# How to write a literature review

A literature review is a critical account of the studies on one question. It is not a list of papers.

Name the question first. Then group the studies by what they did, not by the order you found them. End with what is still missing. If you cannot name the gap, you do not have a review yet.

## Steps

1. **Write the question.** One sentence. People, action, outcome. If the outcome is missing, stop.

2. **Group the studies.** Same method together. Same population together. Do not sort by author name.

3. **Mark the gap.** Name the comparison nobody ran, or the population nobody measured.

4. **Cite the claim.** Every sentence that states a result points at a paper you can open.

## ScholarIQ at this step

ScholarIQ searches the question and keeps the source on each claim. It does not write the review for you.

## How long does this take for one person?

Count the records first. A literature review is a critical account of the studies on one question. It is not a list of papers. The time follows the count, not the size of a team.

## What do I write down before I stop?

The rule, the date, and the count. Name the question first. Then group the studies by what they did, not by the order you found them. End with what is still missing. If you cannot name the gap, you do not have a review yet.

## Do I need a second reviewer?

Not to start. ScholarIQ does not score a second reviewer. If the protocol asks for dual review, a second person sees the same record.

## What is the usual error?

A file with no reason. Name the question first. Then group the studies by what they did, not by the order you found them. End with what is still missing. If you cannot name the gap, you do not have a review yet.

## How do I know this step is done?

The count matches the records. If a flow-diagram box would not match, the step is not done.

## What goes in the methods?

The rule, the date, and the count. A reader must be able to open the same record.

## Can I skip this step?

No, if you will call the work a systematic review. If you skip it, write what you did. Do not hide the gap.

## What if I cannot finish?

Stop. Write how far you got. Records you did not screen are not exclusions.

## What does a supervisor check?

The rule, a sample of decisions, and the passage.

## What is outside this step?

A guideline panel, a CRO, and a GRADE meeting. ScholarIQ searches the question and keeps the source on each claim. It does not write the review for you.