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9 months ago in Research Methodology By Kushi Gupta

Scoping vs. Integrative Review: What’s the Real Difference?

 I need to do a literature review for my dissertation and keep hearing about "scoping" and "integrative" reviews. They both sound systematic, but what's the actual difference in what they do?

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By Daniel Answered 3 months ago

Think of it like this: A scoping review is your explorer. Its job is to map the vast, uncharted territory of a broad topic—to see what kind of research is out there and where the gaps are. It doesn't judge the quality of the studies. An integrative review is your architect. It takes the materials found in a more defined area, critically appraises their quality, and synthesizes them to build something new: a novel framework, model, or theory. Both are systematic, but one charts the land, the other builds on it.

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