Organizing Nursing Literature Reviews with Research Matrices: A Practical Guide for Students

Writing a strong nursing literature review is an essential part of academic success, especially at the BSN, MSN, and DNP levels. But one challenge many nursing students face is how to organize sources effectively. The solution? Use a research matrix—a structured table that helps you compare, synthesize, and summarize academic studies.

In this blog post, we explain how to organize a nursing literature review using a research matrix, complete with long-tail keywords, practical tips, and examples.

What Is a Research Matrix in Nursing Literature Reviews?

A research matrix, also known as a literature synthesis matrix, is a table that allows students to categorize and compare multiple research articles by:

• Author/year

• Research questions

• Study design

• Population/sample size

• Key findings

• Relevance to nursing practice

Using a matrix streamlines the literature review writing process and ensures you stay organized, focused, and analytical.

Why Use a Research Matrix for Nursing Assignments?

Here’s why nursing students should adopt this method:

• 🧠 Improves critical thinking by highlighting similarities, differences, and gaps in research

• 📄 Simplifies writing the thematic sections of your literature review

• 📚 Keeps sources organized and avoids duplication or confusion

• 🔍 Helps identify trends in evidence-based nursing practice

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Step-by-Step: Organizing Nursing Research with a Matrix

Step 1: Select a Focused Research Question

Start with a question like:

“What are the effects of nurse-led interventions on patient medication adherence?”

This helps you search databases such as PubMed, CINAHL, and Medline more efficiently using long-tail keywords like:
“Nurse-led adherence programs for hypertension patients”

Step 2: Choose and Read Peer-Reviewed Sources

Pick 5–15 credible sources from the last 5–7 years. Prioritize studies that are:

• Peer-reviewed

• Relevant to nursing

• Methodologically sound

• In English

Step 3: Build Your Literature Review Matrix

Use Excel, Google Sheets, or Word to create a matrix with these common columns:

SEO keyword tip: Use column headers with searchable terms like “nursing implications” and “key findings in nursing research.”

Step 4: Analyze the Matrix for Themes

Once complete, review the matrix to identify:

• Common findings

• Contradictory results

• Research gaps

• Practice implications

This analysis will guide your thematic organization in the body of your literature review.

Step 5: Write Your Literature Review Based on the Matrix

Use your matrix to write thematically organized paragraphs. Group sources around common points like:

• Patient outcomes from nurse-led interventions

• Barriers to adherence

• Cultural or socioeconomic influences

End your review with a summary of findings and a transition to your proposed research or argument.

Tools and Templates to Get Started

You can use:

• Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel

• Nursing literature review matrix templates (downloadable PDF or Word)

• Evidence synthesis tables provided in nursing programs or by faculty

How NursingStudyHub.com Supports You

At NursingStudyHub.com, we help nursing students:

• Create customized research matrices

• Identify and evaluate peer-reviewed sources

• Organize nursing literature reviews by theme

• Write evidence-based papers with APA, MLA, or Harvard formatting

• Receive 1-on-1 tutoring on synthesis and critique techniques

Final Thoughts

Organizing a nursing literature review using a research matrix makes your writing process more strategic and insightful. It’s an efficient tool for analyzing evidence, especially when you’re dealing with complex nursing topics such as patient outcomes, chronic disease management, or nursing leadership.

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How to Write an APA Literature Review for Nursing: A Student’s Guide

Writing an APA literature review for nursing school can seem overwhelming at first—but with the right structure, tools, and mindset, it becomes a manageable and even rewarding process. Whether you’re working on a BSN, MSN, or DNP research paper, this guide will help you format and write a strong literature review in APA style, while boosting your chances of academic success.

What Is a Literature Review in Nursing?

A literature review in nursing summarizes, analyzes, and synthesizes scholarly articles, clinical studies, and peer-reviewed journals related to a specific topic in nursing practice or theory. It’s commonly required in:

• Evidence-based practice (EBP) projects

• Research papers

• Capstone and DNP projects

• Systematic reviews

Long-tail keyword: “how to write an APA literature review for nursing research paper”

What Makes APA Literature Reviews Unique?

The APA (American Psychological Association) 7th edition format emphasizes clarity, organization, and proper citation. Nursing students often use APA style in all formal written assignments.

Key APA Features:

• Title page

• Abstract (optional for class assignments, required for publication)

• Double-spacing, 1-inch margins

• Running head and page numbers

• In-text citations in author-date format

• Full reference list

Step-by-Step: Writing an APA Literature Review for Nursing

1. Choose a Focused Nursing Topic

Pick a relevant and manageable topic. Examples include:

• Nurse-led diabetes management in primary care

• Patient outcomes in telehealth-based nursing

• Nurse burnout and patient safety

Use databases like CINAHL, PubMed, and Google Scholar to find quality peer-reviewed sources.

2. Search and Select Scholarly Articles

Search for recent (within the last 5 years) peer-reviewed research articles that align with your topic. Select studies that are:

• Methodologically sound

• Relevant to your research question

• From reputable nursing journals

Tip: Use long-tail keywords like “effects of nurse education programs on hypertension control.”

3. Create a Literature Matrix for Organization

Use a chart or matrix to compare articles by:

• Authors and year

• Purpose and research questions

• Study design and sample

• Key findings

• Implications for nursing practice

4. Write Thematic Summaries

Organize your literature review by themes, not individual articles. Group your sources under headings like:

• Medication adherence in chronic illness

• Role of nurses in patient education

• Technology in nursing interventions

Each paragraph should compare and contrast multiple sources.

5. Use Proper APA In-Text Citations

Use the author-date citation format in APA:

✅ Smith and Jones (2020) found that…
✅ Nurse-led interventions improved adherence (Brown, 2021).

6. Format the APA Title Page and References

APA Title Page Includes:

• Title of paper

• Student name

• University

• Course name

• Instructor

• Due date

References Page:

• Alphabetical order

• Hanging indent

• Follows APA 7th edition style

• Example:

  Johnson, A. M., & Lee, R. J. (2022). The impact of nurse-led telehealth. Journal of Nursing Practice, 45(3), 200–210. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/jnp.45.3.200

Tools That Can Help

• Zotero or Mendeley for reference management

• Grammarly or Hemingway for grammar clarity

• NursingStudyHub.com for 1-on-1 writing help and APA formatting checks

How NursingStudyHub.com Can Support You

Our nursing academic experts can:

• Help you develop literature review outlines

• Assist in APA-style formatting

• Review and edit your citations and references

• Teach you how to analyze and synthesize sources

• Offer tutoring for evidence-based practice writing

Final Tips

✅ Start early
✅ Stick to scholarly nursing sources
✅ Use APA-style guides or Purdue OWL
✅ Stay organized using a literature matrix
✅ Ask for help if needed!