An interesting article from Perspectives in Clinical Research
Have you ever thought of writing a literature review article? For many clinical research professionals, the idea of becoming an author is exciting. They may already have experience in medical writing, preparing research documents, making presentations, or communicating scientific information. But writing a review article of their own is a different experience altogether.
Where does one begin? How does one select a suitable topic? How much literature should one read? And is writing the article simply a matter of putting the information together?
An interesting article published in Perspectives in Clinical Research, “Thinking of Writing a Literature Review? The Prewriting QUEST of a Beginner”, explores these questions. Dr. Arun Bhatt discusses an important stage in writing a review article that is often overlooked—the prewriting process.
The article introduces a simple yet useful framework called QUEST: Question, Understand, Explore, Structure, and Think.
Let’s take a look at what makes this article interesting.
Writing a review article is more than putting words together
The author begins by highlighting the enthusiasm that clinical research professionals may have for writing their first review article. However, being skilled in medical writing or scientific communication does not automatically translate into being able to write a good review article.
A considerable amount of work goes into planning, reading, critically appraising the literature, selecting a topic, and organizing ideas before the first draft is written.
The author also makes an interesting observation about the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
While AI tools such as ChatGPT may help with drafting, writing an article is not merely a means of communicating information. The process itself helps authors clarify their scientific thinking, develop their understanding, and organize concepts.
Overreliance on AI could mean missing out on these learning opportunities.
This brings us to the central idea of the article—the QUEST framework.
What is the QUEST framework?
Dr. Bhatt describes five stages of prewriting that can help a beginner navigate the process of authoring a review article.
1. QUESTION – Why do you want to write?
Before beginning, an aspiring author needs to reflect on the purpose of writing.
What is the message you wish to communicate? Do you want to share your experiences, present a perspective, or discuss something important that could provoke debate?
The author also encourages beginners to consider the type of review article they wish to write.
Systematic reviews, meta-analyses, scoping reviews, and narrative reviews have different purposes and approaches. A narrative review may be a more accessible starting point for a beginner because it allows greater flexibility in selecting, analysing, and interpreting literature.
The important point is to understand what you wish to achieve before starting to write.
2. UNDERSTAND – What should you read?
Writing a review article requires a regular habit of reading research in one’s scientific field.
The author emphasizes the importance of keeping up with current developments, understanding research gaps, identifying emerging controversies, and critically evaluating published literature.
This is not simply about collecting articles. It is about understanding the concepts, strengths, and weaknesses of the available research.
The article also discusses the use of AI tools for literature searching. While these tools may help identify relevant literature and possible knowledge gaps, concerns about inaccurate references, hallucinations, relevance, and quality remain.
The author stresses the need to validate AI-generated outputs against original published sources.
3. EXPLORE – Which topic should you select?
Choosing a topic is an important part of the prewriting process.
A beginner may be tempted to select a trending subject. However, the author suggests focusing on areas within one’s own functional expertise and experience.
For clinical research professionals, possible areas include project management, quality assurance, regulatory affairs, ethics, science, and technology.
The author also highlights the importance of considering the novelty and timeliness of the topic.
A topic should not be selected simply because it is popular. It should be one that the author has sufficient knowledge and experience to explore meaningfully.
The article includes examples of possible review topics across different clinical research domains, which could be useful for someone brainstorming ideas for their first article.
4. STRUCTURE – How will you organize the article?
Once the topic is selected, the next step is to plan the structure.
A review article typically includes a title, abstract, introduction, main body, conclusion, and references.
The author suggests developing a conceptual scheme or diagram to organize the important concepts gathered through literature searching.
An interesting suggestion is to use the familiar 5W1H framework—What, Why, Who, When, Where, and How—to help organize the main text.
Tables and figures can also be useful in highlighting important messages.
The article reminds beginners to consider the journal’s requirements, reporting guidelines, reference style, and publication process before starting to draft.
5. THINK – Are you ready to write?
The final stage involves reflecting on the practical aspects of becoming an author.
Do you need a co-author? Do you have sufficient time to develop your writing skills? Can you devote time to preparing and revising the article?
The author recommends working with an experienced co-author or mentor who can guide a beginner through the process.
Writing a review article requires several skills, including literature searching, critical appraisal, logical organization, scientific writing, time management, and understanding publication ethics.
The author also reminds beginners that writing is an iterative process. Drafting, peer review, and revision take time.
Prewriting takes time—and that is perfectly normal
One of the interesting observations in this article is that the prewriting stage may take a few months before an author is ready to write the first draft.
The author suggests that beginners develop their article gradually, writing well-organized paragraphs of around 100–150 words rather than attempting to complete the entire manuscript in one sitting.
This is a useful reminder for anyone who has been postponing writing a review article because the task seems overwhelming.
The process can be broken down into manageable steps.
Why did we find this article interesting?
We found this article interesting because it focuses on a stage of scientific writing that is often underestimated.
When we think of writing a review article, we tend to think about the manuscript itself. However, the preparation that goes into selecting a topic, understanding the literature, critically evaluating evidence, and organizing ideas is equally important.
The QUEST framework provides a simple and memorable roadmap for beginners. It also highlights that becoming a scientific author involves developing knowledge and skills, rather than simply producing a manuscript.
We also found the author’s discussion of AI particularly relevant in today’s research environment. While AI tools may assist with literature searching and writing, the importance of human understanding, critical appraisal, and scientific thinking remains.
For anyone considering writing their first literature review, this article offers a useful perspective on what happens before the first draft—and why investing time in that process can make a difference.
An interesting read for clinical research professionals, early-career researchers, medical writers, and anyone aspiring to become a scientific author.
And from QMed – we would like to add – In Step 2 where the authors discuss the use of AI for the literature search, we emphasize, that to use AI for literature searching, you need to know “The Anatomy and Physiology of Information resources, AI tools and how the Searching systems work”! That is what QMed teaches!
The article
Bhatt A. Authoring a literature review article: The prewriting QUEST of a beginner! Perspectives in Clinical Research. 2026;17:235–238. doi:10.4103/picr.picr_261_26.
Read this article in PubMed Central
#Literature Review #Scientific Writing #Medical Writing #Clinical Research #Research Articles #QUEST Framework #AI in Research #Interesting Articles