Information For Authors

Interested in submitting to this journal? We recommend that you review the About the Journal page for the journal's section policies, as well as the Author Guidelines. Authors need to register with the journal prior to submitting or, if already registered, can simply log in and begin the five-step process.

You should also ensure your work is written in correct English before submission. You can rely on the Elsevier Language Editing services.

When preparing a literature review manuscript, authors should provide a critical, structured, and comprehensive analysis of existing research on a specific topic. A high-quality literature review does more than summarise studies: it identifies gaps, synthesises findings, evaluates evidence, and situates new research in the scholarly conversation.

Key Recommendations for Authors:

  1. Define a clear research question or focus.

  2. Conduct a systematic and comprehensive search of relevant literature.

  3. Critically evaluate sources for methodological quality, theoretical framework, and relevance.

  4. Synthesize findings into coherent themes, identify patterns, conflicts, and gaps.

  5. Highlight the contribution of your review.

  6. Follow academic writing standards, including proper citations and clear structure.

Types of Literature Reviews:

  • Narrative review: Broad thematic summary, flexible but less structured.

  • Systematic review: Structured and replicable, answers a specific question.

  • Scoping review: Maps breadth of literature in emerging or complex fields.

  • Meta-analysis: Statistically combines results of multiple quantitative studies.

  • Realist review: Analyses how and why interventions work in specific contexts.

For detailed guidance and practical strategies: Booth, A., Papaioannou, D., & Sutton, A. (2012). Systematic approaches to a successful literature review (2nd ed.). https://us.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/43465_Booth_et_al.pdf