The Stages of Research have specific tools that allow for differing levels of research reviews and analysis to take place.
A literature review is used at the beginning of a research process to provide groundwork for study of a particular area of research. It should provide context and an overview of the published literature on a research topic. It also serves as a reservoir of knowledge “to deepen the researcher’s understanding of the history of the problem, its origin, and its scope,” according to The Handbook of Social Work Research Methods (Sowers, Ellis, & Dessel, 2010).
To strengthen your understanding of a research topic, begin by reviewing the articles you've found—read the abstracts and skim the main content to identify key arguments. As you analyze these sources, organize and categorize them to see how each one contributes to different aspects of your topic, much like assembling pieces of a puzzle. This process will help you identify gaps, patterns, or emerging themes, allowing you to refine and focus your research question as your knowledge deepens.
A literature review will help you answer the questions below:
Meta-analysis
Defined in the Encyclopedia of Social Work, “Meta-analysis is the quantitative synthesis of results of multiple studies. It can estimate trends, assess variations across studies, and correct for errors and bias in a body of research. This is important given the rapid accumulation of evidence on many topics relevant for social work, inconsistencies across studies, and well-known limitations of traditional research-review methods. A systematic review uses replicable procedures to minimize bias in research synthesis; meta-analysis is usually one of the last steps in this process (Littell, Corcoran, & Pillai, 2008). Meta-analysis has distinct advantages over other approaches to research synthesis, and it has limitations.”
A meta-analysis combines data and results from multiple studies and often happens in the later stages of research as part of a larger comprehensive systematic review.
Defined in the Encyclopedia of Social Work, "Scoping review research has developed as a method of publishable research in response to evolving the development of a reviewing the body of knowledge of a research question in a systematic manner. In this method, “systematic reviews use a transparent and systematic process to define a research question, search for studies, assess their quality and synthesize findings qualitatively or quantitatively” (Arksey & O’Malley, 2005, p. 19). A published scoping review is a great resource for social work researchers, stakeholders, policymakers, and social work practitioners as a means of consolidating the literature on a subject and formulating future research (Armstrong et al., 2011)," (Green, D., & Ellis, S. 2022).
Defined in the Encyclopedia of Social Work, “Systematic reviews take a scientific approach to the identification, critical appraisal, analysis, synthesis, and reporting of results of multiple studies on a single topic. The review process is treated like any other form of research: reviewers pose clear and answerable questions and take steps to obtain unbiased answers by finding relevant studies, reliably extracting information from those studies, and compiling and reporting results in a systematic and transparent manner, (NASW Press, 2013).”
Systematic reviews have a comprehensive scope, reproducible methodology, and a more detailed evidence based summary than meta-analysis or literature reviews. They provide transparency, reliability, and are meant to prevent or correct bias in an area of research, according to (Littell & Corcoran, 2010) in the Handbook of Social Work Methods.
Question Frameworks: PICOS - Patient/Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes, Study Type
Prisma Statement - Flow Diagram - Identification of studies via databases and registers
Latitudes Network - Library of Validity Assessment Tools
NIH Health Topics - Study Quality Assessment Tools
Green, D., & Ellis, S. (2022, February 24). Research: Overview. Encyclopedia of Social Work. Retrieved 24 Sep. 2025, from https://oxfordre-com.ezproxy.bethel.edu/socialwork/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.001.0001/acrefore-9780199975839-e-605.
NASW Press, publisher, Oxford University Press, publisher, & Franklin, C. (2013). Encyclopedia of social work (C. Franklin, Ed.). National Association of Social Workers Press and Oxford University Press. https://libsearch.bethel.edu/permalink/01CLIC_BETHEL/5rnmhf/alma991005742243603686
Littell, J., & Corcoran, J. (2010). In The Handbook of Social Work Research Methods. Sage Publications Inc.
This work is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0
