A literature review, or bibliographic review, is a work that analyzes and discusses articles and reports, generally scientific and academic, published in or about an area of ​​knowledge.[1]​.

Scientific reports can be empirical, theoretical, critical, analytical or methodological in nature.[2]​[3]​.

Literature review is an activity carried out as part of the development of a research thesis or dissertation proposal. In this case, the review is an important part of the text and its purpose is to provide a context and justification for the research to be carried out.[4][5]​.

The literature or bibliographic review is one of the most important elements of research theses.

Its main objectives are:[6]​.

A good review requires knowledge of the use of indexes and summaries, the ability to conduct exhaustive bibliographic searches, the ability to organize the information collected in a way that has meaning, describe, criticize and relate each source to the topic of the query, and present the review in a logically organized manner, and finally, the ability to correctly cite and reference all sources.[7][8]​.

Systematic review: It is a method that is based on rigor and transparency to synthesize existing evidence on a specific research question. It follows a detailed protocol and uses statistical methods to combine the results of multiple studies.[9][10][11]​.

Meta-analysis: It is a type of systematic review that focuses on performing a statistical analysis of the combined data of several studies, with the aim of obtaining a more precise estimate of the effect of an intervention.[9]​[10][11]​.

Narrative review:") It is an approach that is based on the description and qualitative synthesis of the literature, without following a rigid protocol.[9]​[10]​[11]​.

Integrative review"): Seeks to integrate evidence from different disciplines to obtain a broader understanding of a phenomenon by combining diverse theoretical and methodological perspectives.[9]​[10]​[11]​.

Rapid review"): It is an accelerated review that seeks to quickly identify the available evidence on a specific topic, but without delving into a critical evaluation of each study.[9]​[10][11]​.

Review scoping:") It focuses on mapping the existing literature on a topic, identifying its breadth and depth, as well as knowledge gaps, which is why it is often used to explore new fields of research.[9]​[10][11]​.