`This is a great book for students, both for classroom use and to keep on their bookshelves once they graduate - Gale Spencer, Binghamton University
Conducting Research Literature Reviews, Second Edition shows readers how to identify, interpret, and analyze published and unpublished research literature. Through the use of checklists, case examples, and exercises, author Arlene Fink unravels the intricacies of
Selecting questions to maximize the efficiency of the review
Identifying subject headings and key words for electronic searches
Identifying the most appropriate databases, including supplementing computer and Web-based searches
Dealing with unpublished studies
Setting inclusion and exclusion criteria
Justifying methods for reviewing only the highest quality literature
Preparing a structured literature abstraction form
Ensuring the reliability and validity of the review
Synthesizing and reporting results
Conducting and evaluating descriptive literature reviews
How to understand and evaluate the principles of meta-analysis
New to the Second Edition:
Flow diagrams to assist the reader in linking each step of the review to the contents of each chapter
New references and other online resources, including links to online literature reviews and meta-analyses
Guidance in choosing online public and private bibliographic databases for literature reviews
Tips for searching the web for research information
The text also discusses the use of Boolean operators for simple and advanced searches and shows readers how to use bibliographic software to organize literature reviews and search The Virtual File Cabinet. It also describes how to synthesize the literature as a stand-alone report or as a component of a paper or proposal.
This book is intended for anyone wants to research social, health, educational, and business issues. It is ideal for students, researchers, marketers, planners, and policymakers who design and manage public and private agencies, conduct research studies, and prepare strategic plans and grant proposals.
Praise for the First Edition
There is finally a book available that removes the mystery and guesswork from doing literature reviews. This is especially important for both graduate and undergraduate levels if you are asking the students to make judgments about the quality and applicability of articles they may read. This book is not only timely but also a valuable way to help students evaluate articles they find on the Internet.
Anita VanBrackle, Kennesaw State University
Arvustused
This is a great book for students, both for classroom use and to keep on their bookshelves once they graduate. -- Gail Spencer "Classed with scientific research handbooks, Finks work provides examples of designs and analytical concepts from medical, educational, psychosocial, and business domains. She laudably holds qualitative and observational research designs to the same standards of reliability and validity as experimental research." -- P.E. Sandstrom * CHOICE * "This book is a textbook with apparatus: opening summaries of the each chapter ("A readers guide") exercises with suggested answers, and references cited in each chapter. But this book is much more than a how-to for students to learn how to design and write literature reviews. Fink devotes considerably space to the always tricky question of how to evaluate the actual articles you select to review." -- Tom Warren * Journal of the Society for Technical Communication *
Preface
1. Reviewing the Literature: Why? For Whom? How?
A Reader's Guide
Purpose of This
Chapter
What is a Research Literature Review? Why Do One?
Gaining Control: Experiments and Observations
Choosing an Online Bibliographic Database
Systematic, Explicit, Comprehensive, and Reproducible: Four Key Words
Changing the Course of the Search
Supplementing the Online Search
Organizing the Research Literature: Building a Virtual Filing Cabinet
Summary of Key Points
Exercises
Online Literature Reviews
General References
Notes
2. Searching and Screening: The Practical Screen and Methodological Quality (Part 1: Research Design and Sampling)
A Reader's Guide
Purpose of This
Chapter
Search Screen 1: Practical Screen
Search Screen 2: Methodological Quality Screening Criteria--Part 1: Research Design and Sampling
Summary of Key Points
Exercises
General References
3. Searching and Screening: Methodological Quality (Part 2: Data Collection, Interventions, Analysis, Results, and Conclusions)
A Reader's Guide
Purpose of This
Chapter
Data Collection and Data Sources: Methods and Measures
Interventions and Programs: Reviewing the Research Literature to Find Out What Works
Information Analysis: Statistical Methods in the Research Literature
Summary of Key Points
Exercises
General References
4. Doing the Review
A Reader's Guide
Purpose of This
Chapter
Types of Information: Methods and Content
Eligibility and Actuality
Reliable and Valid Reviews
Uniform Data Collection: The Literature Review Survey Questionnaire
Uniform Data Collection: Definitions and More
Pilot Testing the Review Process
Establishing Validity
Monitoring Quality
Summary of Key Points
Exercises
5. What Did You Find? Synthesizing Results
Purpose of This
Chapter
Now That You Have Done It, What Do You Do With It?
Descriptive Syntheses or Reviews
Meta-Analysis
Meta-Analyses in Practice: Examples
Descriptive Review Versus Meta-Analysis
Summary of Key Points
Exercises
Notes
General References
Index
About the Author
Arlene Fink (PhD) is Professor of Medicine and Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles, and president of the Langley Research Institute. Her main interests include evaluation and survey research and the conduct of research literature reviews as well as the evaluation of their quality. Dr. Fink has conducted scores of evaluation studies in public health, medicine, and education. She is on the faculty of UCLAs Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program and is a scientific and evaluation advisor to UCLAs Gambling Studies and IMPACT (Improving Access, Counseling & Treatment for Californians with Prostate Cancer) programs. She consults nationally and internationally for agencies such as Linstitut de Promotion del la Prévention Secondaire en Addictologie (IPPSA) in Paris, France, and Peninsula Health in Victoria, Australia. Professor Fink has taught and lectured extensively all over the world and is the author of more than 130 peer-reviewed articles and 15 textbooks.
