Rethinking Systematic Literature Reviews as the Gold Standard for Interdisciplinary Topics

As a team of diverse researchers, we sought a method to write a substantive literature review that could influence policy on integrated/interdisciplinary curriculum (IC). Simultaneously we engaged in action research during this process to improve as researchers. In two attempts to conduct a rigorous...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Education thinking 2021-01, Vol.1 (1), p.27
Main Authors: Drake, Susan M, Reid, Joanne L, Savage, Michael J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic achievement
Action research
Adolescents
Curricula
Decision making
Dissertations & theses
Education
Educational Policy
Educational Research
Interdisciplinary aspects
Literature reviews
Longitudinal Studies
Mathematics Education
Meta Analysis
Physical Education
Reading Comprehension
Research methodology
Science Education
Students
Systematic review
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Summary:As a team of diverse researchers, we sought a method to write a substantive literature review that could influence policy on integrated/interdisciplinary curriculum (IC). Simultaneously we engaged in action research during this process to improve as researchers. In two attempts to conduct a rigorous systematic literature review, we encountered numerous obstacles: multiple and amorphous definitions; dependency on authors’ keyword choices; the challenge of consistent application of inclusion criteria; our reluctance to include overlapping studies and to exclude respected qualitative studies; determining if the studies reflected true curriculum integration; and finally, measurement and validity issues. We concluded that systematic reviews may not be as surgical as we had hoped, but instead, can be messy and limiting. Our struggles serve as cautions for researchers investigating interdisciplinary topics such as IC. We offer our process and lessons learned for consideration: loosening inclusion criteria boundaries, ‘slow thinking’, and a prismatic approach to reviewing literature.
ISSN:2778-777X
2778-777X