{"id":5539,"date":"2023-02-22T08:10:50","date_gmt":"2023-02-22T08:10:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/comic_strip\/integrated-vs-systematic-literature-reviews-what-researchers-need-to-know\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T10:29:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T04:59:35","slug":"integrated-vs-systematic-literature-reviews-what-researchers-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"comic_strip","link":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/integrated-vs-systematic-literature-reviews-what-researchers-need-to-know","title":{"rendered":"Difference between integrated and systematic reviews"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 11pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 107%;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/services\/other\/literature-search\">Searching and reviewing existing literature<\/a> is a vital part of a researcher\u2019s job. As a researcher, you will often be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/how-to-write-the-literature-review-of-your-research-paper\">writing literature reviews<\/a>: comprehensive summaries of extant research on specific topics. Sometimes, these literature reviews will be part of a larger research paper (i.e., integrated); you may also be able to submit these reviews as standalone publications (i.e., systematic). Take a look at the table below to understand the key differences between systematic and integrated literature reviews.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"media-element file-default alignnone\" title=\"Default Title Text\" src=\"https:\/\/insights.cactusglobal.com\/sites\/default\/files\/Capture_19.JPG\" alt=\"Integrated vs. Systematic Literature Reviews Type: Systematic: Standalone paper with own title &amp; abstract Integrated: Part of larger paper; may have own section heading Purpose: Systematic: To analyze and synthesize existing evidence and research Integrated: To provide context for and establish the theoretical significance of your study Scope: Systematic: Covers a range of issues\/areas for further exploration in existing research Integrated: Focuses on specific gaps in knowledge, highlighting what your study adds Search and Retrieval: Systematic: Strategies are described in detail, including all search terms Integrated: Strategies are described briefly\/not at all Criteria: Systematic: Inclusion &amp; exclusion criteria for papers are explicitly stated Integrated: Inclusion &amp; exclusion criteria for papers are generally not stated Length: Systematic: Usually longer (some journals accept up to 10,000 words) Integrated: Shorter (journals generally set a word limit for the full paper)\" width=\"368\" height=\"915\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>What are the differences between integrated and systematic reviews?<\/h2>\n<table data-path-to-node=\"5\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Criteria<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Systematic Literature Review<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Integrated Literature Review<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><span data-path-to-node=\"5,1,0,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"5,1,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Type<\/b><\/span><\/td>\n<td>\n<p id=\"p-rc_166035200e96edb7-19\" data-path-to-node=\"5,1,1,0\"><span data-path-to-node=\"5,1,1,0,1\"><span class=\"citation-47\">Standalone paper with own title &amp; abstract <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"source-inline-chip-container ng-star-inserted\"><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td>\n<p id=\"p-rc_166035200e96edb7-20\" data-path-to-node=\"5,1,2,0\"><span data-path-to-node=\"5,1,2,0,1\"><span class=\"citation-46\">Part of larger paper; may have own section heading <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"source-inline-chip-container ng-star-inserted\"><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span data-path-to-node=\"5,2,0,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"5,2,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Purpose<\/b><\/span><\/td>\n<td>\n<p id=\"p-rc_166035200e96edb7-21\" data-path-to-node=\"5,2,1,0\"><span data-path-to-node=\"5,2,1,0,1\"><span class=\"citation-45\">To analyze and synthesize existing evidence and research <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"source-inline-chip-container ng-star-inserted\"><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td>\n<p id=\"p-rc_166035200e96edb7-22\" data-path-to-node=\"5,2,2,0\"><span data-path-to-node=\"5,2,2,0,1\"><span class=\"citation-44\">To provide context for and establish the theoretical significance of your study <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"source-inline-chip-container ng-star-inserted\"><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span data-path-to-node=\"5,3,0,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"5,3,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Scope<\/b><\/span><\/td>\n<td>\n<p id=\"p-rc_166035200e96edb7-23\" data-path-to-node=\"5,3,1,0\"><span data-path-to-node=\"5,3,1,0,1\"><span class=\"citation-43\">Covers a range of issues\/areas for further exploration in existing research <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"source-inline-chip-container ng-star-inserted\"><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td>\n<p id=\"p-rc_166035200e96edb7-24\" data-path-to-node=\"5,3,2,0\"><span data-path-to-node=\"5,3,2,0,1\"><span class=\"citation-42\">Focuses on specific gaps in knowledge, highlighting what your study adds <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"source-inline-chip-container ng-star-inserted\"><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span data-path-to-node=\"5,4,0,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"5,4,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Search &amp; Retrieval<\/b><\/span><\/td>\n<td>\n<p id=\"p-rc_166035200e96edb7-25\" data-path-to-node=\"5,4,1,0\"><span data-path-to-node=\"5,4,1,0,1\"><span class=\"citation-41\">Strategies are described in detail, including all search terms <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"source-inline-chip-container ng-star-inserted\"><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td>\n<p id=\"p-rc_166035200e96edb7-26\" data-path-to-node=\"5,4,2,0\"><span data-path-to-node=\"5,4,2,0,1\"><span class=\"citation-40\">Strategies are described briefly\/not at all <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"source-inline-chip-container ng-star-inserted\"><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span data-path-to-node=\"5,5,0,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"5,5,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Criteria<\/b><\/span><\/td>\n<td>\n<p id=\"p-rc_166035200e96edb7-27\" data-path-to-node=\"5,5,1,0\"><span data-path-to-node=\"5,5,1,0,1\"><span class=\"citation-39\">Inclusion &amp; exclusion criteria for papers are explicitly stated <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"source-inline-chip-container ng-star-inserted\"><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td>\n<p id=\"p-rc_166035200e96edb7-28\" data-path-to-node=\"5,5,2,0\"><span data-path-to-node=\"5,5,2,0,1\"><span class=\"citation-38\">Inclusion &amp; exclusion criteria for papers are generally not stated <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"source-inline-chip-container ng-star-inserted\"><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span data-path-to-node=\"5,6,0,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"5,6,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Length<\/b><\/span><\/td>\n<td>\n<p id=\"p-rc_166035200e96edb7-29\" data-path-to-node=\"5,6,1,0\"><span data-path-to-node=\"5,6,1,0,1\"><span class=\"citation-37\">Usually longer (some journals accept up to 10,000 words) <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"source-inline-chip-container ng-star-inserted\"><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td>\n<p id=\"p-rc_166035200e96edb7-30\" data-path-to-node=\"5,6,2,0\"><span data-path-to-node=\"5,6,2,0,1\"><span class=\"citation-36\">Shorter (journals generally set a word limit for the full paper) <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"source-inline-chip-container ng-star-inserted\"><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":33313,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false},"categories":[2432],"new_categories":[],"new_tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-5539","comic_strip","type-comic_strip","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-literature-search"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Difference between integrated and systematic reviews | Editage Insights<\/title>\n<meta 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