PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Goodfellow, Lynda T TI - An Overview of How to Search and Write a Medical Literature Review AID - 10.4187/respcare.11198 DP - 2023 Nov 01 TA - Respiratory Care PG - 1576--1584 VI - 68 IP - 11 4099 - http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/68/11/1576.short 4100 - http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/68/11/1576.full AB - Without a literature review, there can be no research project. Literature reviews are necessary to learn what is known (and not known) about a topic of interest. In the respiratory care profession, the body of research is enormous, so a method to search the medical literature efficiently is needed. Selecting the correct databases, use of Boolean logic operators, and consultations with librarians are used to optimize searches. For a narrow and precise search, use PubMed, MEDLINE, Ovid, EBSCO, the Cochrane Library, or Google Scholar. Reference management tools assist with organizing the evidence found from the search. Analyzing the search results and writing the review provides an understanding of why the research question is important and its meaning. Spending time in reviewing published literature reviews can serve as a guide or model for understanding the components and style of a well-written literature review.