Here's how to do a systematic literature review with step by step walkthoughs.

1. HOW TO DO A STRUCTURED
LITERATURE REVIEW
Bjorn Jensen
RCODI/BLSC
BRIAN LAMB SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION

2. BRIAN LAMB SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION
WHAT IS IT?
• Deriving from the medical literature, it requires
perseverance and attention to detail, and thus is useful for
identifying and evaluating extensive literature (Mulrow,
1994)
• …a very useful method for conducting a comprehensive
and unbiased search using objective criteria that allow for
exact replication of any review by future researchers (see
Tranfield, Denyer, & Smart, 2003, p. 215).
• …delivers a transparent overview of existing literature
(Smith et al., 2008).

3. BRIAN LAMB SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION
WHY IS IT COMPELLING?
• Because it synthesizes and structures ALL existing literature
within a topic in a systematic way.
• In the medical field, impact factor is estimated to be in the 30s...
The average citations per year ranged from 27.8 to 401.6…
(Uthman, et al., 2013)
• Can potentially generate hundreds of citations (even outside the
medical field)
– Crossan, M. M., & Apaydin, M. (2010). A multi‐dimensional framework of
organizational innovation: A systematic review of the literature. Journal
of management studies, 47(6), 1154-1191. 637 citations
– West, J., & Bogers, M. (2014). Leveraging external sources of
innovation: a review of research on open innovation. Journal of Product
Innovation Management, 31(4), 814-831. 150 citations

4. BRIAN LAMB SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION
WHAT DOES IT REQUIRE?
• …a topic that has not yet been explored in
current research
• Establishes or expands on a corpus of research
(could be on the role of x on y in z)
• Perseverance and time. (West & Bogers started
with 418 articles and narrowed it down to 287…)
• Estimated time… 2-3 months (excluding R&Rs
because you forgot some literature… which
sucks because you shouldn’t with this method)

5. BRIAN LAMB SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION
STEP 1: EXPLORATIVE RQS
• RQ1: What is the role of innovation in Public
Relations?
• RQ2: How can innovation be conceptualized
in connection with Public Relations?
• RQ3: What are the emerging themes in
innovation and Public Relations research?

6. BRIAN LAMB SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION
STEP 2: LOCATE RELEVANT JOURNALS AND
OUTLETS USING RIGOROUS METHODS
TABLE 2: LITERATURE REVIEW METHODOLOGY AND DATABASE SEARCH STRATEGY
DATABASE ScienceDirect EBSCOhost ProQuest
KEYWORDS innov*, PR, Public Relations, Crisis Communication, Issue* Management, Reputation Management
SEARCH STRINGS, COMMAND LINE AB(innov*) AND AB(PR), AB(innov*) AND AB(Public) AND AB(Relations), AB(innov*) AND AB(Crisis) AND AB(Communication), AB(innov*) AND AB(Reputation) AND AB(Management),
AB(innova*) AND AB(issue*) AND AB(Management) AND AB(Public) AND AB(Relations), AB(innov*) AND AB(issue*) AND AB(Management) AND AB(PR)
SOURCES Business, Social Sciences Business Source Premier Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences, Business, Management
& Accounting
PUBLICATION DATE 1990-present
LIMITATIONS Scholarly Journals, Full Text, Peer-reviewed, English
Language, Conference Papers and Proceedings
Full Text, Academic journals, limited to articles, conference
papers, and dissertations, English language
Full Text, Academic journals, limited to articles and
conference papers
SELECTION CRITERIA 1. Has to relate to innovation within the field of public relations
2. Has to include the keywords innovation and public relations in-text (abstract, keywords, or title).
3. We delimit the related fields to be crisis communication, issues management, and reputation management
EXCLUSION CRITERIA 1. We exclude non-communication literature.
2. We exclude literature not related to the PR practitioner's role
3. We exclude articles that do not treat innovation as an independent variable (or something that potentially affects public relations)
INCLUSIONS Search of specific text and search within results and reference lists in individual journals in public relations
JOURNALS SEARCHED Asia Pacific Public Relations Journal, Communication Yearbook, Corporate Communications, International Journal of Strategic Communication, Journal of Communication Management,
Journal of Communication Studies, Journal of Public Affairs, Journal of Public Relations, Journal of Public Relations Research, Management Communication Quarterly, PRISM, Public
Relations Inquiry, Public Relations Journal, Public Relations Quarterly, Public Relations Review, Public Relations Tactics, Teaching Public Relations

7. BRIAN LAMB SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION
STEP 3 – NARROW DOWN AND DOCUMENT
TABLE 1: FINAL ARTICLES IDENTIFIED
JOURNAL Articles with "Innov*" or "PR"
in Title, Abstract, or Keywords
Unique
Articles
AUSTRALASIAN MARKETING JOURNAL 0 1
CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS: AN INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
1 1
CORPORATE REPUTATION REVIEW 1 1
JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT 12 12
JOURNAL OF PUBLIC RELATIONS RESEARCH 2 3
PUBLIC RELATIONS QUARTERLY 0 3
PUBLIC RELATIONS REVIEW 8 11
TOTAL NUMBER OF ARTICLES 24 32
"INNOV*" DENOTES EVERY FORM OF THE WORD
"INNOVATION"

8. BRIAN LAMB SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION
STEP 4: DOCUMENT RESULTS IN EXCEL AND
STRUCTURE USING REF MANAGER
• RQ1: What is the role of innovation in Public
Relations?
• RQ2: How can innovation be conceptualized
in connection with Public Relations?
• RQ3: What are the emerging themes in
innovation and Public Relations research?

9. BRIAN LAMB SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION
RESOURCES
• Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman DG, The PRISMA Group (2009). Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic
Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement. PLoS Med 6(6): e1000097.
doi:10.1371/journal.pmed1000097
• Mulrow, C. D. (1994). Systematic Reviews - Rationale for Systematic Reviews. British Medical Journal, 309
(6954), pp. 597-599.
• Smith, M., Busi, M., Ball, P., & van der Meer, R. (2008) Factors influencing an organization's ability to manage
innovation: a structured literature review and conceptual model. International Journal of Innovation Management,
Vol. 12, No. 4, pp.655–676.
• Tranfield, D., Denyer, D., & Smart, P. (2003). Towards a Methodology for Developing Evidence-Informed
Management Knowledge by Means of Systematic Review. British Journal of Management, Vol. 14. 207-222.
• West, J., & Bogers, M. (2013). Leveraging External Sources of Innovation: A Review of Research on Open
Innovation. Journal of Product Innovation Management 2013;31(4). DOI: 10.1111/jpim.12125

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BRIAN LAMB SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION