How to Write a Narrative Review

A narrative review is a structured, expert-led discussion of a topic that synthesises existing literature to explain, interpret or critique it. It is more flexible than a systematic review, which makes transparency about how you searched and selected sources especially important.

Step-by-step

1. Define a focused question or aim. Even a narrative review needs a clear scope: population, topic, time frame and the decision or understanding it will support.
2. Choose the audience and article type and read the target journal's instructions.
3. Search transparently. Use at least two databases, record search terms and dates, and say how you chose sources (see How to Search Literature for a Narrative Review).
4. Screen and select sources against stated criteria, favouring recent systematic reviews, key trials and landmark studies.
5. Extract and organise findings in an evidence table.
6. Identify themes that answer the question rather than listing studies one by one.
7. Appraise the strength and limits of the evidence for each theme.
8. Write an introduction, methods summary, thematic sections, critical discussion, gaps and implications.
9. Check quality with a tool such as SANRA before submission.

Illustrative example

Invented for teaching. A review on "Sleep and glycaemic control in type 2 diabetes" states its aim, searches PubMed and Embase for 2015–2026, includes randomised trials, cohort studies and reviews, and organises findings under sleep duration, sleep disorders and interventions. Each theme ends with a sentence on the strength of evidence, and the review ends with research gaps.

Common pitfalls

• A topic so broad it becomes a textbook chapter.
• No description of how sources were found.
• Describing each study in turn without synthesis.
• Citing only studies that support one view.

Key takeaways

• State your question, search and selection logic.
• Synthesise by theme and appraise critically.
• Use MRN's free narrative review template as a scaffold.

This page is general educational information about research methods. It is not medical, legal or regulatory advice; follow your institution's ethics board and your target journal's instructions.