012 and EuroCHRIE Conference

Links to sample Literature Reviews from other libraries

• Sample literature reviews from University of West Florida

Standalone Literature Reviews

• Attitudes towards the Disability in Ireland
• Martin, A., O'Connor-Fenelon, M. and Lyons, R. (2010). Non-verbal communication between nurses and people with an intellectual disability: A review of the literature. Journal of Intellectual Diabilities, 14(4), 303-314.

Irish Theses

• Phillips, Martin (2015) European airline performance: a data envelopment analysis with extrapolations based on model outputs. Master of Business Studies thesis, Dublin City University.
• The customers’ perception of servicescape’s influence on their behaviours, in the food retail industry : Dublin Business School 2015
• Coughlan, Ray (2015) What was the role of leadership in the transformation of a failing Irish Insurance business. Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.
• << Previous: Search strategies and Databases
• Next: Tutorials >>
• Last Updated: Feb 27, 2024 4:07 PM
• URL: https://ait.libguides.com/literaturereview

How To Structure Your Literature Review

3 options to help structure your chapter.

By: Amy Rommelspacher (PhD) | Reviewer: Dr Eunice Rautenbach | November 2020 (Updated May 2023)

Writing the literature review chapter can seem pretty daunting when you’re piecing together your dissertation or thesis. As  we’ve discussed before , a good literature review needs to achieve a few very important objectives – it should:

• Demonstrate your knowledge of the research topic
• Identify the gaps in the literature and show how your research links to these
• Provide the foundation for your conceptual framework (if you have one)
• Inform your own  methodology and research design

To achieve this, your literature review needs a well-thought-out structure . Get the structure of your literature review chapter wrong and you’ll struggle to achieve these objectives. Don’t worry though – in this post, we’ll look at how to structure your literature review for maximum impact (and marks!).

But wait – is this the right time?

Deciding on the structure of your literature review should come towards the end of the literature review process – after you have collected and digested the literature, but before you start writing the chapter. 

In other words, you need to first develop a rich understanding of the literature before you even attempt to map out a structure. There’s no use trying to develop a structure before you’ve fully wrapped your head around the existing research.

Equally importantly, you need to have a structure in place before you start writing , or your literature review will most likely end up a rambling, disjointed mess. 

Importantly, don’t feel that once you’ve defined a structure you can’t iterate on it. It’s perfectly natural to adjust as you engage in the writing process. As we’ve discussed before , writing is a way of developing your thinking, so it’s quite common for your thinking to change – and therefore, for your chapter structure to change – as you write. 

Need a helping hand?

Like any other chapter in your thesis or dissertation, your literature review needs to have a clear, logical structure. At a minimum, it should have three essential components – an  introduction , a  body   and a  conclusion . 

Let’s take a closer look at each of these.

1: The Introduction Section

Just like any good introduction, the introduction section of your literature review should introduce the purpose and layout (organisation) of the chapter. In other words, your introduction needs to give the reader a taste of what’s to come, and how you’re going to lay that out. Essentially, you should provide the reader with a high-level roadmap of your chapter to give them a taste of the journey that lies ahead.

Here’s an example of the layout visualised in a literature review introduction:

Your introduction should also outline your topic (including any tricky terminology or jargon) and provide an explanation of the scope of your literature review – in other words, what you  will   and  won’t   be covering (the delimitations ). This helps ringfence your review and achieve a clear focus . The clearer and narrower your focus, the deeper you can dive into the topic (which is typically where the magic lies). 

Depending on the nature of your project, you could also present your stance or point of view at this stage. In other words, after grappling with the literature you’ll have an opinion about what the trends and concerns are in the field as well as what’s lacking. The introduction section can then present these ideas so that it is clear to examiners that you’re aware of how your research connects with existing knowledge .

2: The Body Section

The body of your literature review is the centre of your work. This is where you’ll present, analyse, evaluate and synthesise the existing research. In other words, this is where you’re going to earn (or lose) the most marks. Therefore, it’s important to carefully think about how you will organise your discussion to present it in a clear way. 

The body of your literature review should do just as the description of this chapter suggests. It should “review” the literature – in other words, identify, analyse, and synthesise it. So, when thinking about structuring your literature review, you need to think about which structural approach will provide the best “review” for your specific type of research and objectives (we’ll get to this shortly).

There are (broadly speaking)  three options  for organising your literature review.

Option 1: Chronological (according to date)

Organising the literature chronologically is one of the simplest ways to structure your literature review. You start with what was published first and work your way through the literature until you reach the work published most recently. Pretty straightforward.

The benefit of this option is that it makes it easy to discuss the developments and debates in the field as they emerged over time. Organising your literature chronologically also allows you to highlight how specific articles or pieces of work might have changed the course of the field – in other words, which research has had the most impact . Therefore, this approach is very useful when your research is aimed at understanding how the topic has unfolded over time and is often used by scholars in the field of history. That said, this approach can be utilised by anyone that wants to explore change over time .

For example , if a student of politics is investigating how the understanding of democracy has evolved over time, they could use the chronological approach to provide a narrative that demonstrates how this understanding has changed through the ages.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself to help you structure your literature review chronologically.

• What is the earliest literature published relating to this topic?
• How has the field changed over time? Why?
• What are the most recent discoveries/theories?

In some ways, chronology plays a part whichever way you decide to structure your literature review, because you will always, to a certain extent, be analysing how the literature has developed. However, with the chronological approach, the emphasis is very firmly on how the discussion has evolved over time , as opposed to how all the literature links together (which we’ll discuss next ).

Option 2: Thematic (grouped by theme)

The thematic approach to structuring a literature review means organising your literature by theme or category – for example, by independent variables (i.e. factors that have an impact on a specific outcome).

As you’ve been collecting and synthesising literature , you’ll likely have started seeing some themes or patterns emerging. You can then use these themes or patterns as a structure for your body discussion. The thematic approach is the most common approach and is useful for structuring literature reviews in most fields.

For example, if you were researching which factors contributed towards people trusting an organisation, you might find themes such as consumers’ perceptions of an organisation’s competence, benevolence and integrity. Structuring your literature review thematically would mean structuring your literature review’s body section to discuss each of these themes, one section at a time.

Here are some questions to ask yourself when structuring your literature review by themes:

• Are there any patterns that have come to light in the literature?
• What are the central themes and categories used by the researchers?
• Do I have enough evidence of these themes?

PS – you can see an example of a thematically structured literature review in our literature review sample walkthrough video here.

Option 3: Methodological

The methodological option is a way of structuring your literature review by the research methodologies used . In other words, organising your discussion based on the angle from which each piece of research was approached – for example, qualitative , quantitative or mixed  methodologies.

Structuring your literature review by methodology can be useful if you are drawing research from a variety of disciplines and are critiquing different methodologies. The point of this approach is to question  how  existing research has been conducted, as opposed to  what  the conclusions and/or findings the research were.

For example, a sociologist might centre their research around critiquing specific fieldwork practices. Their literature review will then be a summary of the fieldwork methodologies used by different studies.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself when structuring your literature review according to methodology:

• Which methodologies have been utilised in this field?
• Which methodology is the most popular (and why)?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the various methodologies?
• How can the existing methodologies inform my own methodology?

3: The Conclusion Section

Once you’ve completed the body section of your literature review using one of the structural approaches we discussed above, you’ll need to “wrap up” your literature review and pull all the pieces together to set the direction for the rest of your dissertation or thesis.

The conclusion is where you’ll present the key findings of your literature review. In this section, you should emphasise the research that is especially important to your research questions and highlight the gaps that exist in the literature. Based on this, you need to make it clear what you will add to the literature – in other words, justify your own research by showing how it will help fill one or more of the gaps you just identified.

Last but not least, if it’s your intention to develop a conceptual framework for your dissertation or thesis, the conclusion section is a good place to present this.

Example: Thematically Structured Review

In the video below, we unpack a literature review chapter so that you can see an example of a thematically structure review in practice.

Let’s Recap

In this article, we’ve  discussed how to structure your literature review for maximum impact. Here’s a quick recap of what  you need to keep in mind when deciding on your literature review structure:

• Just like other chapters, your literature review needs a clear introduction , body and conclusion .
• The introduction section should provide an overview of what you will discuss in your literature review.
• The body section of your literature review can be organised by chronology , theme or methodology . The right structural approach depends on what you’re trying to achieve with your research.
• The conclusion section should draw together the key findings of your literature review and link them to your research questions.

If you’re ready to get started, be sure to download our free literature review template to fast-track your chapter outline.

Psst… there’s more!

This post is an extract from our bestselling short course, Literature Review Bootcamp . If you want to work smart, you don't want to miss this .

You Might Also Like:

27 Comments

Great work. This is exactly what I was looking for and helps a lot together with your previous post on literature review. One last thing is missing: a link to a great literature chapter of an journal article (maybe with comments of the different sections in this review chapter). Do you know any great literature review chapters?

I agree with you Marin… A great piece

I agree with Marin. This would be quite helpful if you annotate a nicely structured literature from previously published research articles.

Awesome article for my research.

I thank you immensely for this wonderful guide

It is indeed thought and supportive work for the futurist researcher and students

Very educative and good time to get guide. Thank you

Great work, very insightful. Thank you.

Thanks for this wonderful presentation. My question is that do I put all the variables into a single conceptual framework or each hypothesis will have it own conceptual framework?

Thank you very much, very helpful

This is very educative and precise . Thank you very much for dropping this kind of write up .

Pheeww, so damn helpful, thank you for this informative piece.

I’m doing a research project topic ; stool analysis for parasitic worm (enteric) worm, how do I structure it, thanks.

comprehensive explanation. Help us by pasting the URL of some good “literature review” for better understanding.

great piece. thanks for the awesome explanation. it is really worth sharing. I have a little question, if anyone can help me out, which of the options in the body of literature can be best fit if you are writing an architectural thesis that deals with design?

I am doing a research on nanofluids how can l structure it?

Beautifully clear.nThank you!

Lucid! Thankyou!

Brilliant work, well understood, many thanks

I like how this was so clear with simple language 😊😊 thank you so much 😊 for these information 😊

Insightful. I was struggling to come up with a sensible literature review but this has been really helpful. Thank you!

You have given thought-provoking information about the review of the literature.

Thank you. It has made my own research better and to impart your work to students I teach

I learnt a lot from this teaching. It’s a great piece.

I am doing research on EFL teacher motivation for his/her job. How Can I structure it? Is there any detailed template, additional to this?

You are so cool! I do not think I’ve read through something like this before. So nice to find somebody with some genuine thoughts on this issue. Seriously.. thank you for starting this up. This site is one thing that is required on the internet, someone with a little originality!

I’m asked to do conceptual, theoretical and empirical literature, and i just don’t know how to structure it

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• Print Friendly

15 Literature Review Examples

Literature reviews are a necessary step in a research process and often required when writing your research proposal . They involve gathering, analyzing, and evaluating existing knowledge about a topic in order to find gaps in the literature where future studies will be needed.

Ideally, once you have completed your literature review, you will be able to identify how your research project can build upon and extend existing knowledge in your area of study.

Generally, for my undergraduate research students, I recommend a narrative review, where themes can be generated in order for the students to develop sufficient understanding of the topic so they can build upon the themes using unique methods or novel research questions.

If you’re in the process of writing a literature review, I have developed a literature review template for you to use – it’s a huge time-saver and walks you through how to write a literature review step-by-step:

Get your time-saving templates here to write your own literature review.

Literature Review Examples

For the following types of literature review, I present an explanation and overview of the type, followed by links to some real-life literature reviews on the topics.

1. Narrative Review Examples

Also known as a traditional literature review, the narrative review provides a broad overview of the studies done on a particular topic.

It often includes both qualitative and quantitative studies and may cover a wide range of years.

The narrative review’s purpose is to identify commonalities, gaps, and contradictions in the literature .

I recommend to my students that they should gather their studies together, take notes on each study, then try to group them by themes that form the basis for the review (see my step-by-step instructions at the end of the article).

Example Study

Title: Communication in healthcare: a narrative review of the literature and practical recommendations

Citation: Vermeir, P., Vandijck, D., Degroote, S., Peleman, R., Verhaeghe, R., Mortier, E., … & Vogelaers, D. (2015). Communication in healthcare: a narrative review of the literature and practical recommendations. International journal of clinical practice , 69 (11), 1257-1267.

Source: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/ijcp.12686  

Overview: This narrative review analyzed themes emerging from 69 articles about communication in healthcare contexts. Five key themes were found in the literature: poor communication can lead to various negative outcomes, discontinuity of care, compromise of patient safety, patient dissatisfaction, and inefficient use of resources. After presenting the key themes, the authors recommend that practitioners need to approach healthcare communication in a more structured way, such as by ensuring there is a clear understanding of who is in charge of ensuring effective communication in clinical settings.

Other Examples

• Burnout in United States Healthcare Professionals: A Narrative Review (Reith, 2018) – read here
• Examining the Presence, Consequences, and Reduction of Implicit Bias in Health Care: A Narrative Review (Zestcott, Blair & Stone, 2016) – read here
• A Narrative Review of School-Based Physical Activity for Enhancing Cognition and Learning (Mavilidi et al., 2018) – read here
• A narrative review on burnout experienced by medical students and residents (Dyrbye & Shanafelt, 2015) – read here

2. Systematic Review Examples

This type of literature review is more structured and rigorous than a narrative review. It involves a detailed and comprehensive plan and search strategy derived from a set of specified research questions.

The key way you’d know a systematic review compared to a narrative review is in the methodology: the systematic review will likely have a very clear criteria for how the studies were collected, and clear explanations of exclusion/inclusion criteria. 

The goal is to gather the maximum amount of valid literature on the topic, filter out invalid or low-quality reviews, and minimize bias. Ideally, this will provide more reliable findings, leading to higher-quality conclusions and recommendations for further research.

You may note from the examples below that the ‘method’ sections in systematic reviews tend to be much more explicit, often noting rigid inclusion/exclusion criteria and exact keywords used in searches.

Title: The importance of food naturalness for consumers: Results of a systematic review  

Citation: Roman, S., Sánchez-Siles, L. M., & Siegrist, M. (2017). The importance of food naturalness for consumers: Results of a systematic review. Trends in food science & technology , 67 , 44-57.

Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S092422441730122X  

Overview: This systematic review included 72 studies of food naturalness to explore trends in the literature about its importance for consumers. Keywords used in the data search included: food, naturalness, natural content, and natural ingredients. Studies were included if they examined consumers’ preference for food naturalness and contained empirical data. The authors found that the literature lacks clarity about how naturalness is defined and measured, but also found that food consumption is significantly influenced by perceived naturalness of goods.

• A systematic review of research on online teaching and learning from 2009 to 2018 (Martin, Sun & Westine, 2020) – read here
• Where Is Current Research on Blockchain Technology? (Yli-Huumo et al., 2016) – read here
• Universities—industry collaboration: A systematic review (Ankrah & Al-Tabbaa, 2015) – read here
• Internet of Things Applications: A Systematic Review (Asghari, Rahmani & Javadi, 2019) – read here

3. Meta-analysis

This is a type of systematic review that uses statistical methods to combine and summarize the results of several studies.

Due to its robust methodology, a meta-analysis is often considered the ‘gold standard’ of secondary research , as it provides a more precise estimate of a treatment effect than any individual study contributing to the pooled analysis.

Furthermore, by aggregating data from a range of studies, a meta-analysis can identify patterns, disagreements, or other interesting relationships that may have been hidden in individual studies.

This helps to enhance the generalizability of findings, making the conclusions drawn from a meta-analysis particularly powerful and informative for policy and practice.

Title: Cholesterol and Alzheimer’s Disease Risk: A Meta-Meta-Analysis

Citation: Sáiz-Vazquez, O., Puente-Martínez, A., Ubillos-Landa, S., Pacheco-Bonrostro, J., & Santabárbara, J. (2020). Cholesterol and Alzheimer’s disease risk: a meta-meta-analysis. Brain sciences, 10(6), 386.

Source: https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10060386  

O verview: This study examines the relationship between cholesterol and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Researchers conducted a systematic search of meta-analyses and reviewed several databases, collecting 100 primary studies and five meta-analyses to analyze the connection between cholesterol and Alzheimer’s disease. They find that the literature compellingly demonstrates that low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels significantly influence the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

• The power of feedback revisited: A meta-analysis of educational feedback research (Wisniewski, Zierer & Hattie, 2020) – read here
• How Much Does Education Improve Intelligence? A Meta-Analysis (Ritchie & Tucker-Drob, 2018) – read here
• A meta-analysis of factors related to recycling (Geiger et al., 2019) – read here
• Stress management interventions for police officers and recruits (Patterson, Chung & Swan, 2014) – read here

Other Types of Reviews

• Scoping Review: This type of review is used to map the key concepts underpinning a research area and the main sources and types of evidence available. It can be undertaken as stand-alone projects in their own right, or as a precursor to a systematic review.
• Rapid Review: This type of review accelerates the systematic review process in order to produce information in a timely manner. This is achieved by simplifying or omitting stages of the systematic review process.
• Integrative Review: This review method is more inclusive than others, allowing for the simultaneous inclusion of experimental and non-experimental research. The goal is to more comprehensively understand a particular phenomenon.
• Critical Review: This is similar to a narrative review but requires a robust understanding of both the subject and the existing literature. In a critical review, the reviewer not only summarizes the existing literature, but also evaluates its strengths and weaknesses. This is common in the social sciences and humanities .
• State-of-the-Art Review: This considers the current level of advancement in a field or topic and makes recommendations for future research directions. This type of review is common in technological and scientific fields but can be applied to any discipline.

How to Write a Narrative Review (Tips for Undergrad Students)

Most undergraduate students conducting a capstone research project will be writing narrative reviews. Below is a five-step process for conducting a simple review of the literature for your project.

• Search for Relevant Literature: Use scholarly databases related to your field of study, provided by your university library, along with appropriate search terms to identify key scholarly articles that have been published on your topic.
• Evaluate and Select Sources: Filter the source list by selecting studies that are directly relevant and of sufficient quality, considering factors like credibility , objectivity, accuracy, and validity.
• Analyze and Synthesize: Review each source and summarize the main arguments  in one paragraph (or more, for postgrad). Keep these summaries in a table.
• Identify Themes: With all studies summarized, group studies that share common themes, such as studies that have similar findings or methodologies.
• Write the Review: Write your review based upon the themes or subtopics you have identified. Give a thorough overview of each theme, integrating source data, and conclude with a summary of the current state of knowledge then suggestions for future research based upon your evaluation of what is lacking in the literature.

Literature reviews don’t have to be as scary as they seem. Yes, they are difficult and require a strong degree of comprehension of academic studies. But it can be feasibly done through following a structured approach to data collection and analysis. With my undergraduate research students (who tend to conduct small-scale qualitative studies ), I encourage them to conduct a narrative literature review whereby they can identify key themes in the literature. Within each theme, students can critique key studies and their strengths and limitations , in order to get a lay of the land and come to a point where they can identify ways to contribute new insights to the existing academic conversation on their topic.

Ankrah, S., & Omar, A. T. (2015). Universities–industry collaboration: A systematic review. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 31(3), 387-408.

Asghari, P., Rahmani, A. M., & Javadi, H. H. S. (2019). Internet of Things applications: A systematic review. Computer Networks , 148 , 241-261.

Dyrbye, L., & Shanafelt, T. (2016). A narrative review on burnout experienced by medical students and residents. Medical education , 50 (1), 132-149.

Geiger, J. L., Steg, L., Van Der Werff, E., & Ünal, A. B. (2019). A meta-analysis of factors related to recycling. Journal of environmental psychology , 64 , 78-97.

Martin, F., Sun, T., & Westine, C. D. (2020). A systematic review of research on online teaching and learning from 2009 to 2018. Computers & education , 159 , 104009.

Mavilidi, M. F., Ruiter, M., Schmidt, M., Okely, A. D., Loyens, S., Chandler, P., & Paas, F. (2018). A narrative review of school-based physical activity for enhancing cognition and learning: The importance of relevancy and integration. Frontiers in psychology , 2079.

Patterson, G. T., Chung, I. W., & Swan, P. W. (2014). Stress management interventions for police officers and recruits: A meta-analysis. Journal of experimental criminology , 10 , 487-513.

Reith, T. P. (2018). Burnout in United States healthcare professionals: a narrative review. Cureus , 10 (12).

Ritchie, S. J., & Tucker-Drob, E. M. (2018). How much does education improve intelligence? A meta-analysis. Psychological science , 29 (8), 1358-1369.

Roman, S., Sánchez-Siles, L. M., & Siegrist, M. (2017). The importance of food naturalness for consumers: Results of a systematic review. Trends in food science & technology , 67 , 44-57.

Sáiz-Vazquez, O., Puente-Martínez, A., Ubillos-Landa, S., Pacheco-Bonrostro, J., & Santabárbara, J. (2020). Cholesterol and Alzheimer’s disease risk: a meta-meta-analysis. Brain sciences, 10(6), 386.

Vermeir, P., Vandijck, D., Degroote, S., Peleman, R., Verhaeghe, R., Mortier, E., … & Vogelaers, D. (2015). Communication in healthcare: a narrative review of the literature and practical recommendations. International journal of clinical practice , 69 (11), 1257-1267.

Wisniewski, B., Zierer, K., & Hattie, J. (2020). The power of feedback revisited: A meta-analysis of educational feedback research. Frontiers in Psychology , 10 , 3087.

Yli-Huumo, J., Ko, D., Choi, S., Park, S., & Smolander, K. (2016). Where is current research on blockchain technology?—a systematic review. PloS one , 11 (10), e0163477.

Zestcott, C. A., Blair, I. V., & Stone, J. (2016). Examining the presence, consequences, and reduction of implicit bias in health care: a narrative review. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations , 19 (4), 528-542

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ Social-Emotional Learning (Definition, Examples, Pros & Cons)
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ What is Educational Psychology?
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ What is IQ? (Intelligence Quotient)
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 5 Top Tips for Succeeding at University

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Literature Review

• Steps for Conducting a Lit Review
• Finding "The Literature"
• Organizing/Writing
• Sample Literature Reviews
• FAMU Writing Center

Sample Lit Reviews from Communication Arts

• Literature Review Sample 1
• Literature Review Sample 2
• Literature Review Sample 3
• << Previous: MLA Style
• Next: FAMU Writing Center >>
• Last Updated: Oct 20, 2022 11:24 AM
• URL: https://library.famu.edu/literaturereview

• Open access
• Published: 11 May 2024

Effectiveness of simulation-based interventions on empathy enhancement among nursing students: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis

• Mi-Kyoung Cho 1 &
• Mi Young Kim 2  

BMC Nursing volume  23 , Article number:  319 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

Metrics details

This study aimed to secure and analyze evidence regarding the enhancement of nursing students’ empathy through simulation-based interventions. It comprehensively analyzed self-reported emotions and reactions as primary outcomes, along with the results reported by nursing students who experienced simulation-based interventions, including empathy.

This systematic literature review and meta-analysis investigated the effects of simulation-based interventions on enhancing empathy among nursing students. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were used for the systematic review and meta-analysis. The following details were considered: population, nursing students; intervention, simulation-based interventions targeting empathy enhancement; comparators, control groups without intervention or those undergoing general non-simulation-based classes; and outcomes, self-reported empathy.

In the systematic review of 28 studies, it was found that the use of simulation-based interventions among nursing students led to an increase in empathy, albeit with a small effect size. This was demonstrated through a pooled, random-effects meta-analysis, yielding an effect size (Hedge’s g) of 0.35 (95% CI: 0.14, 0.57, p  = 0.001). The results of meta-regression and subgroup analysis significantly increased in empathy for studies published after 2019 (Hedge’s g = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.31 to 0.73, p  < 0.001), quasi-experimental research design (Hedge’s g = 0.51, 95% CI: 0.27 to 0.74, p  < 0.001), more than 60 participants (Hedge’s g = 0.31, 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.59, p  = 0.034), and simulation-based interventions in nursing education (Hedge’s g = 0.43, 95% CI: 0.22 to 0.65, p  < 0.001).

Conclusions

Considering factors such as variations in sample size, research approaches, and the effects of independent studies on empathy, this systematic literature review and meta-analysis suggests that simulation-based education can significantly improve nursing students’ overall empathy skills.

Peer Review reports

In modern society, concerns are growing regarding empathy deficits, which lead to issues such as indifference and apathy in workplace relationships—aggravating even in common social situations [ 1 ]. Empathy is a complex concept comprising an affective component of feeling and recognizing emotions from others’ perspectives and a cognitive component of understanding others’ emotions [ 2 ]. Highly empathetic professionals in health-related fields foster a high level of communication with patients, leading to positive outcomes in patient care, such as better self-care, higher patient satisfaction, and faster recovery times [ 3 , 4 ]. Although empathy is essential for healthcare workers, studies have demonstrated that it is not taught sufficiently during training in numerous fields, including medicine, nursing, dentistry, and pharmacy [ 5 , 6 ].

Empathy plays a crucial role in healthcare, as evidenced by its strong correlation with the quality of care provided to patients. When patients perceive that nurses empathize with them, they tend to feel they are receiving care tailored to their needs [ 7 ]. Therefore, improving empathy is necessary for enhancing the quality of nursing care. Efforts have been made to develop programs that foster empathy through education and training [ 8 ]. Adequate levels of empathy are essential for nursing students as they are future nurses. However, research has indicated that nursing students have lower levels of empathy than other healthcare workers do [ 9 , 10 ].

Empathy is defined as the ability to place oneself in the same position as another person and to understand and accept their position and perspective [ 11 ]. Training that enhances empathy includes simulation-based learning that recreates realistic clinical situations [ 12 ]. Additionally, healthcare can be simulated in various ways, including virtual patients, manikins, role-playing, gaming, and simulating hypothetical or disease situations [ 13 ]. Simulations in healthcare most often allow students to function in the role for which they are training, though there is evidence students’ empathy increases when they function in the role of patients because they are encouraged to understand patients’ perspectives, emotions, and experiences [ 14 ]. Whether students function in professional or patient roles during simulation, post-simulation debriefing helps students translate their simulation experiences. Post-simulation debriefing sessions have been shown to help students learn how to translate their simulation experiences into appropriate empathetic behaviors and attitudes toward patients in the real world [ 14 ]. Previous systematic reviews have included studies focusing on specific simulation methods, such as role-play or virtually simulated patients, dementia-specific virtual reality scenarios, clinical simulations with dramatization, and simulation equipment for older-adult-specific scenarios [ 15 ]. Since its emergence, improving empathy in healthcare has been the subject of several studies and meta-analyses [ 16 ]. Through a meta-analysis and effectiveness evaluation study on various simulation-based programs aimed at nursing students, both future and current medical professionals, we investigated the elements of simulation that contribute to empathy enhancement. Our study identified key elements crucial for designing effective simulation education programs, which can be reflected upon in practice. By analyzing the components of simulation-based education that impact empathy enhancement, we can identify crucial elements to enhance empathy when implementing this approach.

Simulation is becoming more prevalent as an educational approach for instilling empathy in pre-service health professional students [ 17 ]. As these various forms of simulation are applied to improve empathy, a systematic review and analysis of nursing students are needed to determine their effectiveness and the factors that should be considered. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses can consider differences in sample sizes, variations in research approaches, and the effects of interventions in independent studies while integrating the results of the included studies. Therefore, a systematic review and meta-analysis will enable an assessment of the overall effectiveness of simulation-based education in improving empathy among nursing students. This study aims to provide a foundation for simulation-based interventions by conducting a systematic literature review and meta-analysis to examine their effectiveness in improving empathy among nursing students.

Study design

This systematic literature review and meta-analysis followed the Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, and Study Design (PICO-SD) framework to determine the effectiveness of simulation-based interventions in improving empathy among nursing students.

Eligibility criteria and outcome variables

This study was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines [ 18 ]. This was prepared by referring to the PRISMA 2020 checklist ( https://prisma-statement.org/PRISMAStatement/Checklist.aspx , accessed May 16, 2023). In line with this study’s purpose, a systematic literature search was conducted. The inclusion criteria were as follows: the study population (P) included nursing students who received simulation training; the intervention (I) included nursing education using simulation to promote empathy; the control I group comprised those who did not receive the simulation intervention as a comparison group; and for outcomes (O), the primary outcome was empathy, while the secondary outcomes wereempathic communication, interpersonal relationships, and competency. The first post-intervention value was used to calculate the effect size. The study design (SD) involved randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental studies that included manuscripts published in English or Korean from May 1971 to April 2023. Only studies that reported means, standard deviations, and concrete sample sizes were included to merge the effect sizes for the primary and secondary outcomes. The exclusion criteria were as follows: studies that included students other than nursing students, interventions that were not simulations, measured variables that were not graphically represented such that effect sizes could not be merged, studies that only presented p-values or the number of participants in each group, studies with mean and standard deviation not available, and duplicate studies. Quasi-experimental studies with a single-group pretest-posttest design were excluded.

Search strategies

Data were retrieved from eight electronic databases or e-journals, specifically PubMed, Cochrane, EMBASE, CINAHL, World of Science, SCOPUS, PQDT, and Research Information Sharing Service (RISS), for articles published in English and Korean from May 1971 to April 2023. The search protocol was registered in the PROSPERO International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (registration no. CRD42023423747, available at https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero ) on May 16, 2023. The search formula used was Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and text words from titles and abstracts, and the search was conducted from April 24, 2023, to June 3, 2023. The terms used in the search were (“Simulation Training”[MeSH Terms] OR “simulate*”[All Fields]) OR (“psychodrama”[MeSH Terms] OR “psychodrama*”[All Fields] OR “role-play*”[All Fields]) for interventions, and (“Empathy”[MeSH Terms] OR “empath*”[All Fields] OR “Emotional Intelligence”[MeSH Terms] OR “Emotional Intelligence”[All Fields]) for results. The data collection process for the articles included in the analysis was based on a systematic review. A literature search was conducted by two authors (MYK and MKC) with the guidance of a meta-analysis expert.

Quality assessment

The quality of the selected articles was independently assessed by two authors (MYK and MKC) using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) checklist (Checklist for Randomized Controlled Trials, Checklist for Quasi-Experimental Studies [ 19 , 20 , 21 ]. In the initial quality assessment, no discrepancies were observed across most items. However, divergence arose regarding the clarity of blinding of outcome assessors to study participants. Upon thorough discussion, we agreed that a score would be assigned only if the methodology section of a study explicitly stated that outcome assessors were blinded to treatment assignment. The JBI RCT Checklist comprises the following 13 items: randomization, allocation concealment, pre-homogeneity verification, blinding (participants, interventors, and assessors), identical conditions other than experimental treatment, description of dropouts, analysis based on randomization, equivalence of outcome measures, appropriateness of outcome variable measures and statistical analysis methods, and appropriateness of the study design [ 19 ]. The JBI Quasi-Experimental Studies Checklist comprises the following nine items: certainty of cause and effect, pre-homogeneity verification, exposure to the same environment outside of the intervention, presence or absence of a control group, pre- and post-intervention effect measures, description of dropouts, equivalence of outcome measures, appropriateness of outcome variable measures, and statistical analysis methods [ 20 ]. The checklist scored “yes” as 1 and “unclear,” “no,” and “not applicable” as 0 for each item. Discrepancies in the quality assessment of the studies were resolved through consultation with a meta-analysis expert and discussions between the two authors (MYK and MKC) (Table  1 ).

Selection process

The two authors (MYK and MKC) shared the search formula, searched for data independently, and shared the bibliographic information of the articles retrieved from domestic and foreign core electronic databases and journals in an Excel file. Duplicate articles were removed by sorting by title and author using the Microsoft Excel filtering function. Based on this search strategy, relevant articles were identified through titles and abstracts, after which the full texts of the selected articles were reviewed.

Data analysis and statistical methods

The article characteristics were presented as frequencies, means, and standard deviations, and statistical analyses of effect size pooling methods were performed Z-test and p-value using MIX 2.0 Pro Ver. 2.0.1.6 (BiostatXL, Mountain View, CA, USA). As the effect sizes were continuous variables, and the number of participants in each study was small, Hedge’s g, 95% confidence intervals (CI), and the weight of each effect size were obtained using the inverse of variance [ 22 ]. The overall effect (Hedges’ g) was calculated using a pooled, random-effects model to account for between-participant variations in individual studies and heterogeneity among studies. The effect sizes indicated by Hedge’s g values of 0.15, 0.40, and 0.75 were classified as small, medium, and large effects, respectively [ 23 ]. The studies’ heterogeneity was assessed by calculating Higgin’s I 2 value, which represented the true variance or variance ratio across studies to the total observed variance. It was interpreted as heterogeneous if I 2 was greater than 50%. Subgroup and meta-regression analyses were performed to identify the sources of heterogeneity. Publication bias in the selected studies was tested using funnel plots, Begg’s test, Egger’s regression test, and the trim-and-fill method with a correction for Hedge’s g [ 24 ].

Study selection

This study followed the PRISMA guidelines during the study selection process, as illustrated in Fig.  1 . A total of 1,265 articles were retrieved from each database in Step 1. Furthermore, 578 articles were extracted by excluding duplicate studies (686) and one retracted article in Step 2, and 81 articles were extracted by excluding studies that did not fulfill the inclusion and exclusion criteria in Step 3. Finally, after a thorough review and full-text reading, 25 articles meeting our search criteria were identified for inclusion. Notably, Layton’s (1979) study was distinguished by its comparison of experimental and control groups across four distinct simulation interventions. Given the unique structure of this study, each simulation intervention was treated as a separate unit of analysis, thereby extending the total number of analyzed studies to 28. In this study, the participants of the studies included in the meta-analysis were undergraduate nursing students, and a total of 2,598 participated. The data extraction form was compiled by extracting the author, year of publication, presence or absence of IRB, number of participants, research design, experimental group’s intervention type, intervention session, session time, control group’s intervention, post-test measurement time, delayed measurement, and outcome variables. The primary variable, empathy score, and the secondary variables, empathic communication, interpersonal relationships, and competency were coded as the mean, standard deviation, and number of samples of the first post-test or the difference value of the post-pretest for both the experimental and control groups after the intervention.

PRISMA flow diagram

Study characteristics

The analysis included 28 studies, with 15 published in 2019 or later, 23 with IRB reviews before the study. The research design for simulation-based interventions included 14 RCTs: 13 with 60 or more participants, 13 simulated-based learning, 15 role-plays, and 21 studies with usual or no interventions for the control group. Simulation-based learning encompasses a variety of structured activities designed to mirror real or potential scenarios in educational settings, facilitating practice and skill development. These activities enable participants to augment their understanding, expertise, and mindset, while also providing opportunities to analyze and address realistic situations within a simulated environment [ 25 ]. Role-playing entails the enactment of specific roles within defined contexts. For instance, it may encompass a situated teaching program where patients portray themselves and articulate their experiences within a psychiatric nursing practice setting, or a role-playing training regimen conducted within an operating room situation. The intervention time or session was more than 1 h, the outcome was measured immediately after the intervention, the outcome was followed up, pre-briefing was conducted, and debriefing was conducted in study ID: 24, 11, 12, 26, 10, 6, and 14 studies. The majority of the control group adheres to a Traditional curriculum. This curriculum typically includes conventional empathic skill training through lectures, seminars, individual presentations at meetings, discussions, and similar formats. In contrast, for the experimental group, simulation involves a sequence of processes (such as orientation, pre-briefing, SP simulation performance, debriefing, and feedback). Typically, this process occurs once rather than being repeated. The impact is evaluated following the completion of this singular series of processes. The predominant empathy scale utilized was The Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Profession-Student (JSE-HP-S), with various other assessment tools also employed to measure empathy.

The primary outcome was empathy, which was assessed in all 28 studies. Empathic communication, interpersonal relationships, and competency were measured in study ID: 5, 6, and 9 studies, respectively (Appendix 1 ). When the sample size is small, Cohen’s d may exaggerate the effect size of an individual study. Therefore, the adjusted effect size, referred to as Hedge’s g [ 25 ], was provided along with 95% Confidence Intervals. Hedge’s g was calculated by entering the mean, standard deviation, and number of samples of each study’s experimental and control groups into the Mix Pro 2.0 program.

Risk of bias in studies

The average quality assessment score for RCTs was 8.18 (SD 0.75, range: 7–9), and the average quality assessment score for quasi-experimental studies was 8.00 (SD 1.11, range: 6–9). Among the internal validity assessment items for the RCT studies, “Q2. Was the allocation to treatment groups concealed?” for bias related to selection and allocation, and “Q5. Were those delivering the treatment blinded to the treatment assignment?” for bias related to administration of intervention or exposure, and “Were outcome assessors blind to treatment assignment?” for bias related to the assessment, detection, and measurement of the outcome were not reported in any study. Furthermore, “Q4. Were participants blinded to the treatment assignments?” was reported in only one study, and “Q12. Was an appropriate statistical analysis used?” was used to measure the validity of the statistical conclusions in three studies. Most items (Q1-5, Q7-9) that assess the quality of quasi-experimental studies have been reported. “Q6. Was the follow-up complete, and if not, were the differences between groups in terms of their follow-up adequately described and analyzed?” were reported in only seven studies (Table  1 ).

Effect of simulation-based intervention on empathy

Layton’s (1979) study was distinguished by its comparison of experimental and control groups across four distinct simulation interventions. Each simulation intervention was treated as a separate unit of analysis, thereby extending the total number of analyzed studies to 28. The effect sizes were pooled using a random-effects model and presented as Hedge’s g, 95% CI, weight, and a synthesis forest plot (Fig.  2 ). Using a simulation-based intervention among nursing students significantly increased empathy, with a total effect size of Hedge’s g = 0.35, which was a small effect based on Brydges’ criteria for interpreting effect sizes. The effect sizes indicated by Hedge’s g values of 0.15, 0.40, and 0.75 were classified as small, medium, and large effects, respectively [ 26 ]. The heterogeneity test revealed a Higgins I 2 value of 84.8%, indicating a high degree of heterogeneity among merged studies. Therefore, subgroup and meta-regression analyses were conducted for exploratory and descriptive heterogeneity analyses.

The effect of simulation-based intervention on empathy. Notes. ES: Effect size; CI: Confidence interval. Superscripts a, b, c, and d were Layton’s (1979) study divided by intervention

In the subgroup analyses, a significant increase in empathy was reported in the studies published after 2019 (Hedge’s g = 0.52, 95% CI:0.31, 0.73), IRB-approved studies (Hedge’s g = 0.39, 95% CI:0.15, 0.62), quasi-experimental studies (Hedge’s g = 0.51, 95% CI:0.27, 0.74), simulation-based interventions (Hedge’s g = 0.43, 95% CI:0.22, 0.65), and studies with no control group intervention or with usual interventions (Hedge’s g = 0.30, 95% CI:0.08, 0.53). The same was reported in studies with the intervention time per session not reported or less than 1 h (Hedge’s g = 0.42, 95% CI:0.20, 0.63), studies measuring the outcome right after the intervention (Hedge’s g = 0.38, 95% CI:0.16, 0.60), studies adopting no follow-up measurements for verifying the intervention’s long-term effects (Hedge’s g = 0.45, 95% CI:0.22, 0.68), and studies performing debriefing after simulation (Hedge’s g = 0.48, 95% CI:0.18, 0.78), compared to the studies that did not. Additionally, the effect sizes for the number of participants, pre-briefing, and quality assessment score were statistically significant (Table  2 ).

Univariate meta-regression analysis was performed to determine the potential impact of study heterogeneity on effect size, which revealed that the following variables had statistically significant effects—specifically, year of publication, IRB-approved studies, the number of participants, study design, intervention type, control group intervention, and intervention time per session (Table  3 ). The exclusion sensitivity test excluded one study from each of the 28 studies and compared the merged effect size to the original effect size to determine the impact of the estimated effect size [ 24 ]. Examining the magnitude and statistical significance of the combined effect sizes of the simulation-based interventions indicated that Hedge’s g was small, ranging from 0.31 to 42, the 95% CI (0.10 to 0.23, 0.52 to 0.61) did not include zero, and all were statistically significant. The effect size was not significantly different from that of Hedge’s g (0.35), including all 28 studies, and all studies were statistically significant. Therefore, the meta-analysis was considered robust (Table  4 ).

Effect of an intervention program on secondary outcomes

Secondary outcomes were empathic communication, interpersonal relationships, and competency, all of which were statistically significant. After the program, empathic communication with Hedge’s g = 1.35 (95% CI:0.25, 2.45), interpersonal relationship with Hedge’s g = 0.52 (95% CI:0.21, 0.84), and competency with Hedge’s g = 0.75 (95% CI:0.24, 1.26), indicating medium to large effect sizes (Table  5 ).

Publication bias

Funnel plot analysis was conducted to assess publication bias, which revealed that the individual effect sizes (blue circles) of the 28 included studies were skewed to the right, indicating some degree of publication bias (Fig.  3 ). For further analysis of publication bias, using the trim-and-fill method, the number of articles that should be added to the study was identified as nine [ 27 ]. The corrected effect size of the 37 articles was 0.04 (95%CI: -0.19, 0.26). The effect size of empathy was smaller after correction than before, but the difference was not statistically significant after correction. Moreover, the results of different methods used to detect publication bias differed. Nonetheless, the results obtained using the trim-and-fill method, which is particularly effective in illustrating publication bias in continuous variables, indicated publication bias in this study (Appendix 2 ).

Funnel plot of simulation-based interventions for empathy. Notes. Precision = 1/standard error, 0.05; limit line = 95% confidence limit

A random-effects on the results of 28 studies was performed to quantify the influence of simulation on empathy among undergraduate nursing students. The impact of the simulation-based program on empathy showed a small effect size, specifically with an effect size of 0.35. Despite variance within studies and heterogeneity in effects between studies, it was observed that the vast majority of nursing students agree that simulation increases empathy and that empathy is greater after simulation than before. The high I2 indicates significant heterogeneity, which consequently reduces the precision of summary estimates.

This aligns with previous primary research, indicating that to empathize with others beyond oneself, it’s essential to understand the other person’s perspective or position. Moreover, research suggests that such empathy can be cultivated through education [ 28 ]. This finding is also consistent with a previous study reporting that learning could improve empathy and a meta-analysis finding that empathy training improved empathy [ 17 , 29 , 30 ]. This study corroborates earlier primary research findings suggesting that empathy training ought to incorporate real-life experiences via imagination and simulations, with a focus on understanding the unobservable mental processes of others [ 31 ].

Based on a meta-regression analysis evaluating empathy [ 17 ], the factors influencing improvements in empathy are discussed below. Initially, upon scrutinizing the content of recent simulations (since 2019), they delineate as follows: Publication years after 2019 had a more significant impact on empathy than publication years before 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly influenced prelicensure nursing education, resulting in extensive disruptions that potentially affect the learning and engagement outcomes of nursing students [ 31 ]. These results reflect the diversification and sophistication of simulation education. This is because, reportedly, nursing schools in Korea have been educating and evaluating core nursing skills designated by the Korean Accreditation Board of Nursing Education as curricular and extracurricular programs to improve the clinical performance of nursing students, with an increasing number of simulation classes based on clinical scenarios similar to the clinical environment since the 2000s [ 32 ]. Since 2019, simulations have been conducted systematically and actively. Thus, the impact on empathy was significantly greater after 2019.

The causes of heterogeneity in characteristics are as follows: The effect on empathy was notably stronger with IRB approval, implying that undergoing an IRB review may signal a scientifically and ethically robust study design. Ensuring scientifically sound design and impact evaluation is crucial, even with the same program. Concerning study design, empathy’s impact was more pronounced in quasi-experimental studies compared to randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Rigorous designs, as seen in certain RCTs with multiple controls, might lead to conservative estimates of simulation effects on empathy due to tight control. Conversely, quasi-experimental studies conducted in natural learning environments suggest empathy impacts may stem from factors beyond simulation. However, further validation through research is needed. Moreover, empathy’s impact was significantly higher with 60 or more participants, likely due to increased effect power. Hence, repeated studies with sufficient participant numbers are essential for evaluating empathy improvements.

By program type, scenario-based simulations had a more significant impact on empathy than role-playing, which is in line with a previous study suggesting that role-play is usually based on a simple situation [ 33 ]. By contrast, the simulation was based on a structured scenario that allowed participants to indirectly experience the care recipient’s condition, thereby matching another person’s mind with their mental state. Moreover, role-playing has been found to contribute to empathy, as reported in a previous study in which nursing students’ critical thinking and emotional intelligence increased significantly after learning digital storytelling problem-based learning through role-playing, and a case study containing the care recipient’s disease experience and overall clinical situation [ 34 ]. More elaborate settings, assumptions, and preparations for the situation are needed to enable students to experience what being in the situation feels like rather than merely playing a role, which is expected to allow students to be more immersed cognitively and emotionally engaged with the target situation.

The intervention duration was significantly longer for four weeks or more than four weeks than for non-reported or less than four weeks, suggesting that the intervention should be at least four weeks in line with the idea that empathy is formed through continuous and steady learning [ 1 ]. This finding indicates that empathy cannot be improved through a short period of experience or training. Instead, empathy, as a process of integrating experiences and existing perceptions, is formed over time.

Other variables whose effects on empathy were not statistically significant were as follows: There were no significant differences in the time per intervention session, whether the outcome measurement time was immediate or delayed, outcome follow-up, prebriefing, debriefing, or quality score. In typical simulation training, prebriefing and debriefing are considered essential and reflective. Nevertheless, this study found no significant effect of pre-or debriefing on empathy, suggesting that the simulation context in which empathy is provided is essential, considering the nature of empathy. However, further studies on this topic are required. Furthermore, in this study, empathy was assessed using a variety of measurement tools. We also recommend that future analyses take into account the specific measurement tools employed.

The findings of this study affirm that simulation-based education, when employed across diverse clinical contexts such as women’s health, operating room scenarios, psychiatric nursing, and geriatric nursing, constitutes a fundamental approach for fostering empathy among nursing students. Among the myriad approaches aimed at enhancing empathy among medical students, the implementation of “patient simulation”—involving students in a curriculum that mirrors real patient encounters—has been noted as effective [ 35 ]. Furthermore, previous studies examining the relationship between proficiency and person-centered care competence have consistently demonstrated a positive correlation between empathy and competence in delivering person-centered care [ 36 , 37 ].

In this study, we conducted a meta-analysis of research exploring the impact of simulation-based education on empathy. Our findings indicate that simulation-based training across diverse scenarios can indeed enhance empathy levels. Specifically, focusing on immersive simulations conducted for a minimum duration of four weeks, spanning a range of authentic clinical contexts, proved to be particularly effective. Moreover, our study underscores the holistic nature of empathy, revealing its interconnectedness with other nursing competencies. As such, further research in this domain is warranted to deepen our understanding and refine instructional methodologies.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, and Study Design

Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses

Study Design

Randomized Controlled Trials

Research Information Sharing Service

Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews

Medical Subject Headings

Joanna Briggs Institute

Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Profession-Student

Shin HJ, Cho MO. Influence of critical thinking disposition and empathy ability on self- leadership of nursing students. J Korean Assn Learn Cent Curric Instr. 2023;23(2):115–27. https://doi.org/10.22251/jlcci.2023.23.2.115 .

Article   Google Scholar  

Hatfield E, Rapson R. Emotional contagion and empathy. In: The Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology and Behavioral Science. 2009. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9780262012973.003.0003 .

Hojat M, Louis DZ, Markham FW, Wender R, Rabinowitz C, Gonnella JS. Physicians’ empathy and clinical outcomes for diabetic patients. Acad Med. 2011;86(3):359–64. https://doi.org/10.1097/acm.0b013e3182086fe1 .

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Menendez ME, Chen NC, Mudgal CS, Jupiter JB, Ring D. Physician empathy as a driver of hand surgery patient satisfaction. J Hand Surg Am (Am Ed). 2015;40(9):1860–e51862. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhsa.2015.06.105 .

Nunes P, Williams S, Sa B, Stevenson K. A study of empathy decline in students from five health disciplines during their first year of training. Int J Med Educ. 2011;2:12–7. https://doi.org/10.5116/ijme.4d47.ddb0 .

Ferri P, Guerra E, Marcheselli L, Cunico L, Di Lorenzo R. Empathy and burnout: an analytic cross-sectional study among nurses and nursing students. Acta Biomed. 2015;86(Supplemento 2):104–15.

PubMed   Google Scholar  

Ryu HR, Bang KS. A validation study of the Korean version of the Jefferson empathy scale for health professionals for Korean nurses. J Korean Acad Nurs. 2016;46(2):207–14. https://doi.org/10.4040/jkan.2016.46.2.207 .

Ozcan CT, Oflaz F, Sutcu Cicek H. Empathy: the effects of undergraduate nursing education in Turkey. Int Nurs Rev. 2010;57(4):493–9. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-7657.2010.00832.x .

Article   CAS   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Williams B, Brown T, Boyle M, McKenna L, Palermo C, Etherington J, Williams B, Brown T, Boyle M, McKenna L, Palermo C, Etherington J. Levels of empathy in undergraduate emergency health, nursing, and midwifery students: a longitudinal study. Adv Medical Educ Pract. 2014;5:299–306. https://doi.org/10.2147/AMEP.S66681 .

Williams B, Brown T, McKenna L, Boyle MJ, Palermo C, Nestel D, Brightwell R, McCall L, Russo V. Empathy levels among health professional students: a cross-sectional study at two universities in Australia. Adv Med Educ Pract. 2014;5:107–13. https://doi.org/10.2147/AMEP.S5756 .

Article   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Roger D, Hudson C. The role of emotion control and emotional rumination in stress management training. Int J Stress Manag. 1995;2:119–32. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01740298 .

Bas-Sarmiento P, Fernández-Gutiérrez M, Baena-Baños M, Correro-Bermejo A, Soler-Martins PS, de la Torre-Moyano S. Empathy training in health sciences: a systematic review. Nurse Educ Pract. 2020;44:102739. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2020.102739 . Article Unsp 102739.

Harris KB, McCarty D, Wilson JA, Nealy KL, Waghel R, Coleman M, Battise D, Boland C. The use of a disease state simulation assignment increased students’ empathy and comfort with diabetes nutrition counseling. Curr Pharm Teach Learn. 2018;10(9):1272–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cptl.2018.06.017 .

Bearman M, Palermo C, Allen LM, Williams B. Learning empathy through simulation: a systematic literature review. Simul Healthc. 2015;10(5):308–19. https://doi.org/10.1097/sih.0000000000000113 .

Eost-Telling C, Kingston P, Taylor L, Emmerson L. Ageing simulation in health and social care education: a mixed methods systematic review. J Adv Nurs. 2021;77(1):23–46. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.14577 .

Brunero S, Cowan D, Chaniang S, Lamont S. Empathy education in post-graduate nurses: an integrative review. Nurse Educ Today. 2022;112:105338. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2022.105338 .

Bearman M, et al. Learning empathy through simulation: a systematic literature review. Simul Healthc. 2015;105:308–19. https://doi.org/10.1097/SIH.0000000000000113 .

Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman DG. PRISMA group preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. Br Med J. 2009;339:b2535. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.b2535 .

JBI. 2020 ( https://jbi.global/critical-appraisal-tools accessed on 16 May 2023).

Barker TH, Stone JC, Sears K, Klugar M, Tufanaru C, Leonardi-Bee J, Aromataris E, Munn Z. The revised JBI critical appraisal tool for the assessment of risk of bias for randomized controlled trials. JBI Evid Synth. 2023;21(3):494506. https://doi.org/10.11124/JBIES-22-00430 .

Tufanaru C, Munn Z, Aromataris E, Campbell J, Hopp L. Chapter 3: Systematic reviews of effectiveness. In: Aromataris E, Munn Z, editors. JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis. JBI, 2020. https://synthesismanual.jbi.global ( https://jbi.global/critical-appraisal-tools accessed on 16 May 2023).

Borenstein M, Hedges LV, Higgins JPT, Rothstein HR. Introduction to meta-analysis. West Sussex, UK: Wiley; 2009.

Book   Google Scholar  

Sterne JA, Egger M, Moher D. Addressing Reporting Biases. In Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions: 2nd ed. Higgins JP, Green S. Eds.; Version 5.1.0 (Updated March 2011); The Cochrane Collaboration: London, UK. 2011.

Pilcher J, et al. Simulation-based learning: it’s not just for NRP. Neonatal Netw. 2012;31(5):281–8. https://doi.org/10.1891/0730-0832.31.5.281 .

Brydges CR. Effect size guidelines, sample size calculations, and statistical power in gerontology. Innov Aging. 2019;3(4):igz036.

Bown MJ, Sutton AJ. Quality control in systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg. 2010;40(5):669–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejvs.2010.07.011 .

Duval S, Tweedie R. Trim and fill: a simple funnel-plot–based method of testing and adjusting for publication bias in meta‐analysis. Biometrics. 2000;56:455–63. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0006-341X.2000.00455.x .

Jeong JO, Kim S. The effect of an empathy education program on nursing students’ empathy ability, interpersonal ability, and caring. J Korean Acad Soc Nurs Educ. 2019;25(3):344–56. https://doi.org/10.5977/jkasne.2019.25.3.344 .

Levett-Jones T, Cant R, Lapkin S. A systematic review of the effectiveness of empathy education for undergraduate nursing students. Nurse Educ Today. 2019;75:80–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2019.01.006 .

Patel S, Pelletier-Bui A, Smith S, Roberts MB, Kilgannon H, Trzeciak S, Roberts BW. Curricula for empathy and compassion training in medical education: a systematic review. PLoS ONE. 2019;14:e0221412. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0221412 .

Article   CAS   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Yeo H. Predictors of empathy for nursing students. J Korea Acad-Indust coop Soc. 2017;18(1):177–84. https://doi.org/10.5762/KAIS.2017.18.1.177 .

Martin B, Kaminski-Ozturk N, O’Hara C, Smiley R. Examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on burnout and stress among U.S. nurses. J Nurs Regul. 2023;14(1):4–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2155-8256(23)00063-7 .

Kim SY. The effect of subjective happiness, ethical sensitivity, Empathy ability on personality in nursing students. J Digit Converg. 2022;4737–45. https://doi.org/10.14400/JDC.2022.20.4.737 .

Kim KM. Effects of grit, empathy, and awareness of the nursing profession on clinical performance of nursing students. J Korean Assn Learn Cent Curric. 2022;22(16):47–58. https://doi.org/10.22251/jlcci.2022.22.16.47 .

Chang HK, Do YJ. Problem-based learning using digital storytelling: examining intelligence, critical thinking disposition, clinical competence, and metacognition. J Korean Assn Learn Cent Curric. 2021;21(8):853–66. https://doi.org/10.22251/jlcci.2021.21.8.853 .

Chen JT, LaLopa J, Dang DK. Impact of patient empathy modeling on pharmacy students caring for the underserved. Am J Pharm Educ. 2008;72(2):40. https://doi.org/10.5688/aj720240 .

Park E, Choi J. Attributes associated with person-centered care competence among undergraduate nursing students. Res Nurs Health. 2020;43(5):511–9. https://doi.org/10.1002/nur.22062 .

Download references

Acknowledgements

Not applicable.

This study was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean Government (MSIT) (No. 2022R1F1A1076248).

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Nursing Science, Chungbuk National University, 1 Chungdae-ro, Seowon-gu, Cheongju, Korea

Mi-Kyoung Cho

College of Nursing, Hanyang University, 222 Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Mi Young Kim

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

M.‑K.C. and M.Y.K.; data curation, M.‑K.C.; formal analysis, M.‑K.C.; investigation, M.Y.K.; methodology, M.‑K.C. and M.Y.K.; writing—M.‑K.C. and M.Y.K. All authors read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mi Young Kim .

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate.

Not applicable. This paper constitutes a literature review and does not involve human subjects; therefore, it is exempt from Institutional Review Board (IRB) review.

Consent for publication

Competing interests.

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary Material 1

Rights and permissions.

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ ) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Cho, MK., Kim, M.Y. Effectiveness of simulation-based interventions on empathy enhancement among nursing students: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis. BMC Nurs 23 , 319 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-01944-7

Download citation

Received : 21 January 2024

Accepted : 17 April 2024

Published : 11 May 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-01944-7

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Simulation-based interventions
• Nursing students
• meta-analysis

BMC Nursing

ISSN: 1472-6955

• General enquiries: [email protected]