Systematic review vs. narrative review vs. scoping review

Also called literature review types, lit review types

All three synthesize existing literature, but answer different needs. Pick a systematic review when your question is narrow and you need an exhaustive, auditable answer. Pick a narrative review when you're building broad background on a theme. Pick a scoping review when you need to map a field before your question is even settled.

In context

You'll usually need this when deciding which kind of review actually fits your research stage and question.

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