Narrative Reviews of the Literature: An overview

Abstract

This short report guides the reader through the types of narrative reviews and describes the narrative review process from conception to completion. This report is an overview on the topic of literature reviews and serves to provide guidance regarding how and when to use a narrative review approach. Authors have many purposes for selecting the narrative review of the literature including introducing an original research manuscript, reviewing a critical topic for a scholarly journal, creating an introductory chapter for a thesis, or completing a classroom assignment. Each purpose may include a specific format and may require different components to be included in the research and writing process. This short report provides examples for each section of the narrative review research and writing process.