Fig. 1
Four-step research design process used for developing a State-of-the-Art literature review methodology
Fig. 2
Four ways the term “state of the art” is used in the corpus and how frequently each is used
Table 1
The six-stage approach to conducting a State-of-the-Art review
|
Stage |
Guiding Questions |
Examples of thoughts as related to interprofessional education (IPE) |
|---|---|---|
|
Stage 1: Determine initial research question and field of inquiry |
– What is (are) the research question(s) to be addressed? – What field of knowledge and/or practice will the search address? |
How has thinking about IPE evolved? What are the modern ways of thinking about and doing IPE? |
|
Stage 2: Determine timeframe |
– Engage in a broad-scope overview around the topic to be addressed – What historical markers help demarcate the timeframe of now? – What timeframe can be justified to mark the beginning of the review? |
In 2010, the World Health Organization defined IPE [31]. This is a sentinel moment that could be considered the start of modern, state-of-the art thinking on IPE |
|
Stage 3: Finalize research question(s) to reflect timeframe |
– Do the broad-scope overview and historical markers change your research question(s)? – Does this information require you to adjust your research question(s)? |
What is the state-of-the-art way of conceptualizing and realizing IPE? |
|
Stage 4: Develop search strategy to find relevant manuscripts |
– How far back on your timeframe do you need to go to report “this is how we got here”? – How could a librarian consultation enhance your search strategy? |
Given the Stage 2 finding, the search strategy will focus on (i) identifying changes in conceptualizing and realizing IPE pre-2010; and (ii) describing how IPE has been conceptualized and realized post-2010 |
|
Stage 5: Analyses |
– Read the articles to become familiar with the literature – What are the similarities across articles? – What are the assumptions underpinning changes in understanding the topic over time? – What are the gaps and assumptions in current knowledge? – Which articles support/contradict your thinking? – Does the literature reflect the premise you set out to study? |
Analysis will identify pivotal moments in the IPE literature, focusing on what came before the 2010 definition, what came after 2010, and what future IPE researchers might consider |
|
This is how we got here & This is where we are now: – What is the history that gave rise to the modern way of thinking? – Which theories have shaped insights and understandings? | ||
|
This is where we could be going – What are the future directions of research? – Do certain authors dominate the literature? – Are there any marginalized points of view that should be considered? | ||
|
Stage 6: Reflexivity |
– Provide a reflexivity description |
A robust reflexivity description is provided to explain how researcher subjectivities shaped interpretations of the IPE literature |