How do you start a literature review

What is a literature review?

A literature review is a summary of the published work in a field of study. This can be a section of a larger paper or article, or can be the focus of an entire paper. Literature reviews show that you have examined the breadth of knowledge and can justify your thesis or research questions. They are also valuable tools for other researchers who need to find a summary of that field of knowledge.

Table of Contents Show

What is a literature review?
How do I write a literature review?
Step 1: Define your research scope
Step 2: Identify the literature
Step 3: Critically analyze the literature
Step 4: Categorize your resources
Additional resources
Undergraduate student resources
Graduate student and faculty resources
Introduction
How do you write an introduction for a literature review?
When starting literature review what is the first step?
How do you write up a literature review?
What are the 3 parts of literature review?

Unlike an annotated bibliography, which is a list of sources with short descriptions, a literature review synthesizes sources into a summary that has a thesis or statement of purpose—stated or implied—at its core.

How do I write a literature review?

Step 1: Define your research scope

What is the specific research question that your literature review helps to define?
Are there a maximum or minimum number of sources that your review should include?

Ask us if you have questions about refining your topic, search methods, writing tips, or citation management.

Step 2: Identify the literature

Start by searching broadly. Literature for your review will typically be acquired through scholarly books, journal articles, and/or dissertations. Develop an understanding of what is out there, what terms are accurate and helpful, etc., and keep track of all of it with citation management tools. If you need help figuring out key terms and where to search, ask us.

Use citation searching to track how scholars interact with, and build upon, previous research:

Mine the references cited section of each relevant source for additional key sources
Use Google Scholar or Scopus to find other sources that have cited a particular work

Step 3: Critically analyze the literature

Key to your literature review is a critical analysis of the literature collected around your topic. The analysis will explore relationships, major themes, and any critical gaps in the research expressed in the work. Read and summarize each source with an eye toward analyzing authority, currency, coverage, methodology, and relationship to other works. The University of Toronto's Writing Center provides a comprehensive list of questions you can use to analyze your sources.

Step 4: Categorize your resources

Divide the available resources that pertain to your research into categories reflecting their roles in addressing your research question. Possible ways to categorize resources include organization by:

chronology
theme
methodology
theoretical/philosophical approach

Regardless of the division, each category should be accompanied by thorough discussions and explanations of strengths and weaknesses, value to the overall survey, and comparisons with similar sources. You may have enough resources when:

You've used multiple databases and other resources (web portals, repositories, etc.) to get a variety of perspectives on the research topic.
The same citations are showing up in a variety of databases.

Additional resources

Undergraduate student resources

Literature Review Handout (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
Learn how to write a review of literature (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Graduate student and faculty resources

Information Research Strategies (University of Arizona)
Literature Reviews: An Overview for Graduate Students (NC State University)
Oliver, P. (2012). Succeeding with Your Literature Review: A Handbook for Students [ebook]
Machi, L. A. & McEvoy, B. T. (2016). The Literature Review: Six Steps to Success
Graustein, J. S. (2012). How to Write an Exceptional Thesis or Dissertation: A Step-by-Step Guide from Proposal to Successful Defense [ebook]
Thomas, R. M. & Brubaker, D. L. (2008). Theses and Dissertations: A Guide to Planning, Research, and Writing

A literature review should be structured like any other essay: it should have an introduction, a middle or main body, and a conclusion.

Introduction

The introduction should:

define your topic and provide an appropriate context for reviewing the literature;
establish your reasons – i.e. point of view – for
reviewing the literature;
explain the organisation – i.e. sequence – of the review;
state the scope of the review – i.e. what is included and what isn’t included. For example, if you were reviewing the literature on obesity in children you might say something like: There are a large number of studies of obesity trends in the general population. However, since the focus of this research is on obesity in children, these will not be reviewed in detail and will only be referred to as appropriate.

Main body

The middle or main body should:

organise the literature according to common themes;
provide insight into the relation between your chosen topic and the wider subject area e.g. between obesity in children and obesity in general;
move from a general, wider view of the literature being reviewed to the specific focus of your research.

Conclusion

The conclusion should:

summarise the important aspects of the existing body of literature;
evaluate the current state of the literature reviewed;
identify significant flaws or gaps in existing knowledge;
outline areas for future study;
link your research to existing knowledge.

How do you write an introduction for a literature review?

The introduction should:.

define your topic and provide an appropriate context for reviewing the literature;.

establish your reasons – i.e. point of view – for..

reviewing the literature;.

explain the organisation – i.e. sequence – of the review;.

state the scope of the review – i.e. what is included and what isn't included..

When starting literature review what is the first step?

1. Define your topic. The first step is defining your task -- choosing a topic and noting the questions you have about the topic. This will provide a focus that guides your strategy in step II and will provide potential words to use in searches in step III.

How do you write up a literature review?

Write a Literature Review.

Narrow your topic and select papers accordingly..

Search for literature..

Read the selected articles thoroughly and evaluate them..

Organize the selected papers by looking for patterns and by developing subtopics..

Develop a thesis or purpose statement..

Write the paper..

Review your work..

What are the 3 parts of literature review?

Just like most academic papers, literature reviews also must contain at least three basic elements: an introduction or background information section; the body of the review containing the discussion of sources; and, finally, a conclusion and/or recommendations section to end the paper.