This book provides guidance to readers for how to conduct an integrative review. Over the decades, with the expansion of evidence-based practice (EBP), the evolution of methods used in reviews has resulted in a wide spectrum of review types. Due to the overlapping characteristics of the various review methods, confusion exists related to terminology, descriptions and methods of each type. To fill this gap, this book examines components necessary to conduct a rigorous integrative review from formulating questions through dissemination of the results of the review. Each chapter focuses on one component or step in this process and is written in a straightforward and readable manner. An integrative review is considered by many as an actual research study, hence it should be approached following established research methods involving well‐defined steps. The integrative review is often compared with the systematic review. Both are used in healthcare research and follow a systematic process in reviewing literature and developing recommendations, but there are important differences that are addressed in the book. Evidence-based practice (EBP) demands high quality, rigorous evidence for nurse clinicians to make informed decisions with and for their patients. In nursing education, the integrative review is a frequent capstone project for graduate students and forms the basis for many doctoral projects. The Integrative review process should be valid, reliable and transparent and this book provides clear guidelines for writing an integrative review for students, educators, clinicians, and researchers. This book is a useful addition to courses for both undergraduate and graduate level writers of integrative reviews. In academia, a likely adoption would be in graduate research and research methods courses, and baccalaureate honor courses.

How can ethnographic studies be generalized, in contrast to concentrating on the individual case? Noblit and Hare propose a new method for synthesizing from qualitative studies: meta-ethnography. After citing the criteria to be used in comparing qualitative research projects, the authors define the ways these can then be aggregated to create more cogent syntheses of research. Using examples from numerous studies ranging from ethnographic work in educational settings to the Mead-Freeman controversy over Samoan youth, Meta-Ethnography offers useful procedural advice from both comparative and cumulative analyses of qualitative data. This provocative volume will be read with interest by researchers and students in qualitative research methods, ethnography, education, sociology, and anthropology. "After defining metaphor and synthesis, these authors provide a step-by-step program that will allow the researcher to show similarity (reciprocal translation), difference (refutation), or similarity at a higher level (lines or argument synthesis) among sample studies....Contain(s) valuable strategies at a seldom-used level of analysis." --Contemporary Sociology "The authors made an important contribution by reframing how we think of ethnography comparison in a way that is compatible with the new developments in interpretive ethnography. Meta-Ethnography is well worth consulting for the problem definition it offers." --The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease "This book had to be written and I am pleased it was. Someone needed to break the ice and offer a strategy for summarizing multiple ethnographic studies. Noblit and Hare have done a commendable job of giving the research community one approach for doing so. Further, no one else can now venture into this area of synthesizing qualitative studies without making references to and positioning themselves vis-a-vis this volume." -Educational Studies

Every book, paper, or dissertation in the social sciences involves some element of literature review. This is the first book to systematize the practice of reviewing existing literature, and will thus be invaluable to everyone who writes in the social sciences. Those students who have some background in basic research methods and statistics will find that this book shows them how to produce a review that can be replicated, will achieve concensus, and focus debate in a constructive fashion.

This dynamic guide to doing literature reviews demystifies the process in seven steps to show researchers how to produce a comprehensive literature review. Teaching techniques to bring systematic thoroughness and reflexivity to research, the authors show how to achieve a rich, ethical and reflexive review. What makes this book unique: Focuses on multimodal texts and settings such as observations, documents, social media, experts in the field and secondary data so that your review covers the full research environment Puts mixed methods at the centre of the process Shows you how to synthesize information thematically, rather than merely summarize the existing literature and findings Brings culture into the process to help you address bias and understand the role of knowledge interpretation, guiding you through Teaches the CORE of the literature review – Critical thinking, Organization, Reflections and Evaluation – and provides a guide for reflexivity at the end of each of the seven steps Visualizes the steps with roadmaps so you can track progress and self-evaluate as you learn the steps This book is the essential best practices guide for students and researchers, providing the understanding and tools to approach both the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of a rigorous, comprehensive, literature review.

Guideline 12: If the Results of Previous Studies Are Inconsistent or Widely Varying, Cite Them Separately

"This is an excellent book which explains clearly the principles and practice of systematic reviews. The order of contents is logical, information is easy to find and the contents are written for a wide audience from student to practitioner. There are copious examples and illustrations and these should inspire confidence in the novice and remind the expert what the essential features of a good systematic review are. This book should be on every undergraduate and postgraduate reading list for courses on research methods." Roger Watson, Professor of Nursing, The University of Hull, UK "This book provides a clear and concise guide for students to produce a systematic review of evidence in health care ... The material is presented as a logical series of steps starting with developing a focussed question up to completing the review and disseminating its findings ... To facilitate the review a number of blank forms are presented for the reader to copy and complete in relation to the topic which they are pursuing ... I would wholly recommend this text." Ian Atkinson, previously Senior Lecturer in Research Methods & Assistant Editor Journal of Clinical Nursing Does the idea of writing a systematic literature review feel daunting? Are you struggling to work out where to begin? By walking you carefully through the entire process from start to finish and breaking the task down into manageable steps, this book is the perfect workbook companion for students undertaking their first literature review for study or clinical practice improvement. Co-published with the Nursing Standard, this handy book: Goes into detail about the precise and practical steps required to carry out a systematic literature review Uses a workbook format, with 3 running examples that you can work through gradually as you carry out your review Offers suggestions and tips to help you write up your own review Features useful templates to help you stay organised and includes case-studies to identify good practice Highlights the pitfalls to avoid Written in an engaging, conversational style with clear explanations throughout, How to do a Systematic Literature Review in Nursing is invaluable reading for all nursing students as well as other healthcare professionals.

After examining traditional empiricist views of science, the contributors focus on the schools of thought that challenge them. Next, they introduce postmodern schools of thought including feminism, phenomenology, critical theory and poststructuralism.