Evaluation of systematic literature reviews in built environment research
Vijayan Chelliah, Nicola Thounaojam, Ganesh A. Devkar, Boeing Singh Laishram · 2021
Authors within the fields of built environment have demonstrated a particular interest in the systematic literature review (SLR) technique, which is an extremely important secondary research method. SLR requires several methodological steps to report the existing knowledge in a way that is unbiased and structured. Often, the best choices are unclear, and the researchers face an extensive body of literature to be screened, classified, and eventually analysed. In this chapter, the authors recommend five primary steps and provide direct suggestions for best practices. These steps are: (a) formulate research question, (b) locate the literature, (c) select and evaluate the literature, (d) analyse and synthesise the studies, and (e) report the review results. These steps aim at providing guidance for conducting SLR in the area of built environment. An exploration of the SLRs within the area of built environment research has also been presented in the chapter. Out of 242 literature reviews, 54 papers adopted an SLR within 11 built environment journals. The results of the systematic review of these SLRs demonstrated that authors do not employ the step-by-step approach recommended in this chapter. Furthermore, most of the authors failed to define their research questions and provide reasons for selecting the keywords or search strings. In this chapter, therefore, a step-by-step guide and checklist has been provided to rectify these concerns. The authors also reviewed different tools and methods used in analysing and reporting the review results. Altogether, in the chapter, the challenges in current SLRs and the proposed methodological steps should enable help researchers to design better systematic literature studies.