Blog2/3 : What I Learned While Writing My Literature Review

 For my second blog, I will discuss my Individual Field Study (IFS) journey, during which I conducted a Systematic Literature Review (SLR). I selected the PRISMA framework as my methodology to ensure a structured and systematic approach to reviewing the literature. My topic was Bridging Sustainability Claims and Factory Realities In the textile & fashion industry : A Systematic literature review and research agenda.

I underestimated how difficult the screening stage would be. At the beginning, I thought the writing process would be the main challenge, but reviewing 158 articles and narrowing them down to a final selection of 18 required much more time and judgment. Many papers appeared relevant from their titles but focused on areas like consumer attitudes or brand communication rather than actual factory-level sustainability practices. Learning how to exclude interesting but unsuitable studies became an important part of the process. The PRISMA framework helped me stay organized by making me define clear inclusion and exclusion criteria before selecting sources.

My research questions also changed throughout the process. My first ideas were too broad and described more of a topic than a research question also it was seems like almost similar when I was ideating two questions.  After several revisions, I developed clearer questions focusing on the gap between sustainability expectations and factory practices, as well as how circular economy approaches could address these challenges. This required continuously checking whether my chosen articles truly supported my research direction.

Another challenge was organizing the literature. At first, I summarized each article separately, which made my review look more like a list of summaries rather than a connected discussion. I later reorganized the findings into broader themes, including sustainability expectations, factory-level actions, implementation barriers, governance, and circular economy strategies. This helped me see connections between different studies.

I also had to be careful not to oversimplify the sustainability gap. Instead of viewing it only as a result of companies being dishonest, the literature showed that factors such as cost pressures, limited resources, and operational difficulties also play a major role. This helped me create a more balanced analysis.

The final discussion and conclusion sections required the most thinking because they involved creating connections between different studies rather than simply repeating their findings. Overall, I learned that a literature review is not just about collecting articles; it is about critically selecting, organizing, and interpreting research to build a meaningful argument.