Literature Review vs Scoping Review: How They Compare (2026)
A literature review surveys and synthesizes existing research to answer a question or establish the state of knowledge on a topic. A scoping review maps the breadth and nature of the available evidence on a topic, identifying key concepts, evidence types, and gaps without narrowing to a specific clinical or research question. Both are forms of evidence synthesis, but they serve different research purposes, follow different conventions, and produce different types of outputs. This guide explains
