Steps and operationsΒΆ

CoLRev is based on a shared model of six methodological steps of the literature review process:

  1. Problem formulation

  2. Metadata retrieval

  3. Metadata prescreen

  4. PDF retrieval

  5. PDF screen

  6. Data extraction and synthesis

These steps, which typically involve iterations, are operationalized through operations as displayed in the figure:

Overview of states

Operations are a core element of CoLRev. An operation can lead to a state transition of records (as illustrated in the figure) or not (e.g., the colrev init or colrev status operations do not lead to state transitions). As an example of a state transition the prescreen operation leads records to transition from the md_processed state to the prescreen_excluded or prescreen_included state.

The steps and operations provide a shared basis that applies across the different types of reviews. The operations are adapted to the type of review based on parameters and extensible functionality. For example, the data operation may involve structured data extraction or a narrative synthesis.

There are two quality models, one for metadata and one for PDF documents. If records or PDFs do not pass the corresponding checks, they are marked for manual preparation.

Generic steps for different types of literature reviews

Templier, M., & Pare, G. (2018). Transparency in literature reviews: an assessment of reporting practices across review types and genres in top IS journals. European Journal of Information Systems, 27(5), 503-550. link