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Literature Review

Information on how to write a literature review.

What is a literature review?

The Literature Review is a critical look at the existing research that is significant to the work that you are carrying out. It is NOT a summary of all the sources you consulted. It is NOT recording a list of consulted work or to show off how many sources you did consult!  The Literature Review is a critical and careful examination of past studies and theories. The Literature Review must evaluate the work, show the relationships between different works, and show how it relates to your work. 

Writing a literature review - follow these steps!

  1. Decide on a topic / thesis.
  2. Find articles on that topic.
  3. Take notes for each article summarizing and reviewing the content.  Be sure to include study findings or conclusions, research methods, author credentials, and possible bias. You can also review the evaluation criteria. 
  4. Decide on the organization for the literature review – thematic (most common), chronological, or methodological. More information on organizing a literature review is available in this guide. 
  5. Write paragraphs for each theme, time period, or method that compare and contrast the sources, using the evidence from the articles. These paragraphs should show what the literature is saying about your research topic and point out any gaps, inconsistencies, similarities, or other issues that your research is hoping to address.  
  6. Write an introductory paragraph and a concluding paragraph.  The introduction should begin broad and narrow down to your thesis statement while the conclusion should begin with your thesis statement, discuss research methods and offer insight into where further research is needed.

This is a helpful guide with more details on how to write a literature review.

Click below for an example of a literature review:

The Literature Review Cycle

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Sources Consulted

Webster Library, Concordia University. (2014, August). How to write a literature review. Retrieved from: http://library.concordia.ca/help/howto/litreview.php

Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (n.d.). Literature Reviews. Retrieved from http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/literature-reviews/