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How to write a literature review

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how to write a literature review

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Elements of a literaturereview

Steps to prepare aliterature review

Evaluating material

Uses and purpose of aliterature review

Examples

For more information

Not to be confused with a book review, a literature review surveys

scholarly articles, books and other sources (e.g. dissertations,conference proceedings) relevant to a particular issue, area of

research, or theory, providing a description, summary, and criticalevaluation of each work. The purpose of a literature review is to offeran overview of significant literature published on a topic.

ELEMENTS OF A LITERATURE REVIEW

A literature review should include:

An overview of the subject, issue or theory under consideration,along with the objectives of the literature review

Division of works under review into categories (e.g. those insupport of a particular position, those against, and those offering

alternative theses entirely)

Explanation of how each work is similar to and how it varies from

the others

Conclusions as to which pieces are best considered in theirargument, are most convincing of their opinions, and make the

greatest contribution to the understanding and development oftheir area of research

STEPS TO PREPARE A LITERATURE REVIEW

Preparation of a literature review may be divided into four broadstages:

Define your topic: you must define your topic and components ofyour topic

1.

Search for materials: use search tools (such as the librarycatalogue, databases, bibliographies) to find materials about your

topic

2.

Evaluate what you have found: read and evaluate what you have

found in order to determine which material makes a significantcontribution to the understanding of the topic

3.

Analysis and interpretation: provide a discussion of the findingsand conclusions of the pertinent literature

4.

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EVALUATING MATERIAL

In assessing each piece, consideration should be given to:

Provenance: What are the author's credentials? Are the author's

arguments supported by evidence (e.g. primary historicalmaterial, case studies, narratives, statistics, recent scientific

findings)?

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Objectivity: Is the author's perspective even-handed or

prejudicial? Is contrary data considered or is certain pertinentinformation ignored to prove the author's point?

Persuasiveness: Which of the author's theses are most/leastconvincing?

Value: Are the author's arguments and conclusions convincing?Does the work ultimately contribute in any significant way to an

understanding of the subject?

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USES AND PURPOSE OF A LITERATURE REVIEW

A literature review may constitute an essential chapter of a thesis ordissertation, or may be a self-contained review of writings on a

subject (such as a journal article). In either case, its purpose is to:

Place each work in the context of its contribution to the

understanding of the subject under review

Describe the relationship of each work to the others underconsideration

Identify new ways to interpret, and shed light on any gaps in,previous research

Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previousstudies

Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of effort

Point the way forward for further research

Place one's original work (in the case of theses or dissertations)in the context of existing literature

The literature review itself, however, does not present new primaryscholarship.

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EXAMPLES

Examples of literature reviews may be found by doing keyword

searches in many of our databases as well as in CLUES, the librarycatalogue. Literature reviews may be published as scholarly articles,

books, and as introductions to scholarly articles and dissertations.

Here is an example of a literature review:

Mallett, S. (2004). Understanding home: A critical reviewof the literature. The Sociological Review, 52(1): 62-89.

Link to the article

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FOR MORE INFORMATION

Further information on the literature review may be found in:

Conducting research literature reviews : from the Internet

to paper by Arlene Fink



Integrating research : a guide for literature reviews by

Harris M. Cooper

Evaluating research articles from start to finish by Ellen R.

Girden

Adapted with permission and thanks from How to Write a

Literature Review originally created by Kenneth Lyons, McHenryLibrary, University of California, Santa Cruz.

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