Literature Review in Research Planning Phase and Theory's Connection to Research

Nursing Literature
Student’s Name
Institution
Course Name and Number
Date
Nursing Literature
Question One
Literature review plays an instrumental role in nursing research, especially in the planning phase. According to Maggio et al. (2016), it enables researchers to contextualize their research so that they can focus better and gain relevant information about their topic of interest. Also, developing high-quality evidence and scientific knowledge is dependent on the quality of the literature review. As Gray and Grove (2020) indicate, literature review allows researchers to identify what is already known about their topic of interest as well as the existing gaps that can be filled through further scientific inquiry. This is especially important because it keeps researchers from duplicating research and engaging in futile research that adds nothing to the existing knowledge. Existing literature should help researchers in refining their research problems so that they can have higher-quality evidence. As Maggio et al. (2016) reveal, literature should enable researchers to develop more articulate research questions, effectively define their research variables, and apply stronger methodologies to answer the research questions. Literature should ensure that current research contributes to and expands the existing pool of knowledge while increasing the quality of knowledge. Further, it is through an effective literature review that researchers can develop theoretical or conceptual frameworks for their research based on existing theories and concepts (Maggio et al., 2016). It should justify the need for current research by not only identifying existing gaps but also showing the depth of existing research.
Question Two
Nursing theory and research are connected because they both inform nursing practice. On one hand, theory can be defined as a set of concepts or ideas that explain phenomena (Lor et al., 2017; Gray & Grove, 2020). Usually, a theory is a product of...