This guidance outlines the steps of a typical systematic literature review. The purpose of this document is to encourage Network members who may not have conducted a systematic literature review before or otherwise do not feel sufficiently familiar with the methodology to attempt one. We recognise that some participants may feel more confident attempting one if they receive detailed advice on how the steps can be broken down. We emphasise that this document does not prescribe a mandatory or restrictive process, particularly for those who already have their own preferred processes for conducting such reviews; it is, rather, intended to provide useful optional suggestions or advice on how to proceed for those who desire it:
- Identify the topic of study (research questions) relating to the topic of this call (gender challenges in business).
- Propose the theory that underpins your study or to which your study can contribute. This can be one or multiple of the dominant theories in the respective academic field(s) from which perspective you conduct your study, or of contemporary theories such as feminist theories.
- Conduct the systematic literature review drawing from sources, which can span from empirical studies to theoretical studies. All sources should be published academic papers or publicly available reports from respectable research or knowledge institutions, etc. Parameters can be drawn indicating an investigation conducted on a particular problem, issue or challenge, in relation to a certain (or multiple) profession, sector, industry, geographical area, etc. Determine also which database(s) you will explore and publications in which language you include in your review. Also, indicate to which time frame you limit the collection of the papers for your review. In your own paper, clearly and precisely present your methodology and explain the choices made.
- Map out the possible findings, for example in a spreadsheet or table in which you map the papers found (the ‘selected articles’) and in which you identify the characteristics of each article (e.g. who the authors are, whether it is an empirical study or other type of study, when the article was published, where it was published, the ranking of the journal, the time period examined, the research questions examined, the study’s findings, and – to the extent relevant for your research question – what theory was employed in the paper examined).
- Next, on the basis of the selected articles, you can e.g. map out past journeys of gender equality, address the positive impacts or the limitations of current practices, identify neglected problems or flaws in theories regarding the selected research topic, and/or perhaps predict future strategies towards achieving gender equality. All of course depending on your research question(s), theory/theories employed and findings in the selected articles.
- In your paper, conduct a discussion drawing the findings together with the proposed theory. You can conclude by indicating the limitations to the sources gathered and findings presented and by identifying the opportunities for future research on the selected topic.
Suggested literature on systematic literature reviews:
- Rob B Briner and David Denyer, Systematic review and evidence synthesis as a practice and scholarship tool, in Denise M. Rousseau (ed.), The Oxford handbook of evidence-based management (pp. 112-129). Oxford University Press, 2012
- Christian Fisch and Joern Block, Six tips for your (systematic) literature review in business and management research, Management Review Quarterly, 2018
- Jennifer Rowley and Frances Slack, Conducting a literature review, Management Research News, 2004
- Yu Xiao and Maria Watson, Guidance on Conducting a Systematic Literature Review, Journal of Planning Education and Research, 2017