Introduction

A literature review is not a summary of the literature. You need to engage deeply and critically with the literature. Your literature review should show your understanding of the literature related to your research topic and lead to presenting a rationale for your research. It focuses on: the context of the topic key concepts, ideas, theories and methodologies key researchers, texts and seminal works major issues and debates identifying conflicting evidence the main questions that have been asked around the topic the organization of knowledge on the topic definitions, particularly those that are contested showing how your research will advance scholarly knowledge (generally referred to as identifying the ‘gap’)

Literature review types

Mapping Review: “A rapid search of the literature aiming to give a broad overview of the characteristics of a topic area. Mapping of existing research, identification of gaps, and a summary assessment of the quantity and quality of the available evidence helps to decide future areas for research or for systematic reviews.” (Booth, Papaioannou & Sutton, 2012, p. 264)

Mixed Method Review: “A literature review that seeks to bring together data from quantitative and qualitative studies integrating them in a way that facilitates subsequent analysis” (Booth et al., p. 265).

Meta-analysis: “The process of combining statistically quantitative studies that have measured the same effect using similar methods and a common outcome measure” (Booth et al., p. 264).

Narrative Review: “A term used to describe a conventional overview of the literature, particularly when contrasted with a systematic review” (Booth et al., p. 265).

Note: this term is often used pejoratively, describing a review that is inadvertently guided by a confirmation bias.

Qualitative Evidence Synthesis: “An umbrella term increasingly used to describe a group of review types that attempt to synthesize and analyze findings from primary qualitative research studies” (Booth et al., p. 267).

Rapid Review: “Assessment of what is already known about a policy or practice issue, by using systematic review methods to search and critically appraise existing research” (Grant & Booth, 2009, p.96).

Note: Rapid reviews are often done when there are insufficient time and/or resources to conduct a systematic review. As stated by Butler et. al, “They aim to be rigorous and explicit in method and thus systematic but make concessions to the breadth or depth of the process by limiting particular aspects of the systematic review process” (as cited in Grant & Booth, 2009, p. 100). 

Scoping Review: “A type of review that has as its primary objective the identification of the size and quality of research in a topic area in order to inform subsequent review” (Booth et al., p. 269).

Systematic Review: “A review of a clearly formulated question that uses systematic and explicit methods to identify, select and critically appraise relevant research and to collect and analyse data from the studies that are included in the review” (Booth et al., p. 271).

Note: a systematic review (SR) is the most extensive and well-documented type of lit review, as well as potentially the most time-consuming. The idea with SRs  is that the search process becomes a replicable scientific study in itself. This level of review will possibly not be necessary (or desirable) for your research project.

Booth, A., Papaioannou, D., & Sutton, A. (2012). Systematic approaches to a successful literature review. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.

How to Write a Literature Review

Step 1 – Search for relevant literature

Before you begin searching for literature, you need a clearly defined topic.

If you are writing the literature review section of a dissertation or research paper, you will search for literature related to your research problem and questions.

Make a list of keywords
Start by creating a list of keywords related to your research question. Include each of the key concepts or variables you’re interested in, and list any synonyms and related terms. You can add to this list as you discover new keywords in the process of your literature search.

Search for relevant sources
Use your keywords to begin searching for sources. Some useful databases to search for journals and articles include:

Make sure to read the abstract to find out whether an article is relevant to your question. When you find a useful book or article, you can check the bibliography to find other relevant sources.

Step 2 – Evaluate and select sources

You likely won’t be able to read absolutely everything that has been written on your topic, so it will be necessary to evaluate which sources are most relevant to your research question.

For each publication, ask yourself:

  • What question or problem is the author addressing?
  • What are the key concepts and how are they defined?
  • What are the key theories, models, and methods?
  • Does the research use established frameworks or take an innovative approach?
  • What are the results and conclusions of the study?
  • How does the publication relate to other literature in the field? Does it confirm, add to, or challenge established knowledge?
  • What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research?
  • Make sure the sources you use are credible, and make sure you read any landmark studies and major theories in your field of research.

Step 3 – Identify themes, debates, and gaps

To begin organizing your literature review’s argument and structure, be sure you understand the connections and relationships between the sources you’ve read. Based on your reading and notes, you can look for:

  • Trends and patterns (in theory, method or results): do certain approaches become more or less popular over time?
  • Themes: what questions or concepts recur across the literature?
  • Debates, conflicts and contradictions: where do sources disagree?
  • Pivotal publications: are there any influential theories or studies that changed the direction of the field?
  • Gaps: what is missing from the literature? Are there weaknesses that need to be addressed?

This step will help you work out the structure of your literature review and (if applicable) show how your own research will contribute to existing knowledge.

Step 4 – Outline your literature review’s structure

There are various approaches to organizing the body of a literature review. Depending on the length of your literature review, you can combine several of these strategies (for example, your overall structure might be thematic, but each theme is discussed chronologically).

Chronological

The simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time. However, if you choose this strategy, be careful to avoid simply listing and summarizing sources in order.

Try to analyze patterns, turning points and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred.

Thematic

If you have found some recurring central themes, you can organize your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic.

For example, if you are reviewing literature about inequalities in migrant health outcomes, key themes might include healthcare policy, language barriers, cultural attitudes, legal status, and economic access.

Methodological

If you draw your sources from different disciplines or fields that use a variety of research methods, you might want to compare the results and conclusions that emerge from different approaches. For example:

  • Look at what results have emerged in qualitative versus quantitative research
  • Discuss how the topic has been approached by empirical versus theoretical scholarship
  • Divide the literature into sociological, historical, and cultural sources

Theoretical

A literature review is often the foundation for a theoretical framework. You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts. You might argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach, or combine various theoretical concepts to create a framework for your research.

Step 5 – Write your literature review
Like any other academic text, your literature review should have an introduction, a main body, and a conclusion. What you include in each depends on the objective of your literature review.

General tips

a. Taking notes for your literature review

An annotated bibliography can be a useful way of taking notes as you read in the literature and think about what you are reading. It allows you to collect both a summary of the key points from different readings, as well as a critical assessment of the literature and comments about how it relates both to your own research and to other literature.

An annotated bibliography has two main sections:

  • A reference (bibliographic information or citation) in your chosen citation style.
  • An annotation (description and comments on the source) that summarises or describes the key points or arguments the source makes, how it contributes to the area of research, how it is or might be useful in your own research, and an evaluation of the ideas presented.

Start with a summary or a description of each source, taking notes of the aim, methodologies, main arguments, overall findings and scope and limitations of the study.

Critically analyze the value of the material and the sources you are reviewing.

Writing a reflection for your annotated bibliography includes writing a few sentences explaining why or why not the source is useful or helpful for your research or how it relates to the overall theme of your research. This section of the annotation will be particularly useful when you come to building an argument for your research in your literature review.

b. Structuring your literature review

Where the literature review fits into your thesis depends on the structure of your thesis. Your thesis might follow one of the three following structures:

  • Traditional – A traditional thesis reports on a single study. Usually, in a traditional thesis, the literature review is a standalone chapter.
  • Traditional complex – A traditional complex thesis reports on more than one study. Within this structure there is usually an overall literature review, and then a smaller literature review associated with each study.
  • Thematic based – A thematic based thesis has its content organized according to themes. Within this structure, there is usually a literature review for each themed chapter.

Remember that in all theses, you will likely also refer to the literature throughout the thesis – for instance in providing a rationale for the study in your introduction, justifying your methodology or linking your discussion back to the literature.

c. The overall structure of your literature review should follow:

Introduction

  • Introduce the problem and the context
  • Summarize key trends, themes, areas of controversy and the gap(s) in the literature
  • Outline the organization of the body and indicate the scope.

Body

  • Highlight the development of major concepts and influential studies.
  • Focus on areas of agreement, modification of design, tensions and inadequacies, narrowing the focus to studies closest to your own
  • More conceptually dense towards the end
  • *Identify the GAP where your research fits*
  • Sum up and link to your research

Conclusion

  • Summarizes major contributions
  • Points out gaps or issues to be investigated
  • Relates the literature review to your research question or problem

d. Writing critically and authoritatively

Developing a voice of authority 

An important part of writing a literature review is to construct your identity as a graduate researcher. In other words, when writing your literature review, you need to develop a voice of authority. 

An important part of writing a literature review is to construct your identity as a graduate researcher. In other words, when writing your literature review, you need to develop a voice of authority. 

Amongst other things, developing a voice of authority involves learning how to: 

  • develop a clear overall argument 
  • ensure effective organisation and linking of ideas 
  • use academic writing style and grammar 
  • integrate your references within your text accurately and effectively.

Writing critically 

Another central part of developing your researcher identity is writing your literature review critically. Writing critically means that you do not simply summarize or find fault with pieces of literature. It also involves:

  • classifying, 
  • comparing,
  • contrasting, 
  • synthesizing,
  • evaluating the literature. 

In your review, your evaluation of the literature can be significantly enhanced by clearly indicating your stance or position towards the cited sources.

e. Additional resources

Information skill training

VGU Library regularly offers workshops on various topics related to research writing, including how to write a literature review.

Request research writing support 

If you have written a draft of a literature review and would like to get writing feedback on it, you can request a research writing meeting.