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Understanding literature reviews: a guide for enhancing nursing practice globally

Butler, Sarah

Authors

Profile image of Sarah Butler

Miss Sarah Butler S.L.Butler@hull.ac.uk
University Certificate in Health and Social Care Practice Programme Director and Post Graduate Certificate Clinical Practice Programme Director



Abstract

Background Literature reviews are essential in nursing for integrating research into practice, informing clinical guidelines and shaping health policy. They comprehensively synthesise the available evidence, supporting nurses in making informed decisions that improve patient care. It is therefore crucial when researchers are selecting the method most appropriate for investigating their clinical questions that they understand the different types of literature review.
Aim To explore the characteristics, strengths and limitations of narrative, systematic and scoping reviews, as well as highlight their significance in nursing practice globally.
Discussion Narrative reviews provide broad, flexible overviews of topics; however, they lack methodological rigour, which can potentially result in bias. Systematic reviews provide high-quality, reliable evidence by using a structured approach to synthesising data from multiple studies; this makes them valuable for clinical decision-making and the development of guidelines. Scoping reviews map the scope of research onto emerging topics, identifying gaps and future research priorities, though they do not typically assess the quality of included studies.
Conclusion Literature reviews are vital tools for nurses worldwide. Understanding the differences between types of literature review enables nurses to effectively use the one most appropriate to their needs. This is essential for evidence-based practice, informs clinical and policy decisions, and supports high-quality patient care, as well as contributing to nurses’ professional development.

Citation

Butler, S. (2025). Understanding literature reviews: a guide for enhancing nursing practice globally. Nurse Researcher, https://doi.org/10.7748/nr.2025.e1949

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Oct 23, 2024
Online Publication Date Jan 29, 2025
Publication Date Jan 29, 2025
Deposit Date Jan 29, 2025
Publicly Available Date Feb 13, 2025
Print ISSN 1351-5578
Publisher RCN Publishing (RCNi)
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
DOI https://doi.org/10.7748/nr.2025.e1949
Keywords Literature review; Narrative; Research; Systematic review
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4748967

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Copyright Statement
This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable), but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.7748/nr.2025.e1949





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