Sample credibility in literature reviews: a descriptive methodological review and guidance framework

Abstract

Literature reviews play a central role in shaping scholarly understanding and guiding future research. Ensuring the credibility of the reviewed literature is thus essential to maintaining the reliability of findings and to avoid inadvertently legitimize fraudulent academic practices such as predatory journals. This study illustrates the development of sample credibility considerations in business research based on 1329 literature reviews published between 2010 and 2025. While transparency and methodological rigor have improved over time, many reviews still apply sample credibility safeguards inconsistently or fail to report them clearly. The applied approaches, from the peer-review considerations to journal-level approaches and article-based assessments, are critically discussed. This study proposes a step-by-step guide that helps researchers select and justify appropriate sample credibility considerations based on their review’s scope and purpose. This approach offers a systematic foundation for improving the trustworthiness of literature reviews and contribute to advancing methodological standards.