ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses support individuals interested in writing a literature review either as an introduction to a study or series of studies, or as a manuscript of its own. Inclusion and exclusion criteria are defined to focus search efforts. Although there are many ways to specify these criteria depending on the nature and focus of the literature review, examples of typical criteria include the scientific rigor, source, and language. For example, authors often will include only peer-reviewed journal articles, with a particular focus on a certain research design. After inclusion criteria are established and defined, the systematic search process can begin. Search strategies often begin with electronic searches in specified databases using database aggregators and predetermined search terms. In general, a literature review that is its own complete manuscript will have the following components: title page, abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion, and references.
