For this activity, you will use one of the quantitative and qualitative research questions developed in your previous peer activities. For each question, you will write a short reflective paragraph on how each type of literature review addressed in the module could help answer the research question (narrative, scoping, systematic review, meta-analysis).

Step 1: Review

Review the learning resources for this lesson.

Step 2: Respond

For each of your research questions, write a paragraph of between 100-200 words in which you reflect on how each of the types of literature reviews can help you to answer the research question.

Step 3: Share

To share your work, click on the “Reply” button under this post and paste your work in the “Message” box. Make sure to reference others’ intellectual property when necessary. All references should follow 7th Edition APA formatting. For further instructions, see the resource on the Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library: APA citation resource (N.B. references are excluded from word counts).

OPTIONAL Step 4: Interact (10 minutes)

If you would like to, you can reply to your peers' posts in a respectful and professional manner. Ensure that your post engages your peers' ideas by including a reflection on their comments, sharing ideas of other potential difficulties and parties involved, or asking thought-provoking questions. If a peer comments on your posting, please reply. To post a reply, click “Reply” on a particular discussion, write your feedback and then click on “Post to forum.”

For this activity, you will conduct a systematic search based on one of your research questions and  share the results within the platform (process and databases employed, search terms, number of results).

After completing the systematic search, you will then select a research paper from the results. Based on the tools studied in the module, you will identify an appropriate tool to assess the paper and provide a rationale for using that particular tool. 

Step 1: Review

Review the learning resources for this module.

Step 2: Search

Assume you are doing a systematic review as part of your thesis:

• Select a research question of your preference and design search terms to conduct a systematic search. Make sure that the terms make good use of operators such as (), AND, OR, “”, and others.
• Select at least two databases of your preference. You can use open databases such as ERIC, PubMed, or Google Scholar.
• Insert your search terms, assess the results, and make adjustments to the terms until you feel satisfied with the number and quality of results obtained.

Step 3: Assess

From your results, select any research paper of your preference and get ready to make a critical appraisal.

• Choose a tool/checklist to assess the paper. Feel free to use the tools mentioned in the course readings or identify any other of your preference.
• Use your selected tool to assess the paper.

Step 4: Report

Prepare a 400-700 word report in which you include details under the following headings:

1. Systematic Search
1. Research Question
2. Search Process utilized (logical and clear)
3. Database(s) used
4. Search Terms used
5. Number of results obtained in each database
2. Critical Appraisal
1. Write a rationale for your tool selection and the main observations you have made about the paper. Make sure to include positive and negative aspects.