What is a Literature Review?
A literature review is a critical analysis and review of published literature on a certain topic or research question. It is specifically designed to examine, analyze, and critique scholarly writings that are related to and around a research question or topic. The purpose of a literature review is to represent the literature that surrounds a particular topic and shows resemblance between the works you have researched and your research question.
There are five basic steps involved in a literature review:
- Defining your research question
- Planning your approach
- Searching the literature
- Analyzing your material
- Managing your results
This guide will illustrate each of these steps in detail and provide examples to help students in writing their literature reviews.
Difference Between a Literature Review and an Annotated Bibliography
A literature review should not be confused with an annotated bibliography. It is not simply a summary of information you have found on a topic. Literature reviews are more in depth and provides analysis of multiple works relating to a research question.
Courtesy of Washington University Library
“Library Guides: Annotated Bibliographies: Overview.” Overview - Annotated Bibliographies - Library Guides at University of Washington Libraries, guides.lib.uw.edu/tacoma/annotated.
Books and EBooks
Conducting Research Literature Reviews by ISBN: 9781452259499Publication Date: 2013-08-07Ideal for students, researchers, marketers, planners, and policymakers who design and manage public and private agencies, conduct research studies, and prepare strategic plans and grant proposals. This new edition includes nearly a hundred online examples and references from the social, behavioural, and health sciences, and more.
Digital Paper by ISBN: 9780226167787Publication Date: 2014-08-04Abbott tells what every senior researcher knows: that research is not a mechanical, linear process, but a thoughtful and adventurous journey through a nonlinear world. He breaks library research down into seven basic and simultaneous tasks: design, search, scanning/browsing, reading, analyzing, filing, and writing. He moves the reader through the phases of research, from confusion to organization, from vague idea to polished result. He teaches how to evaluate data and prior research; how to follow a trail to elusive treasures; how to organize a project; when to start over; when to ask for help.
Doing a Systematic Review by ISBN: 9781446269688Publication Date: 2013-12-20If you are a Masters or a PhD student conducting a systematic review for your dissertation or thesis, then this is the book for you! Written by an expert team of authors with years of experience in conducting systematic reviews and supervising students doing systematic reviews, the book provides a roadmap to guide you through the process.- Doing Your Literature Review byISBN: 9781848601543Publication Date: 2011-03-14The literature review is a compulsory part of research and, increasingly, may form the whole of a student research project. This highly accessible book guides students through the production of either a traditional or a systematic literature review, clearly explaining the difference between the two types of review, the advantages and disadvantages of both, and the skills needed. It gives practical advice on reading and organising relevant literature and critically assessing the reviewed field.
An Introduction to Systematic Reviews by ISBN: 9781473929432Publication Date: 2017-05-05Focused on actively using systematic review as method, An Introduction to Systematic Reviews provides clear, step-by-step advice on the logic and processes of systematic reviewing. Stressing the importance of precision and accuracy, this practical text carefully balances a need for insightful theory with real-world pragmatism.
The Literature Review by ISBN: 9781412934268Publication Date: 2008-03-03The Literature Review is a concise step-by-step guide to conducting a literature search and writing up the literature review chapter in Masters dissertations and in Ph.D. and professional doctorate theses.
The Literature Review by ISBN: 9781412961349Publication Date: 2008-07-10A clear, understandable six-step method for streamlining the literature review process! Written in user-friendly language, this resource offers master's and doctoral level students in education and the social sciences a road map to developing and writing an effective literature review for a research project, thesis, or dissertation.
Telling a Research Story by ISBN: 9780472033362Publication Date: 2009-03-26Telling a Research Story: Writing a Literature Review is concerned with the writing of a literature review and is not designed to address any of the preliminary processes leading up to the actual writing of the literature review. This volume represents a revision and expansion of the material on writing literature reviews that appeared in English in Today's Research World. This volume progresses from general to specific issues in the writing of literature reviews.
Internet Resources
- Reviewing the Literature by David ByrneThe literature review is an important part of every research project. This section takes you through the literature review process, explaining the reasons for reviewing the literature and differentiation between the types of literature available.