literature review format for ppt

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

• Knowledge Base

Methodology

• How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates

How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates

Published on January 2, 2023 by Shona McCombes . Revised on September 11, 2023.

What is a literature review? A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources on a specific topic. It provides an overview of current knowledge, allowing you to identify relevant theories, methods, and gaps in the existing research that you can later apply to your paper, thesis, or dissertation topic .

There are five key steps to writing a literature review:

• Search for relevant literature
• Evaluate sources
• Identify themes, debates, and gaps
• Outline the structure
• Write your literature review

A good literature review doesn’t just summarize sources—it analyzes, synthesizes , and critically evaluates to give a clear picture of the state of knowledge on the subject.

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Upload your document to correct all your mistakes in minutes

Table of contents

What is the purpose of a literature review, examples of literature reviews, step 1 – search for relevant literature, step 2 – evaluate and select sources, step 3 – identify themes, debates, and gaps, step 4 – outline your literature review’s structure, step 5 – write your literature review, free lecture slides, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions, introduction.

• Quick Run-through
• Step 1 & 2

When you write a thesis , dissertation , or research paper , you will likely have to conduct a literature review to situate your research within existing knowledge. The literature review gives you a chance to:

• Demonstrate your familiarity with the topic and its scholarly context
• Develop a theoretical framework and methodology for your research
• Position your work in relation to other researchers and theorists
• Show how your research addresses a gap or contributes to a debate
• Evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your knowledge of the scholarly debates around your topic.

Writing literature reviews is a particularly important skill if you want to apply for graduate school or pursue a career in research. We’ve written a step-by-step guide that you can follow below.

Receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting

Professional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:

• Academic style
• Vague sentences
• Style consistency

See an example

Writing literature reviews can be quite challenging! A good starting point could be to look at some examples, depending on what kind of literature review you’d like to write.

• Example literature review #1: “Why Do People Migrate? A Review of the Theoretical Literature” ( Theoretical literature review about the development of economic migration theory from the 1950s to today.)
• Example literature review #2: “Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines” ( Methodological literature review about interdisciplinary knowledge acquisition and production.)
• Example literature review #3: “The Use of Technology in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Thematic literature review about the effects of technology on language acquisition.)
• Example literature review #4: “Learners’ Listening Comprehension Difficulties in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Chronological literature review about how the concept of listening skills has changed over time.)

You can also check out our templates with literature review examples and sample outlines at the links below.

Download Word doc Download Google doc

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.

• Social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok
• Body image, self-perception, self-esteem, mental health
• Generation Z, teenagers, adolescents, youth

Search for relevant sources

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

• Your university’s library catalogue
• Google Scholar
• Project Muse (humanities and social sciences)
• Medline (life sciences and biomedicine)
• EconLit (economics)
• Inspec (physics, engineering and computer science)

You can also use boolean operators to help narrow down your search.

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.

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.

You can use our template to summarize and evaluate sources you’re thinking about using. Click on either button below to download.

Take notes and cite your sources

As you read, you should also begin the writing process. Take notes that you can later incorporate into the text of your literature review.

It is important to keep track of your sources with citations to avoid plagiarism . It can be helpful to make an annotated bibliography , where you compile full citation information and write a paragraph of summary and analysis for each source. This helps you remember what you read and saves time later in the process.

The only proofreading tool specialized in correcting academic writing - try for free!

The academic proofreading tool has been trained on 1000s of academic texts and by native English editors. Making it the most accurate and reliable proofreading tool for students.

Try for free

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.

• Most research has focused on young women.
• There is an increasing interest in the visual aspects of social media.
• But there is still a lack of robust research on highly visual platforms like Instagram and Snapchat—this is a gap that you could address in your own research.

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.

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.

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.

The introduction should clearly establish the focus and purpose of the literature review.

Depending on the length of your literature review, you might want to divide the body into subsections. You can use a subheading for each theme, time period, or methodological approach.

As you write, you can follow these tips:

• Summarize and synthesize: give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole
• Analyze and interpret: don’t just paraphrase other researchers — add your own interpretations where possible, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole
• Critically evaluate: mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources
• Write in well-structured paragraphs: use transition words and topic sentences to draw connections, comparisons and contrasts

In the conclusion, you should summarize the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasize their significance.

When you’ve finished writing and revising your literature review, don’t forget to proofread thoroughly before submitting. Not a language expert? Check out Scribbr’s professional proofreading services !

This article has been adapted into lecture slides that you can use to teach your students about writing a literature review.

Scribbr slides are free to use, customize, and distribute for educational purposes.

Open Google Slides Download PowerPoint

If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Sampling methods
• Simple random sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
• Likert scales
• Reproducibility

 Statistics

• Null hypothesis
• Statistical power
• Probability distribution
• Effect size
• Poisson distribution

Research bias

• Optimism bias
• Cognitive bias
• Implicit bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Anchoring bias
• Explicit bias

A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources (such as books, journal articles, and theses) related to a specific topic or research question .

It is often written as part of a thesis, dissertation , or research paper , in order to situate your work in relation to existing knowledge.

There are several reasons to conduct a literature review at the beginning of a research project:

• To familiarize yourself with the current state of knowledge on your topic
• To ensure that you’re not just repeating what others have already done
• To identify gaps in knowledge and unresolved problems that your research can address
• To develop your theoretical framework and methodology
• To provide an overview of the key findings and debates on the topic

Writing the literature review shows your reader how your work relates to existing research and what new insights it will contribute.

The literature review usually comes near the beginning of your thesis or dissertation . After the introduction , it grounds your research in a scholarly field and leads directly to your theoretical framework or methodology .

A literature review is a survey of credible sources on a topic, often used in dissertations , theses, and research papers . Literature reviews give an overview of knowledge on a subject, helping you identify relevant theories and methods, as well as gaps in existing research. Literature reviews are set up similarly to other  academic texts , with an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion .

An  annotated bibliography is a list of  source references that has a short description (called an annotation ) for each of the sources. It is often assigned as part of the research process for a  paper .  

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

McCombes, S. (2023, September 11). How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates. Scribbr. Retrieved April 15, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/dissertation/literature-review/

Is this article helpful?

Shona McCombes

Other students also liked, what is a theoretical framework | guide to organizing, what is a research methodology | steps & tips, how to write a research proposal | examples & templates, what is your plagiarism score.

Researched by Consultants from Top-Tier Management Companies

Powerpoint Templates

Icon Bundle

Kpi Dashboard

Professional

Business Plans

Swot Analysis

Gantt Chart

Business Proposal

Marketing Plan

Project Management

Business Case

Business Model

Cyber Security

Business PPT

Digital Marketing

Digital Transformation

Human Resources

Product Management

Artificial Intelligence

Company Profile

Acknowledgement PPT

PPT Presentation

Reports Brochures

One Page Pitch

Interview PPT

All Categories

Top 10 Literature Review Templates with Samples and Examples

Hanisha Kapoor

The Harry Potter series has massively impacted pop culture. It marks the terminal moment of modernity. It has also showed that children are ready to read longer works.

If you have seen the Harry Potter movie or read the series, you would agree with the above example of a literature review. And if you have not, these observations will have created enough curiosity in you to encourage your children to watch Harry Potter movies or give JK Rowling’s book a workout.

A literary review is the amalgamation of extensive knowledge and understanding of the subject matter. A literature review, for all our purposes, needs to a critique that helps take the entire subject matter forward. It has to be a well-meaning critique.

A Literature Review Example for Better Understanding

An example where literature review could be done is on Malcolm Gladwell’s works on success and thinking, in the two books titled ‘Outliers’ and ‘Blink’.

As a sample literary review for these two works, one has to create a problem statement and then show how or why you take the discussion forward to a higher plane. In this case, a literary review could start by saying that success and the factors that influence it are always on the human mind.

The problem statement could be that does luck play a bigger part in success or is your talent and hard work are the major contributors? Then, one may also give examples of previous works that said the same or supported the opposite.

The key elements to a good literary review are balance, poise and evidence.

  Scholars, professors, and researchers dig deeper, find scientific or literary relevance to the subject, and help readers widen their horizons. Having done this, literature reviews also give us a window into works that we should read.

This blog will take you deep into literature reviews and how these need to be structured and delivered for greater impact.

As the first step, we have to be mindful that literature reviews are not a cakewalk. It involves a lot of work: From finding suitable material to evaluating it, critical thinking, paraphrasing, citation skills, creating a methodology, etc.

Conducting an ethical and structured research needs a systematic methodology to put forth your arguments and ideas. Read this blog to showcase your research in an effective manner.

What's even more challenging for a reviewer is to present his/her study without the right visuals.

To bridge this gap, SlideTeam brings you a collection of beautiful, jaw-dropping literature review PowerPoint Templates to showcase your research in a concise and easy manner. Browse the PPT Slides below and use them to present your scholarly review!

Template 1: Literature Review PowerPoint Template

This is a well-designed PowerPoint Template to help you highlight your literature review. Incorporate this state-of-the-art PPT design and present your analysis on the specific topic. This customizable PowerPoint slide shows the findings and your evaluation of a subject. Download this PPT layout and grab your audience’s attention with your balanced review.

Download this template

Template 2: Literature Review PPT Graphic

Here is another beautiful preset for showcasing your analysis on the subject. Support your research scope and evaluation with this actionable PowerPoint template. Deploying this fully editable PPT diagram helps you professionally showcase your knowledge on the topic. Use this ready-made PowerPoint Template and justify your thesis or research questions in detail. Grab this template now!

Want to organize and present your research to get under the spotlight? Explore this blog to find suitable thesis templates to document your dissertation.

Grab this slide

Template 3: Literature Review PowerPoint Slide

Want to elaborate on your literature study? Get access to this content-ready PowerPoint Template and help your audience get your point straightaway. This PPT Design comprises an illustration to capture your viewer’s attention. List down your points on the right side of the layout and confidently present your literature review. It is a custom-made template. You can use it as per requirement. Download now!

Template 4: Literature Review PPT Template

Grab another ready-to-use PowerPoint diagram to present your summary of the published work. Use this visually appealing PPT slide to discuss your contributions in the field. Narrow down your finding and showcase proof of rational investigation to impress your audience with this custom-made PowerPoint Template. Download now!

Template 5: Literature Review PowerPoint Diagram

Wish to exhibit your literature review? Get this exclusive PPT Template to discuss the topic's strengths and weaknesses. Incorporate this ready-made PowerPoint diagram to make a point with your critical analysis and objective evaluation. Use this PPT slide to present an executive summary of your research topic. Download this fully customizable PowerPoint design now!

Grab this template

Template 6: Literature Review PowerPoint Template

Looking for ways to showcase the steps to writing a professional literature review? Deploy this content-ready PowerPoint Template and walk your audience through the steps of writing a gripping research report. This PPT slide comprises an illustration demonstrating the ways of a research methodology. Use this pre-designed preset and help your audience write some striking research findings. Download now!

Template 7: Literature Review PowerPoint Graphic

Do you want to summarize your arguments on a particular topic? Incorporate this content-ready PowerPoint template and present your research on a chosen subject. Use this ready-made PPT graphic and provide an overview of the key findings and unresolved problems that your research has addressed. It is a custom-made PPT template. Download now!

Template 8: Literature Review PPT Slide

Here is another well-crafted PowerPoint Template for you to exhibit your theoretical framework for your research. This fully editable PPT diagram is perfect to help you highlight past work related to the topic. Walk your audience through your research study analysis using this ready-made PowerPoint template. Grab this preset now!

It is difficult to prove your plan of work in front of the audience. You might find our one-page research proposal templates useful to convince your readers the value of your project.

Template 9: Literature Review PowerPoint Template

Use this one-page literature review PowerPoint Slide and showcase your audience with a description, summary, and critical evaluation of your work. Incorporate this actionable PPT design and provide your audience with an overview of sources you have explored while studying the topic. Deploy this custom-made PowerPoint Template to demonstrate how and where your research fits within the broader field of investigation and research.

Template 10: Literature Review PPT Diagram

This is another well-designed one-page literature review PowerPoint Template to present your research on a particular topic. Give your audience a brief introduction on the subject and highlight its strengths and weaknesses using this actionable PPT Design. Showcase your research within the context of existing literature with this customizable PowerPoint diagram. Click the link below to grab this ready-made PPT slide.

Finally, the gist

Citing research is not enough. It is essential to bring your study into notice to make a point in public. Thus, deploy SlideTeam’s ready-made literature review PowerPoint Templates to justify and support your research. These PPT slides are easy to use and can be downloaded with just one click. Get access to these ready-made and premium PowerPoint Slides from our monthly, semi-annual, annual, annual + custom design subscriptions here .

PS: Wish to showcase your past research experience? Explore this exclusive guide replete with research statement PPT templates to communicate your findings in a clear and concise manner.

Literature Review FAQs

What are the important parts of literature review.

Like most academic papers, literature reviews also comprise three basic elements:

• An introduction or background information section
• The body of the review containing the discussion of sources
• Conclusion and/or recommendations section to end the paper.

What is reviewed in a literature review?

A literature review is a academic writing providing audience with the knowledge and understanding literature on a specific topic. A literature review includes a critical analysis of the material; this is why it is called a literature review rather than a literature report.

What are the characteristics of a good literature review?

An effective literature review provides an overview of an existing research in the following ways:

• Outlining research trends
• Evaluating strengths and weaknesses of the subject
• Identifying potential gaps in the topic
• Establishing the need for current/future research projects

Why is literature review important?

Literature review helps in gaining an understanding of the existing research. It expands your knowledge relevant to a particular topic or area of study. It is also important as literature reviews showcase improvements needed in a piece of literature. The key word to remember in speaking about literature reviews is critique. We critique to produce better body of literature the next time.

Why do we need literature review?

The purpose of any literature review is to summarize the arguments and ideas of existing knowledge on a particular subject without adding any new contribution. Being built on existing knowledge, literature review helps the researcher to bring new insights and even bring a fresh, unique perspective to view the original topic of research.

Related posts:

• How to Design the Perfect Service Launch Presentation [Custom Launch Deck Included]
• Quarterly Business Review Presentation: All the Essential Slides You Need in Your Deck
• [Updated 2023] How to Design The Perfect Product Launch Presentation [Best Templates Included]
• 99% of the Pitches Fail! Find Out What Makes Any Startup a Success

Liked this blog? Please recommend us

Top 20 Research and Innovation PPT Templates To Get A Competitive Edge

Top 10 Research Roadmap Templates To Trace Your Journey of Innovations and Expeditions [Free PDF Attached]

This form is protected by reCAPTCHA - the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Digital revolution powerpoint presentation slides

Sales funnel results presentation layouts

3d men joinning circular jigsaw puzzles ppt graphics icons

Business Strategic Planning Template For Organizations Powerpoint Presentation Slides

Future plan powerpoint template slide

Project Management Team Powerpoint Presentation Slides

Brand marketing powerpoint presentation slides

Launching a new service powerpoint presentation with slides go to market

Agenda powerpoint slide show

Four key metrics donut chart with percentage

Engineering and technology ppt inspiration example introduction continuous process improvement

Meet our team representing in circular format

Got any suggestions?

We want to hear from you! Send us a message and help improve Slidesgo

Top searches

Trending searches

49 templates

18 templates

32 templates

42 templates

40 templates

16 templates

Literature Review

Literature review presentation, free google slides theme, powerpoint template, and canva presentation template.

Whether you're a student or an academic, mastering the literature review is a key skill in scholarly writing. This fully customizable Google Slides and PowerPoint template can assist you in structuring your review seamlessly. Featuring a vibrant yellow design with captivating book illustrations, this template is designed to facilitate the organization and presentation of your research. Navigate your audience through chapters, themes, and references with ease and clarity using this versatile academic tool. Utilize this tool to craft an impressive literature review that leaves a lasting impression!

Features of this template

• 100% editable and easy to modify
• 35 different slides to impress your audience
• Contains easy-to-edit graphics such as graphs, maps, tables, timelines and mockups
• Includes 500+ icons and Flaticon’s extension for customizing your slides
• Designed to be used in Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint
• 16:9 widescreen format suitable for all types of screens
• Includes information about fonts, colors, and credits of the resources used

How can I use the template?

Am I free to use the templates?

How to attribute?

Attribution required If you are a free user, you must attribute Slidesgo by keeping the slide where the credits appear. How to attribute?

Related posts on our blog.

How to Add, Duplicate, Move, Delete or Hide Slides in Google Slides

How to Change Layouts in PowerPoint

How to Change the Slide Size in Google Slides

Related presentations.

Premium template

Unlock this template and gain unlimited access

Register for free and start editing online

What’s Included: Literature Review Template

This template is structure is based on the tried and trusted best-practice format for formal academic research projects such as dissertations and theses. The literature review template includes the following sections:

• Before you start – essential groundwork to ensure you’re ready
• The introduction section
• The core/body section
• The conclusion /summary
• Extra free resources

Each section is explained in plain, straightforward language , followed by an overview of the key elements that you need to cover. We’ve also included practical examples and links to more free videos and guides to help you understand exactly what’s required in each section.

The cleanly-formatted Google Doc can be downloaded as a fully editable MS Word Document (DOCX format), so you can use it as-is or convert it to LaTeX.

PS – if you’d like a high-level template for the entire thesis, you can we’ve got that too .

FAQs: Literature Review Template

What format is the template (doc, pdf, ppt, etc.).

The literature review chapter template is provided as a Google Doc. You can download it in MS Word format or make a copy to your Google Drive. You’re also welcome to convert it to whatever format works best for you, such as LaTeX or PDF.

What types of literature reviews can this template be used for?

The template follows the standard format for academic literature reviews, which means it will be suitable for the vast majority of academic research projects (especially those within the sciences), whether they are qualitative or quantitative in terms of design.

Keep in mind that the exact requirements for the literature review chapter will vary between universities and degree programs. These are typically minor, but it’s always a good idea to double-check your university’s requirements before you finalize your structure.

Is this template for an undergrad, Master or PhD-level thesis?

This template can be used for a literature review at any level of study. Doctoral-level projects typically require the literature review to be more extensive/comprehensive, but the structure will typically remain the same.

Can I modify the template to suit my topic/area?

Absolutely. While the template provides a general structure, you should adapt it to fit the specific requirements and focus of your literature review.

What structural style does this literature review template use?

The template assumes a thematic structure (as opposed to a chronological or methodological structure), as this is the most common approach. However, this is only one dimension of the template, so it will still be useful if you are adopting a different structure.

Does this template include the Excel literature catalog?

No, that is a separate template, which you can download for free here . This template is for the write-up of the actual literature review chapter, whereas the catalog is for use during the literature sourcing and sorting phase.

How long should the literature review chapter be?

This depends on your university’s specific requirements, so it’s best to check with them. As a general ballpark, literature reviews for Masters-level projects are usually 2,000 – 3,000 words in length, while Doctoral-level projects can reach multiples of this.

Can I include literature that contradicts my hypothesis?

Yes, it’s important to acknowledge and discuss literature that presents different viewpoints or contradicts your hypothesis. So, don’t shy away from existing research that takes an opposing view to yours.

How do I avoid plagiarism in my literature review?

Always cite your sources correctly and paraphrase ideas in your own words while maintaining the original meaning. You can always check our plagiarism score before submitting your work to help ease your mind. 

Do you have an example of a populated template?

We provide a walkthrough of the template and review an example of a high-quality literature research chapter here .

Can I share this literature review template with my friends/colleagues?

Yes, you’re welcome to share this template in its original format (no editing allowed). If you want to post about it on your blog or social media, all we ask is that you reference this page as your source.

Do you have templates for the other dissertation/thesis chapters?

Yes, we do. You can find our full collection of templates here .

Can Grad Coach help me with my literature review?

Yes, you’re welcome to get in touch with us to discuss our private coaching services , where we can help you work through the literature review chapter (and any other chapters).

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Writing a Literature Review

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

A literature review is a document or section of a document that collects key sources on a topic and discusses those sources in conversation with each other (also called synthesis ). The lit review is an important genre in many disciplines, not just literature (i.e., the study of works of literature such as novels and plays). When we say “literature review” or refer to “the literature,” we are talking about the research ( scholarship ) in a given field. You will often see the terms “the research,” “the scholarship,” and “the literature” used mostly interchangeably.

Where, when, and why would I write a lit review?

There are a number of different situations where you might write a literature review, each with slightly different expectations; different disciplines, too, have field-specific expectations for what a literature review is and does. For instance, in the humanities, authors might include more overt argumentation and interpretation of source material in their literature reviews, whereas in the sciences, authors are more likely to report study designs and results in their literature reviews; these differences reflect these disciplines’ purposes and conventions in scholarship. You should always look at examples from your own discipline and talk to professors or mentors in your field to be sure you understand your discipline’s conventions, for literature reviews as well as for any other genre.

A literature review can be a part of a research paper or scholarly article, usually falling after the introduction and before the research methods sections. In these cases, the lit review just needs to cover scholarship that is important to the issue you are writing about; sometimes it will also cover key sources that informed your research methodology.

Lit reviews can also be standalone pieces, either as assignments in a class or as publications. In a class, a lit review may be assigned to help students familiarize themselves with a topic and with scholarship in their field, get an idea of the other researchers working on the topic they’re interested in, find gaps in existing research in order to propose new projects, and/or develop a theoretical framework and methodology for later research. As a publication, a lit review usually is meant to help make other scholars’ lives easier by collecting and summarizing, synthesizing, and analyzing existing research on a topic. This can be especially helpful for students or scholars getting into a new research area, or for directing an entire community of scholars toward questions that have not yet been answered.

What are the parts of a lit review?

Most lit reviews use a basic introduction-body-conclusion structure; if your lit review is part of a larger paper, the introduction and conclusion pieces may be just a few sentences while you focus most of your attention on the body. If your lit review is a standalone piece, the introduction and conclusion take up more space and give you a place to discuss your goals, research methods, and conclusions separately from where you discuss the literature itself.

Introduction:

• An introductory paragraph that explains what your working topic and thesis is
• A forecast of key topics or texts that will appear in the review
• Potentially, a description of how you found sources and how you analyzed them for inclusion and discussion in the review (more often found in published, standalone literature reviews than in lit review sections in an article or research paper)
• Summarize and synthesize: Give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole
• Analyze and interpret: Don’t just paraphrase other researchers – add your own interpretations where possible, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole
• Critically Evaluate: Mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources
• Write in well-structured paragraphs: Use transition words and topic sentence to draw connections, comparisons, and contrasts.

Conclusion:

• Summarize the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasize their significance
• Connect it back to your primary research question

How should I organize my lit review?

Lit reviews can take many different organizational patterns depending on what you are trying to accomplish with the review. Here are some examples:

• Chronological : The simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time, which helps familiarize the audience with the topic (for instance if you are introducing something that is not commonly known in your field). If you choose this strategy, be careful to avoid simply listing and summarizing sources in order. Try to analyze the patterns, turning points, and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred (as mentioned previously, this may not be appropriate in your discipline — check with a teacher or mentor if you’re unsure).
• Thematic : If you have found some recurring central themes that you will continue working with throughout your piece, you can organize your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic. For example, if you are reviewing literature about women and religion, key themes can include the role of women in churches and the religious attitude towards women.
• Qualitative versus quantitative research
• Empirical versus theoretical scholarship
• Divide the research by sociological, historical, or cultural sources
• Theoretical : In many humanities articles, the literature review is the foundation for the theoretical framework. You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts. You can argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach or combine various theorical concepts to create a framework for your research.

What are some strategies or tips I can use while writing my lit review?

Any lit review is only as good as the research it discusses; make sure your sources are well-chosen and your research is thorough. Don’t be afraid to do more research if you discover a new thread as you’re writing. More info on the research process is available in our "Conducting Research" resources .

As you’re doing your research, create an annotated bibliography ( see our page on the this type of document ). Much of the information used in an annotated bibliography can be used also in a literature review, so you’ll be not only partially drafting your lit review as you research, but also developing your sense of the larger conversation going on among scholars, professionals, and any other stakeholders in your topic.

Usually you will need to synthesize research rather than just summarizing it. This means drawing connections between sources to create a picture of the scholarly conversation on a topic over time. Many student writers struggle to synthesize because they feel they don’t have anything to add to the scholars they are citing; here are some strategies to help you:

• It often helps to remember that the point of these kinds of syntheses is to show your readers how you understand your research, to help them read the rest of your paper.
• Writing teachers often say synthesis is like hosting a dinner party: imagine all your sources are together in a room, discussing your topic. What are they saying to each other?
• Look at the in-text citations in each paragraph. Are you citing just one source for each paragraph? This usually indicates summary only. When you have multiple sources cited in a paragraph, you are more likely to be synthesizing them (not always, but often
• Read more about synthesis here.

The most interesting literature reviews are often written as arguments (again, as mentioned at the beginning of the page, this is discipline-specific and doesn’t work for all situations). Often, the literature review is where you can establish your research as filling a particular gap or as relevant in a particular way. You have some chance to do this in your introduction in an article, but the literature review section gives a more extended opportunity to establish the conversation in the way you would like your readers to see it. You can choose the intellectual lineage you would like to be part of and whose definitions matter most to your thinking (mostly humanities-specific, but this goes for sciences as well). In addressing these points, you argue for your place in the conversation, which tends to make the lit review more compelling than a simple reporting of other sources.

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to  upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

• We're Hiring!
• Help Center

Literature Review Research Presentation

Related Papers

Gavin Mount

A literature review is ‘integral to the success of academic research’ and an indispensable component of a doctoral thesis. Brief versions are particularly important for the Confirmation phase of your candidature. Often this work will form a significant component of the introduction or early chapters of your thesis.

tecnico emergencias

Learning how to effectively write a literature review is a critical tool for success for an academic, and perhaps even professional career. Being able to summarize and synthesize prior research pertaining to a certain topic not only demonstrates having a good grasp on available information for a topic, but it also assists in the learning process. Although literature reviews are important for one's academic career, they are often misunderstood and underdeveloped. This article is intended to provide both undergraduate and graduate students in the criminal justice field specifically, and social sciences more generally, skills and perspectives on how to develop and/or strengthen their skills in writing a literature review. Included in this discussion are foci on the structure , process, and art of writing a literature review. What is a Literature Review? In essence, a literature review is a comprehensive overview of prior research regarding a specific topic. The overview both shows the reader what is known about a topic, and what is not yet known, thereby setting up the rationale or need for a new investigation, which is what the actual study to which the literature review is attached seeks to do. Stated a bit differently (Creswell 1994, pp. 20, 21) explains: The literature in a research study accomplishes several purposes: (a) It shares with the reader the results of other studies that are closely related to the study being reported (Fraenkel & Wallen, 1990. (b) It relates a study to the larger, ongoing dialog in the literature about a topic, filling in gaps and extending prior studies (Marshall & Rossman, 1989). (c) It provides a framework for establishing the importance of the study. As an overview, a well done literature review includes all of the main themes and subthemes found within the general topic chosen for the study. These themes and subthemes are usually interwoven with the methods or findings of the prior research. Also, a literature review sets the stage for and JOURNAL

KABASO OLIVER

oliver kabaso

Proceedings of the 22nd ACM/IEEE Joint Conference on Digital Libraries

Marc Rittberger

Ignacio Illan Conde

Sadiqur Rahaman

How to write literature review

yakubu nawati

Nirmal Kumar Raut

Velvet Raven

Andrew Johnson

This chapter describes the process of writing a literature review and what the product should look like

Loading Preview

Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.

RELATED PAPERS

Prof Steve Garlick

Chemosphere

Lucie Bielská

Theresia Tatontos

Systematic Reviews

Ricardo Rincón

Giovanni Biancardi

Digestive and Liver Disease

The Journal of Physical Chemistry C

duck hyun lee

Thierry De Mees

Management Studies

Anik Herminingsih

11O Congresso Internacional Da Rede Unida

Sandra Maria Sales Fagundes

Cadernos de Saúde Pública

Jair e Rose Alves

Journal of Diabetes and its Complications

Nalan Yıldırım

International Journal of Economic, Business, Accounting, Agriculture Management and Sharia Administration (IJEBAS)

Zuhrinal Nawawi

Trauma und Berufskrankheit

Sven Hungerer

Annales Geophysicae

Rikard Slapak

Pierre Hennebert

Pollarise GROUPS

Chris Gregg

British journal of haematology

paula daniela souza alves

Survey of Anesthesiology

Leo Spaccavento

Philippe Mulhem

Case Reports in Ophthalmology

Sitti Wahyuni

Journal of biological rhythms

Ingo Fietze

Empowerment Jurnal Mahasiswa Psikologi Universitas Buana Perjuangan Karawang

Puspa Rahayu Utami Rahman, M.Psi Psikolog

•   We're Hiring!
•   Help Center
• Find new research papers in:
• Health Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Cognitive Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Academia ©2024

• UWF Libraries

Literature Review: Conducting & Writing

• Sample Literature Reviews
• Steps for Conducting a Lit Review
• Finding "The Literature"
• Organizing/Writing
• APA Style This link opens in a new window
• Chicago: Notes Bibliography This link opens in a new window
• MLA Style This link opens in a new window

Sample Lit Reviews from Communication Arts

Have an exemplary literature review.

• Literature Review Sample 1
• Literature Review Sample 2
• Literature Review Sample 3

Have you written a stellar literature review you care to share for teaching purposes?

Are you an instructor who has received an exemplary literature review and have permission from the student to post?

Please contact Britt McGowan at [email protected] for inclusion in this guide. All disciplines welcome and encouraged.

• << Previous: MLA Style
• Next: Get Help! >>
• Last Updated: Mar 22, 2024 9:37 AM
• URL: https://libguides.uwf.edu/litreview

LITERATURE REVIEW

Jul 22, 2014

2.14k likes | 6.06k Views

LITERATURE REVIEW. 2.1What is a “Literature Review”?. A literature review is an overview of research on a given topic and answers to related research questions Literature reviews are an important part of research and should be treated as such A well-written literature review:

Share Presentation

• distinguish
• related research questions
• relevant journal articles
• selective use
• low priority
• bibliographic data

Presentation Transcript

2.1What is a “Literature Review”? • A literature review is an overview of research on a given topic and answers to related research questions • Literature reviews are an important part of research and should be treated as such • A well-written literature review: • Organizes literature • Evaluates literature • Identifies patterns and trends in literature • Synthesizes literature

‘the literature’ means the works you consulted in order to understand and investigate your research problem. • A literature review involves providing a rationale for your selection of literature related to the subject studied.

The literature review familiarizes the reader with the subject and the scope of the research topic. • It helps the reader to define key concepts • Finally it establishes the body of knowledge which will be able to contribute towards the research.

2.2 Writing the Literature Review • Firstly decide what you need to read from a broad spectrum of literature available • Refer to books, periodicals, journals, and websites which will be relevant to your study.

Determine what exactly are your objectives • Provide a current and complete overview of your related topic. • Show that you have read extensively and formed a body of knowledge on the subject of field of study

Purpose of writing a literature Review Your review should be in a form of • critical decision, • showing awareness of differing arguments, theories, approaches and methodologies. It should be a synthesis and analysis of the relevant published work, linked at all times to your objective and rationale of your study.

There are several purposes on why we write a literature review: • it reviews knowledge of previous studies on the subject of research • it identifies a conceptual framework for own research • it provides directions for future research • it provides resources previously unknown to the reader • it identifies gaps in past studies

To sum up, a good literature review is: • critical of what has been written, • identifies areas of controversy, • raises questions and identifies areas which need further research.

2.3 Process of Writing a Literature Review • There are several stages in developing a literature review(Biddlek, 1997). The stages are : • Identify • Record • Relevance • Retrieve • Review • Write

Stage 1 – Identify • Compile a list of references. • Use a kind of index system either a hard copy or a software referencing system. • i)work through key catalogues, databases, indexes, bibliographies and websites for relevant resources • ii)check the references and in the articles you have read • iii)locate and use research reviews

Stage 2-Record • Make a record of any literature that relates to your topic. • You should have citation details, where it is located, and should also write a few sentences that help you remember what the article is about

Stage 3 –Relevance • i)Prioritize the literature, after having read the abstract, rank them if it should be high, medium or low priority • ii)On the website scan through the literature for relevance before you decide to download or print it out • iii) You need to focus on the literature and sources you have identified and ranked as most important, the most recent development from the periodicals. • iv) Distinguish between textbooks and research articles from journals and books. They contain different kinds of information that will be more or less relevant to your research

Stage 4 -Retrieve • i) Make hard copies of the most important literature. Print relevant journal articles from databases and photocopy articles from journals

Stage 5 –Review • Use the reading log which allows you to record different kinds of information: the bibliographic details, a description, and relationship to other readings. • Also record where the literature is located so that you can easily refer to the quotes or ideas paraphrased when you are editing. • As you are taking notes, ensure you are clear about what you are quoting and paraphrasing. You cannot risk unintentionally plagiarizing ideas.

Stage 6 -Write • Start with an introductory paragraph • Discuss the literature on the subject in a logical and coherent way • Conclude with a paragraph that is relevant to the literature of the research

2.4 Five Phases of Writing a Literature Review • Phase 1 – Specify the scope of your review • i)Ensure you have a precise topic • you must be precise about having a topic. It should not be too broad or unspecific. Look at the following topic which is too broad • Example: ‘Life and Times of Sigmund Freud” • The title below seems to be limited, but still considered too broad • Example: “Psychological Theories of Sigmund Freud • However, a more manageable and appropriate topic would be • ‘Freud’s Theory of Personality Applied to Mental Health” • If your research question is too broad or defined vaguely or abstractly, you may end up reading and compiling too much information for your literature review. However if your research question is specified too narrowly or defined concisely, you may miss out more general information

ii)Scope of the Literature Review You have to determine the precise scope of the literature review. Questions which need to be answered are as follows :- • What will I cover in my review? • How comprehensive will it be? • How current are my materials? • What type of materials/documents will be needed?

Phase 2: Locating and Accessing Information • Obtain all the necessary materials for your literature review by searching relevant bibliographies, print indexes and online databases i)Using Existing Literature Reviews • Many journals on different subject areas publish review articles. In these journals you may find commentaries on research articles. You may find these reviews relevant to your literature review.

Phase 3 Recording the Information • You can develop a systematic way of recording information through: note cards with citations • Photocopied articles with points highlighted or underlined with notes in the margins • Traditional taking down notes or in laptops

i)Tips on Recording Information • A quick skimming and scanning through the introduction and the conclusion of an article, would give you an idea of the article and general points. • a)Start with the most recent studies and work backwards. Refer to the list of references on a recent article;   • b)Read, first the report or article’s abstract - this will give you some clues about the article • c)When taking down notes, remember to write out the complete bibliographic citation for each work. It is essential you note down the page numbers as these will be necessary later for footnotes and bibliography. For internet citations note the URL • d)Write all direct quotations precisely when taking down notes. You should use quotations marks, so it can recognize as a directly quoted text and not a paraphrase. If you fail to put a direct text in quotation marks or to credit the authors, it amounts to plagiarism.

Phase 4 Evaluating the Information • After having read all the articles, you must now decide and evaluate what should be included in the review. • Be selective - you have to consider issues and themes that link different articles.

Phase 5 Organizing and Writing the Literature Review • After accessing, reading and evaluating the material, these materials need to be organized. • You may organize the selected readings by theoretical approaches, by specific concepts or issues, and by methodologies

Some tips on writing After you have located, read, analyzed and evaluated the literature, the next stage is actual writing. Here are some tips: • Keep your paragraphs short • Subheadings are essential, as it clarifies the structure. They break up the materials into more readable units • Avoid too many long direct quotations from the studies. Paraphrase other writers’ works rather than quote lengthy passages • Don’t cite references that you haven’t read

Some traps to avoid • Trying to read everything! • not to provide a summary of all the published work that relates to your research, but a survey of the most relevant and significant work. • Reading but not writing! • Writing can help you understand and find relationships between the work you’ve read, so don’t put writing off until you’ve “finished” reading. • Not keeping bibliographic information! - Source: http://www.clpd.bbk.ac.uk/students/litreview web.pdx.edu/~bertini/literature_review.pdf

Final Checklist Here is a checklist from University of Melbourne: (http://www.lib.unimelb.eduau/postgrad/litreview/finalchecklist.html) • Have you indicated the purpose of the review? • Have you ascertained the parameters of the review and are they reasonable? • Have you emphasized on recent development of the research? • Have you focused on primary sources with only selective use of secondary sources? • Is the literature selected relevant to your study? • Is your bibliographic data complete?

• More by User

Literature Review

Literature Review Taken From: University of Washington Psychology Writing Center 2 Main Approaches Choose an area of research, read all the relevant studies and organize them in a meaningful way Choose an organizing theme or a point that you want to make, the select your studies accordingly

1.18k views • 11 slides

Literature review

Literature review. IBC 464 http://library.spu.ac.th. Please answer these questions. 1 What are the criteria to be most successful in business? 2 Can business research help increase your business performance? How?. How to write a literature review. What is a literature review?

548 views • 10 slides

Using community-based participatory mixed methods research to understand Preconception Health in African American communities of Arizona Khaleel S. Hussaini 1 Ph.D. Eric Hamm MPH 2 Antoinette Means 1 MBA 1 Bureau of Women &amp; Children’s Health 150 N 18 th Ave Ste. # 320 Phoenix, AZ 85007

143 views • 1 slides

Literature review. RESEARCH METHOD FOR ACADEMIC PROJECT I. What is a literature review?. A description of the literature relevant to a particular field or topic.

616 views • 14 slides

Literature Review. What is a literature review ?. A literature review discusses published information in a particular subject area, and sometimes information in a particular subject area within a certain time period.

247 views • 14 slides

Literature Review. Purpose. Foundation of ideas (classics and contemporary) Important themes and models (strands and examples) Touchstone: Meaningful work Comparison, setting the bar How does my works compare with influential works?. Two questions.

401 views • 6 slides

LITERATURE REVIEW . TAIWO ODUGUWA MBBS, FWACP Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital Yaba Lagos. OUTLINE. INTRODUCTION/DEFINITION AIMS LITERATURE SEARCH SOURCES OF MATERIALS GUIDELINES THE WRITE UP CONCLUSION. INTRODUCTION/ DEFINITION.

750 views • 26 slides

Literature review :

DEMOCRATIZATION, QUALITY OF INSTITUTIONS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH Victor Polterovich, Vladimir Popov New Economic School, Moscow, [email protected] .

672 views • 45 slides

Technological Educational Institute (T.E.I.) of Ionian Islands Department of Environmental Technology and Ecology – Zakynthos - Greece Dionysios Koulougliotis . “Barriers to lifelong learning in Chemistry: A comparative study between adults and Chemistry teachers”. Literature Review.

289 views • 16 slides

Literature Review. Remember The Literature Review carries 40% of the Research Proposal mark! A literature review summarises and synthesises what is known about your topic in relation to your objectives. Steve Malone August 2009 [email protected].

444 views • 28 slides

Literature Review:

Literature Review:. Organizing &amp; Writing http://web.utm.my/psz/. INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS. What is Literature Review. A discussion of your knowledge about the topic under study A discussion of your knowledge that is supported by the research literature

680 views • 43 slides

Literature Review. What to include. Research Process. Begins with a question Gather a bibliography Literature review Narrow your question Design methodology Gather data Draw conclusions. Literature Review. Included in all research Logic behind your research

391 views • 24 slides

Literature Review. Peter R. McNally, DO, FACP, FACG Lone Tree, Colorado. Title: Adalimumab Induction Therapy for Crohn’s Disease Previously Treated with Infliximab. Sandborn WJ, Rutgeerts P, Enns R, Hanauer SB, et al. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2007;146:829-838.

337 views • 21 slides

Literature Review. Alex Ferworn. What is a Literature Review?. According to Cooper (1988)... a literature review uses as its database reports of primary or original scholarship, does not report new primary scholarship itself...

421 views • 23 slides

Literature review. When you may write a literature review. As an assignment For a report or thesis (e.g. for senior project) As a graduate student For a technical paper. Purpose of a literature review.

357 views • 16 slides

LITERATURE REVIEW. What is LR?. A literature review discusses published information in a particular subject area, and sometimes information in a particular subject area within a certain time period.

546 views • 47 slides

Literature Review. Peter R. McNally, DO, FACP, FACG University Colorado Denver School of Medicine Center for Human Simulation Aurora, Colorado 80045. Introduction. Crohn’s disease is a lifelong, disabling disorder with 2/3 rd of patients requiring surgery in their lifetime.

448 views • 37 slides

Literature Review. Xingwei Wang. What is a literature review. What is a literature review. Have thesis statement?. What is a literature review. 3 basic elements?. What is a literature review. summary of the sources a recap of the important information of the source synthesis

738 views • 22 slides

Literature Review. Xingwei Wang. What is a literature review. What is a literature review. summary of the sources a recap of the important information of the source. What is a literature review. synthesis a re-organization , or a reshuffling, of that information.

454 views • 35 slides

Literature Review. A Nondestructive Self-Reference Scheme for Spin-Transfer Torque Random Access Memory (STT-RAM) —— Yiran Chen, et al. Fengbo Ren. 09/03/2010. Background. STT-RAM: Spin Transfer Torque Random Access Memory Key memory device: magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJ)

238 views • 8 slides

Your literature review is a summary of the research you have done to study about your topic. Ondezx can help you ensure your readers have an accurate idea about your investigation through well-arranged overviews of the works you have gone through. For more info: URL: https://ondezx.com/review-paper-format-and-writing Mail: [email protected] Mob No: 91 9791191199

3 views • 1 slides