Literature Reviews in the Health Sciences

Connect with useful information and resources to learn about different types of literature reviews and the process of conducting them.

Decision Tools

Not sure which literature review type is right for your research question? Several tools are listed below to help you decide which type of literature review is best suited for your research.

This work was created by Cornell University Library and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

ReviewRight tool
This tool is designed to provide guidance and supporting material to reviewers on methods for the conduct and reporting of knowledge synthesis.
Which Review is Right for You? Interactive Tool (University of Manitoba)
The University of Manitoba created an interactive tool via SurveyMonkey to help authors decide which type of review is most suitable for their research. Simply answer the question prompts and the tool will suggest a review type based on the answers provided.
Knowledge Synthesis Decision Tool (Unity Health Toronto)
Unity Health Toronto created a decision tool on review methodologies. Use this tool to help decide which type of review might work best for you.

For a more in-depth overview and guidance, see Unity Health Toronto's 14 page PDF survey, "What Review is Right for You? v2.0." Very thorough!
Quiz: What Review is Right for You? (University of Toronto Libraries)
If you're wondering what type of review best suits your research purposes, complete this short quiz from the University of Toronto Libraries.

Please note that as of December 2019, this tool has 10 potential outcomes, all of which are for quantitative studies. Stay tuned for this tool to include qualitative studies!

University of Houston Libraries

Literature Reviews in the Health Sciences

Decision Tools

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