integrative literature review methodology

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Knowledge syntheses: systematic & scoping reviews, and other review types.

Before you start
Getting Started
Different Types of Knowledge Syntheses
Assemble a Team
Develop your Protocol
Eligibility Criteria
Screening for articles
Data Extraction
Critical appraisal
What are Systematic Reviews?
What is a Meta-Analysis?
What are Scoping Reviews?
What are Rapid Reviews?
What are Realist Reviews?
What are Mapping Reviews?

When is an integrative review methodology appropiate?

Elements of an integrative review, methods and guidance.

What are Umbrella Reviews?
Standards and Guidelines
Supplementary Resources for All Review Types
Resources for Qualitative Synthesis
Resources for Quantitative Synthesis
Resources for Mixed Methods Synthesis
Bibliography
More Questions?
Common Mistakes in Systematic Reviews, scoping reviews, and other review types

An integrative review is a specific review method that summarises past empirical or theoretical literature to provide a greater comprehensive understanding of a particular phenomenon or healthcare problem (Broome 1993). Thus, integrative reviews have the potential to build upon nursing science, informing research, practice, and policy initiatives.

An integrative review method is an approach that allows for the inclusion of diverse methodologies (i.e. experimental and non-experimental research) and has the potential to play a greater role in evidence-based practice for nursing (Whittemore et al., 2005) .

When to Use It: According to Toronto, C., & Remington, R.(2020) , Whitmore et al. (2005) , Broome (1993): an integrative review approach is best suited for:

A research scope focused more broadly at a phenomenon of interest rather than a systematic review and allows for diverse research, which may contain theoretical and methodological literature to address the aim of the review

Supporting a wide range of inquiry, such as defining concepts, reviewing theories, or analyzing methodological issues

Examining the complexity of nursing practice more broadly by using diverse data sources

The following characteristics, strengths, and challenges of integrative reviews are derived from Toronto, C., & Remington, R.(2020) , Whitmore et al. (2005) , Broome (1993):

Characteristics:

A review method that summarises past empirical or theoretical literature to provide a more comprehensive understanding of a particular phenomenon or healthcare problem

An integrative review is best designed for nursing practice

The problem must be clearly defined

The aim of the review is to analyze experimental and non-experimental research simultaneously in order to:

Define concepts

Review theories

Review evidence/point out gaps in the literature

Analyze methodological issues

Best designed for nursing research

Evidence produced from well-conducted integrative reviews contributes to nursing knowledge by clarifying phenomena, which in turn informs nursing practice and clinical practice guidelines

Challenges:

The combination and complexity of incorporating diverse methodologies can contribute to a lack of rigour, inaccuracy, and bias

Methods of analysis, synthesis, and conclusion-drawing remain poorly formulated

Combining empirical and theoretical reports can be difficult

There is no current guidance on reporting

The following resources are considered to be the best guidance for conduct in the field of integrative reviews.

METHODS & GUIDANCE

Hopia, H., Latvala, E., & Liimatainen, L. (2016). Reviewing the methodology of an integrative review. Scandinavian journal of caring sciences , 30 (4), 662–669. https://doi.org/10.1111/scs.12327

Russell C. L. (2005). An overview of the integrative research review. Progress in transplantation (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) , 15 (1), 8–13

Toronto, & Remington, R. (2020). A Step-By-Step Guide to Conducting an Integrative Review (1st ed.). Springer International Publishing AG.

Whittemore, R., & Knafl, K. (2005). The integrative review: updated methodology . Journal of advanced nursing , 52 (5), 546–553. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2005.03621.x

REPORTING GUIDELINE

There is currently no reporting guideline for integrative reviews.

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Last Updated: Nov 4, 2024 11:55 AM
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The integrative review: updated methodology

Affiliation.

1 School of Nursing, Yale University, Connecticut, USA.
PMID: 16268861
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2005.03621.x

Aim: The aim of this paper is to distinguish the integrative review method from other review methods and to propose methodological strategies specific to the integrative review method to enhance the rigour of the process.

Background: Recent evidence-based practice initiatives have increased the need for and the production of all types of reviews of the literature (integrative reviews, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and qualitative reviews). The integrative review method is the only approach that allows for the combination of diverse methodologies (for example, experimental and non-experimental research), and has the potential to play a greater role in evidence-based practice for nursing. With respect to the integrative review method, strategies to enhance data collection and extraction have been developed; however, methods of analysis, synthesis, and conclusion drawing remain poorly formulated.

Discussion: A modified framework for research reviews is presented to address issues specific to the integrative review method. Issues related to specifying the review purpose, searching the literature, evaluating data from primary sources, analysing data, and presenting the results are discussed. Data analysis methods of qualitative research are proposed as strategies that enhance the rigour of combining diverse methodologies as well as empirical and theoretical sources in an integrative review.

Conclusion: An updated integrative review method has the potential to allow for diverse primary research methods to become a greater part of evidence-based practice initiatives.

Data Collection / methods
Evidence-Based Medicine
Nursing Research / methods
Nursing Research / standards*
Review Literature as Topic*

Overview of the Integrative Review

First Online: 18 February 2020

Cite this chapter

integrative literature review methodology

Coleen E. Toronto 3

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27 Citations

A reviewer selects literature on a topic and synthesizes and disseminates review findings to a targeted discipline. There are many review methods available for a reviewer to consider. The review question(s) will determine which review method is most appropriate to use. If the reviewer seeks to examine a topic broadly and wants to identify the current state of science on a particular phenomenon, an integrative review would be the method chosen. There are limited resources available to a reviewer to access when seeking guidance on how to conduct an integrative review. This chapter provides an overview of the integrative review method and provides a framework for the different steps that are recommended when conducting such a review.

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Conducting a Systematic Review: A Practical Guide

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Coleen E. Toronto

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Department of Nursing, Framingham State University, Framingham, MA, USA

Ruth Remington

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Toronto, C.E. (2020). Overview of the Integrative Review. In: Toronto, C., Remington, R. (eds) A Step-by-Step Guide to Conducting an Integrative Review. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37504-1_1

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Literature Reviews in the Health Sciences
Review Comparison Chart
Decision Tools
Systematic Review
Meta-Analysis
Scoping Review
Mapping Review
Integrative Review
Rapid Review
Realist Review
Umbrella Review
Review of Complex Interventions
Diagnostic Test Accuracy Review
Narrative Literature Reviews
Standards and Guidelines

Navigate the links below to jump to a specific section of the page:

When is an Integrative Review methodology appropriate?

Outline of stages, methods and guidance, examples of integrative reviews, supplementary resources.

"An integrative review is a specific review method that summarizes past empirical or theoretical literature to provide a greater comprehensive understanding of a particular phenomenon or healthcare problem" (Broome, 1993). Thus, integrative reviews have the potential to build upon nursing science, informing research, practice, and policy initiatives.

An integrative review method is an approach that allows for the inclusion of diverse methodologies (i.e. experimental and non-experimental research) and have the potential to play a greater role in evidence-based practice for nursing ( Whittemore & Knafl, 2005 ).

Characteristics:

An integrative review is best designed for nursing research
The problem must be clearly defined
define concepts
review theories
review evidence/point out gaps in the literature
analyze methodological issues

When to Use It: According to Toronto & Remington (2020) , Whittmore & Knafl (2005) , and Broome (2000) an integrative review approach is best suited for:

A research scope focused more broadly at a phenomenon of interest rather than a systematic review and allows for diverse research, which may contain theoretical and methodological literature to address the aim of the review.
Supporting a wide range of inquiry, such as defining concepts, reviewing theories, or analyzing methodological issues.
Examining the complexity of nursing practice more broadly by using diverse data sources.

The following stages of conducting an integrative review are derived from Whittemore & Knafl (2005) .

Timeframe: 12+ months

*Varies beyond the type of review. Depends on many factors such as but not limited to: resources available, the quantity and quality of the literature, and the expertise or experience of reviewers" ( Grant & Booth, 2009 ).

Question: Formulation of a problem, may be related to practice and/or policy especially in nursing.

Is your review question a complex intervention? Learn more about Reviews of Complex Interventions .

Sources and searches: Comprehensive but with a specific focus, integrated methodologies-experimental and non-experimental research. Purposive Sampling may be employed. Database searching is recommended along with grey literature searching. "Other recommended approaches to searching the literature include ancestry searching, journal hand searching, networking, and searching research registries." Search is transparent and reproducible.

Selection: Selected as related to problem identified or question, Inclusion of empirical and theoretical reports and diverse study methodologies.

Appraisal: "How quality is evaluated in an integrative review will vary depending on the sampling frame." Limited/varying methods of critical appraisal and can be complex. "In a review that encompasses theoretical and empirical sources, two quality criteria instruments could be developed for each type of source and scores could be used as criteria for inclusion/exclusion or as a variable in the data analysis stage."

Synthesis: Narrative synthesis for qualitative and quantitative studies. Data extracted for study characteristics and concept. Synthesis may be in the form of a table, diagram or model to portray results. "Extracted data are compared item by item so that similar data are categorized and grouped together."

The method consists of:

data reduction
data display
data comparison
conclusion drawing,
verification