Literature reviews

	Literature reviews generally fall into three types:
	A basic literature (or narrative) review used to obtain a general understanding of a given topic. Time-frame: 1-4 weeks.
	A more comprehensive scoping review used to define the current research on a given topic, to summarize and identify gaps in the academic literature. A scoping review is usually conducted prior to a systematic review. Time-frame: 2-8 weeks.
	A more rigorous systematic literature review used to provide substantive evidence about a body of research. Literature is selected using an explicit set of search criteria, consistently applied to reduce bias and minimize error. In general it is recommended to use the PRISMA checklist for systematic reviews, a 27-item checklist addressing the introduction, methods, results and discussion sections of a systematic review report. Time-frame: 8 months – 2 years.

For all types of reviews:

1. Carefully define your research topic. To avoid duplication, check in appropriate databases if a similar review already exists. For example PROSPERO is a database collecting systematic reviews related to public health, including international development.

Identify key concepts to incorporate into a database query.
For example:

keywords/themes
names/organizations
dates
countries/regions

It is also good practice (especially if you are planning to publish your review) to register a protocol, the rationale behind the review, in a publicly accessible databases like, Open Science Framework, PROSPERO or figshare.

2. Identify the type of literature you want to capture:

peer-reviewed publications?
grey literature (reports, policy briefs, conference proceedings)?
both?

3. Select a database(s) to search:

A list of FAO database subscriptions can be found here. Each database is accompanied by a short description to help researchers choose the best one(s) for their topic. Understanding database content and coverage is essential when embarking upon a literature review.
Free online tools like Google Scholar and Open Access institutional repositories can also be used in literature reviews but also require coverage and capacity considerations.
*See the note about Google Scholar below.

4. Build a database search query:

Use the keywords and concepts identified in step #1, above.
Understand the search fields and filters associated with each database. Most research databases include guides on how to build a robust search query: FSTA (we highly recommend their search matrix), CAB Abstracts and Web of Science
Use the Advanced Search option whenever possible.
For systematic reviews in particular, database search queries must be conducted more scientifically. Again, queries must be reproducible and consistently applied by researchers to reduce bias and minimize error.

Once you have found a sufficient body of publications, you can export bibliographic records from each database into a citation management tool or personalized system. From this point, you can appraise, synthesize, interpret, and present their findings.
For further information and assistance with literature reviews, please contact [email protected]

Google Scholar is used widely by researchers around the world. It is an easy way to access Open Access content and obtain literature for basic, narrative literature reviews. It harvests records from scholarly sources, so content has been vetted, to some extent. Many FAO Library full-text subscriptions can be accessed directly via Google Scholar. The Library’s EZProxy software will recognize FAO staff workstations and automatically provide access to subscribed resources.

A note on bulk downloads for staff
Many databases do not allow for bulk downloading of data. It is important to note any limits on usage for a database before attempting bulk downloads, since it may result in suspension of service.