While the implementation plan prepares students to apply their research to the problem or issue they have identified for their capstone project change proposal, the literature review enables students to map out and move into the active planning and development stages of the project.

A literature review analyzes how current research supports the PICOT, as well as identifies what is known and what is not known in the evidence. Students will use the information from the earlier PICOT Question and Literature Evaluation Table to develop a review (750-1,000) that includes the following sections:

Title page
Introduction section
A comparison of research questions
A comparison of sample populations
A comparison of the limitations of the study
A conclusion section, incorporating recommendations for further research