Nursing Narrative Literature Review Brief 2026: Part 2 Individual Review Guidelines (60%)

This brief sets out how Irish general nursing students should write their individual narrative literature review: an approved research question (often framed with PEO), a transparent search strategy, a themed critical synthesis of the evidence and a conclusion with practice implications and research gaps.

Part 2: Guidelines for the Individual Literature Review (60%)

Each student is required to complete a narrative literature review on a topic relevant to general nursing practice. The chosen topic and research question must be discussed with and approved by the Internal Facilitator before work begins. The purpose of this assessment is to demonstrate your ability to identify, evaluate, synthesise and critically discuss evidence relevant to contemporary nursing practice and to consider its implications for patient care.

Word count: maximum 3,500 words (excluding the reference list and appendices). A systematic or scoping review is not required, but a transparent and structured approach to searching, selecting, analysing and synthesising the literature is expected. Students should engage regularly with their Internal Facilitator.

Structural Outline

1. Introduction

• Introduce the topic, its relevance to nursing practice and the background.
• Explain the rationale and clearly state the aim and research question.

2. Search Strategy

• Databases, search terms, keywords and Boolean operators.
• Inclusion and exclusion criteria, date limits and rationale for source selection.
• A summary in the main body; the full search strategy goes in the appendices.

3. Critical Review and Synthesis (main body)

Organise the evidence into themes (Theme 1, Theme 2, Theme 3 where appropriate). Within each theme, bring together multiple sources, compare and contrast findings rather than describing studies one at a time, critically evaluate quality, strengths and limitations, identify agreement, disagreement and gaps, and explain the implications for the research question and contemporary nursing practice.

4. Conclusion

• Summarise the main findings and answer the research question.
• Discuss implications for practice, gaps or limitations, and recommendations for future research.

Appendices and Presentation

• Appendix 1: full search strategy/search history; a literature summary matrix is recommended but optional.
• Arial or Calibri 12 (headings 14 bold), 1.5–2 line spacing, numbered pages, each appendix on a separate labelled page.
• Harvard referencing throughout; prioritise contemporary literature plus seminal sources.

Get Expert Help with Your Nursing Literature Review

The themed synthesis is where most marks are won or lost. Compare studies within each theme, comment on design and sample limitations, and tie every theme back to your question and to patient care. Put the full search history, with Boolean strings and limits, in Appendix 1.

Our nursing and healthcare assignment help supports evidence-based practice modules, and our university assignment help can review your search strategy and structure. For another review-style brief, see the SS5107 Education and Welfare assessment brief.

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