PROCESS OF REVIEW OF

LITERATURE
USING
THE
LIBRARY
IDENTIFYI
NG THE
SOURCES
LOCATING
SOURCES
READING
SOURCES
CRITIQUING
SOURCES
USING THE LIBRARY
Using library requires knowledge of available libraries
and their resources. The main source of interest to a
nurse researcher in library are books, magzines,
journals, thesis etc.The major categories include:
1) Public library
2) Academic library
3) Special library
IDENTIFYING THE SOURCES
CLARIFYING RESEARCH TOPIC- A researcher selects
a topic for study, conducts a brief manual literature
search and then conducts a computer search, narrow
that topic by identifying synonymous terms.
1) Catalogue- It contains availibility or listing that
usually include books, proceedings, thesis etc.
2) Indexes- Indexes provide assistance in identifying
articles and publications. They are organized into
Subject
Author

COMPUTER SEARCH
After a brief manual search of literature you have a
clear direction of computer search . Computer search
are comprehensive, readily available, time saving . A
computer search will provide list of references along
with bibliographical information.
LOCATING THE RESOURCES
ORGANISING LIST OF SOURCES
SEARCHING THE LIBRARY FOR
SOURCES
DETERMIMING ADDITIONAL
METHODS
SYSTEMATICALLY RECORDING
REFERENCES
READING AND CRITIQUING
RESOURCES

Reading and Critiquing sources promotes
understanding of the current knowledge of a research
problem and involve skimming, comprehending,
analyzing and synthesizing content from sources. It
develops a quality literature review.
Skimming Skimming is a quick review of a source to gain
a broad overview of the content.

Comprehending source- Focus is on understanding major
concepts and the logical flow of ideas within the source. The
content that is considered significant is highlighted and
sometimes ideas are recorded in the margins.

Analyzing sources- The parts and content are examined in
depth for accuracy, completeness, uniqueness if
information, organization and relevance of each part of the
source for the study to be conducted.











Synthesis of source content- Through synthesis, one
can cluster and interrelate ideas from a gestalt, and
synthesis involves clarifying the meaning obtained from
the source as a whole. The meaning are paraphrased.

Integrative review of nursing research List of
references and summarising empirical literature for
selected integrative reviews are conducted to identify,
analyze and synthesise the results from independent
studies to determine the current knowledge in a
particular area.