The literature review for your patient education project needs to address specific areas as noted in the assignment instructions:
Evidence-based best practices
Quality indicators
A means for validating assumptions
Successful interventions
Be sure to using headings in your literature review for each of these areas to set them apart, and since you need at least 15 articles, perhaps try to find 4-5 credible, scholarly sources for each section regarding your topic. You need to do a good search for relevant scholarly articles from peer-reviewed journals, and critically read and evaluate the sources you have found to determine the best ones to address your literature topics.
Writing your literature review starts with an introduction paragraph that clearly establishes the focus and purpose of the literature review.
The body of a good literature review is not just a summary of each article – each section should be written as a synthesis of the information from the sources you have evaluated, and include analysis and interpretation of the information, along with critical evaluation of the sources.
The conclusion summarizes your review.
So – how do you write the literature review?
A synthesis of information combines separate elements into a whole by drawing on multiple sources to reach a broader conclusion, by looking for connections between the sources it highlights and relating information from them.
Analysis and interpretation of your sources includes discussing the significance of the findings and your interpretation of their use. It also includes drawing connections between the articles, along with comparisons and contrasts.
To critically evaluate sources, you should discuss their strengths and weaknesses.
Some general tips for writing the body of a literature review:
Start broad and then narrow to show how past research relates to your project.
Make it clear to your reader where you’re going, follow a logical progression of ideas
When appropriate, cite two or more sources for a single point but avoid long strings of references for a single point.
Paraphrase and use quotes sparingly, or not at all.
Keep a formal academic voice throughout and keep the review focused and objective, following a logical structure.
Point out consistent findings and important strengths and weaknesses of research studies OR contradictions and inconsistent findings.
Implications and suggestions for further research, or where there are gaps in the current literature, should be specific. (Frederiksen & Phelps, n.d.)
The conclusion of your literature review should summarize the key findings from your articles and emphasize their significance.
