3.4 Step 4: Practically screen your organized literature in
accordance with step 3 above
Executing this guide implies that author(s) would need to appraise all
potential papers to be included for full review (Okoli, 2015a). This
takes place after protocol and getting participating authors on the same
understanding on all the requirements of the studies (Fink, 2019) based
on their inclusion and exclusion criteria set above in step 3. Arguably,
this step determines the quality of the review study to be conducted. To
achieve this, authors would need to adhere to protocols and ensure that
all authors strictly follow through. An important outcome from this
guide is “screened down” potential paper that are most likely to be
included. It is important to note here that the outcome of this exercise
does not seal the faith of paper that met the initial elimination
criteria. A further screening would need to be conducted when authors
provide further clarification around potential papers on why they should
be included or not be included at all. Some of the fundamental criteria
suggested by Fink (2019) to include content (topics or variables),
publication language, journal, authors, study setting, participants or
subjects, research design or sampling methodology, publication date,
source of financial support. Authors would notice that the criteria
recommended by Fink are superficial and might only help in the initial
elimination stage. Other important criteria such as quality of study,
study objectives/purpose, study focus, length of paper, theory-free or
theory-based study, intervention, etc will later need to be considered
as further inclusion/exclusion criteria. To minimise the tediousness of
this step, the use of referencing program or software is recommended.
For example, when using EndNote, authors can create group folders that
enable them to put likely papers together whist attaching core/important
articles and other relevant materials as needed for full review later.
The advantages of the refencing programs include the minimization of
referencing errors and the alphabetical arrangement of articles. It
automatically identifies categories of papers during referencing. Note
that practically screening papers does not encompass assessing the
quality of papers.