Traditional Literature Review Research Articles

New framework for automated article selection applied to a literature review of Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal

AimsEnhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal (EBPR) is a technology widely used in wastewater treatment to remove phosphorus (P) and prevent eutrophication. Establishing its operating efficiency and stability is an active research field that has generated almost 3000 publications in the last 40 years. Due to its size, including over 119 review articles, it is an example of a field where it becomes increasingly difficult to manually recognize its key research contributions, especially for non-experts or newcomers. Therefore, this work included two distinct but complementary objectives. First, to assemble for the first time a collection of bibliometric techniques into a framework for automating the article selection process when preparing a literature review (section 2). Second, to demonstrate it by applying it to the field of EBPR, producing a bibliometric analysis and a review of the key findings of EBPR research over time (section 3).FindingsThe joint analysis of citation networks, keywords, citation profiles, as well as of specific benchmarks for the identification of highly-cited publications revealed 12 research topics. Their content and evolution could be manually reviewed using a selection of articles consisting of approximately only 5% of the original set of publications. The largest topics addressed the identification of relevant microorganisms, the characterization of their metabolism, including denitrification and the competition between them (Clusters A-D). Emerging and influential topics, as determined by different citation indicators and temporal analysis, were related to volatile fatty acid production, P-recovery from waste activated sludge and aerobic granules for better process efficiency and stability (Clusters F-H).ConclusionsThe framework enabled key contributions in each of the constituent topics to be highlighted in a way that may have otherwise been biased by conventional citation-based ranking. Further, it reduced the need for manual input and a priori expertise compared to a traditional literature review. Hence, in an era of accelerated production of information and publications, this work contributed to the way that we are able to use computer-aided approaches to curate information and manage knowledge.

PMU3 PUBLICLY DISCLOSED OUTCOMES-BASED CONTRACTS IN UNITED STATES

With the introduction of expensive treatments, there is an increase in the adoption of innovative risk-sharing arrangements. Outcomes-based contracts (OBCs) is one such arrangement between the pharmaceutical manufacturers and payers, which involves a provision of discount/rebate to the payer based on the performance of the treatment in a real-world population. The study objective was to identify publicly disclosed OBCs for various marketed drugs. A traditional literature review was conducted wherein peer-reviewed publications, editorials, and online reports were searched for OBCs. Once OBCs were identified, manufacturer and payer details, drug and disease area, outcome measures and terms of the contract were extracted and summarized. Studies without outcomes description were excluded. A total of 28 publicly disclosed OBCs among 12 manufacturers and 8 payers in the United States were identified between January, 2009 and June, 2018. Hypercholesterolemia (n=3), rheumatoid arthritis (n=1), osteoporosis (n=2), diabetes (n=4), congestive heart failure (n=3), multiple sclerosis (n=2), retinal dystrophy (n=1), pain management (n=1), asthma (n=1) and lung cancer (n=1) were included in the OBCs. A number of outcome metrics were utilized in these OBCs including reduction in hospitalization rate (n=8), reduction in clinical aspects such as LDL-C level, fractures, blood sugar level, asthma-related symptoms, sight improvement and relapses (n=13) and medication adherence (n=3). Two OBCs focused on comparison of costs incurred while on manufacturer’s drug and on other drugs for the same disease and two other OBCs measured the quantity of drug consumed by patients as the outcome metric. Through OBCs, manufacturers provided rebates or discounts to payers in return of preferred formulary status. The publicly disclosed OBCs did not provide details on compensations, whether patients' out-of-pocket costs were reimbursed or more importantly, the measurement of outcomes. Also, there is a need to measure the satisfaction of both manufacturers and payers with the implementation of OBCs.

A systematic review of systematic reviews in tourism

Abstract Traditional literature reviews and more advanced systematic reviews have been a focal point in assessing the epistemological progress of any field. However, studies assessing the nature and quality of the systematic review papers published in tourism and hospitality literature are scarce. Considering the items of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, this study reviews how tourism and hospitality scholars have operationalised systematic reviews. All systematic reviews published across 34 tourism journals until 2017 were considered for this review and the results of the study portray multiple limitations in the design, organization and execution of current systematic reviews.

Towards the Development of a Holistic Framework of Project Complexity

Project complexity proves to be a difficult concept to grasp, especially for those new to the topic. This article provides a rapid yet thorough review of the concepts of complexity for those research students, researchers, or project professionals who may be interested in working with or studying complex projects. This article is developed using a traditional literature review process and uses a funneled or top-down approach to present the ontological view point of complexity. The article first discusses complexity in general and then moves on differentiate between simple, complicated, complex, and chaotic systems. The discussion then focuses on complexity in projects, from where the perspective of ‘complexity of' projects and ‘complexity in' projects. The article concludes by presenting an extended and deeper framework of complexity that amalgamates previously known thoughts on project complexity, uncertainty, and schema theory.

Mapping the knowledge domains of value management: a bibliometric approach

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review the state-of-the-art of literature of value management (VM) and to map the VM domain to provide a launch pad for further knowledge development and dissemination.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed CiteSpace bibliometric analysis software to systematically, comprehensively and accurately review the VM-related literature and to map the VM knowledge domain.FindingsThe results reveal the current VM knowledge base, clusters, research hotspot, and the evolutionary trajectory while contributing to the development of VM knowledge by providing a dynamic platform for integrating future developments in research.Originality/valueThe contribution of this paper to scientific VM knowledge is, therefore, a quantitative and accurate VM knowledge map based on a bibliometric analysis of data from the VM knowledge base, domains and evolution. The findings can be generalised and used as an effective knowledge mapping tool in a specific field of study that could complement and add significant value to the often adopted more traditional literature reviews. This study further recommends that the proposed knowledge map be frequently updated by similar future studies to fill gaps that arise with changing needs, priorities and contexts, as well as to identify corresponding future demands in the VM research domain.

The application of citation count regression to identify important papers in the literature on non-audit fees

PurposeThis paper aims to show that when conducting a literature review, important papers can be identified by regressing citation counts on prior publications’ metadata.Design/methodology/approachThe method developed in this paper applies citation count regression analysis to identify important papers that may be overlooked when conducting literature reviews on subject areas with a large population of studies.FindingsThe developed method reduces a literature down to a small sample of important papers for further narrative analysis.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the most widely used citation count database was used for research, there is a risk that a paper is not indexed; thus, it would be out of the scope of the literature.Practical implicationsThe developed method allows both preliminary selection of important papers for literature review, and robustness and completeness checks for already conducted narrative reviews.Originality/valueThis paper develops an automated search method for identification of important papers based on citation counts. This method allows for the reduction of big samples of research papers into smaller heterogenic subsamples. Like meta-analysis, this method is a quantitative technique that can enhance traditional narrative literature reviews.

Communication Is a Two-Way Street: Analyzing Approaches Undertaken to Enhance Audit Research Knowledge Transfer to Policymakers

Audit academics and policymakers express ongoing concerns about limited knowledge transfer between audit research and policymaking. We use theory-based knowledge transfer norms to evaluate eight practices used by audit academics to transfer research knowledge to policymakers. The discontinued PCAOB-AAA Auditing Section “Research Synthesis Project” came closest to enacting these theory-based knowledge transfer norms. Hence, we examine why those involved in that project did not follow these norms. Interviews with project authors reveal that their review creation approach anchored on the traditional academic literature review, and insufficiently adjusted it to meet the goal of communicating audit research evidence to policymakers. However, interviews with PCAOB project liaisons indicate that policymakers were engaged with and found value in the review creation process. Thus, we analyze PCAOB rulemaking documents for evidence that policymakers valued and used the project’s reviews in their policymaking. Over the project’s duration, we find increasing citations of research to the reviews themselves and to a broader set of academic research. Our findings of knowledge transfer occurrence in this project warrant further research on the efficacy of mobilizing audit research via research syntheses. We also show how several current audit domain knowledge transfer practices can be combined with the research syntheses approach leading to systematic effective knowledge transfer to policymakers.

A Data-Driven Critical Review of Second Language Acquisition in the Past 30 Years

This study aims to provide a comprehensive and data-driven review of the knowledge domain of second language acquisition (SLA) and pedagogy in the past 30 years. Using knowledge domain visualization techniques, the study first provides a review of SLA at the disciplinary level. It then identifies the major research areas and current research frontiers in the SLA research landscape based on high-quality data retrieved from Web of Science (WoS) databases. The study provides useful references for future research and pedagogy in the field in which literature reviews employing scientometric methodology and driven by data, such as the present one, are rare, and thus, are much in need of supplement views produced by traditional literature reviews.

Thirty years of Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse the highly cited articles published in Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal (AAAJ), since its inception, to answer three research questions: first, how have scholarly articles published in AAAJ developed? second, what are the focus areas and characteristics of articles in AAAJ, and who are the influential authors? third, who are the emerging next generation scholars and what are the emerging research themes in AAAJ?Design/methodology/approachA structured literature review (SLR) was used to analyse 126 most cited classic AAAJ articles and 21 additional emerging articles published between 1988 and 2016. Traditional literature reviews can have varied results because of a lack of rigour. The SLR method allows for an examination in detail of the articles, authors, focus areas and pattern of AAAJ publishing over three decades.FindingsThe findings show increased diversity in more recent years in theories, methods, origins, focus areas, and where AAAJ articles are cited, which highlights that the interdisciplinary accounting research project is maturing and remaining true to the ideal of being inclusive.Research limitations/implicationsWithin this diversity, the analyses show that AAAJ remains focussed on and presents opportunities for impactful accounting research related to social issues, including non-financial corporate reporting/disclosure, public sector accounting, corporate governance and alternative forms of accounting, audit and accountability. Additionally, there is a need for more practice-based research to address the “wicked” problems at the intersection between accounting and society.Originality/valueThis paper presents accounting researchers with an opportunity to develop insightful and publishable studies. Also, it serves as a basis for developing future research agendas in the interdisciplinary accounting field.

Identifying sustainable forest management research narratives: a text mining approach

ABSTRACTAlthough it is obvious that research regarding Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) is context specific and developed over time, not many research papers yet intended to investigate these changes. As a matter of fact, the number of scientific publications addressing SFM is relatively high. Hence, such a wide field cannot be sufficiently covered by traditional literature review approaches. With this paper, we aim at identifying the most convergent narratives within the SFM-research landscape by applying a text mining methodology to recent scientific literature. By doing so, we generated results that indicate that there may have been three phases in the evolution of SFM-research: the early phase covers in particular issues regarding land use in tropical and developing countries. Furthermore, papers in this phase tend to focus on general concepts or policy issues. In contrast, the second phase is characterized by a larger share of publications in forestry focused journals. This process is seemingly connected with issues like forest management, certification, forest stand management and the development of sustainability indicators. A third phase can be observed by the relative downturn of publications in forest-focused journals between 2005 and 2010. A new focus in this period is climate change.

Meta-Ethnography and its Potential for Theory Building in Library and Information Science

Meta-ethnography is an interpretive method that provides a way to synthesize the findings of two or more qualitative studies concerning a similar research question or topic. Going beyond the traditional literature review, which looks at individual studies, meta-ethnography facilitates generalizations through extracting concepts, metaphors, and themes. This paper provides a thorough description of the seven steps of meta-ethnography as defined by Noblit and Hare (1988). Implications for this method and the field of Library and Information Science (LIS), especially in the area of theory building, are discussed. Appropriate examples of actual and potential applications within LIS and related disciplines are given to illustrate the potential for the meta-ethnographic method.

“Stories are knowledge, and knowledge is literature”: Viewing and re-viewing sites/cites of mātauranga Māori as an alternative to traditional Western literature reviews

Viewing and re-viewing sites/cites of mātauranga Māori as an alternative to traditional Western literature review.

How to Write a Systematic Review of the Literature.

This article provides a step-by-step approach to conducting and reporting systematic literature reviews (SLRs) in the domain of healthcare design and discusses some of the key quality issues associated with SLRs. SLR, as the name implies, is a systematic way of collecting, critically evaluating, integrating, and presenting findings from across multiple research studies on a research question or topic of interest. SLR provides a way to assess the quality level and magnitude of existing evidence on a question or topic of interest. It offers a broader and more accurate level of understanding than a traditional literature review. A systematic review adheres to standardized methodologies/guidelines in systematic searching, filtering, reviewing, critiquing, interpreting, synthesizing, and reporting of findings from multiple publications on a topic/domain of interest. The Cochrane Collaboration is the most well-known and widely respected global organization producing SLRs within the healthcare field and a standard to follow for any researcher seeking to write a transparent and methodologically sound SLR. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA), like the Cochrane Collaboration, was created by an international network of health-based collaborators and provides the framework for SLR to ensure methodological rigor and quality. The PRISMA statement is an evidence-based guide consisting of a checklist and flowchart intended to be used as tools for authors seeking to write SLR and meta-analyses.

Engaged scholarship

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to introduce a multi-layered theoretical framework to enable engaged scholarship to develop as a practice in entrepreneurship and small business research. To do so, it illuminates the salient features of engaged scholarship, collaborative learning and actor-network theory (ANT).Design/methodology/approachThe paper follows a narrative or traditional literature review design. Specifically, it adopts a thematic approach for summarising and synthesising a body of literature on engaged scholarship, collaborative learning and ANT with the view to develop a new multi-layered theoretical framework.FindingsApplying the theory of engaged scholarship to pivot entrepreneurship/SME research provides scholars with an opportunity to unlock the theory vs practice paradox. Moreover, engaged scholarship offers valuable instructions for encouraging interactionism between entrepreneurship researchers and practitioners as well as reconcile their polarised views. Co-production and co-creation of knowledge addresses the concerns often raised by the practitioner community regarding the relevance and applicability of academic research to practice.Practical implicationsThe proposed multi-layered framework provides entrepreneurship researchers, and the practitioner community with a taxonomy to use to encourage a joint approach to research. Developing deep partnerships between academics and practitioners can produce outcomes that satisfy the twin imperatives of scholarship that can be of high quality as well as a value to society.Originality/valueThe paper advances the theory and practice of engaged scholarship in new ways that are not common in entrepreneurship/SME research. This enables engaged scholarship to develop as a practice in entrepreneurship and small firms’ research. Through applying the proposed multi-layered framework in research, academics can deliver fully developed solutions for practical problems. The framework is useful in the theory vs practice and entrepreneurship researchers vs practitioner debates.

BIM and project planning integration for on-site safety induction

PurposeThe section of the research presented in this paper aims to review and explore health and safety (H&S) issues on construction sites. It has the sole intention of using better computer visualisation to meet the needs of site practitioners in understanding such H&S problems.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology follows a traditional literature review approach to understand the development of building information modelling (BIM) technology up to its current status. A questionnaire survey was conducted to gather information on the embedding of H&S planning by site practitioners within the BIM environment.FindingsBIM has the potential to be used in H&S planning procedures, particularly in those related to tasks on construction sites. A framework for an integrated visual tool is developed for better H&S practice on site. It may be used actively by all practitioners, starting with site induction and addresses, inter alia, personal hazard perception.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper provides a foundation for developing a tool that helps construction personnel explore potential H&S risks on site before construction begins. By introducing a framework for integrating BIM and project planning, a prototype can be developed to demonstrate the application of the proposed framework.Originality/valueThe research presented in this paper introduces BIM usage during the construction stage as a tool that supports a H&S toolbox. The paper proposes the useful framework for better H&S practice on site that can be used actively by all practitioners. The intention is to find a way forward in addressing “real” H&S site issues that may not be easily understood by practitioners without the full aid of visualisation scenarios.

Utilizing a systematic literature review to develop an integrated framework for information and knowledge management systems

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the value of using a systematic literature review to develop an integrated framework for information and knowledge management systems.Design/methodology/approachFirst, the systematic literature review method is introduced, differentiating it from traditional literature reviews in terms of value-added and limitations. Second, this methodology is used in a research application focused on absorptive capacity internal capabilities with regard to the processes of acquisition, assimilation, transformation and exploitation. Third, an integrated framework for information and knowledge management systems is developed from this application.FindingsThe systematic literature review approach provides a rigor that can assist in reducing researcher bias while simultaneously enabling the definition of a precise scope of review, with a clear explanation of selection criteria with the objective to find and review all the studies that are relevant to the search definitions. As a research method, it effectively supports a qualitative, quantitative or mixed methodology.Research limitations/implicationsThis methodology was applied to one specific area of research. Specific limitations include the availability of articles in subscribed databases and the analytical capabilities of the tools used for text mining and analytics.Originality/valueThis paper demonstrates the usefulness of the systematic literature review methodology in developing an integrated framework for analysis.

Novel keyword co-occurrence network-based methods to foster systematic reviews of scientific literature

Systematic reviews of scientific literature are important for mapping the existing state of research and highlighting further growth channels in a field of study, but systematic reviews are inherently tedious, time consuming, and manual in nature. In recent years, keyword co-occurrence networks (KCNs) are exploited for knowledge mapping. In a KCN, each keyword is represented as a node and each co-occurrence of a pair of words is represented as a link. The number of times that a pair of words co-occurs in multiple articles constitutes the weight of the link connecting the pair. The network constructed in this manner represents cumulative knowledge of a domain and helps to uncover meaningful knowledge components and insights based on the patterns and strength of links between keywords that appear in the literature. In this work, we propose a KCN-based approach that can be implemented prior to undertaking a systematic review to guide and accelerate the review process. The novelty of this method lies in the new metrics used for statistical analysis of a KCN that differ from those typically used for KCN analysis. The approach is demonstrated through its application to nano-related Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) risk literature. The KCN approach identified the knowledge components, knowledge structure, and research trends that match with those discovered through a traditional systematic review of the nanoEHS field. Because KCN-based analyses can be conducted more quickly to explore a vast amount of literature, this method can provide a knowledge map and insights prior to undertaking a rigorous traditional systematic review. This two-step approach can significantly reduce the effort and time required for a traditional systematic literature review. The proposed KCN-based pre-systematic review method is universal. It can be applied to any scientific field of study to prepare a knowledge map.

Evolutionary trend analysis of nanogenerator research based on a novel perspective of phased bibliographic coupling

To evaluate the rapid growth of research on nanogenerators and the emergence of promising applications related to nanogenerators, evolutionary trends in the relevant research are analyzed based on phased bibliographic coupling (PBC). Through the novel method of PBC, the evolutionary trend of the relevant research on nanogenerators is roughly categorized into three phases, and the characteristic research topics, issues, articles and terms are discriminated and visualized. Beyond the traditional literature review of domain experts on nanotechnology, this article provides a novel means of visualizing more information about the evolution of the nanogenerator research over the past ten years, based on a more quantitative approach.

Mapping the luxury research landscape: A bibliometric citation analysis

This paper provides a systematic review of the current state of luxury research by mapping the research landscape to identify key research clusters, publications, and journals that have relevance to the luxury subject across disciplines. Thereby, it contributes to the literature by providing a state-of-the-field review of the broader luxury research field. Using the ISI Web of Knowledge Core collection, this study conducts a document co-citation analysis of 49,139 cited references from 1,315 publications that study luxury. The combination of bibliometric methods and a systematic review allows this study to overcome barriers of traditional literature reviews by integrating a large set of publications across various disciplines and leveraging the insights of the larger scientific community. It identifies ten major research clusters that characterize the different research streams and discusses their intellectual foundations. Moreover, this research develops a conceptual framework that can be a valuable guide for researchers and practitioners.

Métodos quantitativos para seleção de fornecedores sustentáveis: uma revisão sistemática da literatura

A temática ambiental e social, cada vez mais presente e atuante no cotidiano das operações das empresas, precisa ser tratada no contexto da seleção de fornecedores, pois a literatura acadêmica e profissional é carente nesta área, especialmente no que tange ao uso de métodos quantitativos e no tratamento de aspectos sociais. Para tanto, o objetivo deste artigo foi realizar uma revisão sistemática da literatura com um propósito descritivo-explicativo que permitisse coletar, identificar, selecionar e avaliar criticamente os métodos quantitativos utilizados na seleção de fornecedores sustentáveis do ponto de vista verde e social. Buscando ir além de uma revisão sistemática tradicional, este trabalho fez uso também de técnicas de análise de conteúdo via tag clouds e de análise de correspondência. As principais evidências encontradas na literatura sobre seleção de fornecedores verdes/sustentáveis foi o uso intensivo de técnicas combinadas e a ampla adoção da lógica fuzzy nas técnicas multicritério, programação matemática e inteligência artificial.