II. Secondary Literature::

The quantity of primary studies on a single topic can be overwhelming. How do you find the best articles when there are 400 hits in a database? Secondary literature offers a filter for capturing the best of primary studies and often synthesizes the results for consumers like social work practitioners. Secondary Literature includes narrative literature reviews, secondary data analysis, meta-analysis and systematic reviews.

The genre of systematic reviews helps us get from ideas, first communicated informally in practice and research, then published in articles and in books as single studies, to consensus about best practice in the behavioral sciences. To reduce bias of traditional narrative literature reviews, systematic reviews are conducted, along with secondary data analysis and meta-analysis. These forms of secondary literature help practitioners and policy-makers keep up with interventions and programs that are based on evidence and consensus.

According to Mizrahi, T. and Davis, L.E. (2008), practice guidelines, which don't require social workers to be consumers of research, "offer specific treatment protocols for practitioners that, when followed, mirror the strategies used in efficacious interventions with similar types of clients."

Systematic reviews, secondary data analysis, meta-analysis and practice guidelines are all sources in the literature to help you keep up with interventions and programs that are based on evidence and consensus.