Steps to Literature Review: 1. Define a topic 2. Choose the type of review you wish to write 3. Search and Research the literature 4. Take notes while reading 5. Start writing

1. Literature Review 101:
Why & How
Adriana Viola Miranda
Deputy Director for Research &
Program Lead for Women in Global Health Research
Global Health Focus Asia
"U.S. Army medical researchers take part in World Malaria Day 2010, Kisumu,
Kenya April 25, 2010" by US Army Africais marked with CC BY 2.0.

2. Why
Research?
"Literature review" by Raul P is markedwith CC BY-NC-ND2.0.
"Science Careers in Search of Women 2009”
by Argonne National Laboratory (CC)

3. Research for
personal
development
“Masks” (CC)

4. Research as
advocacy
“Masks” (CC)

5. How to start your research journey
The first step is always the hardest:
Find your motivation & interests
When there is a will, there is a way:
Start writing!
Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much:
Join a community to meet
mentors & fellow researchers
1.
2.
3.
“Mass-Community Health Teaching” by Lindseymaya (CC)

6. Literature
Review 101
"Literature review" by Raul P is markedwith CC BY-NC-ND2.0.

7. Literature review
A summary, analysis
& synthesis of the scientific
literature on a particular topic
Literature reviews build a picture of:
● What is known about a topic
● What questions remain unanswered

8. 01
you wish to write
Define a topic
05 Start writing!
02 Choose the type of review
03 Search and re-search the literature
04 Take notes while reading
critical appraisal & data extraction
Steps to write a literature review

9. #1: Defining a topic
• A topic must be:
• Interesting to you
• An important aspect of the field
• A well-defined issue
• Tip: Find a ‘hot topic’ in your
research area

10. Searching
for topics

11. #1: Defining a topic
Which one is better?
1. What are different treatments options for
Angelman syndrome?
2. Does gene therapy have the potential to improve the
clinical outcomes of Angelman syndrome?
or
More focused/specific

12. #2: Choosing the type of literature review
• Narrative literature review
• Mini review
• Full-length
• Scoping review
• Systematic literature review
• Systematic literature review and
meta-analysis

13. #3: Searching for articles:
Inclusion & exclusion criteria
Date Exposure of
interest
Geographic
location
Language Participants
Peer
review
Reported
outcomes
Setting Study
design
Type of
publication

14. #3: Searching for articles:
Inclusion & exclusion criteria – Examples
Does gene therapy have the potential to improve the clinical outcomes of
Angelman syndrome?
Inclusion criteria
• Peer-reviewed studies that focused on: (1)
molecular deletions involving the 15q11-13
critical region; (2) imprinting defects (IDs);
(3) mutations in the ubiquitin-protein ligase
E3A gene(UBE3A)
• Language: English, Greek, Ukrainian and
Indonesian
• Full-text available
Exclusion criteria
• Studies that acknowledged a conflict
of interest

15. Patient-Oriented vs Disease-Oriented Evidence
Choose patient-oriented evidence whenever possible

16. #3: Searching for articles:
Inclusion & exclusion criteria – Examples
How is women in lower-middle income countries affected with the impact of
climate change in health?
Inclusion criteria
• Peer-reviewed studies that focused on the
impact of climate change in health, with
emphasis on women & gender in LMICS
• LMICs are defined in accordance to the
World Bank classification
• Language: English, Indonesian, Yoruba, Igbo
• Full-text available
Exclusion criteria
• Studies that acknowledged a conflict
of interest

17. #3: Selecting the
right study design
Level of
Evidence

18. #3: Searching for articles:
Database search
• Medical databases
• Medical research databases: PubMed,
EMBASE, Cochrane Library, EBSCOHost,
ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, etc
• Adding additional, relevant studies is
permitted
• Tips:
• Use MeSH terms
• Use Boolean operators to combine
your keywords and synonyms

19. #3: Searching for articles
MeSH terms
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh

20. #3: Searching for articles
Keywords
Does gene therapy have the potential to
improve the clinical outcomes of Angelman
syndrome?
Keywords: genetic therapy AND
Angelman syndrome NOT review

21. #3: Selecting articles – Tips!
• Screen the article abstract before
retrieving its full-text article
• Remember:
• Be objective in including your research
• Be up-to-date, but do not forget older
studies
• Ideal number of articles
• Minimum 80 for mini reviews
• >100 for full-length reviews

22. #4: Critical Appraisal
‘The process of carefully and systematically examining research to judge its
trustworthiness, and its value and relevance in a particular context’

23. #4: Critical Appraisal
Dissecting a research article
1. Title – Concise statement of the research
2. Abstract – Summary of the article
3. Introduction – Properly explained and clearly defined needs, purpose of study and
hypothesis
4. Methods – Statistical analysis, sample size
5. Results – Clear reporting of the number of participants
6. Discussion – Reasoning of the outcomes of the study, discussion of the study
limitations
7. Conclusion – Restatement of the main argument of the article

25. Acknowledge-
ment
Methods
Results &
discussion

26. #4: Critical Appraisal – Tools
Cochrane risk of bias tools Other tools
Required for systematic review articles

27. #4: Data extraction
Use tables!
+ Sample size
+ Study location
+ Notes

28. #5: Start writing!
Structure of a literature review
• Introduction – Provides a brief summary of the area of interest & aim of the study
• Methods (optional) – Search strategy, critical appraisal & data extraction process
• Results & Discussion
• Break into thematic areas
• Synthesize important information from the article sources
• Acknowledge controversies, unanswered questions, issues of bias, differing opinions
• Conclusion

29. #5: Start writing!
Writing tips
1. Keep the review focused, but relevant to a broad audience
2. Be critical and consistent
3. Summarize your findings using tables and diagrams
4. Ask for feedbacks!

30. #5: Start writing!
Tips: Making a diagram
● A diagram is helpful in summarizing
your findings
● Tools: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe
Illustrator, PowerPoint, etc
● Be careful not to reproduce/edit a
diagram without obtaining
appropriate license
NUCLEUS
CYTOPLASM
Topoisomerase 1
Inhibitor (TPO-I)
UBE3A
Artificial
transcription
factors (ATFs)
UBE3A-ATS
Paternal UBE3A gene
Maternal UBE3A gene
pAkt
Arc
NSI-189
MEMBRANE
TrKB
UBE3A pathway-associated genes
OV101
Promote
LEGEND
Influence
(postulated)
Inhibit
GABAA receptor
Antisense-
oligonucleotide
(ASO)
Sample diagram (from Tsagkaris C, Papakosta V, Miranda AV, et al. Gene therapy for Angelman syndrome:
Contemporary approached and future endeavours. Curr Gen Ther 2020;19(6):359-66)

31. #5: Start writing!
Writing your references
● Use a reference manager:
Mendeley, Zotero, Endnote
● Remember: Each journal can
have different references
format

32. #5: Start writing!
Example of a literature review

33. #5: Start writing!
Example of a literature review

34. #5: Start writing!
Example of a literature review

35. #5: Start writing!
Example of a literature review

36. #5: Start writing!
Example of a literature review

37. #5: Start writing!
Example of a literature review

38. #5: Start writing!
Example of a literature review

39. Topics to consider:
Women’s health
SDG spotlight: Goal 5 [Internet]. University of Saskatchewan. Available from: https://healthsciences.usask.ca/news-
and-announcements/announcements/2020/march-sdg-spotlight-goal-5.php

40. Topics to consider:
Gender & COVID-19

41. Topics to consider:
Gender inequality in
healthcare workforce
Delivered by women, led by men: A gender equity analysis of the global
health and social workforce. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2019.

42. Topics to consider:
Gender, climate
change, and health
Gender, climate change, and health. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2014.

43. Sources
1. Lavietes M. Men outnumber women three to one on COVID-19 task forces [Internet]. Reuters; 2021 Mar 23
[accessed 2022 Feb 14]. Available from: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-women-un-
trfn-idUSKBN2BE2SS
2. Shannon G, Jansen M, Williams K, Cáceres C, Motta A, Odhiambo A, et al. Gender equality in science,
medicine, and global health: where are we at and why does it matter? Lancet. 2019 Feb 9;393(10171):560-
569. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)33135-0
3. Global Goals [Internet]. Available from: globalgoals.org.
4. Sugimoto CR, Ahn Y-Y, Smith E, Macaluso B, Larivière V. Factors affecting sex-related reporting in medical
research: a cross-disciplinary bibliometric analysis. Lancet. 2019 Feb 9;393(10171):550-559. doi:
10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32995-7.
5. SDG spotlight: Goal 5 [Internet]. University of Saskatchewan. Available from:
https://healthsciences.usask.ca/news-and-announcements/announcements/2020/march-sdg-spotlight-
goal-5.php
6. Delivered by women, led by men: A gender equity analysis of the global health and social workforce. Geneva:
World Health Organization; 2019.
7. Gender, climate change, and health. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2014.
8. Moyer CA, Abedini NC, Youngblood J, Talib Z, Jayaraman T, et al. Advancing women leaders in global health:
Getting to solutions. Ann Glob Health. 2018 Nov 5;84(4):743-752. doi: 10.9204/aogh.2384.
AMSA Kyrgyzstan
Medicine & Research Congress 2022

44. Sources
1. Researching and writing a literature review: Biomedical skills. The University of Auckland [Internet; 2016 [accessed 2021 Apr 01]. Available
from: https://flexiblelearning.auckland.ac.nz/biomed-lit-review/12_2.html
2. Pautasso M. Ten simple rules for writing a literature review. PLoS Comput Biol. 2013 Jul;9(7):e1003149. doi: 10.1371/journal/pcbi/1003149
3. Systematic reviews: Inclusion and exclusion criteria. University of Melbourne [Internet]; [updated 2021 Feb 02; accessed 2021 Apr 01].
Available from: https://unimelb.libguides.com/c.php?g=492361&p=3368110
4. Siwek J, Slawson DC, Shaughnessy AF. How to write an evidence-based clinical review article. Am Fam Physician 2002 Jan 15;62(2):251-8.
5. Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine: Levels of Evidence (March 2009). Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine [Internet]; 2009 [accessed
2021 Apr 01]. Available from: https://www.cebm.ox.ac.uk/resources/levels-of-evidence/oxford-centre-for-evidence-based-medicine-levels-of-
evidence-march-2009
6. Umesh G, Karippacheril JG, Magazine R. Criticial appraisal of published literature. Indian J Anaesth 2016 Sep;60(90:670-73. doi: 10.4103/0019-
5049.190624
7. Levett P. Systematic reviews: medical literature databases to search. Himmerlfarb Health Sciences Library [Internet}; [updated 2021 Jan 27;
accessed 2021 Apr 01]. Available from: https://guides.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/systematic_review/medical-literature-databases-to-search
8. Bolderston A. Writing an effective literature review. J Med Image Rad Sci 2008;39(2):P86-92. doi: 10.1016/j.jmir.2008.04.009
9. Literature reviewing: Critically appraise. LibGuides, Edinburgh Napier University [Internet}; [updated 2021 Mar 08; accessed 2021 Apr 01].
Available from: https://libguides.napier.ac.uk/litrev/critapp
10. Getting started with reference management in Mendeley. Specialist Library Support [Internet}; 2020 May 02 [accessed 2021 Apr 01]. Available
from: https://medium.com/specialist-library-support/beginners-reference-management-with-mendeley-5b80d06a0111
AMSA Kyrgyzstan
Medicine & Research Congress 2022

45. Thank you!
AMSA Kyrgyzstan
Medicine & Research Congress 2022
@ghfasia
Global Health Focus Asia
adrianaviola99@gmail.com
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