Matriz de revisión o de conceptos
Una vez seleccionados los artículos, se deben leer y clasificar. En Analyzing the Past to Prepare for the Future: Writing a Literature Review se explica que una revisión de la literatura se debe centrar en los conceptos tratados por los artículos seleccionados:
A literature review is concept-centric. Thus, concepts determine the organizing framework of a review. In contrast, some authors take an author-centric approach and essentially present a summary of the relevant articles. This method fails to synthesize the literature.
Y se propone el uso de una concept matrix para analizar los artículos:
[...] we recommend that you compile a concept matrix as you read each article, an idea we have adapted from Salipante et al. (1982). When your reading is complete, synthesize the literature by discussing each identified concept. Before commencing this step, take some time to develop a logical approach to grouping and presenting the key concepts you have uncovered.
En Cómo analizar y representar conocimiento con una matriz de revisión de la literatura se detalla el concepto "matriz de revisión de la literatura":
Una matriz de revisión de la literatura es una tabla donde las filas son las referencias o documentos que forman la base de la evidencia y las columnas son las variables que se van a analizar de cada referencia.
Las columnas (y por tanto, las variables) puede estar determinadas por diversas estrategias. Las principales suelen utilizar o bien ejes para caracterizar la investigación, o bien temas que han sido abordados en las investigaciones. En todos los casos, las variables de las columnas proporcionan las preguntas con las que analizamos los documentos.
En el caso de los ejes se trata de obtener datos sobre variables comunes a casi toda investigación, como los objetivos, la metodología, el marco conceptual, los resultados principales, etc. Es decir, toda investigación tiene unos objetivos, utiliza una metodología, etc.
En cambio, en el caso de los temas, estos constituyen variables que son específicas de cada proyecto. Los temas se pueden determinar a priori, esto es, puede ser de origen deductivo (por nuestro conocimiento previo de la materia) o pueden ser obtenidos inductivamente, a partir de la revisión de los documentos.
Análisis temático
En Using thematic analysis in psychology se propone el análisis temático:
Thematic analysis is a method for identify-ing, analysing and reporting patterns(themes) within data. It minimally orga-nizes and describes your data set in (rich) detail.
El análisis temático se compone de las siguientes etapas:
| Phase | Description of the process |
|---|---|
| 1. Familiarizing yourself with your data: | Transcribing data (if necessary), reading and re-reading the data, noting downinitial ideas. |
| 2. Generating initial codes: | Coding interesting features of the data in a systematic fashion across the entiredata set, collating data relevant to each code. |
| 3. Searching for themes: | Collating codes into potential themes, gathering all data relevant to eachpotential theme. |
| 4. Reviewing themes: | Checking if the themes work in relation to the coded extracts (Level 1) and theentire data set (Level 2), generating a thematic ‘map’ of the analysis. |
| 5. Defining and namingthemes: | Ongoing analysis to refine the specifics of each theme, and the overall story theanalysis tells, generating clear definitions and names for each theme. |
| 6. Producing the report: | The final opportunity for analysis. Selection of vivid, compelling extractexamples, final analysis of selected extracts, relating back of the analysis to theresearch question and literature, producing a scholarly report of the analysis. |
Las ventajas del análisis temático son:
- Flexibility.
- Relatively easy and quick method to learn, and do.
- Accessible to researchers with little or no experience of qualitative research.
- Results are generally accessible to educated general public.
- Useful method for working within participatory re-search paradigm, with participants as collaborators.
- Can usefully summarize key features of a large body ofdata, and/or offer a ‘thick description’ of the data set.
- Can highlight similarities and differences across thedata set.
- Can generate unanticipated insights.
- Allows for social as well as psychological interpreta-tions of data.
- Can be useful for producing qualitative analyses suitedto informing policy development.
En One size fits all? What counts as quality practice in (reflexive) thematic analysis? se puede ampliar información.
Síntesis narrativa
En el trabajo Guidance on the Conduct of Narrative Synthesis in Systematic Reviews (2006) se define:
‘Narrative’ synthesis’ refers to an approach to the systematic review and synthesis of findings from multiple studies that relies primarily on the use of words and text to summarise and explain the findings of the synthesis. Whilst narrative synthesis can involve the manipulation of statistical data, the defining characteristic is that it adopts a textual approach to the process of synthesis to ‘tell the story’ of the findings from the included studies. As used here ‘narrative synthesis’ refers to a process of synthesis that can be used in systematic reviews focusing on a wide range of questions, not only those relating to the effectiveness of a particular intervention.