Overview
Narrative reviews are the most common kind of literature review in theses, articles and grant proposals, and also the most commonly criticized. The usual complaints are the same everywhere: the review summarizes paper after paper, it is unclear how sources were selected, and it never says what the literature adds up to. Examiners describe this as 'descriptive, not critical'.
We support three related review types. A narrative review synthesizes a field to inform and argue. An integrative review, following Whittemore and Knafl's approach, combines empirical and theoretical sources, including different designs, with a more explicit method. A critical review goes further, evaluating and challenging the literature to propose a new perspective or model. We help you choose the one that fits, then work on search, organization, structure and argument.
Support takes the form of research help and feedback: we can build search strategies, compile and sort sources, set up a synthesis matrix and comment on your outlines and drafts. The writing and the judgments in your review remain yours.
Who it’s for and the problems it solves
This is for you if you are…
- Undergraduate and master's students writing a literature review chapter or assignment
- Doctoral researchers whose supervisor says the review 'needs more synthesis'
- Researchers preparing a narrative or integrative review article for a journal
- Professionals writing a background review for a report, proposal or policy document
Common problems we help with
- You have read 80 papers and cannot see how to organize them
- Your draft moves author by author instead of theme by theme
- You are not sure whether you need a narrative, integrative or systematic approach
- Feedback says your review is descriptive and lacks a clear argument or gap
- You cannot explain how you found and selected your sources
What’s included — and what isn’t
Included
- Clarifying the review's purpose and choosing between narrative, integrative and critical review approaches
- A search plan with key databases, search terms and inclusion boundaries, documented enough to describe in a short methods paragraph
- Help locating and screening sources, and organizing them in Zotero, Mendeley or EndNote
- A synthesis matrix template that sorts sources by theme, method, findings and limitations
- Structure options (thematic, chronological, methodological or theoretical) with the reasons for each
- For integrative reviews: data evaluation and analysis stages following Whittemore and Knafl, including how to compare diverse designs
- For critical reviews: identifying tensions, contested assumptions and weaknesses to build a conceptual contribution
- Detailed feedback on outlines and drafts focused on synthesis, critical evaluation and signposting
- Checks that the review leads clearly to your research gap or question
- Guidance on using SANRA, a scale for assessing narrative review articles, as a self-check before journal submission
Not included
- Writing the review, or sections of it, for you to submit as your own assessed work
- Paraphrasing sources or rewording your text to reduce similarity scores
- Inventing or padding references; every source must be real and read
- Presenting a narrative review as systematic when it did not follow systematic methods
What you receive
- Review plan
- A short plan setting out the review type, purpose, scope boundaries, databases and core search terms.
- Source library and synthesis matrix
- An organized reference library and a matrix mapping your sources to themes, methods and findings.
- Structure map
- A section-by-section outline showing what each section argues and which sources support it.
- Draft feedback
- Tracked comments on your draft highlighting where synthesis, critique or linking to your gap can be strengthened, with examples of what stronger synthesis looks like.
How it works
Purpose and type
We discuss what the review must achieve for your thesis or paper and agree the review type.
Search and collect
We build or refine the search and help you gather and sort sources in your reference manager.
Organize and outline
Using the synthesis matrix, we identify themes, debates and gaps, then agree a structure.
Draft and feedback
You write; we return detailed feedback on synthesis and argument, followed by a review of your revised draft if you want one.
Review approaches and tools
- Narrative review
- A flexible synthesis to describe and interpret a field. Strengthened by a stated purpose, a described search and explicit selection criteria, even when not systematic.
- Integrative review
- Whittemore and Knafl's five stages: problem identification, literature search, data evaluation, data analysis and presentation. It allows experimental, non-experimental and theoretical sources to be combined.
- Critical review
- Goes beyond summary to evaluate quality and assumptions and to propose a new model, framework or reading of the field.
- Synthesis matrix
- A table with sources in rows and themes or criteria in columns that turns reading notes into comparisons and patterns.
- SANRA
- The Scale for the Assessment of Narrative Review Articles, a six-item tool that is useful as a pre-submission self-check for review articles.
- Reference managers
- Zotero, Mendeley or EndNote to collect, tag and cite sources consistently.
From summary to synthesis
Synthesis means discussing several sources in the same paragraph around a shared point: where they agree, where they conflict, and why they might differ (different populations, methods or definitions). A useful test is to look at the first sentence of each paragraph. If it names an author, the paragraph is probably a summary; if it makes a claim about the literature, it is probably synthesis.
We show you this pattern on your own material, using your matrix, so you learn to apply it in later chapters as well.
- Lead paragraphs with a claim, then bring in sources as evidence
- Compare methods and contexts, not just findings
- Say what the disagreement means for your study
- End each section by stating what remains unknown
Transparency without becoming systematic
A narrative review does not need a flow diagram, but readers and examiners do expect to know roughly how you found your sources. A short paragraph naming databases, main terms, time span and the reasons for including key sources adds credibility. If your department expects a fully systematic approach, a systematic review is the better fit and we will say so.
What the work can look like
Illustrative example — fictional data
Illustrative example: remote work and early-career employee learning
A fictional master's student had 62 sources and a 4,000-word draft organized study by study. His supervisor commented that it lacked synthesis. Details are invented for illustration.
Matrix findings
Sorting the 62 sources by theme showed four recurring areas: informal learning, mentoring, onboarding and psychological safety. It also showed that only seven studies focused on employees in their first two years, which became the gap his review builds towards.
Restructure
The student rewrote the review into four thematic sections, each ending with what remained unclear for early-career staff. Our feedback on his second draft focused on comparing study contexts rather than listing results.
Illustrative scenario with invented details; not a real client case.
What you’ll need to provide
- Your topic, research question or thesis aim
- Any sources you have already collected and your notes
- Assignment brief, marking criteria, supervisor comments or journal guidelines
- Your draft or outline, if you have started
- Required citation style and word limit
You don’t need everything ready to ask for a quote — tell us what you have and we’ll say what’s missing.
What affects price and turnaround
Price depends on
- Review type and scope of the topic
- Whether search and source collection are included or you already have your sources
- Number of sources to organize in the synthesis matrix
- Length of drafts to review and number of feedback rounds
Turnaround depends on
- Whether you already have sources and notes or are starting from a topic
- Length of the draft for feedback
- Your submission deadline and supervisor meeting dates
Every project is quoted individually. How we price our work.
Questions people ask before starting
Will you write my literature review?
No. For assessed work, you write the review. We help with searching, organizing, structuring and giving feedback, so you can produce a stronger review yourself and explain it confidently.
What is the difference between a narrative and an integrative review?
A narrative review synthesizes literature flexibly to describe and argue. An integrative review follows a more defined method for combining different kinds of evidence, including empirical and theoretical work, and reports its search and evaluation more explicitly.
How many sources do I need?
There is no fixed number. It depends on your level, topic and word limit. Coverage of the key debates and recent work matters more than count. We help you check whether important strands are missing.
Can you help if my supervisor has already given feedback?
Yes, and that feedback is very useful. Send the comments with your draft and we will focus on addressing them and explain how to respond in your revision.
Is this suitable for a journal review article?
Yes. For review articles we focus on the contribution, transparent methods and structure, and suggest using SANRA as a self-check. For professional authors, co-writing and editing support is also available, with authorship agreed openly.