What is a Literature Review?

To Start

What Should I Look for in the Research?

For many individuals, creating a record of the articles you have read and the information you have gathered from them saves a lot of time in the future! Annotated bibliographies are a common way of organizing information. (Note the differences between an annotated bibliography and literature review here). There are also free reference management organizers like Mendley and Zotero.

When looking at the research, try to identify:

1. What patterns can you identify in the research?
2. What are the similarities and differences between the literature/findings?
3. What are the limitations of the previous research?
4. Which studies are the most prevalent? (ensure you include these in your review)
5. What gaps have you identified? (this will be where your research comes into focus – you are situating yourself in what is already available)

How do I Organize my Literature Review?

Literature reviews will typically make up the second chapter of your dissertation. They are, on average, twenty pages in length (though this will differ amongst authors). They are organized similarly to a typical paper, where they have an introduction, body, and conclusion.

Literature Review Outline

How do I organize the body of my literature review?

The way you choose to organize your literature review will vary based on what you have found within the literature and how you want to present it to the readers so that it is logical and easy to follow. You will just need to be mindful of how you transition between your points and paragraphs. Typically, think wider to narrower. Here are a few different approaches that are commonly used (note: you do not need to stick to only one approach; you can mix them in your review).

Language Focus:

Should I Just Summarize the Articles I Have Found?

No, in your literature review, you do not want to simply summarize information. You want to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize. You are making connections for your readers.

What Tense Should I Use?

There are three primary tenses used within the literature review. This is by no means to say that you cannot use any other tense, but just to give you an idea of what is common, please see below.

Note with Past Simple

If you state a past year in the sentence of your text, use past tense. If you are only using a year in a citation, you do not have to be limited by the past tense.

Note, the difference between:

1. The approach was attempted in 1987.
2. The approach is widely regarded as effective for stopping ageism in the hiring process (Gelson, 2001).

What Should I Know About Citing in the Literature Review?

When considering citing in the literature review, you will want to consider how to use citations to show that you are synthesizing and not summarizing, how to cite research that spans multiple sentences, and when to quote. To answer all of these questions and more, please refer to this tutorial.

Additional Resources for Literature Reviews

• Simple Explanations for Confusing Terms
• Self-Evaluation Checklist: Literature Review
• Avoiding Plagiarism in the Literature Review