How to Conduct a Systematic Literature Review for Your Dissertation

By Dr. Sarah L., DBA in Strategic Management. Reviewed by Dr. David C.. 2025-10-15.

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Key takeaways

• Systematic reviews follow predefined protocols to minimize bias and ensure reproducibility
• Use the PRISMA framework for planning, conducting, and reporting your review
• Search multiple databases and supplement with citation tracking and grey literature
• Screen studies at title/abstract and full-text stages with clear inclusion criteria
• Assess study quality using validated tools appropriate to your study designs
• Document every decision, transparency is the hallmark of systematic reviews

What Is a Systematic Literature Review?

A systematic literature review (SLR) is a structured, methodical approach to identifying, evaluating, and synthesizing all relevant research on a specific question. Unlike traditional narrative reviews, systematic reviews follow a predefined protocol that minimizes bias and ensures reproducibility.

Systematic reviews are considered the gold standard of evidence synthesis because they use explicit inclusion/exclusion criteria, comprehensive search strategies, and transparent reporting. In many fields, particularly health sciences, education, and social sciences, they carry significant weight with dissertation committees.

The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines provide the standard framework for conducting and reporting systematic reviews. Following PRISMA ensures your review meets international standards and strengthens your dissertation's credibility.

Developing Your Review Protocol

Before searching for literature, you must develop a detailed protocol that outlines every step of your review process. This protocol serves as your roadmap and helps prevent post-hoc decision-making that could introduce bias.

Your protocol should include: a clear research question (use the PICO or PICo framework), your search strategy with specific databases and search terms, inclusion and exclusion criteria, a quality assessment tool, and your planned synthesis method.

Register your protocol if possible. PROSPERO is a free international registry for systematic reviews. Registration demonstrates transparency and prevents unnecessary duplication. Even if your field doesn't typically register protocols, documenting your methodology upfront strengthens your committee's confidence in your approach.

Define your inclusion criteria precisely. Specify the population, intervention/exposure, comparison, outcomes, study designs, date range, language, and publication status you'll include. Vague criteria lead to inconsistent screening decisions.

Conducting Comprehensive Database Searches

A systematic review requires searching multiple databases to ensure comprehensive coverage. The specific databases depend on your field: PubMed and CINAHL for health sciences, PsycINFO for psychology, ERIC for education, Scopus and Web of Science for interdisciplinary research.

Develop your search strategy using Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT), truncation, and controlled vocabulary (MeSH terms, Thesaurus terms). Test your strategy by checking whether it retrieves known relevant studies. Refine iteratively with a librarian's help, most universities offer research librarian consultations specifically for graduate students.

Beyond databases, conduct supplementary searches: check reference lists of included studies (backward citation tracking), search for papers that cite included studies (forward citation tracking), search grey literature sources, and contact experts in the field. Document every search with date, database, search terms, and results count.

Screening, Quality Assessment, and Synthesis

Import all search results into a reference manager (Covidence, Rayyan, or EndNote). Remove duplicates, then screen titles and abstracts against your inclusion criteria. Two independent reviewers should screen at each stage when possible, if you're a sole researcher, have a colleague verify a random sample.

Full-text screening applies your criteria more rigorously. Record reasons for exclusion at this stage, you'll need these for your PRISMA flow diagram. Track your screening results meticulously: total records identified, duplicates removed, titles screened, full texts assessed, and final included studies.

Assess the quality of included studies using validated tools: the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool for RCTs, the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for observational studies, or the CASP checklists for qualitative research. Quality assessment informs your confidence in the evidence and can be used in sensitivity analyses.

Synthesize findings narratively, thematically, or statistically (meta-analysis if appropriate). Present results in summary tables showing study characteristics, key findings, and quality ratings. Your synthesis should identify patterns, contradictions, and gaps that justify your dissertation research.