Writing narrative literature reviews – Baumeister & Leary (1997)
Abstract: few resources help people to write narrative literature reviews. As
compared with empirical reports, literature reviews can tackle broader and more
abstracts questions, can engage in more post hoc theorizing without the danger
of capitalizing on chance, can make a stronger case for a null-hypothesis solution,
and can appreciate and use methodological diversity better. Also, literature
review can draw any of 4 conclusions: (1) Hypotheses is correct, (2) it has nog
been conclusively established but it is the currently best guess, (3) it is false, (4)
evidence permits no conclusion.
Literature reviews serve a scientific field by providing a much-needed
bridge between the vast and scattered assortment of articles on a topic
and the reader who does not have time or resources to take them down.
Reviews also present conclusions of a scope and theoretical level that
individual empirical reports cannot normally address.
No easy and available way to learn to write them down researchers use their
knowledge regarding empirical papers when they write literature reviews.
Authors of this article learned how to write by trial-and-error and by
guidance of editors and their consultants.
For meta-analysis (when there are many studies available testing the same
hypothesis), empirical research is the preferred method. That is why meta-
analyses not included in this study.
Narrative literature is valuable when one is attempting to link together many
studies on different topics
Narrative literature reviewing is a valuable theory building technique and may
serve hypothesis-building functions (meta-analysis is hypothesis-testing
technique). Narrative literature review also useful for testing when meta-analysis
will not work (when studies are methodologically diverse).
Goals of literature reviews
5 main goals of literature reviews:
1. Theory development (novel conceptualization of theory)
2. Theory evaluation
3. Surveying state of knowledge on a particular topic
4. Problem identification
5. Provide historical account of the development of a theory and research
Distinctive aspects of literature reviews (in comparison to empirical
reports)
1. Scope of question and level of abstraction
Literature reviews allow researchers to address much broader questions
than a single empirical study can.
Abstract: few resources help people to write narrative literature reviews. As
compared with empirical reports, literature reviews can tackle broader and more
abstracts questions, can engage in more post hoc theorizing without the danger
of capitalizing on chance, can make a stronger case for a null-hypothesis solution,
and can appreciate and use methodological diversity better. Also, literature
review can draw any of 4 conclusions: (1) Hypotheses is correct, (2) it has nog
been conclusively established but it is the currently best guess, (3) it is false, (4)
evidence permits no conclusion.
Literature reviews serve a scientific field by providing a much-needed
bridge between the vast and scattered assortment of articles on a topic
and the reader who does not have time or resources to take them down.
Reviews also present conclusions of a scope and theoretical level that
individual empirical reports cannot normally address.
No easy and available way to learn to write them down researchers use their
knowledge regarding empirical papers when they write literature reviews.
Authors of this article learned how to write by trial-and-error and by
guidance of editors and their consultants.
For meta-analysis (when there are many studies available testing the same
hypothesis), empirical research is the preferred method. That is why meta-
analyses not included in this study.
Narrative literature is valuable when one is attempting to link together many
studies on different topics
Narrative literature reviewing is a valuable theory building technique and may
serve hypothesis-building functions (meta-analysis is hypothesis-testing
technique). Narrative literature review also useful for testing when meta-analysis
will not work (when studies are methodologically diverse).
Goals of literature reviews
5 main goals of literature reviews:
1. Theory development (novel conceptualization of theory)
2. Theory evaluation
3. Surveying state of knowledge on a particular topic
4. Problem identification
5. Provide historical account of the development of a theory and research
Distinctive aspects of literature reviews (in comparison to empirical
reports)
1. Scope of question and level of abstraction
Literature reviews allow researchers to address much broader questions
than a single empirical study can.
