How to write a review of related literature (RRL)

An RRL is an integral part of your research project, so it’s worth spending time and effort on.
  1. Decide your search terms: These are keywords you’ll enter into different databases. Be sure to include all the variables in your research question along with any common synonyms for them. For example, “COVID-19” and “SARS-CoV-2”.
  1. Choose your databases: It’s not a good idea to restrict yourself to a single database. Explore the popular options like Scopus and PubMed, and also relevant subject-specific databases like Embase and CINAHL.
  1. Don’t stick to only published journal articles! Look at grey literature (e.g., government reports, policy documents, patents), books, and preprints too. All these could give you valuable insights on your research topic. Apps like R Discovery help you seamlessly and efficiently search not just journal articles but also preprints, patents, and conference documents.
  1. Identify relevant studies by reading their titles and abstracts
  1. Read these relevant papers carefully, taking notes on their methodology, key findings, conclusions, and limitations.
  1. Decide a structure for your own RRL. You can organize your RRL chronologically (i.e., mention studies by date of publication) or thematically (discuss studies that have a common theme together).
  1. Write and rewrite your RRL: Here’s where you articulate what you have observed while reviewing the literature, you speculate potential reasons for existing findings, and argue why your own study makes a valuable contribution to existing research.
  1. Format your RRL: Make sure its length, heading style, citation style, etc. conform to the requirements of your target journal or institution. AI-powered academic writing tools like Paperpal make it easy for you to verify that your citations and references are accurate and formatted correctly.

Conclusion

Writing a good RRL is a valuable skill for any researcher who wants to get published. AI tools can be powerful aids that help you create a well-written RRL. These tools allow you to focus your mental energy on understanding and critiquing existing evidence, rather than repetitive tasks like formatting citations.