Preparing a Literature Review
Preparing a literature review takes planning and time management. You need enough time to locate appropriate material using library resources, critically read and analyze the source, select and organize the sources, correctly cite the sources, and write the narrative portion of your review. If you are unfamiliar with using library resources, you should set aside time to meet with a librarian to learn how to research effectively.
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Step 1- Gather Sources
In order to write a literature review, you first need to gather a representative number of secondary sources that address the topic by exploring relevant databases. If you are unsure where to start, review the XX guide.
You may also want to search for professional literature reviews in your discipline to get an idea of what it should look like. To search for literature reviews:
- Use an Advanced Search screen on a database such as the Library's Discovery Search (also found on the Library's home page).
- Type keywords related to your topic. Put separate ideas on separate lines. For more about keywords, see Identifying Keywords.
- Add "literature review or review of literature on a separate line. Sample search:
- Look for clues to literature reviews in the titles, descriptions, and subject lines of the results:
Step 2 – Analyze Sources
At this stage, you must carefully read the sources you find and select the ones that will be represented in your review. A comprehensive analysis includes the following steps:
- Identify the thesis or main point of each source and ensure that the item is directly relevant to your investigation.
- Group your sources into sub-categories that are most logical for the topic (e.g. by theme, time period, movement, notable individuals, etc.). To help organize your sources, you may consider using a bibliographic management tool such as Zotero.
- Inspect the bibliographies and notes in each source and identify the most frequently cited authors. You can find those sources using the instructions in the following library guides:
- Finding Journal, News, and Magazine Articles
- Finding and Downloading eBooks
- Repeat these steps with any new sources you find. You can slow your search when you find that the sources are referring back to one another instead of leading you to new material.
Step 3 - Write your Literature Review
Your literature review will likely address most if not all of the following points, not necessarily in the order presented. Be sure to read your course’s prompt for specific requirements and consult your professor with any questions about what content should be included in your literature review.
- Summarize your key findings. Provide an overview of the themes that emerged during your source analysis.
- Analyze and interpret the sources by discussing their significance. What themes emerged?
- Which sources or group of sources present stronger/weaker arguments/theories and why? Does the time of the writing matter – e.g. does an author writing 50 years ago have a different approach than someone writing today, and why?
- Consider how the sources complement, contradict, or support one another.
- Explain how your review fits in to the larger body of scholarship on this issue. Considered together, how does each source or group of sources contribute to the pool of knowledge on this topic? Do the authors claim that a topic needs more research? What questions have not been addressed?
- Create a bibliography of all the sources you used in your literature review. See the Library’s Citing Sources guide for information about citing.