Review articles or literature reviews are a critical part of scientific research. While numerous guides on literature reviews exist, these often focus on the philosophy of review procedures, protocols, and nomenclatures, leading to non-parsimonious reporting and confusion due to overlapping similarities. To address the limitations above, we adopt a pragmatic approach to demystify and shape the academic practice of conducting literature reviews. We concentrate on the types, focuses, considerations, methods, and contributions of literature reviews as independent, standalone studies. As such, our article serves as an overview that scholars can rely upon to navigate the fundamental elements of literature reviews as standalone and independent studies, without getting entangled in the complexities of review procedures, protocols, and nomenclatures.

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