Health Sciences Literature Review Made Easy: The Matrix Method - 3rd Edition Book

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xi

Part I Fundamentals of a Literature Review 1

Chapter 1 Introduction 3

Review of the Literature 4

Well Beyond Index Cards 5

To Own the Literature 7

Research Synthesis: Historical Perspective 8

The Matrix Method: Definition and Overview 17

Review Matrix: A Versatile Tool 18

Overview of Chapters and Appendices 20

References to Websites 22

Caroline's Quest: Understanding the Process 23

Chapter 2 Basic Concepts 29

Source Materials Defined 30

Different Kinds of Source Materials 30

Anatomy of a Scientific Paper---Finding what you need in a Typical Research Paper 36

Guidelines for a Methodological Review of the Literature 42

Caroline's Quest: Learning the Concepts 55

Part II The Matrix Method 59

Chapter 3 Paper Trail: How to Plan and Manage a Search of the Literature 61

What Is a Paper Trail? 62

How to Create a Paper Trail 62

How to Find Source Materials: Creating and Using a Paper Trail 65

Tips on Searching for Source Documents 81

Caroline's Quest: Managing the Search 84

Chapter 4 Documents Folder: How to Select and Organize Documents for Review 95

How to Select the Documents for your Review 96

What Is a Documents Folder? 97

How to Organize a Documents Folder 99

How to Remember where you put the Documents 99

Caroline's Quest: Assembling a Documents Folder 101

Chapter 5 Review Matrix: How to abstract the Research Literature 105

What is a Review Matrix? 106

How to Construct a Review Matrix 107

How to Arrange Documents for use in a Review Matrix 108

How to Choose Column Topics for a Review Matrix 108

How to Abstract Documents in a Review Matrix 113

Fringe Benefits of the Abstracting Process 118

Caroline's Quest: Constructing a Review Matrix 121

Chapter 6 Synthesis: How to use a Review Matrix to Write a Synthesis 127

What Is a Synthesis? 128

How to Use a Review Matrix to Write a Synthesis 129

Caroline's Quest: Writing a Synthesis 134

Part III Applications Using the Matrix Method 139

Chapter 7 A Library of Lit Review Master Folders 141

What Is a Library of Lit Review Master Folders? 142

How to Create a Library of Lit Review Master Folders 142

How to Use a Library of Lit Review Master Folders 144

Making the Most of the Matrix Method 145

Caroline's Quest: Building her Own Library of Lit Review Master Folders 151

Chapter 8 The Matrix Indexing System 153

What Is the Matrix Indexing System? 154

How to Set up a Matrix Indexing System 154

How to Expand the Documents Folder 161

How to Update a Literature Review Efficiently 162

Caroline's Quest: Using the Matrix Indexing System 163

Chapter 9 Matrix Applications by Health Sciences Professionals 165

What are Matrix Applications? 166

How to Use Matrix Applications in a Research Project 167

How to Use Matrix Applications in a Meta-Analysis 169

How to Use Matrix Applications in Practice Guidelines 170

How to Use Matrix Applications in Evidence-Based Medicine 172

Caroline's Quest: Matrix Applications in a Nonscientific Setting 174

Appendix A Useful Resources for Literature Reviews 181

Appendix B Structure of Computer Folders for the Matrix Method 193

Index 201

About the Author 211