Which of the following articles would Kevin least consider for his review of literature?
A. “Story-Telling and Anxiety Reduction Among Pediatric Patients”
B. “Turnaround Time in Emergency Rooms”
C. “Outcome Standards in Tertiary Health Care Institutions”
D. “Environmental Manipulation and Client Outcomes”
Correct Answer: A. “Story-Telling and Anxiety Reduction Among Pediatric Patients”
The article is for pediatric patients and may not be relevant for adult patients. A literature review surveys books, scholarly articles, and any other sources relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, and by so doing, provides a description, summary, and critical evaluation of these works in relation to the research problem being investigated.
Option B: Literature reviews are designed to provide an overview of sources explored while researching a particular topic and to demonstrate to the readers how the research fits within a larger field of study.
Option C: A literature review may consist of simply a summary of key sources, but in the social sciences, a literature review usually has an organizational pattern and combines both summary and synthesis, often within specific conceptual categories.
Option D: It is important to think of knowledge in a given field as consisting of three layers. First, there are the primary studies that researchers conduct and publish. Second, are the reviews of those studies that summarize and offer new interpretations built from and often extending beyond the primary studies. Third, there are the perceptions, conclusions, opinions, and interpretations that are shared informally that become part of the lore of the field.