Writing a Literature Review

What Is a Literature Review

What Is a Literature Review?
A literature review is much more than an annotated bibliography or a list of separate reviews of
articles and books. It is a critical, analytical summary and synthesis of the current knowledge of a
topic. Thus it should compare and relate different theories, findings, etc, rather than ust
summari!e them individually. In addition, it should have a particular focus or theme to organi!e
the review. It does not have to be an e"haustive account of everything published on the topic, but
it should discuss all the significant academic literature important for that focus.
The specific organi!ation of a literature review depends on the type and purpose of the review, as
well as on the specific field or topic being reviewed. #ut in general, it is a relatively brief but
thorough e"ploration of past and current work on a topic. Rather than a chronological listing of
previous work, though, literature reviews are usually organi!ed thematically, such as different
theoretical approaches, methodologies, or specific issues or concepts involved in the topic. A
thematic organi!ation makes it much easier to e"amine contrasting perspectives, theoretical
approaches, methodologies, findings, etc, and to analy!e the strengths and weaknesses of, and
point out any gaps in, previous research. And this is the heart of what a literature review is about.
A literature review may offer new interpretations, theoretical approaches, or other ideas$ if it is
part of a research proposal or report it should demonstrate the relationship of the proposed or
reported research to others% work$ but whatever else it does, it must provide a critical overview of
the current state of research efforts.
Literature reviews are common and very important in the sciences and social sciences. They are
less common and have a less important role in the humanities, but they do have a place,
especially stand&alone reviews.

Types of Literature Reviews
There are different types of literature reviews, and different purposes for writing a review, but
the most common are'
Stand-alone literature review articles. These provide an overview and analysis
of the current state of research on a topic or (uestion. The goal is to evaluate and
compare previous research on a topic to provide an analysis of what is currently
known, and also to reveal controversies, weaknesses, and gaps in current work,
thus pointing to directions for future research. )ou can find e"amples published
in any number of academic ournals, but there is a series of Annual Reviews of
*+ubect* which are specifically devoted to literature review articles. Writing a
stand&alone review is often an effective way to get a good handle on a topic and to
develop ideas for your own research program. ,or e"ample, contrasting
theoretical approaches or conflicting interpretations of findings can be the basis of
your research proect' can you find evidence supporting one interpretation against
another, or can you propose an alternative interpretation that overcomes their
limitations-
.art of a research proposal. This could be a proposal for a .h/ dissertation, a
senior thesis, or a class proect. It could also be a submission for a grant. The
literature review, by pointing out the current issues and (uestions concerning a
topic, is a crucial part of demonstrating how your proposed research will
contribute to the field, and thus of convincing your thesis committee to allow you
to pursue the topic of your interest or a funding agency to pay for your research
efforts.
.art of a research report. When you finish your research and write your thesis or
paper to present your findings, it should include a literature review to provide the
conte"t to which your work is a contribution. )our report, in addition to detailing
the methods, results, etc. of your research, should show how your work relates to
others% work.
A literature review for a research report is often a revision of the review for a research proposal,
which can be a revision of a stand&alone review. 0ach revision should be a fairly e"tensive
revision. With the increased knowledge of and e"perience in the topic as you proceed, your
understanding of the topic will increase. Thus, you will be in a better position to analy!e and
criti(ue the literature. In addition, your focus will change as you proceed in your research. +ome
areas of the literature you initially reviewed will be marginal or irrelevant for your eventual
research, and you will need to e"plore other areas more thoroughly.

Examples of Literature Reviews
+ee the series of Annual Reviews of *+ubect* which are specifically devoted to literature
review articles to find many e"amples of stand&alone literature reviews in the biomedical,
physical, and social sciences.
Research report articles vary in how they are organi!ed, but a common general structure is to
have sections such as'
Abstract & #rief summary of the contents of the article
Introduction & A e"planation of the purpose of the study, a statement of the
research (uestion1s2 the study intends to address
Literature review & A critical assessment of the work done so far on this topic, to
show how the current study relates to what has already been done
3ethods & 4ow the study was carried out 1e.g. instruments or e(uipment,
procedures, methods to gather and analy!e data2
Results & What was found in the course of the study
/iscussion & What do the results mean
5onclusion & +tate the conclusions and implications of the results, and discuss
how it relates to the work reviewed in the literature review$ also, point to
directions for further work in the area
4ere are some articles that illustrate variations on this theme. There is no need to read the entire
articles 1unless the contents interest you2$ ust (uickly browse through to see the sections, and see
how each section is introduced and what is contained in them.
The /eterminants of 6ndergraduate 7rade .oint Average' The Relative Importance of ,amily
#ackground, 4igh +chool Resources, and .eer 7roup 0ffects, in The Journal of Human
Resources, v. 89 no. : 1+pring ;<<<2, p. :=>&:<8.
This article has a standard breakdown of sections'
Introduction
Literature Review
/ata
+ome discussion sections
5onclusion
,irst 0ncounters of the #ureaucratic ?ind' 0arly ,reshman 0"periences with a 5ampus
#ureaucracy, in The Journal of Higher Education, v. =@ no. = 1Aov&/ec ;<<=2, p. ==B&=<;.
This one does not have a section specifically labeled as a Cliterature reviewC or Creview of the
literature,C but the first few sections cite a long list of other sources discussing previous research
in the area before the authors present their own study they are reporting.
Writing a Literature Review
What Is the Literature

The CliteratureC that is reviewed is the collection of publications 1academic ournal articles,
books, conference proceedings, association papers, dissertations, etc2 written by scholars and
researchers for scholars and researchers. The professional literature is one 1very significant2
source of information for researchers, typically referred to as the secondary literature, or
secondary sources. To use it, it is useful to know how it is created and how to access it.

The "Information ycle"
The diagram below is a brief general picture of how scholarly literature is produced and used.
Research does not have a beginning or an end$ researchers build on work that has already been
done in order to add to it, thus providing more resources for other researchers to build on. They
read the professional literature of their field to see what issues, (uestions, and problems are
current, then formulate a plan to address one or a few of those issues. Then they make a more
focused review of the literature, which they use to refine their research plan. After carrying out
the research, they present their results 1presentations at conferences, published articles, etc2 to
other scholars in the field, i.e. they add to the general subect reading 1Cthe literatureC2.


Research may not have a beginning or an end, but researchers have to begin somewhere. As
noted above, the professional literature is typically referred to as secondary sources. .rimary and
tertiary sources also play important roles in research. Aote, though, that these labels are not rigid
distinctions$ the same resource can overlap categories.
!rimary & /irect, uninterpreted records of the subect of your research proect.
.rimary sources, then, are what you perform your research work on. As such, a
primary source can be almost anything, depending on the subect and purpose of
your research. 4ere are a very few e"amples of what can count as primary sources
in'
o Sciences &
La" reports 1yours or someone else%s2 & Records of the results of
e"periments.
#ield notes$ measurements$ etc 1yours or someone else%s2 &
Records of observations of the natural world 1electrons, elephants,
earth(uakes, etc2.
o Social Sciences &
%istorical documents & Dfficial papers, maps, treaties, etc.
&overnment pu"lications & 5ensus statistics, economic data,
court reports, etc.
#irst-person accounts & /iaries, memoirs, letters, interviews,
surveys, speeches
'ewspapers & +ome types of articles, e.g. stories on a breaking
issue, or ournalists reporting the results of their investigations.
o %umanities &
!u"lished writin(s & Aovels, stories, poems, essays, philosophical
treatises, etc
Wor)s of art & .aintings, sculptures, etc.
Recordin(s & audio, video, photographic
o *ll+&eneral &
onference proceedin(s & +cholars and researchers getting
together and presenting their latest ideas and findings
Internet & Web sites that publish the author%s findings or research$
e.g. your professor%s home page listing research results. Aote' use
e"treme caution when using the Internet as a primary source E
remember, anyone with a computer and a modem can put up a web
site.
*rchives & Records 1minutes of meetings, purchase invoices,
financial statements, etc.2 of an organi!ation 1e.g. The Aature
5onservancy2, institution 1e.g. Wesleyan 6niversity2, business, or
other group entity 1even the 7rateful /ead has an archivist on
staff2.
*rtifacts & manufactured items such as clothing, furniture, tools,
buildings
,anuscript collections & 5ollected writings, notes, letters, diaries,
and other unpublished works.
-oo)s or articles & /epending on the purpose and perspective of
your proect, secondary sources can serve as primary sources for
your research. ,or e"ample, you can criti(ue a scientist%s published
theory concerning a set of phenomena, a sociologist%s analysis of a
situation, or a philosopher%s criti(ue of another philosopher%s
criti(ue of yet another philosopher%s treatise.

Secondary & #ooks, articles, and other writings by scholars and researchers
reporting their work to others. They may be reporting the results of their own
primary research or criti(uing the work of others. As such, these sources are the
focus of a literature review' this is where you go to find out in detail what has
been and is being done in a field, and thus to see how your work can contribute to
the field.

Tertiary & 0ncyclopedias, inde"es, te"tbooks, and other reference sources. In
general, there are two types of tertiary 1reference2 sources'
o Summaries + Introductions & 0ncyclopedias, dictionaries, te"tbooks,
yearbooks, and other sources which provide an introductory or summary
state of the art of the research in the subect areas covered. They are an
efficient means to (uickly build a general framework for understanding a
field.
o Indexes to pu"lications & .rovide lists of primary and secondary sources
of more e"tensive information. They are an efficient means of finding
books, articles, conference proceedings, and other publications in which
scholars report the results of their research.

Wor) "ac)wards. 6sually, your research should begin with tertiary sources'
;. Tertiary & +tart by finding background information on your topic by consulting
reference sources for introductions and summaries, and to find bibliographies or
citations of secondary and primary sources.
:. Secondary & ,ind books, articles, and other sources providing more e"tensive and
thorough analyses of a topic. 5heck to see what other scholars have to say about
your topic, find out what has been done and where there is a need for further
research, and discover appropriate methodologies for carrying out that research.
8. !rimary & Aow that you have a solid background knowledge of your topic and a
plan for your own research, you are better able to understand, interpret, and
analy!e the primary source information. +ee if you can find primary source
evidence to support or refute what other scholars have said about your topic, or
posit an interpretation of your own and look for more primary sources or create
more original data to confirm or refute your thesis. When you present your
conclusions, you will have produced another secondary source to aid others in
their research.

!u"lishin( the Literature
There are a variety of avenues for scholars to report the results of their research, and each has a
role to play in scholarly communication. Aot all of these avenues result in official or easily
findable publications, or even any publication at all. The categories of scholarly communication
listed here are a general outline$ keep in mind that they can vary in type and importance between
disciplines.
!eer Review & An important part of academic publishing is the peer review, or refereeing,
process. When a scholar submits an article to an academic ournal or a book manuscript to a
university publisher, the editors or publishers will send copies to other scholars and e"perts in
that field who will review it. The reviewers will check to make sure the author has used
methodologies appropriate to the topic, used those methodologies properly, taken other relevant
work into account, and ade(uately supported the conclusions, as well as consider the relevance
and importance to the field. A submission may be reected, or sent back for revisions before
being accepted for publication.
.eer review does not guarantee that an article or book is ;BBF correct. Rather, it provides a
Cstamp of approvalC saying that e"perts in the field have udged this to be a worthy contribution
to the professional discussion of an academic field.
.eer reviewed ournals typically note that they are peer reviewed, usually somewhere in the first
few pages of each issue. #ooks published by university presses typically go through a similar
review process. Dther book publishers may also have a peer review process. #ut the (uality of
the reviewing can vary among different book or ournal publishers. 6se academic book reviews
or check how often and in what sources articles in a ournal are cited, or ask a professor or two in
the field, to get an idea of the reliability and importance of different authors, ournals, and
publishers.
Informal Sharin( & In person or online, researchers discuss their ongoing proects to let others
know what they are up to or to give or receive assistance in their work. 5onferences, listservs,
and online discussion boards are common avenues for these discussions. Increasingly, scholars
are using personal web sites to present their work.
onference !resentations & 3any academic organi!ations sponsor conferences at which
scholars read papers, display at poster sessions, or otherwise present the results of their work. To
give a presentation, scholars must submit a proposal which is reviewed by those sponsoring the
conference. 6nless a presentation is published in another venue, it will likely be difficult to find
a copy, or even to know what was presented. +ome subect specific inde"es and other sources list
conference proceedings along with the author and contact information.
onference !apers G *ssociation !apers + Wor)in( !apers & .apers presented at a conference,
submitted but not yet accepted for publication, works in progress, or not otherwise published are
sometimes made available by academic associations. These are often not easy to find, but many
are inde"ed in subect specific inde"es or available in subect databases. +ometimes a collection
of papers presented at a conference will be published in a book.
.ournals & Articles in ournals contain specific analyses of particular aspects of a topic. +ince
ournal articles can be written and published more (uickly than books, academic libraries
subscribe to many ournals, and the contents of these ournals are inde"ed in a variety of sources
so others can easily find them, researchers commonly use articles to report their findings to a
wide audience. Thus ournals are also a good readily available source for current information on
a topic.
AcademicG+cholarly ournals & 6sually 1but not always2 peer reviewed, they come
in a few different types'
o AewsGLetters ournals & Aews reports, brief research reports, short
discussions of current issues.
o .roceedingsGTransactions ournals & A common venue for publishing
conference papers or other proceedings of academic conferences.
o Research ournals & Articles reporting in detail the results of research.
o Review ournals & Articles reviewing the literature and work done on
particular topics.
7eneral interest maga!ines & Aews and other maga!ines that report scholarly
findings for a general, nonacademic audience. These are usually written by
ournalists 1who are usually not academically trained in the field2, but sometimes
are written by researchers 1or at least by ournalists with training in the field2.
3aga!ines are not peer reviewed, and are usually not academically useful sources
of information for research purposes, but they can alert you to work being done in
your field and give you a (uick summary.
-oo)s & #ooks take a longer time to get from research to publication, but they can cover a
broader range of topics, or cover a topic much more thoroughly, than articles or conference
presentations. 6niversity press books typically go through some sort of a peer review process.
There is a wide range of review processes 1from rigorous to none at all2 among other book
publishers.
/issertations+Theses & 7raduate students working on advanced degrees typically must perform
a substantial piece of original work, and then present the results in the form of a thesis or
dissertation. 6sually, only the library andGor department at the school where the work was done
has copies of the dissertation, though especially significant ones are often collected by other
libraries.
We" sites & In addition to researchers informally presenting and discussing their work on
personal web pages, there are an increasing number of peer reviewed web sites publishing
academic work. The rigor, and even e"istence, of peer reviewing can vary widely on the web,
and it can be difficult to determine the reliability of information presented on the web, so always
be careful in relying on a web&based information source. /o your own checking and reviewing to
make sure the web site and the information it presents are reliable.
Reference Sources & +ubect encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference sources present
brief introductions to or summaries of the current work in a field or on a topic. These are
typically produced by a scholar andGor publisher serving as an editor who invites submissions for
articles from e"perts on the topics covered.

%ow to #ind the Literature
Hust as there are many avenues for the literature to be published and disseminated, there are
many avenues for searching for and finding the literature. There are, for e"ample, a variety
of general and subect specific inde"es which list citations to publications 1books, articles,
conference proceedings, dissertations, etc2. The Wesleyan Library web site has links to the
library catalog and many inde"es and databases in which to search for resources, along with
subect guides to list resources appropriate for specific academic disciplines. When you find
some appropriate books, articles, etc, look in their bibliographies for other publications and also
for other authors writing about the same topics. ,or research assistance tailored to your topic,
you can sign up for a .ersonal Research +ession with a librarian.

Writing a Literature Review
Writing the Review

Why *re 0ou Writin( This?
There are two primary points to remember as you are writing your literature review'
?eep in mind your purpose1s2 for the literature review, and make sure your
review specifically addresses your purpose1s2. A literature review is part of a
larger proect. 0ven a stand&alone review refers to how the topic reviewed fits into
the wider subect or discipline and points toward avenues for future research.
/epending on the type of review, your goals may be different.
o +tand&alone review' provide an overview and analysis of the current state
of research on a topic or (uestion
o Research proposal' e"plicate the current issues and (uestions concerning a
topic to demonstrate how your proposed research will contribute to the
field
o Research report' provide the conte"t to which your work is a contribution.
Write as you read, and revise as you read more. Rather than wait until you have
read everything you are planning to review, start writing as soon as you start
reading. )ou will need to reorgani!e and revise it all later, but writing a summary
of an article when you read it helps you to think more carefully about the article.
4aving drafts and annotations to work with will also make writing the full review
easier since you will not have to rely completely on your memory or have to keep
thumbing back through all the articles. )our draft does not need to be in finished,
or even presentable, form. The first draft is for you, so you can tell yourself what
you are thinking. Later you can rewrite it for others to tell them what you think.

&eneral Steps for Writin( a Literature Review
4ere is a general outline of steps to write a thematically organi!ed literature review. Remember,
though, that there are many ways to approach a literature review, depending on its purpose.
;. +tage one' annotated bibliography. As you read articles, books, etc, on your topic,
write a brief critical synopsis of each. After going through your reading list, you
will have an abstract or annotation of each source you read. Later annotations are
likely to include more references to other works since you will have your previous
readings to compare, but at this point the important goal is to get accurate critical
summaries of each individual work.
:. +tage two' thematic organi!ation. ,ind common themes in the works you read,
and organi!e the works into categories. Typically, each work you include in your
review can fit into one category or sub&theme of your main theme, but sometimes
a work can fit in more than one. 1If each work you read can fit into all the
categories you list, you probably need to rethink your organi!ation.2 Write some
brief paragraphs outlining your categories, how in general the works in each
category relate to each other, and how the categories relate to each other and to
your overall theme.
8. +tage three' more reading. #ased on the knowledge you have gained in your
reading, you should have a better understanding of the topic and of the literature
related to it. .erhaps you have discovered specific researchers who are important
to the field, or research methodologies you were not aware of. Look for more
literature by those authors, on those methodologies, etc. Also, you may be able to
set aside some less relevant areas or articles which you pursued initially. Integrate
the new readings into your literature review draft. Reorgani!e themes and read
more as appropriate.
9. +tage four' write individual sections. ,or each thematic section, use your draft
annotations 1it is a good idea to reread the articles and revise annotations,
especially the ones you read initially2 to write a section which discusses the
articles relevant to that theme. ,ocus your writing on the theme of that section,
showing how the articles relate to each other and to the theme, rather than
focusing your writing on each individual article. 6se the articles as evidence to
support your criti(ue of the theme rather than using the theme as an angle to
discuss each article individually.
I. +tage five' integrate sections. Aow that you have the thematic sections, tie them
together with an introduction, conclusion, and some additions and revisions in the
sections to show how they relate to each other and to your overall theme.

Specific !oints to Include
3ore specifically, here are some points to address when writing about specific works you are
reviewing. In dealing with a paper or an argument or theory, you need to assess it 1clearly
understand and state the claim2 and analy!e it 1evaluate its reliability, usefulness, validity2. Look
for the following points as you assess and analy!e papers, arguments, etc. )ou do not need to
state them all e"plicitly, but keep them in mind as you write your review'
#e specific and be succinct. #riefly state specific findings listed in an article,
specific methodologies used in a study, or other important points. Literature
reviews are not the place for long (uotes or in&depth analysis of each point.
#e selective. )ou are trying to boil down a lot of information into a small space.
3ention ust the most important points 1i.e. those most relevant to the review%s
focus2 in each work you review.
Is it a current article- 4ow old is it- 4ave its claims, evidence, or arguments been
superceded by more recent work- If it is not current, is it important for historical
background-
What specific claims are made- Are they stated clearly-
What support is given for those claims-
o What evidence, and what type 1e"perimental, statistical, anecdotal, etc2 is
offered- Is the evidence relevant- sufficient-
o What arguments are given- What assumptions are made, and are they
warranted-
What is the source of the evidence or other information- The author%s own
e"periments, surveys, etc- 4istorical records- 7overnment documents- 4ow
reliable are the sources-
/oes the author take into account contrary or conflicting evidence and
arguments- 4ow does the author address disagreements with other researchers-
What specific conclusions are drawn- Are they warranted by the evidence-
4ow does this article, argument, theory, etc, relate to other work-
These, however, are ust the points that should be addressed when writing about a specific work.
It is not an outline of how to organi!e your writing. )our overall theme and categories within
that theme should organi!e your writing, and the above points should be integrated into that
organi!ation. That is, rather than write something like'
+mith 1;<<<2 claims that blah, and provides evidence " to support it, and says it is probably
because of blip. #ut +mith seems to have neglected factor b.
Hones 1:BB;2 showed that blah by doing y, which, Hones claims, means it is likely because of
blot. #ut that methodology does not e"clude other possibilities.
Hohnson 1:BB:2 hypothesi!es blah might be because of some other cause.
list the themes and then say how each article relates to that theme. ,or e"ample'
Researchers agree that blah 1+mith ;<<<, Hones :BB;, Hohnson :BB:2, but they do not agree on
why. +mith claims it is probably due to blip, but Hones, by doing y, tries to show it is likely
because of blot. Hones% methodology, however, does not e"clude other possibilities. Hohnson
hypothesi!es ...
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