methodological literature review

Which review is that? A guide to review types.

• Which review is that?
• Review Comparison Chart
• Decision Tool
• Critical Review
• Integrative Review
• Narrative Review
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• Narrative Summary
• Systematic Review
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• Comparative Effectiveness Review
• Diagnostic Systematic Review
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• Psychometric Review
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• Qualitative Meta-synthesis
• Qualitative Research Synthesis
• Framework Synthesis - Best-fit Framework Synthesis
• Meta-aggregation
• Meta-ethnography
• Meta-interpretation
• Meta-narrative Review
• Meta-summary
• Thematic Synthesis
• Mixed Methods Synthesis
• Narrative Synthesis
• Bayesian Meta-analysis
• EPPI-Centre Review
• Critical Interpretive Synthesis
• Realist Synthesis - Realist Review
• Scoping Review
• Mapping Review
• Systematised Review
• Concept Synthesis
• Expert Opinion - Policy Review
• Technology Assessment Review

Methodological Review

• Systematic Search and Review

A methodological review is a type of systematic secondary research (i.e., research synthesis) which focuses on summarising the state-of-the-art methodological practices of research in a substantive field or topic" (Chong et al, 2021).

Methodological reviews "can be performed to examine any methodological issues relating to the design, conduct and review of research studies and also evidence syntheses". Munn et al, 2018)

Further Reading/Resources

Clarke, M., Oxman, A. D., Paulsen, E., Higgins, J. P. T., & Green, S. (2011). Appendix A: Guide to the contents of a Cochrane Methodology protocol and review. Cochrane Handbook for systematic reviews of interventions . Full Text PDF

Aguinis, H., Ramani, R. S., & Alabduljader, N. (2023). Best-Practice Recommendations for Producers, Evaluators, and Users of Methodological Literature Reviews. Organizational Research Methods, 26(1), 46-76. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428120943281 Full Text

Jha, C. K., & Kolekar, M. H. (2021). Electrocardiogram data compression techniques for cardiac healthcare systems: A methodological review. IRBM . Full Text

References Munn, Z., Stern, C., Aromataris, E., Lockwood, C., & Jordan, Z. (2018). What kind of systematic review should I conduct? A proposed typology and guidance for systematic reviewers in the medical and health sciences. BMC medical research methodology , 18 (1), 1-9. Full Text Chong, S. W., & Reinders, H. (2021). A methodological review of qualitative research syntheses in CALL: The state-of-the-art. System , 103 , 102646. Full Text

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• What is a Literature Review? | Guide, Template, & Examples

What is a Literature Review? | Guide, Template, & Examples

Published on 22 February 2022 by Shona McCombes . Revised on 7 June 2022.

What is a literature review? A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources on a specific topic. It provides an overview of current knowledge, allowing you to identify relevant theories, methods, and gaps in the existing research.

There are five key steps to writing a literature review:

• Search for relevant literature
• Evaluate sources
• Identify themes, debates and gaps
• Outline the structure
• Write your literature review

A good literature review doesn’t just summarise sources – it analyses, synthesises, and critically evaluates to give a clear picture of the state of knowledge on the subject.

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Table of contents

Why write a literature review, examples of literature reviews, step 1: search for relevant literature, step 2: evaluate and select sources, step 3: identify themes, debates and gaps, step 4: outline your literature review’s structure, step 5: write your literature review, frequently asked questions about literature reviews, introduction.

• Quick Run-through
• Step 1 & 2

When you write a dissertation or thesis, you will have to conduct a literature review to situate your research within existing knowledge. The literature review gives you a chance to:

• Demonstrate your familiarity with the topic and scholarly context
• Develop a theoretical framework and methodology for your research
• Position yourself in relation to other researchers and theorists
• Show how your dissertation addresses a gap or contributes to a debate

You might also have to write a literature review as a stand-alone assignment. In this case, the purpose is to evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your knowledge of scholarly debates around a topic.

The content will look slightly different in each case, but the process of conducting a literature review follows the same steps. We’ve written a step-by-step guide that you can follow below.

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Writing literature reviews can be quite challenging! A good starting point could be to look at some examples, depending on what kind of literature review you’d like to write.

• Example literature review #1: “Why Do People Migrate? A Review of the Theoretical Literature” ( Theoretical literature review about the development of economic migration theory from the 1950s to today.)
• Example literature review #2: “Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines” ( Methodological literature review about interdisciplinary knowledge acquisition and production.)
• Example literature review #3: “The Use of Technology in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Thematic literature review about the effects of technology on language acquisition.)
• Example literature review #4: “Learners’ Listening Comprehension Difficulties in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Chronological literature review about how the concept of listening skills has changed over time.)

You can also check out our templates with literature review examples and sample outlines at the links below.

Download Word doc Download Google doc

Before you begin searching for literature, you need a clearly defined topic .

If you are writing the literature review section of a dissertation or research paper, you will search for literature related to your research objectives and questions .

If you are writing a literature review as a stand-alone assignment, you will have to choose a focus and develop a central question to direct your search. Unlike a dissertation research question, this question has to be answerable without collecting original data. You should be able to answer it based only on a review of existing publications.

Make a list of keywords

Start by creating a list of keywords related to your research topic. Include each of the key concepts or variables you’re interested in, and list any synonyms and related terms. You can add to this list if you discover new keywords in the process of your literature search.

• Social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok
• Body image, self-perception, self-esteem, mental health
• Generation Z, teenagers, adolescents, youth

Search for relevant sources

Use your keywords to begin searching for sources. Some databases to search for journals and articles include:

• Your university’s library catalogue
• Google Scholar
• Project Muse (humanities and social sciences)
• Medline (life sciences and biomedicine)
• EconLit (economics)
• Inspec (physics, engineering and computer science)

You can use boolean operators to help narrow down your search:

Read the abstract to find out whether an article is relevant to your question. When you find a useful book or article, you can check the bibliography to find other relevant sources.

To identify the most important publications on your topic, take note of recurring citations. If the same authors, books or articles keep appearing in your reading, make sure to seek them out.

You probably won’t be able to read absolutely everything that has been written on the topic – you’ll have to evaluate which sources are most relevant to your questions.

For each publication, ask yourself:

• What question or problem is the author addressing?
• What are the key concepts and how are they defined?
• What are the key theories, models and methods? Does the research use established frameworks or take an innovative approach?
• What are the results and conclusions of the study?
• How does the publication relate to other literature in the field? Does it confirm, add to, or challenge established knowledge?
• How does the publication contribute to your understanding of the topic? What are its key insights and arguments?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research?

Make sure the sources you use are credible, and make sure you read any landmark studies and major theories in your field of research.

You can find out how many times an article has been cited on Google Scholar – a high citation count means the article has been influential in the field, and should certainly be included in your literature review.

The scope of your review will depend on your topic and discipline: in the sciences you usually only review recent literature, but in the humanities you might take a long historical perspective (for example, to trace how a concept has changed in meaning over time).

Remember that you can use our template to summarise and evaluate sources you’re thinking about using!

Take notes and cite your sources

As you read, you should also begin the writing process. Take notes that you can later incorporate into the text of your literature review.

It’s important to keep track of your sources with references to avoid plagiarism . It can be helpful to make an annotated bibliography, where you compile full reference information and write a paragraph of summary and analysis for each source. This helps you remember what you read and saves time later in the process.

You can use our free APA Reference Generator for quick, correct, consistent citations.

To begin organising your literature review’s argument and structure, you need to understand the connections and relationships between the sources you’ve read. Based on your reading and notes, you can look for:

• Trends and patterns (in theory, method or results): do certain approaches become more or less popular over time?
• Themes: what questions or concepts recur across the literature?
• Debates, conflicts and contradictions: where do sources disagree?
• Pivotal publications: are there any influential theories or studies that changed the direction of the field?
• Gaps: what is missing from the literature? Are there weaknesses that need to be addressed?

This step will help you work out the structure of your literature review and (if applicable) show how your own research will contribute to existing knowledge.

• Most research has focused on young women.
• There is an increasing interest in the visual aspects of social media.
• But there is still a lack of robust research on highly-visual platforms like Instagram and Snapchat – this is a gap that you could address in your own research.

There are various approaches to organising the body of a literature review. You should have a rough idea of your strategy before you start writing.

Depending on the length of your literature review, you can combine several of these strategies (for example, your overall structure might be thematic, but each theme is discussed chronologically).

Chronological

The simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time. However, if you choose this strategy, be careful to avoid simply listing and summarising sources in order.

Try to analyse patterns, turning points and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred.

If you have found some recurring central themes, you can organise your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic.

For example, if you are reviewing literature about inequalities in migrant health outcomes, key themes might include healthcare policy, language barriers, cultural attitudes, legal status, and economic access.

Methodological

If you draw your sources from different disciplines or fields that use a variety of research methods , you might want to compare the results and conclusions that emerge from different approaches. For example:

• Look at what results have emerged in qualitative versus quantitative research
• Discuss how the topic has been approached by empirical versus theoretical scholarship
• Divide the literature into sociological, historical, and cultural sources

Theoretical

A literature review is often the foundation for a theoretical framework . You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts.

You might argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach, or combine various theoretical concepts to create a framework for your research.

Like any other academic text, your literature review should have an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion . What you include in each depends on the objective of your literature review.

The introduction should clearly establish the focus and purpose of the literature review.

If you are writing the literature review as part of your dissertation or thesis, reiterate your central problem or research question and give a brief summary of the scholarly context. You can emphasise the timeliness of the topic (“many recent studies have focused on the problem of x”) or highlight a gap in the literature (“while there has been much research on x, few researchers have taken y into consideration”).

Depending on the length of your literature review, you might want to divide the body into subsections. You can use a subheading for each theme, time period, or methodological approach.

As you write, make sure to follow these tips:

• Summarise and synthesise: give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole.
• Analyse and interpret: don’t just paraphrase other researchers – add your own interpretations, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole.
• Critically evaluate: mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources.
• Write in well-structured paragraphs: use transitions and topic sentences to draw connections, comparisons and contrasts.

In the conclusion, you should summarise the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasise their significance.

If the literature review is part of your dissertation or thesis, reiterate how your research addresses gaps and contributes new knowledge, or discuss how you have drawn on existing theories and methods to build a framework for your research. This can lead directly into your methodology section.

A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources (such as books, journal articles, and theses) related to a specific topic or research question .

It is often written as part of a dissertation , thesis, research paper , or proposal .

There are several reasons to conduct a literature review at the beginning of a research project:

• To familiarise yourself with the current state of knowledge on your topic
• To ensure that you’re not just repeating what others have already done
• To identify gaps in knowledge and unresolved problems that your research can address
• To develop your theoretical framework and methodology
• To provide an overview of the key findings and debates on the topic

Writing the literature review shows your reader how your work relates to existing research and what new insights it will contribute.

The literature review usually comes near the beginning of your  dissertation . After the introduction , it grounds your research in a scholarly field and leads directly to your theoretical framework or methodology .

Cite this Scribbr article

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McCombes, S. (2022, June 07). What is a Literature Review? | Guide, Template, & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 14 May 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/thesis-dissertation/literature-review/

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• Business and Management INK

How to Write, Evaluate, and Use Methodological Literature Reviews

One of the things we’ve learned from our sister website MethodSpace is the genuine hunger among the social and behavioral scientists for how-to information. Today Business and Management INK brings you an essay from the president-elect of the Academy of Management, Herman Aguinis from the George Washington University Business School’s Department of Management; Ravi S. Ramani , an assistant professor of organizational behavior and human resource management at Morgan State University; and and Nawaf Alabduljader , professor of management at Kuwait University-College of Business Administration that, as its title proclaims, offers best practices for methodological literature reviews.

The essay is based on the trio’s paper in the journal Organizational Research Methods , and both the paper and the essay make clear that despite some established conventions and a clear need for clear, thorough and transparent methods literature reviews to avoid questionable research practices, mastery of this technique is widely lacking and concrete advice is necessary. The paper’s abstract and video abstract appears below, followed by the essay. (And yes, we’re reposting this essay on MethodSpace!)

We categorized and content-analyzed 168 methodological literature reviews published in 42 management and applied psychology journals. First, our categorization uncovered that the majority of published reviews (i.e., 85.10%) belong in three categories (i.e., critical, narrative, and descriptive reviews), which points to opportunities and promising directions for additional types of methodological literature reviews in the future (e.g., meta-analytic and umbrella reviews). Second, our content analysis uncovered implicit features of published methodological literature reviews. Based on the results of our content analysis, we created a checklist of actionable recommendations regarding 10 components to include to enhance a methodological literature review’s thoroughness, clarity, and ultimately, usefulness. Third, we describe choices and judgment calls in published reviews and provide detailed explications of exemplars that illustrate how those choices and judgment calls can be made explicit. Overall, our article offers recommendations that are useful for three methodological literature review stakeholder groups: producers (i.e., potential authors), evaluators (i.e., journal editors and reviewers), and users (i.e., substantive researchers interested in learning about a particular methodological issue and individuals tasked with training the next generation of scholars).

Groundbreaking discoveries in business management and many other fields are fueled by methodological innovations. From increases in computing power and the emergence of Big Data to the introduction of sophisticated new analytic techniques, we now have a smorgasbord of new methods and techniques to collect and analyze data. But, the picture is not all rosy. There is an overwhelming and even frantic pace of methodological developments, decreased funding for doctoral programs and researcher training in general, and increased competition to publish in high-prestige journals from around the world. As a result, many researchers find themselves struggling to stay up-to-date on methods-related issues.

So how do we researchers keep up with these advances? We often rely on methodological literature reviews. These are reviews that summarize a methodological issue and provide best-practice recommendations. Simply put, they describe “how to do things right.” They are valuable because researchers use them to understand how to apply new and existing methods, instructors rely on them to train doctoral students, and they are a resource for journal editors and reviewers to identify potentially questionable research practices (QRPs) in the manuscripts they evaluate. But, despite their popularity, the details of how to write and also evaluate methodological literature reviews are not clear. Our project started when we realized there was a need for guidance on how to write and evaluate methodological literature reviews.

Our article published in Organizational Research Methods titled “Best-Practice Recommendations for Producers, Evaluators, and Users of Methodological Literature Reviews” addresses this need. We spell out what goes into preparing a methodological literature review and what criteria can be used to judge them. We describe different types of reviews and their purposes, and uncover hidden features in published methodological literature reviews. Also, on a very practical note, our article includes a table with a checklist of actionable recommendations on how to write and evaluate a methodological literature review.

Our analysis of 168 methodological literature reviews published in 42 different journals revealed some interesting and surprising facts. For example, there are many different ways to write a successful review—one that is published in a highly visible and prestigious journal. And, despite increased attention to issues of research transparency and reproducibility, clear reporting about the process used to conduct a review is mostly absent. We also recommend specific tools (e.g., tables, specific type of language) that can be used to increase readability and accessibility, but which are underutilized.

Overall, our article helps improve the thoroughness, clarity, and usefulness of methodological literature reviews. Authors and journal editors and reviewers can use our recommendations to enhance transparency and clarity, and avoid potential QRPs. Readers of methodological literature reviews can use our recommendations to evaluate the trustworthiness of a review, and use our suggestions to perhaps even author one themselves!

We look forward to hearing your reactions to our article and hope that it will serve as a catalyst to further enhance the quality of literature reviews of methods in management, applied psychology, and other fields.

Herman Aguinis, Ravi S. Ramani, and Nawaf Alabduljader

Herman Aguinis is the Avram Tucker Distinguished Scholar, professor of management, and chairperson of the Department of Management at The George Washington University School of Business. He has been elected for the presidency track of the Academy of Management. Ravi S. Ramani is an assistant professor of organizational behavior and human resource management in the Business Administration department of the Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management at Morgan State University. Nawaf Alabduljader is a professor of Management at Kuwait University-College of Business Administration.

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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Writing a Literature Review

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A literature review is a document or section of a document that collects key sources on a topic and discusses those sources in conversation with each other (also called synthesis ). The lit review is an important genre in many disciplines, not just literature (i.e., the study of works of literature such as novels and plays). When we say “literature review” or refer to “the literature,” we are talking about the research ( scholarship ) in a given field. You will often see the terms “the research,” “the scholarship,” and “the literature” used mostly interchangeably.

Where, when, and why would I write a lit review?

There are a number of different situations where you might write a literature review, each with slightly different expectations; different disciplines, too, have field-specific expectations for what a literature review is and does. For instance, in the humanities, authors might include more overt argumentation and interpretation of source material in their literature reviews, whereas in the sciences, authors are more likely to report study designs and results in their literature reviews; these differences reflect these disciplines’ purposes and conventions in scholarship. You should always look at examples from your own discipline and talk to professors or mentors in your field to be sure you understand your discipline’s conventions, for literature reviews as well as for any other genre.

A literature review can be a part of a research paper or scholarly article, usually falling after the introduction and before the research methods sections. In these cases, the lit review just needs to cover scholarship that is important to the issue you are writing about; sometimes it will also cover key sources that informed your research methodology.

Lit reviews can also be standalone pieces, either as assignments in a class or as publications. In a class, a lit review may be assigned to help students familiarize themselves with a topic and with scholarship in their field, get an idea of the other researchers working on the topic they’re interested in, find gaps in existing research in order to propose new projects, and/or develop a theoretical framework and methodology for later research. As a publication, a lit review usually is meant to help make other scholars’ lives easier by collecting and summarizing, synthesizing, and analyzing existing research on a topic. This can be especially helpful for students or scholars getting into a new research area, or for directing an entire community of scholars toward questions that have not yet been answered.

What are the parts of a lit review?

Most lit reviews use a basic introduction-body-conclusion structure; if your lit review is part of a larger paper, the introduction and conclusion pieces may be just a few sentences while you focus most of your attention on the body. If your lit review is a standalone piece, the introduction and conclusion take up more space and give you a place to discuss your goals, research methods, and conclusions separately from where you discuss the literature itself.

Introduction:

• An introductory paragraph that explains what your working topic and thesis is
• A forecast of key topics or texts that will appear in the review
• Potentially, a description of how you found sources and how you analyzed them for inclusion and discussion in the review (more often found in published, standalone literature reviews than in lit review sections in an article or research paper)
• Summarize and synthesize: Give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole
• Analyze and interpret: Don’t just paraphrase other researchers – add your own interpretations where possible, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole
• Critically Evaluate: Mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources
• Write in well-structured paragraphs: Use transition words and topic sentence to draw connections, comparisons, and contrasts.

Conclusion:

• Summarize the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasize their significance
• Connect it back to your primary research question

How should I organize my lit review?

Lit reviews can take many different organizational patterns depending on what you are trying to accomplish with the review. Here are some examples:

• Chronological : The simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time, which helps familiarize the audience with the topic (for instance if you are introducing something that is not commonly known in your field). If you choose this strategy, be careful to avoid simply listing and summarizing sources in order. Try to analyze the patterns, turning points, and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred (as mentioned previously, this may not be appropriate in your discipline — check with a teacher or mentor if you’re unsure).
• Thematic : If you have found some recurring central themes that you will continue working with throughout your piece, you can organize your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic. For example, if you are reviewing literature about women and religion, key themes can include the role of women in churches and the religious attitude towards women.
• Qualitative versus quantitative research
• Empirical versus theoretical scholarship
• Divide the research by sociological, historical, or cultural sources
• Theoretical : In many humanities articles, the literature review is the foundation for the theoretical framework. You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts. You can argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach or combine various theorical concepts to create a framework for your research.

What are some strategies or tips I can use while writing my lit review?

Any lit review is only as good as the research it discusses; make sure your sources are well-chosen and your research is thorough. Don’t be afraid to do more research if you discover a new thread as you’re writing. More info on the research process is available in our "Conducting Research" resources .

As you’re doing your research, create an annotated bibliography ( see our page on the this type of document ). Much of the information used in an annotated bibliography can be used also in a literature review, so you’ll be not only partially drafting your lit review as you research, but also developing your sense of the larger conversation going on among scholars, professionals, and any other stakeholders in your topic.

Usually you will need to synthesize research rather than just summarizing it. This means drawing connections between sources to create a picture of the scholarly conversation on a topic over time. Many student writers struggle to synthesize because they feel they don’t have anything to add to the scholars they are citing; here are some strategies to help you:

• It often helps to remember that the point of these kinds of syntheses is to show your readers how you understand your research, to help them read the rest of your paper.
• Writing teachers often say synthesis is like hosting a dinner party: imagine all your sources are together in a room, discussing your topic. What are they saying to each other?
• Look at the in-text citations in each paragraph. Are you citing just one source for each paragraph? This usually indicates summary only. When you have multiple sources cited in a paragraph, you are more likely to be synthesizing them (not always, but often
• Read more about synthesis here.

The most interesting literature reviews are often written as arguments (again, as mentioned at the beginning of the page, this is discipline-specific and doesn’t work for all situations). Often, the literature review is where you can establish your research as filling a particular gap or as relevant in a particular way. You have some chance to do this in your introduction in an article, but the literature review section gives a more extended opportunity to establish the conversation in the way you would like your readers to see it. You can choose the intellectual lineage you would like to be part of and whose definitions matter most to your thinking (mostly humanities-specific, but this goes for sciences as well). In addressing these points, you argue for your place in the conversation, which tends to make the lit review more compelling than a simple reporting of other sources.

How To Structure Your Literature Review

3 options to help structure your chapter.

By: Amy Rommelspacher (PhD) | Reviewer: Dr Eunice Rautenbach | November 2020 (Updated May 2023)

Writing the literature review chapter can seem pretty daunting when you’re piecing together your dissertation or thesis. As  we’ve discussed before , a good literature review needs to achieve a few very important objectives – it should:

• Demonstrate your knowledge of the research topic
• Identify the gaps in the literature and show how your research links to these
• Provide the foundation for your conceptual framework (if you have one)
• Inform your own  methodology and research design

To achieve this, your literature review needs a well-thought-out structure . Get the structure of your literature review chapter wrong and you’ll struggle to achieve these objectives. Don’t worry though – in this post, we’ll look at how to structure your literature review for maximum impact (and marks!).

But wait – is this the right time?

Deciding on the structure of your literature review should come towards the end of the literature review process – after you have collected and digested the literature, but before you start writing the chapter. 

In other words, you need to first develop a rich understanding of the literature before you even attempt to map out a structure. There’s no use trying to develop a structure before you’ve fully wrapped your head around the existing research.

Equally importantly, you need to have a structure in place before you start writing , or your literature review will most likely end up a rambling, disjointed mess. 

Importantly, don’t feel that once you’ve defined a structure you can’t iterate on it. It’s perfectly natural to adjust as you engage in the writing process. As we’ve discussed before , writing is a way of developing your thinking, so it’s quite common for your thinking to change – and therefore, for your chapter structure to change – as you write. 

Need a helping hand?

Like any other chapter in your thesis or dissertation, your literature review needs to have a clear, logical structure. At a minimum, it should have three essential components – an  introduction , a  body   and a  conclusion . 

Let’s take a closer look at each of these.

1: The Introduction Section

Just like any good introduction, the introduction section of your literature review should introduce the purpose and layout (organisation) of the chapter. In other words, your introduction needs to give the reader a taste of what’s to come, and how you’re going to lay that out. Essentially, you should provide the reader with a high-level roadmap of your chapter to give them a taste of the journey that lies ahead.

Here’s an example of the layout visualised in a literature review introduction:

Your introduction should also outline your topic (including any tricky terminology or jargon) and provide an explanation of the scope of your literature review – in other words, what you  will   and  won’t   be covering (the delimitations ). This helps ringfence your review and achieve a clear focus . The clearer and narrower your focus, the deeper you can dive into the topic (which is typically where the magic lies). 

Depending on the nature of your project, you could also present your stance or point of view at this stage. In other words, after grappling with the literature you’ll have an opinion about what the trends and concerns are in the field as well as what’s lacking. The introduction section can then present these ideas so that it is clear to examiners that you’re aware of how your research connects with existing knowledge .

2: The Body Section

The body of your literature review is the centre of your work. This is where you’ll present, analyse, evaluate and synthesise the existing research. In other words, this is where you’re going to earn (or lose) the most marks. Therefore, it’s important to carefully think about how you will organise your discussion to present it in a clear way. 

The body of your literature review should do just as the description of this chapter suggests. It should “review” the literature – in other words, identify, analyse, and synthesise it. So, when thinking about structuring your literature review, you need to think about which structural approach will provide the best “review” for your specific type of research and objectives (we’ll get to this shortly).

There are (broadly speaking)  three options  for organising your literature review.

Option 1: Chronological (according to date)

Organising the literature chronologically is one of the simplest ways to structure your literature review. You start with what was published first and work your way through the literature until you reach the work published most recently. Pretty straightforward.

The benefit of this option is that it makes it easy to discuss the developments and debates in the field as they emerged over time. Organising your literature chronologically also allows you to highlight how specific articles or pieces of work might have changed the course of the field – in other words, which research has had the most impact . Therefore, this approach is very useful when your research is aimed at understanding how the topic has unfolded over time and is often used by scholars in the field of history. That said, this approach can be utilised by anyone that wants to explore change over time .

For example , if a student of politics is investigating how the understanding of democracy has evolved over time, they could use the chronological approach to provide a narrative that demonstrates how this understanding has changed through the ages.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself to help you structure your literature review chronologically.

• What is the earliest literature published relating to this topic?
• How has the field changed over time? Why?
• What are the most recent discoveries/theories?

In some ways, chronology plays a part whichever way you decide to structure your literature review, because you will always, to a certain extent, be analysing how the literature has developed. However, with the chronological approach, the emphasis is very firmly on how the discussion has evolved over time , as opposed to how all the literature links together (which we’ll discuss next ).

Option 2: Thematic (grouped by theme)

The thematic approach to structuring a literature review means organising your literature by theme or category – for example, by independent variables (i.e. factors that have an impact on a specific outcome).

As you’ve been collecting and synthesising literature , you’ll likely have started seeing some themes or patterns emerging. You can then use these themes or patterns as a structure for your body discussion. The thematic approach is the most common approach and is useful for structuring literature reviews in most fields.

For example, if you were researching which factors contributed towards people trusting an organisation, you might find themes such as consumers’ perceptions of an organisation’s competence, benevolence and integrity. Structuring your literature review thematically would mean structuring your literature review’s body section to discuss each of these themes, one section at a time.

Here are some questions to ask yourself when structuring your literature review by themes:

• Are there any patterns that have come to light in the literature?
• What are the central themes and categories used by the researchers?
• Do I have enough evidence of these themes?

PS – you can see an example of a thematically structured literature review in our literature review sample walkthrough video here.

Option 3: Methodological

The methodological option is a way of structuring your literature review by the research methodologies used . In other words, organising your discussion based on the angle from which each piece of research was approached – for example, qualitative , quantitative or mixed  methodologies.

Structuring your literature review by methodology can be useful if you are drawing research from a variety of disciplines and are critiquing different methodologies. The point of this approach is to question  how  existing research has been conducted, as opposed to  what  the conclusions and/or findings the research were.

For example, a sociologist might centre their research around critiquing specific fieldwork practices. Their literature review will then be a summary of the fieldwork methodologies used by different studies.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself when structuring your literature review according to methodology:

• Which methodologies have been utilised in this field?
• Which methodology is the most popular (and why)?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the various methodologies?
• How can the existing methodologies inform my own methodology?

3: The Conclusion Section

Once you’ve completed the body section of your literature review using one of the structural approaches we discussed above, you’ll need to “wrap up” your literature review and pull all the pieces together to set the direction for the rest of your dissertation or thesis.

The conclusion is where you’ll present the key findings of your literature review. In this section, you should emphasise the research that is especially important to your research questions and highlight the gaps that exist in the literature. Based on this, you need to make it clear what you will add to the literature – in other words, justify your own research by showing how it will help fill one or more of the gaps you just identified.

Last but not least, if it’s your intention to develop a conceptual framework for your dissertation or thesis, the conclusion section is a good place to present this.

Example: Thematically Structured Review

In the video below, we unpack a literature review chapter so that you can see an example of a thematically structure review in practice.

Let’s Recap

In this article, we’ve  discussed how to structure your literature review for maximum impact. Here’s a quick recap of what  you need to keep in mind when deciding on your literature review structure:

• Just like other chapters, your literature review needs a clear introduction , body and conclusion .
• The introduction section should provide an overview of what you will discuss in your literature review.
• The body section of your literature review can be organised by chronology , theme or methodology . The right structural approach depends on what you’re trying to achieve with your research.
• The conclusion section should draw together the key findings of your literature review and link them to your research questions.

If you’re ready to get started, be sure to download our free literature review template to fast-track your chapter outline.

Psst… there’s more!

This post is an extract from our bestselling short course, Literature Review Bootcamp . If you want to work smart, you don't want to miss this .

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27 Comments

Great work. This is exactly what I was looking for and helps a lot together with your previous post on literature review. One last thing is missing: a link to a great literature chapter of an journal article (maybe with comments of the different sections in this review chapter). Do you know any great literature review chapters?

I agree with you Marin… A great piece

I agree with Marin. This would be quite helpful if you annotate a nicely structured literature from previously published research articles.

Awesome article for my research.

I thank you immensely for this wonderful guide

It is indeed thought and supportive work for the futurist researcher and students

Very educative and good time to get guide. Thank you

Great work, very insightful. Thank you.

Thanks for this wonderful presentation. My question is that do I put all the variables into a single conceptual framework or each hypothesis will have it own conceptual framework?

Thank you very much, very helpful

This is very educative and precise . Thank you very much for dropping this kind of write up .

Pheeww, so damn helpful, thank you for this informative piece.

I’m doing a research project topic ; stool analysis for parasitic worm (enteric) worm, how do I structure it, thanks.

comprehensive explanation. Help us by pasting the URL of some good “literature review” for better understanding.

great piece. thanks for the awesome explanation. it is really worth sharing. I have a little question, if anyone can help me out, which of the options in the body of literature can be best fit if you are writing an architectural thesis that deals with design?

I am doing a research on nanofluids how can l structure it?

Beautifully clear.nThank you!

Lucid! Thankyou!

Brilliant work, well understood, many thanks

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Insightful. I was struggling to come up with a sensible literature review but this has been really helpful. Thank you!

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I am doing research on EFL teacher motivation for his/her job. How Can I structure it? Is there any detailed template, additional to this?

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I’m asked to do conceptual, theoretical and empirical literature, and i just don’t know how to structure it

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Research Methods

• Getting Started
• Literature Review Research
• Research Design
• Research Design By Discipline
• SAGE Research Methods
• Teaching with SAGE Research Methods

Literature Review

• What is a Literature Review?
• What is NOT a Literature Review?
• Purposes of a Literature Review
• Types of Literature Reviews
• Literature Reviews vs. Systematic Reviews
• Systematic vs. Meta-Analysis

Literature Review  is a comprehensive survey of the works published in a particular field of study or line of research, usually over a specific period of time, in the form of an in-depth, critical bibliographic essay or annotated list in which attention is drawn to the most significant works.

Also, we can define a literature review as the collected body of scholarly works related to a topic:

• Summarizes and analyzes previous research relevant to a topic
• Includes scholarly books and articles published in academic journals
• Can be an specific scholarly paper or a section in a research paper

The objective of a Literature Review is to find previous published scholarly works relevant to an specific topic

• Help gather ideas or information
• Keep up to date in current trends and findings
• Help develop new questions

A literature review is important because it:

• Explains the background of research on a topic.
• Demonstrates why a topic is significant to a subject area.
• Helps focus your own research questions or problems
• Discovers relationships between research studies/ideas.
• Suggests unexplored ideas or populations
• Identifies major themes, concepts, and researchers on a topic.
• Tests assumptions; may help counter preconceived ideas and remove unconscious bias.
• Identifies critical gaps, points of disagreement, or potentially flawed methodology or theoretical approaches.
• Indicates potential directions for future research.

All content in this section is from Literature Review Research from Old Dominion University 

Keep in mind the following, a literature review is NOT:

Not an essay 

Not an annotated bibliography  in which you summarize each article that you have reviewed.  A literature review goes beyond basic summarizing to focus on the critical analysis of the reviewed works and their relationship to your research question.

Not a research paper   where you select resources to support one side of an issue versus another.  A lit review should explain and consider all sides of an argument in order to avoid bias, and areas of agreement and disagreement should be highlighted.

A literature review serves several purposes. For example, it

• provides thorough knowledge of previous studies; introduces seminal works.
• helps focus one’s own research topic.
• identifies a conceptual framework for one’s own research questions or problems; indicates potential directions for future research.
• suggests previously unused or underused methodologies, designs, quantitative and qualitative strategies.
• identifies gaps in previous studies; identifies flawed methodologies and/or theoretical approaches; avoids replication of mistakes.
• helps the researcher avoid repetition of earlier research.
• suggests unexplored populations.
• determines whether past studies agree or disagree; identifies controversy in the literature.
• tests assumptions; may help counter preconceived ideas and remove unconscious bias.

As Kennedy (2007) notes*, 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 original studies. Third, there are the perceptions, conclusions, opinion, and interpretations that are shared informally that become part of the lore of field. In composing a literature review, it is important to note that it is often this third layer of knowledge that is cited as "true" even though it often has only a loose relationship to the primary studies and secondary literature reviews.

Given this, while literature reviews are designed to provide an overview and synthesis of pertinent sources you have explored, there are several approaches to how they can be done, depending upon the type of analysis underpinning your study. Listed below are definitions of types of literature reviews:

Argumentative Review      This form examines literature selectively in order to support or refute an argument, deeply imbedded assumption, or philosophical problem already established in the literature. The purpose is to develop a body of literature that establishes a contrarian viewpoint. Given the value-laden nature of some social science research [e.g., educational reform; immigration control], argumentative approaches to analyzing the literature can be a legitimate and important form of discourse. However, note that they can also introduce problems of bias when they are used to to make summary claims of the sort found in systematic reviews.

Integrative Review      Considered a form of research that reviews, critiques, and synthesizes representative literature on a topic in an integrated way such that new frameworks and perspectives on the topic are generated. The body of literature includes all studies that address related or identical hypotheses. A well-done integrative review meets the same standards as primary research in regard to clarity, rigor, and replication.

Historical Review      Few things rest in isolation from historical precedent. Historical reviews are focused on examining research throughout a period of time, often starting with the first time an issue, concept, theory, phenomena emerged in the literature, then tracing its evolution within the scholarship of a discipline. The purpose is to place research in a historical context to show familiarity with state-of-the-art developments and to identify the likely directions for future research.

Methodological Review      A review does not always focus on what someone said [content], but how they said it [method of analysis]. This approach provides a framework of understanding at different levels (i.e. those of theory, substantive fields, research approaches and data collection and analysis techniques), enables researchers to draw on a wide variety of knowledge ranging from the conceptual level to practical documents for use in fieldwork in the areas of ontological and epistemological consideration, quantitative and qualitative integration, sampling, interviewing, data collection and data analysis, and helps highlight many ethical issues which we should be aware of and consider as we go through our study.

Systematic Review      This form consists of an overview of existing evidence pertinent to a clearly formulated research question, which uses pre-specified and standardized methods to identify and critically appraise relevant research, and to collect, report, and analyse data from the studies that are included in the review. Typically it focuses on a very specific empirical question, often posed in a cause-and-effect form, such as "To what extent does A contribute to B?"

Theoretical Review      The purpose of this form is to concretely examine the corpus of theory that has accumulated in regard to an issue, concept, theory, phenomena. The theoretical literature review help establish what theories already exist, the relationships between them, to what degree the existing theories have been investigated, and to develop new hypotheses to be tested. Often this form is used to help establish a lack of appropriate theories or reveal that current theories are inadequate for explaining new or emerging research problems. The unit of analysis can focus on a theoretical concept or a whole theory or framework.

* Kennedy, Mary M. "Defining a Literature."  Educational Researcher  36 (April 2007): 139-147.

All content in this section is from The Literature Review created by Dr. Robert Larabee USC

Robinson, P. and Lowe, J. (2015),  Literature reviews vs systematic reviews.  Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 39: 103-103. doi: 10.1111/1753-6405.12393

What's in the name? The difference between a Systematic Review and a Literature Review, and why it matters . By Lynn Kysh from University of Southern California

Systematic review or meta-analysis?

A  systematic review  answers a defined research question by collecting and summarizing all empirical evidence that fits pre-specified eligibility criteria.

A  meta-analysis  is the use of statistical methods to summarize the results of these studies.

Systematic reviews, just like other research articles, can be of varying quality. They are a significant piece of work (the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination at York estimates that a team will take 9-24 months), and to be useful to other researchers and practitioners they should have:

• clearly stated objectives with pre-defined eligibility criteria for studies
• explicit, reproducible methodology
• a systematic search that attempts to identify all studies
• assessment of the validity of the findings of the included studies (e.g. risk of bias)
• systematic presentation, and synthesis, of the characteristics and findings of the included studies

Not all systematic reviews contain meta-analysis. 

Meta-analysis is the use of statistical methods to summarize the results of independent studies. By combining information from all relevant studies, meta-analysis can provide more precise estimates of the effects of health care than those derived from the individual studies included within a review.  More information on meta-analyses can be found in  Cochrane Handbook, Chapter 9 .

A meta-analysis goes beyond critique and integration and conducts secondary statistical analysis on the outcomes of similar studies.  It is a systematic review that uses quantitative methods to synthesize and summarize the results.

An advantage of a meta-analysis is the ability to be completely objective in evaluating research findings.  Not all topics, however, have sufficient research evidence to allow a meta-analysis to be conducted.  In that case, an integrative review is an appropriate strategy. 

Some of the content in this section is from Systematic reviews and meta-analyses: step by step guide created by Kate McAllister.

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• Next: Research Design >>
• Last Updated: Aug 21, 2023 4:07 PM
• URL: https://guides.lib.udel.edu/researchmethods

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What is a Literature Review? How to Write It (with Examples)

A literature review is a critical analysis and synthesis of existing research on a particular topic. It provides an overview of the current state of knowledge, identifies gaps, and highlights key findings in the literature. 1 The purpose of a literature review is to situate your own research within the context of existing scholarship, demonstrating your understanding of the topic and showing how your work contributes to the ongoing conversation in the field. Learning how to write a literature review is a critical tool for successful research. Your ability to summarize and synthesize prior research pertaining to a certain topic demonstrates your grasp on the topic of study, and assists in the learning process. 

Table of Contents

• What is the purpose of literature review? 
• a. Habitat Loss and Species Extinction: 
• b. Range Shifts and Phenological Changes: 
• c. Ocean Acidification and Coral Reefs: 
• d. Adaptive Strategies and Conservation Efforts: 
• How to write a good literature review 
• Choose a Topic and Define the Research Question: 
• Decide on the Scope of Your Review: 
• Select Databases for Searches: 
• Conduct Searches and Keep Track: 
• Review the Literature: 
• Organize and Write Your Literature Review: 
• Frequently asked questions 

What is a literature review?

A well-conducted literature review demonstrates the researcher’s familiarity with the existing literature, establishes the context for their own research, and contributes to scholarly conversations on the topic. One of the purposes of a literature review is also to help researchers avoid duplicating previous work and ensure that their research is informed by and builds upon the existing body of knowledge.

What is the purpose of literature review?

A literature review serves several important purposes within academic and research contexts. Here are some key objectives and functions of a literature review: 2  

• Contextualizing the Research Problem: The literature review provides a background and context for the research problem under investigation. It helps to situate the study within the existing body of knowledge. 
• Identifying Gaps in Knowledge: By identifying gaps, contradictions, or areas requiring further research, the researcher can shape the research question and justify the significance of the study. This is crucial for ensuring that the new research contributes something novel to the field. 
• Understanding Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks: Literature reviews help researchers gain an understanding of the theoretical and conceptual frameworks used in previous studies. This aids in the development of a theoretical framework for the current research. 
• Providing Methodological Insights: Another purpose of literature reviews is that it allows researchers to learn about the methodologies employed in previous studies. This can help in choosing appropriate research methods for the current study and avoiding pitfalls that others may have encountered. 
• Establishing Credibility: A well-conducted literature review demonstrates the researcher’s familiarity with existing scholarship, establishing their credibility and expertise in the field. It also helps in building a solid foundation for the new research. 
• Informing Hypotheses or Research Questions: The literature review guides the formulation of hypotheses or research questions by highlighting relevant findings and areas of uncertainty in existing literature. 

Literature review example

Let’s delve deeper with a literature review example: Let’s say your literature review is about the impact of climate change on biodiversity. You might format your literature review into sections such as the effects of climate change on habitat loss and species extinction, phenological changes, and marine biodiversity. Each section would then summarize and analyze relevant studies in those areas, highlighting key findings and identifying gaps in the research. The review would conclude by emphasizing the need for further research on specific aspects of the relationship between climate change and biodiversity. The following literature review template provides a glimpse into the recommended literature review structure and content, demonstrating how research findings are organized around specific themes within a broader topic. 

Literature Review on Climate Change Impacts on Biodiversity:

Climate change is a global phenomenon with far-reaching consequences, including significant impacts on biodiversity. This literature review synthesizes key findings from various studies: 

a. Habitat Loss and Species Extinction:

Climate change-induced alterations in temperature and precipitation patterns contribute to habitat loss, affecting numerous species (Thomas et al., 2004). The review discusses how these changes increase the risk of extinction, particularly for species with specific habitat requirements. 

b. Range Shifts and Phenological Changes:

Observations of range shifts and changes in the timing of biological events (phenology) are documented in response to changing climatic conditions (Parmesan & Yohe, 2003). These shifts affect ecosystems and may lead to mismatches between species and their resources. 

c. Ocean Acidification and Coral Reefs:

The review explores the impact of climate change on marine biodiversity, emphasizing ocean acidification’s threat to coral reefs (Hoegh-Guldberg et al., 2007). Changes in pH levels negatively affect coral calcification, disrupting the delicate balance of marine ecosystems. 

d. Adaptive Strategies and Conservation Efforts:

Recognizing the urgency of the situation, the literature review discusses various adaptive strategies adopted by species and conservation efforts aimed at mitigating the impacts of climate change on biodiversity (Hannah et al., 2007). It emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary approaches for effective conservation planning. 

How to write a good literature review

Writing a literature review involves summarizing and synthesizing existing research on a particular topic. A good literature review format should include the following elements. 

Introduction: The introduction sets the stage for your literature review, providing context and introducing the main focus of your review. 

• Opening Statement: Begin with a general statement about the broader topic and its significance in the field. 
• Scope and Purpose: Clearly define the scope of your literature review. Explain the specific research question or objective you aim to address. 
• Organizational Framework: Briefly outline the structure of your literature review, indicating how you will categorize and discuss the existing research. 
• Significance of the Study: Highlight why your literature review is important and how it contributes to the understanding of the chosen topic. 
• Thesis Statement: Conclude the introduction with a concise thesis statement that outlines the main argument or perspective you will develop in the body of the literature review. 

Body: The body of the literature review is where you provide a comprehensive analysis of existing literature, grouping studies based on themes, methodologies, or other relevant criteria. 

• Organize by Theme or Concept: Group studies that share common themes, concepts, or methodologies. Discuss each theme or concept in detail, summarizing key findings and identifying gaps or areas of disagreement. 
• Critical Analysis: Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each study. Discuss the methodologies used, the quality of evidence, and the overall contribution of each work to the understanding of the topic. 
• Synthesis of Findings: Synthesize the information from different studies to highlight trends, patterns, or areas of consensus in the literature. 
• Identification of Gaps: Discuss any gaps or limitations in the existing research and explain how your review contributes to filling these gaps. 
• Transition between Sections: Provide smooth transitions between different themes or concepts to maintain the flow of your literature review. 

Conclusion: The conclusion of your literature review should summarize the main findings, highlight the contributions of the review, and suggest avenues for future research. 

• Summary of Key Findings: Recap the main findings from the literature and restate how they contribute to your research question or objective. 
• Contributions to the Field: Discuss the overall contribution of your literature review to the existing knowledge in the field. 
• Implications and Applications: Explore the practical implications of the findings and suggest how they might impact future research or practice. 
• Recommendations for Future Research: Identify areas that require further investigation and propose potential directions for future research in the field. 
• Final Thoughts: Conclude with a final reflection on the importance of your literature review and its relevance to the broader academic community. 

Conducting a literature review

Conducting a literature review is an essential step in research that involves reviewing and analyzing existing literature on a specific topic. It’s important to know how to do a literature review effectively, so here are the steps to follow: 1  

Choose a Topic and Define the Research Question:

• Select a topic that is relevant to your field of study. 
• Clearly define your research question or objective. Determine what specific aspect of the topic do you want to explore? 

Decide on the Scope of Your Review:

• Determine the timeframe for your literature review. Are you focusing on recent developments, or do you want a historical overview? 
• Consider the geographical scope. Is your review global, or are you focusing on a specific region? 
• Define the inclusion and exclusion criteria. What types of sources will you include? Are there specific types of studies or publications you will exclude? 

Select Databases for Searches:

• Identify relevant databases for your field. Examples include PubMed, IEEE Xplore, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. 
• Consider searching in library catalogs, institutional repositories, and specialized databases related to your topic. 

Conduct Searches and Keep Track:

• Develop a systematic search strategy using keywords, Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT), and other search techniques. 
• Record and document your search strategy for transparency and replicability. 
• Keep track of the articles, including publication details, abstracts, and links. Use citation management tools like EndNote, Zotero, or Mendeley to organize your references. 

Review the Literature:

• Evaluate the relevance and quality of each source. Consider the methodology, sample size, and results of studies. 
• Organize the literature by themes or key concepts. Identify patterns, trends, and gaps in the existing research. 
• Summarize key findings and arguments from each source. Compare and contrast different perspectives. 
• Identify areas where there is a consensus in the literature and where there are conflicting opinions. 
• Provide critical analysis and synthesis of the literature. What are the strengths and weaknesses of existing research? 

Organize and Write Your Literature Review:

• Literature review outline should be based on themes, chronological order, or methodological approaches. 
• Write a clear and coherent narrative that synthesizes the information gathered. 
• Use proper citations for each source and ensure consistency in your citation style (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.). 
• Conclude your literature review by summarizing key findings, identifying gaps, and suggesting areas for future research. 

The literature review sample and detailed advice on writing and conducting a review will help you produce a well-structured report. But remember that a literature review is an ongoing process, and it may be necessary to revisit and update it as your research progresses. 

Frequently asked questions

A literature review is a critical and comprehensive analysis of existing literature (published and unpublished works) on a specific topic or research question and provides a synthesis of the current state of knowledge in a particular field. A well-conducted literature review is crucial for researchers to build upon existing knowledge, avoid duplication of efforts, and contribute to the advancement of their field. It also helps researchers situate their work within a broader context and facilitates the development of a sound theoretical and conceptual framework for their studies.

Literature review is a crucial component of research writing, providing a solid background for a research paper’s investigation. The aim is to keep professionals up to date by providing an understanding of ongoing developments within a specific field, including research methods, and experimental techniques used in that field, and present that knowledge in the form of a written report. Also, the depth and breadth of the literature review emphasizes the credibility of the scholar in his or her field.  

Before writing a literature review, it’s essential to undertake several preparatory steps to ensure that your review is well-researched, organized, and focused. This includes choosing a topic of general interest to you and doing exploratory research on that topic, writing an annotated bibliography, and noting major points, especially those that relate to the position you have taken on the topic. 

Literature reviews and academic research papers are essential components of scholarly work but serve different purposes within the academic realm. 3 A literature review aims to provide a foundation for understanding the current state of research on a particular topic, identify gaps or controversies, and lay the groundwork for future research. Therefore, it draws heavily from existing academic sources, including books, journal articles, and other scholarly publications. In contrast, an academic research paper aims to present new knowledge, contribute to the academic discourse, and advance the understanding of a specific research question. Therefore, it involves a mix of existing literature (in the introduction and literature review sections) and original data or findings obtained through research methods. 

Literature reviews are essential components of academic and research papers, and various strategies can be employed to conduct them effectively. If you want to know how to write a literature review for a research paper, here are four common approaches that are often used by researchers.  Chronological Review: This strategy involves organizing the literature based on the chronological order of publication. It helps to trace the development of a topic over time, showing how ideas, theories, and research have evolved.  Thematic Review: Thematic reviews focus on identifying and analyzing themes or topics that cut across different studies. Instead of organizing the literature chronologically, it is grouped by key themes or concepts, allowing for a comprehensive exploration of various aspects of the topic.  Methodological Review: This strategy involves organizing the literature based on the research methods employed in different studies. It helps to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of various methodologies and allows the reader to evaluate the reliability and validity of the research findings.  Theoretical Review: A theoretical review examines the literature based on the theoretical frameworks used in different studies. This approach helps to identify the key theories that have been applied to the topic and assess their contributions to the understanding of the subject.  It’s important to note that these strategies are not mutually exclusive, and a literature review may combine elements of more than one approach. The choice of strategy depends on the research question, the nature of the literature available, and the goals of the review. Additionally, other strategies, such as integrative reviews or systematic reviews, may be employed depending on the specific requirements of the research.

The literature review format can vary depending on the specific publication guidelines. However, there are some common elements and structures that are often followed. Here is a general guideline for the format of a literature review:  Introduction:   Provide an overview of the topic.  Define the scope and purpose of the literature review.  State the research question or objective.  Body:   Organize the literature by themes, concepts, or chronology.  Critically analyze and evaluate each source.  Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the studies.  Highlight any methodological limitations or biases.  Identify patterns, connections, or contradictions in the existing research.  Conclusion:   Summarize the key points discussed in the literature review.  Highlight the research gap.  Address the research question or objective stated in the introduction.  Highlight the contributions of the review and suggest directions for future research.

Both annotated bibliographies and literature reviews involve the examination of scholarly sources. While annotated bibliographies focus on individual sources with brief annotations, literature reviews provide a more in-depth, integrated, and comprehensive analysis of existing literature on a specific topic. The key differences are as follows: 

References 

• Denney, A. S., & Tewksbury, R. (2013). How to write a literature review.  Journal of criminal justice education ,  24 (2), 218-234. 
• Pan, M. L. (2016).  Preparing literature reviews: Qualitative and quantitative approaches . Taylor & Francis. 
• Cantero, C. (2019). How to write a literature review.  San José State University Writing Center . 

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• Open access
• Published: 17 August 2023

Data visualisation in scoping reviews and evidence maps on health topics: a cross-sectional analysis

• Emily South   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2187-4762 1 &
• Mark Rodgers 1  

Systematic Reviews volume  12 , Article number:  142 ( 2023 ) Cite this article

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Metrics details

Scoping reviews and evidence maps are forms of evidence synthesis that aim to map the available literature on a topic and are well-suited to visual presentation of results. A range of data visualisation methods and interactive data visualisation tools exist that may make scoping reviews more useful to knowledge users. The aim of this study was to explore the use of data visualisation in a sample of recent scoping reviews and evidence maps on health topics, with a particular focus on interactive data visualisation.

Ovid MEDLINE ALL was searched for recent scoping reviews and evidence maps (June 2020-May 2021), and a sample of 300 papers that met basic selection criteria was taken. Data were extracted on the aim of each review and the use of data visualisation, including types of data visualisation used, variables presented and the use of interactivity. Descriptive data analysis was undertaken of the 238 reviews that aimed to map evidence.

Of the 238 scoping reviews or evidence maps in our analysis, around one-third (37.8%) included some form of data visualisation. Thirty-five different types of data visualisation were used across this sample, although most data visualisations identified were simple bar charts (standard, stacked or multi-set), pie charts or cross-tabulations (60.8%). Most data visualisations presented a single variable (64.4%) or two variables (26.1%). Almost a third of the reviews that used data visualisation did not use any colour (28.9%). Only two reviews presented interactive data visualisation, and few reported the software used to create visualisations.

Conclusions

Data visualisation is currently underused by scoping review authors. In particular, there is potential for much greater use of more innovative forms of data visualisation and interactive data visualisation. Where more innovative data visualisation is used, scoping reviews have made use of a wide range of different methods. Increased use of these more engaging visualisations may make scoping reviews more useful for a range of stakeholders.

Peer Review reports

Scoping reviews are “a type of evidence synthesis that aims to systematically identify and map the breadth of evidence available on a particular topic, field, concept, or issue” ([ 1 ], p. 950). While they include some of the same steps as a systematic review, such as systematic searches and the use of predetermined eligibility criteria, scoping reviews often address broader research questions and do not typically involve the quality appraisal of studies or synthesis of data [ 2 ]. Reasons for conducting a scoping review include the following: to map types of evidence available, to explore research design and conduct, to clarify concepts or definitions and to map characteristics or factors related to a concept [ 3 ]. Scoping reviews can also be undertaken to inform a future systematic review (e.g. to assure authors there will be adequate studies) or to identify knowledge gaps [ 3 ]. Other evidence synthesis approaches with similar aims have been described as evidence maps, mapping reviews or systematic maps [ 4 ]. While this terminology is used inconsistently, evidence maps can be used to identify evidence gaps and present them in a user-friendly (and often visual) way [ 5 ].

Scoping reviews are often targeted to an audience of healthcare professionals or policy-makers [ 6 ], suggesting that it is important to present results in a user-friendly and informative way. Until recently, there was little guidance on how to present the findings of scoping reviews. In recent literature, there has been some discussion of the importance of clearly presenting data for the intended audience of a scoping review, with creative and innovative use of visual methods if appropriate [ 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Lockwood et al. suggest that innovative visual presentation should be considered over dense sections of text or long tables in many cases [ 8 ]. Khalil et al. suggest that inspiration could be drawn from the field of data visualisation [ 7 ]. JBI guidance on scoping reviews recommends that reviewers carefully consider the best format for presenting data at the protocol development stage and provides a number of examples of possible methods [ 10 ].

Interactive resources are another option for presentation in scoping reviews [ 9 ]. Researchers without the relevant programming skills can now use several online platforms (such as Tableau [ 11 ] and Flourish [ 12 ]) to create interactive data visualisations. The benefits of using interactive visualisation in research include the ability to easily present more than two variables [ 13 ] and increased engagement of users [ 14 ]. Unlike static graphs, interactive visualisations can allow users to view hierarchical data at different levels, exploring both the “big picture” and looking in more detail ([ 15 ], p. 291). Interactive visualizations are often targeted at practitioners and decision-makers [ 13 ], and there is some evidence from qualitative research that they are valued by policy-makers [ 16 , 17 , 18 ].

Given their focus on mapping evidence, we believe that scoping reviews are particularly well-suited to visually presenting data and the use of interactive data visualisation tools. However, it is unknown how many recent scoping reviews visually map data or which types of data visualisation are used. The aim of this study was to explore the use of data visualisation methods in a large sample of recent scoping reviews and evidence maps on health topics. In particular, we were interested in the extent to which these forms of synthesis use any form of interactive data visualisation.

This study was a cross-sectional analysis of studies labelled as scoping reviews or evidence maps (or synonyms of these terms) in the title or abstract.

The search strategy was developed with help from an information specialist. Ovid MEDLINE® ALL was searched in June 2021 for studies added to the database in the previous 12 months. The search was limited to English language studies only.

The search strategy was as follows:

Ovid MEDLINE(R) ALL

(scoping review or evidence map or systematic map or mapping review or scoping study or scoping project or scoping exercise or literature mapping or evidence mapping or systematic mapping or literature scoping or evidence gap map).ab,ti.

limit 1 to english language

(202006* or 202007* or 202008* or 202009* or 202010* or 202011* or 202012* or 202101* or 202102* or 202103* or 202104* or 202105*).dt.

The search returned 3686 records. Records were de-duplicated in EndNote 20 software, leaving 3627 unique records.

A sample of these reviews was taken by screening the search results against basic selection criteria (Table 1 ). These criteria were piloted and refined after discussion between the two researchers. A single researcher (E.S.) screened the records in EPPI-Reviewer Web software using the machine-learning priority screening function. Where a second opinion was needed, decisions were checked by a second researcher (M.R.).

Our initial plan for sampling, informed by pilot searching, was to screen and data extract records in batches of 50 included reviews at a time. We planned to stop screening when a batch of 50 reviews had been extracted that included no new types of data visualisation or after screening time had reached 2 days. However, once data extraction was underway, we found the sample to be richer in terms of data visualisation than anticipated. After the inclusion of 300 reviews, we took the decision to end screening in order to ensure the study was manageable.

Data extraction

A data extraction form was developed in EPPI-Reviewer Web, piloted on 50 reviews and refined. Data were extracted by one researcher (E. S. or M. R.), with a second researcher (M. R. or E. S.) providing a second opinion when needed. The data items extracted were as follows: type of review (term used by authors), aim of review (mapping evidence vs. answering specific question vs. borderline), number of visualisations (if any), types of data visualisation used, variables/domains presented by each visualisation type, interactivity, use of colour and any software requirements.

When categorising review aims, we considered “mapping evidence” to incorporate all of the six purposes for conducting a scoping review proposed by Munn et al. [ 3 ]. Reviews were categorised as “answering a specific question” if they aimed to synthesise study findings to answer a particular question, for example on effectiveness of an intervention. We were inclusive with our definition of “mapping evidence” and included reviews with mixed aims in this category. However, some reviews were difficult to categorise (for example where aims were unclear or the stated aims did not match the actual focus of the paper) and were considered to be “borderline”. It became clear that a proportion of identified records that described themselves as “scoping” or “mapping” reviews were in fact pseudo-systematic reviews that failed to undertake key systematic review processes. Such reviews attempted to integrate the findings of included studies rather than map the evidence, and so reviews categorised as “answering a specific question” were excluded from the main analysis. Data visualisation methods for meta-analyses have been explored previously [ 19 ]. Figure  1 shows the flow of records from search results to final analysis sample.

Flow diagram of the sampling process

Data visualisation was defined as any graph or diagram that presented results data, including tables with a visual mapping element, such as cross-tabulations and heat maps. However, tables which displayed data at a study level (e.g. tables summarising key characteristics of each included study) were not included, even if they used symbols, shading or colour. Flow diagrams showing the study selection process were also excluded. Data visualisations in appendices or supplementary information were included, as well as any in publicly available dissemination products (e.g. visualisations hosted online) if mentioned in papers.

The typology used to categorise data visualisation methods was based on an existing online catalogue [ 20 ]. Specific types of data visualisation were categorised in five broad categories: graphs, diagrams, tables, maps/geographical and other. If a data visualisation appeared in our sample that did not feature in the original catalogue, we checked a second online catalogue [ 21 ] for an appropriate term, followed by wider Internet searches. These additional visualisation methods were added to the appropriate section of the typology. The final typology can be found in Additional file 1 .

We conducted descriptive data analysis in Microsoft Excel 2019 and present frequencies and percentages. Where appropriate, data are presented using graphs or other data visualisations created using Flourish. We also link to interactive versions of some of these visualisations.

Almost all of the 300 reviews in the total sample were labelled by review authors as “scoping reviews” ( n  = 293, 97.7%). There were also four “mapping reviews”, one “scoping study”, one “evidence mapping” and one that was described as a “scoping review and evidence map”. Included reviews were all published in 2020 or 2021, with the exception of one review published in 2018. Just over one-third of these reviews ( n  = 105, 35.0%) included some form of data visualisation. However, we excluded 62 reviews that did not focus on mapping evidence from the following analysis (see “ Methods ” section). Of the 238 remaining reviews (that either clearly aimed to map evidence or were judged to be “borderline”), 90 reviews (37.8%) included at least one data visualisation. The references for these reviews can be found in Additional file 2 .

Number of visualisations

Thirty-six (40.0%) of these 90 reviews included just one example of data visualisation (Fig.  2 ). Less than a third ( n  = 28, 31.1%) included three or more visualisations. The greatest number of data visualisations in one review was 17 (all bar or pie charts). In total, 222 individual data visualisations were identified across the sample of 238 reviews.

Number of data visualisations per review

Categories of data visualisation

Graphs were the most frequently used category of data visualisation in the sample. Over half of the reviews with data visualisation included at least one graph ( n  = 59, 65.6%). The least frequently used category was maps, with 15.6% ( n  = 14) of these reviews including a map.

Of the total number of 222 individual data visualisations, 102 were graphs (45.9%), 34 were tables (15.3%), 23 were diagrams (10.4%), 15 were maps (6.8%) and 48 were classified as “other” in the typology (21.6%).

Types of data visualisation

All of the types of data visualisation identified in our sample are reported in Table 2 . In total, 35 different types were used across the sample of reviews.

The most frequently used data visualisation type was a bar chart. Of 222 total data visualisations, 78 (35.1%) were a variation on a bar chart (either standard bar chart, stacked bar chart or multi-set bar chart). There were also 33 pie charts (14.9% of data visualisations) and 24 cross-tabulations (10.8% of data visualisations). In total, these five types of data visualisation accounted for 60.8% ( n  = 135) of all data visualisations. Figure  3 shows the frequency of each data visualisation category and type; an interactive online version of this treemap is also available ( https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/9396133/ ). Figure  4 shows how users can further explore the data using the interactive treemap.

Data visualisation categories and types. An interactive version of this treemap is available online: https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/9396133/ . Through the interactive version, users can further explore the data (see Fig.  4 ). The unit of this treemap is the individual data visualisation, so multiple data visualisations within the same scoping review are represented in this map. Created with flourish.studio ( https://flourish.studio )

Screenshots showing how users of the interactive treemap can explore the data further. Users can explore each level of the hierarchical treemap ( A Visualisation category >  B Visualisation subcategory >  C Variables presented in visualisation >  D Individual references reporting this category/subcategory/variable permutation). Created with flourish.studio ( https://flourish.studio )

Data presented

Around two-thirds of data visualisations in the sample presented a single variable ( n  = 143, 64.4%). The most frequently presented single variables were themes ( n  = 22, 9.9% of data visualisations), population ( n  = 21, 9.5%), country or region ( n  = 21, 9.5%) and year ( n  = 20, 9.0%). There were 58 visualisations (26.1%) that presented two different variables. The remaining 21 data visualisations (9.5%) presented three or more variables. Figure  5 shows the variables presented by each different type of data visualisation (an interactive version of this figure is available online).

Variables presented by each data visualisation type. Darker cells indicate a larger number of reviews. An interactive version of this heat map is available online: https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/10632665/ . Users can hover over each cell to see the number of data visualisations for that combination of data visualisation type and variable. The unit of this heat map is the individual data visualisation, so multiple data visualisations within a single scoping review are represented in this map. Created with flourish.studio ( https://flourish.studio )

Most reviews presented at least one data visualisation in colour ( n  = 64, 71.1%). However, almost a third ( n  = 26, 28.9%) used only black and white or greyscale.

Interactivity

Only two of the reviews included data visualisations with any level of interactivity. One scoping review on music and serious mental illness [ 22 ] linked to an interactive bubble chart hosted online on Tableau. Functionality included the ability to filter the studies displayed by various attributes.

The other review was an example of evidence mapping from the environmental health field [ 23 ]. All four of the data visualisations included in the paper were available in an interactive format hosted either by the review management software or on Tableau. The interactive versions linked to the relevant references so users could directly explore the evidence base. This was the only review that provided this feature.

Software requirements

Nine reviews clearly reported the software used to create data visualisations. Three reviews used Tableau (one of them also used review management software as discussed above) [ 22 , 23 , 24 ]. Two reviews generated maps using ArcGIS [ 25 ] or ArcMap [ 26 ]. One review used Leximancer for a lexical analysis [ 27 ]. One review undertook a bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer [ 28 ], and another explored citation patterns using CitNetExplorer [ 29 ]. Other reviews used Excel [ 30 ] or R [ 26 ].

To our knowledge, this is the first systematic and in-depth exploration of the use of data visualisation techniques in scoping reviews. Our findings suggest that the majority of scoping reviews do not use any data visualisation at all, and, in particular, more innovative examples of data visualisation are rare. Around 60% of data visualisations in our sample were simple bar charts, pie charts or cross-tabulations. There appears to be very limited use of interactive online visualisation, despite the potential this has for communicating results to a range of stakeholders. While it is not always appropriate to use data visualisation (or a simple bar chart may be the most user-friendly way of presenting the data), these findings suggest that data visualisation is being underused in scoping reviews. In a large minority of reviews, visualisations were not published in colour, potentially limiting how user-friendly and attractive papers are to decision-makers and other stakeholders. Also, very few reviews clearly reported the software used to create data visualisations. However, 35 different types of data visualisation were used across the sample, highlighting the wide range of methods that are potentially available to scoping review authors.

Our results build on the limited research that has previously been undertaken in this area. Two previous publications also found limited use of graphs in scoping reviews. Results were “mapped graphically” in 29% of scoping reviews in any field in one 2014 publication [ 31 ] and 17% of healthcare scoping reviews in a 2016 article [ 6 ]. Our results suggest that the use of data visualisation has increased somewhat since these reviews were conducted. Scoping review methods have also evolved in the last 10 years; formal guidance on scoping review conduct was published in 2014 [ 32 ], and an extension of the PRISMA checklist for scoping reviews was published in 2018 [ 33 ]. It is possible that an overall increase in use of data visualisation reflects increased quality of published scoping reviews. There is also some literature supporting our findings on the wide range of data visualisation methods that are used in evidence synthesis. An investigation of methods to identify, prioritise or display health research gaps (25/139 included studies were scoping reviews; 6/139 were evidence maps) identified 14 different methods used to display gaps or priorities, with half being “more advanced” (e.g. treemaps, radial bar plots) ([ 34 ], p. 107). A review of data visualisation methods used in papers reporting meta-analyses found over 200 different ways of displaying data [ 19 ].

Only two reviews in our sample used interactive data visualisation, and one of these was an example of systematic evidence mapping from the environmental health field rather than a scoping review (in environmental health, systematic evidence mapping explicitly involves producing a searchable database [ 35 ]). A scoping review of papers on the use of interactive data visualisation in population health or health services research found a range of examples but still limited use overall [ 13 ]. For example, the authors noted the currently underdeveloped potential for using interactive visualisation in research on health inequalities. It is possible that the use of interactive data visualisation in academic papers is restricted by academic publishing requirements; for example, it is currently difficult to incorporate an interactive figure into a journal article without linking to an external host or platform. However, we believe that there is a lot of potential to add value to future scoping reviews by using interactive data visualisation software. Few reviews in our sample presented three or more variables in a single visualisation, something which can easily be achieved using interactive data visualisation tools. We have previously used EPPI-Mapper [ 36 ] to present results of a scoping review of systematic reviews on behaviour change in disadvantaged groups, with links to the maps provided in the paper [ 37 ]. These interactive maps allowed policy-makers to explore the evidence on different behaviours and disadvantaged groups and access full publications of the included studies directly from the map.

We acknowledge there are barriers to use for some of the data visualisation software available. EPPI-Mapper and some of the software used by reviews in our sample incur a cost. Some software requires a certain level of knowledge and skill in its use. However numerous online free data visualisation tools and resources exist. We have used Flourish to present data for this review, a basic version of which is currently freely available and easy to use. Previous health research has been found to have used a range of different interactive data visualisation software, much of which does not required advanced knowledge or skills to use [ 13 ].

There are likely to be other barriers to the use of data visualisation in scoping reviews. Journal guidelines and policies may present barriers for using innovative data visualisation. For example, some journals charge a fee for publication of figures in colour. As previously mentioned, there are limited options for incorporating interactive data visualisation into journal articles. Authors may also be unaware of the data visualisation methods and tools that are available. Producing data visualisations can be time-consuming, particularly if authors lack experience and skills in this. It is possible that many authors prioritise speed of publication over spending time producing innovative data visualisations, particularly in a context where there is pressure to achieve publications.

Limitations

A limitation of this study was that we did not assess how appropriate the use of data visualisation was in our sample as this would have been highly subjective. Simple descriptive or tabular presentation of results may be the most appropriate approach for some scoping review objectives [ 7 , 8 , 10 ], and the scoping review literature cautions against “over-using” different visual presentation methods [ 7 , 8 ]. It cannot be assumed that all of the reviews that did not include data visualisation should have done so. Likewise, we do not know how many reviews used methods of data visualisation that were not well suited to their data.

We initially relied on authors’ own use of the term “scoping review” (or equivalent) to sample reviews but identified a relatively large number of papers labelled as scoping reviews that did not meet the basic definition, despite the availability of guidance and reporting guidelines [ 10 , 33 ]. It has previously been noted that scoping reviews may be undertaken inappropriately because they are seen as “easier” to conduct than a systematic review ([ 3 ], p.6), and that reviews are often labelled as “scoping reviews” while not appearing to follow any established framework or guidance [ 2 ]. We therefore took the decision to remove these reviews from our main analysis. However, decisions on how to classify review aims were subjective, and we did include some reviews that were of borderline relevance.

A further limitation is that this was a sample of published reviews, rather than a comprehensive systematic scoping review as have previously been undertaken [ 6 , 31 ]. The number of scoping reviews that are published has increased rapidly, and this would now be difficult to undertake. As this was a sample, not all relevant scoping reviews or evidence maps that would have met our criteria were included. We used machine learning to screen our search results for pragmatic reasons (to reduce screening time), but we do not see any reason that our sample would not be broadly reflective of the wider literature.

Data visualisation, and in particular more innovative examples of it, is currently underused in published scoping reviews on health topics. The examples that we have found highlight the wide range of methods that scoping review authors could draw upon to present their data in an engaging way. In particular, we believe that interactive data visualisation has significant potential for mapping the available literature on a topic. Appropriate use of data visualisation may increase the usefulness, and thus uptake, of scoping reviews as a way of identifying existing evidence or research gaps by decision-makers, researchers and commissioners of research. We recommend that scoping review authors explore the extensive free resources and online tools available for data visualisation. However, we also think that it would be useful for publishers to explore allowing easier integration of interactive tools into academic publishing, given the fact that papers are now predominantly accessed online. Future research may be helpful to explore which methods are particularly useful to scoping review users.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

Organisation formerly known as Joanna Briggs Institute

Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Melissa Harden, Senior Information Specialist, Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, for advice on developing the search strategy.

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Both authors conceptualised and designed the study and contributed to screening, data extraction and the interpretation of results. ES undertook the literature searches, analysed data, produced the data visualisations and drafted the manuscript. MR contributed to revising the manuscript, and both authors read and approved the final version.

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Additional file 1..

Typology of data visualisation methods.

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References of scoping reviews included in main dataset.

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Differences in quality of anticoagulation care delivery according to ethnoracial group in the United States: A scoping review

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• Sara R. Vazquez   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9267-8980 1 ,
• Naomi Y. Yates 2 ,
• Craig J. Beavers 3 , 4 ,
• Darren M. Triller 3 &
• Mary M. McFarland 5  

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Anticoagulation therapy is standard for conditions like atrial fibrillation, venous thromboembolism, and valvular heart disease, yet it is unclear if there are ethnoracial disparities in its quality and delivery in the United States. For this scoping review, electronic databases were searched for publications between January 1, 2011 – March 30, 2022. Eligible studies included all study designs, any setting within the United States, patients prescribed anticoagulation for any indication, outcomes reported for ≥ 2 distinct ethnoracial groups. The following four research questions were explored: Do ethnoracial differences exist in 1) access to guideline-based anticoagulation therapy, 2) quality of anticoagulation therapy management, 3) clinical outcomes related to anticoagulation care, 4) humanistic/educational outcomes related to anticoagulation therapy. A total of 5374 studies were screened, 570 studies received full-text review, and 96 studies were analyzed. The largest mapped focus was patients’ access to guideline-based anticoagulation therapy (88/96 articles, 91.7%). Seventy-eight articles made statistical outcomes comparisons among ethnoracial groups. Across all four research questions, 79 articles demonstrated favorable outcomes for White patients compared to non-White patients, 38 articles showed no difference between White and non-White groups, and 8 favored non-White groups (the total exceeds the 78 articles with statistical outcomes as many articles reported multiple outcomes). Disparities disadvantaging non-White patients were most pronounced in access to guideline-based anticoagulation therapy (43/66 articles analyzed) and quality of anticoagulation management (19/21 articles analyzed). Although treatment guidelines do not differentiate anticoagulant therapy by ethnoracial group, this scoping review found consistently favorable outcomes for White patients over non-White patients in the domains of access to anticoagulation therapy for guideline-based indications and quality of anticoagulation therapy management. No differences among groups were noted in clinical outcomes, and very few studies assessed humanistic or educational outcomes.

Graphical Abstract

Scoping Review: Differences in quality of United States anticoagulation care delivery by ethnoracial group. AF = atrial fibrillation; AMS = anticoagulation management service; DOACs = direct oral anticoagulants; INR = international normalized ratio; PSM = patient self-management; PST = patient self-testing

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Introduction

It is well-established that in the United States (US) ethnoracial disparities exist in various aspects of health care. Specifically, persons identifying with an ethnoracial minority group may have more challenging access to health care, worse clinical outcomes, and higher dissatisfaction with care compared to White persons [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. There are differences by ethnoracial group in the prevalence of the three most common indications for which anticoagulants are prescribed, stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation (AF), treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE), and valvular heart disease [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ]. Specifically, VTE is most prevalent in Black patients compared to White and Asian patients, whereas AF is most prevalent in White patients compared to Black, Asian, and Hispanic patients [ 9 , 10 , 15 ]. Calcific heart valve disease has the most relevance to the US population, and epidemiologic data has shown that aortic stenosis is more prevalent in White patients compared to Black, Asian, and Hispanic patients [ 17 ]. Despite these epidemiologic differences, there is no evidence to suggest there should be any difference in treatment strategies across ethnoracial patient groups.

While studies have demonstrated genotypic differences that may result in different warfarin dose requirements[ 18 ], and early studies may indicate genotypic differences in direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) response [ 19 ], no US-based labeling or guidelines recommend a difference in prescription or delivery of anticoagulation care based on race or ethnicity. However, it is unclear if there are in fact differences in the type and quality of anticoagulation therapy, which is standard of care for each of these conditions [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ]. Anticoagulants remain in the top three classes of drugs causing adverse drug events (primarily bleeding) in the United States, according to the 2014 National Action Plan for Adverse Drug Event Prevention. One of the goals of the National Action Plan was to identify patient populations at higher risk for these adverse drug events to inform the development of targeted harm reduction strategies [ 25 ]. If ethnoracial minority patients are receiving sub-optimal anticoagulation therapy in certain measurable areas of anticoagulation quality, it is vital to highlight the areas of disparity so that these can be explored and care optimized. Anticoagulation providers often have high frequency contact with their patients and can be a reliable connection between disproportionately affected patients and a system in need of change. Systematic reviews of ethnoracial disparities in AF and VTE have been conducted. The AF review assessed AF prevalence among racial groups as well as differences in symptoms and management, including stroke prevention with warfarin or DOACs [ 9 ]. The VTE review specifically assessed VTE prevalence and racial differences in COVID-19 and did report the use of any prophylactic anticoagulation, but this was not part of the analysis [ 26 ]. No review of racial disparities in quality of anticoagulation therapy was found in search results conducted prior to protocol.

In this study we aimed to identify any potential ethnoracial disparities in anticoagulation care quality in the US. The decision to limit the study to a US population was based on our observation that the US has a unique history of interactions between racial and ethnic groups that may not necessarily be reflected by studies conducted in other countries. Additionally, health care delivery systems vary widely across the world, and we wanted to include the data most relevant to the potential racial disparities existing in the US health care system. The term “race” was used to identify a group of people with shared physical characteristics believed to be of common ancestry whereas the term “ethnicity” refers to a group of people with shared cultural traditions [ 27 ]. We recognize these terms may be far more complex. In order to encompass both the physical and cultural aspects of a patient’s identity we have chosen to use the term “ethnoracial” for this study [ 27 ]. Highlighting existing differences will serve as a stimulus for institutions and clinicians to assess current services, implement quality improvement measures, and inform future research efforts to deliver optimal anticoagulation care for all patients. The scoping review protocol was registered December 22, 2021 to Open Science Framework, https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/9SE7H [ 28 ].

We conducted this scoping review with guidance from the 2020 version of the JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis and organized to Arksey's five stages: 1) identifying the research question, 2) identifying relevant studies, 3) study selection, 4) charting the data and 5) collating, summarizing and reporting the results [ 29 , 30 ]. For transparency and reproducibility, we followed the PRISMA-ScR and PRISMA-S reporting guidelines in reporting our results [ 31 ]. We used Covidence (Veritas Health Innovation,) an online systematic reviewing platform to screen and select studies. Citation management and duplicate detection and removal was accomplished with EndNote, version 19 (Clarivate Analytics.) Data was charted from our selected studies using REDCap, an electronic data capture tool hosted at the University of Utah [ 32 ].

Literature searching

An information specialist developed and translated search strategies for the online databases using a combination of keywords and controlled subject headings unique to each database along with team feedback. Peer review of the strategies was conducted by library colleagues using the PRESS guidelines. [ 33 ] Electronic databases searched included Medline (Ovid) 2011–2022, Embase (embase.com) 2011–2022, CINAHL Complete (Ebscohost) 2011–2022, Sociological Abstracts (ProQuest) 2011–2022, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (Ovid) 2011–2022, Scopus (scopus.org) 2011–2022 and Web of Science Core Collection (Clarivate Analytics) 2011–2022. Limits included a date range from January 1, 2011 to March 30—April 19, 2022, as not all database results were exported on the same day. See Supplemental File 1 for detailed search strategies. A search of grey literature was not conducted due to time and resource constraints.

Study Selection

For inclusion, each study required two votes by independent reviewers for screening of titles and abstracts followed by full-text review. A third reviewer provided the deciding vote. Data extraction was performed by two independent reviewers, and consensus on any discrepancies was reached via discussion between the reviewers. The data form was piloted by two team members using sentinel articles prior to data extraction.

Eligible studies included all types of study designs in any setting with a population of patients of any age or gender located within the US who were prescribed anticoagulant therapy for any indication, published between January 1, 2011 – March 30, 2022 in order to capture contemporary and clinically relevant practices.

We defined the following research questions for this scoping review as described in Table  1 .

Studies must have reported any of these anticoagulation care delivery outcomes for at least 2 distinct racial or ethnic groups. We excluded genotyping studies and non-English language articles at full text review, as we had no funding for translation services. In checking references of included studies, no additional studies met inclusion criteria. In accordance with scoping review methodology, no quality assessment of included studies was conducted as our goal was to rapidly map the literature. As this is a scoping review of the literature, no aggregate or pooled analysis was performed; however, for ease of interpretation, when assessing for the directionality of the outcomes in the various studies, we categorized studies into Favoring White Group, Favoring Non-White Group, and No Differences Among Ethnoracial Groups. If studies had mixed outcomes of favoring one group for one outcome and no difference for another, then the study was categorized with the favoring group.

A PRISMA flow diagram in Fig.  1 depicts search results, exclusions, and inclusions. The search strategies retrieved 6900 results with 1526 duplicates removed. Following title and abstract screening of 5374 references, 570 articles received full-text review. The most common reason for the exclusion of 474 studies was that outcomes were not reported for two distinct ethnoracial groups (171 studies). Ninety-six studies underwent data extraction.

PRISMA Flow Diagram

Study characteristics-overall

Fifty of the 96 studies were published between 2011 and 2018 (an average of 6.25 articles per year that compared outcomes between two ethnoracial groups) and 43 of 96 studies were published in the years 2019–2021 (average 14.3 articles per year; 2022 excluded here because only 4 months of data was captured) (Fig.  2 ). Most studies analyzed an outpatient population (65.6%) for an indication of stroke prevention in AF (67.7%) in patients taking warfarin (71.9%) or DOACs (49.0%). Study population size was heterogenous, ranging from a study size of 24 patients to over 1.3 million patients (median 5,238 patients) in the 69 studies that reported population size by racial group. When stratified by size, 60.9% of the articles in the scoping review (42 articles) represented < 10,000 patients (Table  2 ).

Number of Articles by Publication Year. *2022 excluded from this figure since the search period did not capture the entire year

Study characteristics-by ethnoracial group

There were 50 studies (52.1%) where race or ethnicity was either mentioned in the title or objective of the article, with 24 of these published over the 7-year period 2011–2018 and 26 published over the 3-year period 2019 to first quarter 2022. The method for reporting race or ethnicity was unclear or unspecified in most studies (77.1%) and 16 articles (16.7%) utilized self-reporting of race or ethnicity. Most studies analyzed White or Caucasian racial groups (94.8%), followed by Black or African-American (80.2%), and many studies grouped all other racial groups into an “Other” category (41.7%) (Fig.  3 ).

Number of Articles by Ethnoracial Groups. *For study inclusion, a study had to compare outcomes for least two distinct ethnoracial groups 

White patients accounted for a median 77% of study populations, Black patients 9.5%, Hispanic/Latino patients 6.2%, “Other” racial groups 5.3%, and Asian patients 2.5%.

Study outcomes-overall

Of the 4 research questions, most studies included in this review analyzed patients’ access to guideline-based anticoagulation therapy (88/96 articles, 91.7%), clinical outcomes (42/96 articles, 43.8%), or quality of anticoagulation management (24/96 articles, 25.0%), while very few addressed humanistic or educational outcomes (5/96 articles, 5.2%) (Fig.  4 ). Many studies addressed multiple outcomes within the single study.

Number of Articles Mapped by Research Question

Seventy-eight of the 96 included studies provided statistical comparisons between ethnoracial groups, and these data are presented below.

Outcomes for research question 1: Do ethnoracial differences exist in access to guideline-based anticoagulation therapy?

Anticoagulation for a guideline-based indication.

This question focused on patients who had an indication for anticoagulation actually receiving an anticoagulant, specifically AF and VTE prophylaxis (based on risk stratification) and acute VTE. The majority of the AF studies (25/34 studies) demonstrated White patients receiving anticoagulation at significantly higher rates compared to non-White patients [ 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 ], while the six VTE studies largely demonstrated no difference among ethnoracial groups [ 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 ].

DOACs as first-line therapy for AF or VTE

Eighteen individual studies statistically assessed the outcome of DOAC as first-line therapy (compared to warfarin) for AF (15 studies), VTE treatment (2 studies), or both indications (1 study). Twelve of the 15 AF studies showed a significantly higher proportion of White patients received DOACs as first-line therapy compared to non-White patients [ 36 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 54 , 55 , 67 , 68 ]. Of those 12, 9 specifically compared White patients to Black patients. Both VTE treatment studies and the study that assessed both AF and VTE indications showed significantly higher DOAC prescribing rates for White patients compared to Black patients [ 69 , 70 , 71 ].

Anticoagulant therapy adherence/persistence

The eight studies that addressed anticoagulation therapy adherence/persistence showed variability in outcome directionality by ethnoracial group: 5 no difference [ 41 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 ], 2 showed better treatment adherence/persistence for White patients compared to Black patients[ 76 ] or non-White patients [ 77 ], and one showed better treatment adherence/persistence for White patients compared to Hispanic patients, but no difference in White versus Black patients [ 78 ].

Figure  5 summarizes the outcome directionality for Research Question 1 regarding access to guideline-based anticoagulation therapy. Overall, the areas of disparity identified included anticoagulation for atrial fibrillation and preferential use of DOAC therapy for AF and VTE treatment.

Outcome Directionality for the 4 Research Questions and their Subcategories. AC = anticoagulant; AMS = anticoagulation management service; INR = international normalized ratio; PST = patient self-testing; PSM = patient self-management

Research question 2: Do ethnoracial differences exist in the quality of anticoagulation therapy management?

A total of 21 studies assessed quality of anticoagulation therapy management: Warfarin time in therapeutic range (TTR)/INR (International Normalized Ratio) control 12 studies, appropriate anticoagulant dosing 3 studies, enrollment in an anticoagulation management service 5 studies, and PST/PSM one study.

In statistical comparisons of INR control in warfarin patients, all 12 studies (7 assessed mean or median TTR, 5 assessed other measures of INR control such as days spent above/below range, gaps in INR monitoring) showed White patients had favorable INR control compared to non-White patients (most comparisons included Black patients) [ 41 , 75 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 ]. Enrollment in an anticoagulation management service was statistically compared among ethnoracial groups in 5 studies, and this opportunity favored White patients compared to other racial groups in four of the five [ 41 , 82 , 86 , 88 ]. Two of the three studies that statistically analyzed appropriate anticoagulant dosing showed a higher rate of appropriate DOAC dosing in White patients compared to non-White patients [ 41 , 89 ], and the third showed no difference among ethnoracial groups for enoxaparin dosing in the emergency department [ 90 ]. The one study assessing access to PST/PSM showed that more White patients used PST compared to Black or Hispanic patients[ 91 ] (Fig.  5 ).

Research question 3: Do ethnoracial differences exist in the clinical outcomes related to anticoagulation care?

Articles assessing clinical outcomes among ethnoracial groups primarily assessed bleeding (15 articles) or thrombosis (9 articles) outcomes, and 8 articles assessing anticoagulation related hospitalization or mortality. One article addressed a net clinical outcome including major bleeding, stroke or systemic embolism, and death from any cause. This was included in the bleeding outcomes category so that it was not double-counted in the other two outcome categories. Additional details about the 24 unique studies that statistically assessed clinical outcomes including the study design, population size, ethnoracial groups studied, anticoagulants used, and statistical outcomes measured can be found in Supplementary Tables 1 and 2 .

Sixteen studies statistically assessed bleeding outcomes of varying definitions (major bleeding 13 studies, clinically relevant non-major bleeding 3 studies, any bleeding 3 studies, bleeding otherwise defined 3 studies). Six studies demonstrated no difference in bleeding outcomes by ethnoracial group [ 55 , 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 96 ]9 reported that White patients had lower rates of bleeding compared to Black or Asian patients,[ 53 , 80 , 83 , 85 , 97 , 98 , 99 , 100 , 101 ]. In the remaining study, Asian patients had a more favorable net clinical outcome compared to non-Asian patients [ 102 ].

Nine studies statistically assessed thrombosis outcomes among ethnoracial groups, including stroke/systemic embolism (5 studies), recurrent VTE (3 studies), or any thrombosis (1 study). The stroke outcomes by racial group were heterogeneous, with 3 studies showing better outcomes for White patients compared to Black patients[ 103 , 104 , 105 ] and two studies showing no difference in outcomes when White patients were compared to Non-White patients [ 55 , 95 ]. In three of the four VTE studies there were no differences in outcomes by ethnoracial group [ 61 , 93 , 96 ], and in one study White patients had more favorable outcomes compared to Black patients [ 106 ].

Nine studies assessed anticoagulation-related hospitalizations or mortality by ethnoracial group. Outcomes were mixed, as four studies showed no difference in hospitalizations or mortality among ethnoracial groups,[ 89 , 95 , 96 , 107 ], three studies showed White patients had a lower rate of hospitalizations[ 85 , 105 ] or mortality[ 104 , 105 ] Another study showed lower rate of mortality or hospice after intracranial hemorrhage in Black and Other race patients [ 108 ].(Fig.  5 ).

Research question 4: Do ethnoracial differences exist in the humanistic/educational outcomes related to anticoagulation therapy?

The five studies reporting this category of outcomes were heterogeneous. Of the two studies assessing anticoagulation knowledge, one showed no difference by ethnoracial group [ 109 ], and the other favored the non-White group in appropriately estimating bleeding risk [ 110 ]. One study assessed an atrial fibrillation quality of life score at 2-year follow-up after AF diagnosis and found the outcomes favored White patients [ 79 ]. Another study assessed satisfaction with VTE care and found no difference among ethnoracial groups [ 111 ]. A third study found no difference in the percentage of racial groups having a cost conversation when initiating DOAC therapy (78% Whites, 72.2% non-Whites)[ 112 ] (Fig.  5 ).

Overall outcome directionality for all four research questions is shown in Fig.  6 . A total of 79 articles demonstrated favorable outcomes for White patients compared to non-White patients, 38 articles showed no difference between White and non-White groups, and 8 articles had outcomes favoring non-White groups (the total exceeds the 78 articles with statistical outcomes as many articles reported multiple outcomes). The biggest areas of disparity between White and non-White groups are access to guideline-based anticoagulation therapy and quality of anticoagulation therapy management. Clinical outcomes relating to anticoagulation care had the least difference among ethnoracial groups. Relatively few studies assessed potential ethnoracial disparities in humanistic and educational outcomes.

Outcome Directionality for All 4 Research Questions

This scoping review assessing ethnoracial differences in the quality of anticoagulation care and its delivery to patients in the United States encompassed eleven full years of literature and resulted in the inclusion of 96 studies, 78 of which contained statistical outcomes comparisons among ethnoracial groups. The most common reason for study exclusion was that outcomes were not reported for at least two distinct ethnoracial groups. We observed that beginning in 2019 and following the racial unrest of 2020, the density of articles addressing ethnoracial disparities in anticoagulation care more than doubled. During the entire study period, half of studies had race or ethnicity as the focus or objective of the paper, but this was largely driven by articles published after 2019.

Only 16% of included articles documented self-reporting of racial identity, with most of the remainder using an unspecified method for documenting racial identity. It is likely that many studies utilize demographic information extracted from an electronic medical record (EMR), but it is often unclear if that is truly self-reported race. A second element this scoping review identified was that many studies analyzed two or three ethnoracial groups and then categorized all others into a heterogenous “Other” category. For example, frequently studies would categorize patients as White, Black, and “Other.” It is unclear whether those in a racial category labeled as “Other” had an unknown or missing racial identity in the EMR, or intentionally chose not to disclose. It is also likely that study investigators decided to classify ethnoracial groups with lower population sizes into a miscellaneous category. There were few studies (15%) that specifically assessed patients identifying as Native American/Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and multiracial. While Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity, most studies categorized it as a separate “race” category. Of the 37 studies that analyzed “Asian” patient populations, none specifically defined “Asian” beyond that. The US Census Bureau defines “Asian” race as a person having origins of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent [ 113 ]. This broad definition encompasses many different ethnicities which could represent variability in health outcomes if better defined and more frequently analyzed. These may be opportunities for EMR systems to improve transparency for how race, ethnicity, and language preference are captured and for those designing research studies to be thoughtful and intentional about analyzing the ethnoracial identities of the study population, perhaps in alignment with the minimum 5 racial categories utilized by the US Census Bureau, the National Institutes of Health, and the Office of Management and Budget (White, Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, with permission for a “some other race” category and the option to select multiple races) [ 113 ]. Since 2017 Clinicaltrials.gov has required the reporting of race/ethnicity if collected, and there is good compliance with this requirement, but less so in publication of the work [ 114 ].

We examined the proportion of ethnoracial groups represented for each of the disease states in the studies included in this scoping review, relative to disease state prevalence and found a discrepancy. For AF, prevalence in White patients was 11.3%, in Black patients 6.6%, and in Hispanic patients 7.8% [ 15 ]. However, the representation in AF studies in this review were 74% White, 13% Black, and 8% Hispanic. Assessing VTE incidence by race is more difficult, as studies have shown regional and time variation, with Black patients typically having a higher incidence compared to other ethnoracial groups [ 16 ]. In this review, however, of the studies assessing VTE treatment or prophylaxis, only 16% of the patient population identified as Black, whereas 70% identified as White. There were only 3 studies that assessed a valvular heart disease population, making ethnoracial group representation difficult to assess.

The majority of studies captured in this review analyzed patients in the outpatient setting, for the anticoagulation indication of stroke prevention in AF, taking either warfarin or DOAC. Few studies involved the acute care setting or injectable anticoagulants, representing an area for future study of potential ethnoracial disparities.

Overall, the majority of studies in this scoping review addressed ethnoracial disparities in patients’ access to guideline-based anticoagulation therapy, clinical outcomes related to anticoagulation care, and quality of anticoagulation management. A research gap identified was more study is needed to assess gaps in educational outcomes such as anticoagulation and disease state knowledge, shared decision-making willingness and capability, and humanistic outcomes such as quality of life or satisfaction with anticoagulation therapy.

In analyzing the first research question regarding ethnoracial differences in access to guideline-based anticoagulation therapy, the majority of studies addressed use of any anticoagulation for stroke prevention in AF in patients above a threshold risk score and the preferential use of DOACs as first-line therapy instead of warfarin for AF. In both categories, patients in a non-White ethnoracial group (particularly Black patients) received recommended therapy less often than patients identified as White. It is unclear why this is the case. It could be on the patient, provider, and/or system level. It is possible that some studies more successfully adjusted for covariates than others. Sites or settings with systematic processes like order sets or clinical decision support systems in place for standard prescribing may be more successful in equitably prescribing indicated therapies. In one large study in the Veterans Affairs population of AF patients, even after adjusting for numerous variables that included clinical, demographic, socioeconomic, prescriber, and geographic site factors, DOAC prescribing remained lower in Asian and Black patients when compared with White patients. The authors in that study postulate that non-White populations may be less receptive to novel therapies due to historical mistrust of the health care system or have reduced access to education about the latest treatments, and they give the example of direct-to-consumer advertising [ 42 ]. It has also previously been demonstrated that prescribing of oral anticoagulation and particularly DOACs is lower in non-White patients [ 41 ]. These are difficult to capture as standard covariates, which is why further study is needed. We examined the publication dates for both access categories to see if perhaps there was a lack of contemporary data skewing the outcomes. However, for both anticoagulation for a guideline-based indication and DOACs as first-line therapy, the majority of articles came from the time period 2019–2021 (24 of 40 articles, and 15 of 18 articles, respectively), well after guideline updates preferentially recommended DOACs [ 34 , 35 ]. Also, there were relatively few studies addressing guideline-based therapy for VTE treatment and prophylaxis, making assessment of disparities difficult. Regarding access, it is well established that race and ethnicity often determine a patient’s socioeconomic status and that low socioeconomic status and its correlates (e.g., reduced education, income, and healthcare access) are associated with poorer health outcomes [ 115 ]. However, at each level of income or education, Black patients experience worse health outcomes than Whites [ 116 ]. So, low socioeconomic status does not fully explain poorer health outcomes for non-White individuals.

After examining access to appropriate and preferred anticoagulation therapy, the second research question of this scoping review examined potential ethnoracial disparities in the quality of anticoagulation therapy management. INR control measures such as time in therapeutic INR range are a surrogate measure of both thrombotic and bleeding outcomes and frequently used as a way to assess quality of warfarin therapy. The studies identified in this review showed clear disparity between White and non-White patient groups (especially Black patients), however all twelve studies comparing TTR among ethnoracial groups were published prior to 2019. This could be due to the decline in warfarin prescribing relative to increases in DOAC prescribing [ 117 , 118 , 119 ], but there remain patient populations that require or choose warfarin, so this marker of anticoagulation control remains relevant and requires continued reassessment. There were relatively few studies assessing other markers of anticoagulation management quality such as anticoagulation management service enrollment, appropriate DOAC dosing, and access to quality improvement strategies like PST or PSM. Few studies assessed educational outcomes, yet this may have relevance to the above anticoagulation care quality question. For those patients who remain on warfarin, dietary Vitamin K consistency is an example of a key educational point that links directly to INR control. It is unclear if there are disparities in this type of education among ethnoracial groups that may have more far-reaching effects.

Of note, clinical outcomes related to anticoagulant therapy seemed to have the fewest areas of disparity, although the number of articles was small. This suggests that if patients have access to high quality anticoagulation therapy, there is a promising sign that optimal clinical outcomes can be achieved for all ethnoracial groups.

There are some limitations of this scoping review that warrant consideration. First, we chose fairly broad inclusion criteria (all anticoagulants, all study types) because a review of this type had never been performed before. This resulted in a relatively large number of included articles for a scoping review. Second, there is likely a high degree of heterogeneity among patient populations and outcomes definitions. However, as this is a scoping review with the goal to present an overview of the literature and not report on composite outcomes, a risk of bias assessment was not performed. Third is our decision to group patients into White and non-White groups for assessment of outcome directionality. In doing so, we may have missed subtle differences in outcomes between various non-White ethnoracial groups. Fourth, in our main search we included all studies that reported outcomes, but due to scope, we only reported outcome directionality for studies that statistically compared outcomes between ethnoracial groups. Finally, due to the large number of studies that required review and analysis, this was a lengthy undertaking and we are certain that additional studies have been published since the closure of our search period.

In line with the 2014 National Action Plan for Adverse Drug Event Prevention’s goal of identifying patient populations at higher risk of adverse drug events, this scoping review highlights several areas where quality of anticoagulation care can be optimized for all patients. Future research opportunities in ethnoracial differences in the quality of anticoagulation care are summarized in Table  3 . While the scoping review focused exclusively on the evaluation of peer-reviewed manuscripts, the heterogeneity of terminology and methodologies identified in the published papers may have implications for national health policy relating to the quality and safety of care (e.g.the Medicare Quality Payment Program) [ 120 ]. To accurately and reliably quantify important disparities in AC-related care and support effective improvement initiatives, attention and effort will need to be invested across the full continuum of quality measure development [ 121 ], measure endorsement [ 122 ], measure selection, and status assignment within value-based payment programs (e.g., required/optional, measure weighting) [ 123 ]. The findings of the scoping review may be of utility to such efforts, and the development and implementation of suitable quality measures will likely be of value to future research efforts in this important therapeutic area.

Conclusions

Treatment guidelines do not recommend differentiating anticoagulant therapy by ethnoracial group, yet this scoping review of the literature demonstrates consistent directionality in favor of White patients over non-White patients in the domains of access to anticoagulation therapy for guideline-based indications, prescription of preferred anticoagulation therapies, and quality of anticoagulation therapy management. These data should serve as a stimulus for an assessment of current services, implementation of quality improvement measures, and inform future research to make anticoagulation care quality more equitable.

Data Availability

Data are available on request from the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the following individuals for their work in screening articles for this scoping review: April Allen, PharmD, CACP; Allison Burnett, PharmD, PhC, CACP; Stacy Ellsworth, RN, MSN, CCRC; Danielle Jenkins, MBA, RN, BSN, CRNI; Amanda Katz, MBA; Lea Kistenmacher, Julia Mulheman, PharmD; Surhabi Palkimas, PharmD, MBA; Terri Schnurr, RN, CCRC; Deborah Siegal, MD, MSc, FRCPC; Kimberly Terry, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP; and Terri Wiggins, MS.

The authors wish to acknowledge the support of the Anticoagulation Forum in the development of this manuscript. The Anticoagulation Forum is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of care for patients taking antithrombotic medications.

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation was performed by Sara Vazquez, Naomi Yates, and Mary McFarland. Data collection and analysis were performed by Sara Vazquez, Naomi Yates, Craig Beavers, and Darren Triller. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Sara Vazquez and all authors edited subsequent drafts. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Dr. Vazquez discloses that she is a member of the Anticoagulation Forum Advisory Council and an editorial consultant for UptoDate, Inc.

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Ms. McFarland has no conflicts of interest to disclose.

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Vazquez, S.R., Yates, N.Y., Beavers, C.J. et al. Differences in quality of anticoagulation care delivery according to ethnoracial group in the United States: A scoping review. J Thromb Thrombolysis (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11239-024-02991-2

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11239-024-02991-2

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