Literature Review or Narrative Review: "a comprehensive survey of the works published in a particular field of study or line of research, usually over a specific period of time, in the form of an in-depth, critical bibliographic essay or annotated list in which attention is drawn to the most significant works" [2].
Systematic Review: "a systematic review is a type of literature review focused on a specific research question, which uses "explicit methods to minimize bias in the identification, appraisal, selection, and synthesis of all the high-quality evidence pertinent to the question. Systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials are so important to evidence-based medicine that an understanding of them is mandatory for professionals involved in biomedical research and health care delivery" [2].
Meta-Analysis: "a statistical analysis of the results of a number of studies of related research hypotheses (each study based on similar study and control group populations and on similar design and methods), intended to yield a quantitative aggregate summary of all the findings. Best results are achieved by including only methodologically sound studies, because sources of bias in the original studies are not controlled in meta-analysis" [2].
*Content From Physician Assistant Capstone Project: PA Capstone Assignment LibGuide FIU, Rebecca Roth
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