literature review literacy research

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.

Here's why students love Scribbr's proofreading services

Discover proofreading & editing

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.

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

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 2, 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.

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.

Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library

• Collections
• Research Help

YSN Doctoral Programs: Steps in Conducting a Literature Review

• Biomedical Databases
• Global (Public Health) Databases
• Soc. Sci., History, and Law Databases
• Grey Literature
• Trials Registers
• Data and Statistics
• Public Policy
• Google Tips
• Recommended Books
• Steps in Conducting a Literature Review

What is a literature review?

A literature review is an integrated analysis -- not just a summary-- of scholarly writings and other relevant evidence related directly to your research question.  That is, it represents a synthesis of the evidence that provides background information on your topic and shows a association between the evidence and your research question.

A literature review may be a stand alone work or the introduction to a larger research paper, depending on the assignment.  Rely heavily on the guidelines your instructor has given you.

Why is it important?

A literature review is important because it:

• Explains the background of research on a topic.
• Demonstrates why a topic is significant to a subject area.
• Discovers relationships between research studies/ideas.
• Identifies major themes, concepts, and researchers on a topic.
• Identifies critical gaps and points of disagreement.
• Discusses further research questions that logically come out of the previous studies.

APA7 Style resources

APA Style Blog - for those harder to find answers

1. Choose a topic. Define your research question.

Your literature review should be guided by your central research question.  The literature represents background and research developments related to a specific research question, interpreted and analyzed by you in a synthesized way.

• Make sure your research question is not too broad or too narrow.  Is it manageable?
• Begin writing down terms that are related to your question. These will be useful for searches later.
• If you have the opportunity, discuss your topic with your professor and your class mates.

2. Decide on the scope of your review

How many studies do you need to look at? How comprehensive should it be? How many years should it cover? 

• This may depend on your assignment.  How many sources does the assignment require?

3. Select the databases you will use to conduct your searches.

Make a list of the databases you will search. 

Where to find databases:

• use the tabs on this guide
• Find other databases in the Nursing Information Resources web page
• More on the Medical Library web page
• ... and more on the Yale University Library web page

4. Conduct your searches to find the evidence. Keep track of your searches.

• Use the key words in your question, as well as synonyms for those words, as terms in your search. Use the database tutorials for help.
• Save the searches in the databases. This saves time when you want to redo, or modify, the searches. It is also helpful to use as a guide is the searches are not finding any useful results.
• Review the abstracts of research studies carefully. This will save you time.
• Use the bibliographies and references of research studies you find to locate others.
• Check with your professor, or a subject expert in the field, if you are missing any key works in the field.
• Ask your librarian for help at any time.
• Use a citation manager, such as EndNote as the repository for your citations. See the EndNote tutorials for help.

Review the literature

Some questions to help you analyze the research:

• What was the research question of the study you are reviewing? What were the authors trying to discover?
• Was the research funded by a source that could influence the findings?
• What were the research methodologies? Analyze its literature review, the samples and variables used, the results, and the conclusions.
• Does the research seem to be complete? Could it have been conducted more soundly? What further questions does it raise?
• If there are conflicting studies, why do you think that is?
• How are the authors viewed in the field? Has this study been cited? If so, how has it been analyzed?

Tips: 

• Review the abstracts carefully.  
• Keep careful notes so that you may track your thought processes during the research process.
• Create a matrix of the studies for easy analysis, and synthesis, across all of the studies.
• << Previous: Recommended Books
• Last Updated: Jan 4, 2024 10:52 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.yale.edu/YSNDoctoral

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, automatically generate references for free.

• Knowledge Base
• Dissertation
• What is a Literature Review? | Guide, Template, & Examples

What is a Literature Review? | Guide, Template, & Examples

Published on 22 February 2022 by Shona McCombes . Revised on 7 June 2022.

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.

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 summarise sources – it analyses, synthesises, and critically evaluates to give a clear picture of the state of knowledge on the subject.

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Be assured that you'll submit flawless writing. Upload your document to correct all your mistakes.

Table of contents

Why write 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, frequently asked questions about literature reviews, introduction.

• Quick Run-through
• Step 1 & 2

When you write a dissertation or thesis, you will 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 scholarly context
• Develop a theoretical framework and methodology for your research
• Position yourself in relation to other researchers and theorists
• Show how your dissertation addresses a gap or contributes to a debate

You might also have to write a literature review as a stand-alone assignment. In this case, the purpose is to evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your knowledge of scholarly debates around a topic.

The content will look slightly different in each case, but the process of conducting a literature review follows the same steps. We’ve written a step-by-step guide that you can follow below.

The only proofreading tool specialized in correcting academic writing

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.

Correct my document today

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 objectives and questions .

If you are writing a literature review as a stand-alone assignment, you will have to choose a focus and develop a central question to direct your search. Unlike a dissertation research question, this question has to be answerable without collecting original data. You should be able to answer it based only on a review of existing publications.

Make a list of keywords

Start by creating a list of keywords related to your research topic. 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 if 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 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 use boolean operators to help narrow down your search:

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.

To identify the most important publications on your topic, take note of recurring citations. If the same authors, books or articles keep appearing in your reading, make sure to seek them out.

You probably won’t be able to read absolutely everything that has been written on the topic – you’ll have to evaluate which sources are most relevant to your questions.

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?
• How does the publication contribute to your understanding of the topic? What are its key insights and arguments?
• 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 find out how many times an article has been cited on Google Scholar – a high citation count means the article has been influential in the field, and should certainly be included in your literature review.

The scope of your review will depend on your topic and discipline: in the sciences you usually only review recent literature, but in the humanities you might take a long historical perspective (for example, to trace how a concept has changed in meaning over time).

Remember that you can use our template to summarise and evaluate sources you’re thinking about using!

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’s important to keep track of your sources with references to avoid plagiarism . It can be helpful to make an annotated bibliography, where you compile full reference 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.

You can use our free APA Reference Generator for quick, correct, consistent citations.

To begin organising your literature review’s argument and structure, you need to 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 organising the body of a literature review. You should have a rough idea of your strategy before you start writing.

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 summarising sources in order.

Try to analyse 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 organise 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.

If you are writing the literature review as part of your dissertation or thesis, reiterate your central problem or research question and give a brief summary of the scholarly context. You can emphasise the timeliness of the topic (“many recent studies have focused on the problem of x”) or highlight a gap in the literature (“while there has been much research on x, few researchers have taken y into consideration”).

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, make sure to follow these tips:

• Summarise and synthesise: give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole.
• Analyse and interpret: don’t just paraphrase other researchers – add your own interpretations, 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 transitions and topic sentences to draw connections, comparisons and contrasts.

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

If the literature review is part of your dissertation or thesis, reiterate how your research addresses gaps and contributes new knowledge, or discuss how you have drawn on existing theories and methods to build a framework for your research. This can lead directly into your methodology section.

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 dissertation , thesis, research paper , or proposal .

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

• To familiarise 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  dissertation . After the introduction , it grounds your research in a scholarly field and leads directly to your theoretical framework or methodology .

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 Reference Generator.

McCombes, S. (2022, June 07). What is a Literature Review? | Guide, Template, & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 2 April 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/thesis-dissertation/literature-review/

Is this article helpful?

Shona McCombes

Other students also liked, how to write a dissertation proposal | a step-by-step guide, what is a theoretical framework | a step-by-step guide, what is a research methodology | steps & tips.

• Research Guides

Literature Review: A Self-Guided Tutorial

• Getting Started
• Literature Reviews: A Recap
• Peer Review
• Reading the Literature
• Using Concept Maps
• Developing Research Questions
• Considering Strong Opinions
• 2. Review discipline styles
• Super Searching
• Finding the Full Text
• Citation Searching This link opens in a new window
• When to stop searching
• Citation Management
• Annotating Articles Tip
• 5. Critically analyze and evaluate
• How to Review the Literature
• Using a Synthesis Matrix
• 7. Write literature review

What's a Literature Review?

A literature review (or lit review, for short) is an in-depth critical analysis of published scholarly research related to a specific topic. Published scholarly research (the "literature") may include journal articles, books, book chapters, dissertations and thesis, or conference proceedings. 

A solid lit review must:

• be organized around and related directly to the thesis or research question you're developing
• synthesize results into a summary of what is and is not known
• identify areas of controversy in the literature
• formulate questions that need further research

View the video below for a brief explanation of lit reviews. (It's not just for grad students!)

What is a Literature Review?

Credit: NCSU Libraries. Video 1 of Literature Reviews: An Overview for Graduate Students . Run Time: 3:12

• << Previous: Home
• Next: Literature Reviews: A Recap >>
• Last Updated: Feb 22, 2024 10:53 AM
• URL: https://libguides.williams.edu/literature-review

Libraries | Research Guides

Literature reviews, what is a literature review, learning more about how to do a literature review.

• Planning the Review
• The Research Question
• Choosing Where to Search
• Organizing the Review
• Writing the Review

A literature review is a review and synthesis of existing research on a topic or research question. A literature review is meant to analyze the scholarly literature, make connections across writings and identify strengths, weaknesses, trends, and missing conversations. A literature review should address different aspects of a topic as it relates to your research question. A literature review goes beyond a description or summary of the literature you have read. 

• Sage Research Methods Core Collection This link opens in a new window SAGE Research Methods supports research at all levels by providing material to guide users through every step of the research process. SAGE Research Methods is the ultimate methods library with more than 1000 books, reference works, journal articles, and instructional videos by world-leading academics from across the social sciences, including the largest collection of qualitative methods books available online from any scholarly publisher. – Publisher

• Next: Planning the Review >>
• Last Updated: Jan 17, 2024 10:05 AM
• URL: https://libguides.northwestern.edu/literaturereviews

• Open access
• Published: 15 March 2022

A review of academic literacy research development: from 2002 to 2019

• Dongying Li   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6835-5129 1  

Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education volume  7 , Article number:  5 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

15k Accesses

11 Citations

4 Altmetric

Metrics details

Academic literacy as an embodiment of higher-order language and thinking skills within the academic community bears huge significance for language socialization, resource distribution and even power disposition within the larger sociocultural context. However, although the notion of academic literacy has been initiated for more than twenty years, there still lacks a clear definition and operationalization of the construct. The study conducted a systematic review of academic literacy research based on 94 systematically selected research papers on academic literacy from 2002 to 2019 from multiple databases. These papers were then coded respectively in terms of their research methods, types (interventionistic or descriptive), settings and research focus. Findings demonstrate (1) the multidimensionality of academic literacy construct; (2) a growing number of mixed methods interventionistic studies in recent years; and (3) a gradual expansion of academic literacy research in ESL and EFL settings. These findings can inform the design and implementation of future academic literacy research and practices.

Introduction

Academic literacy as an embodiment of higher order thinking and learning not only serves as a prerequisite for knowledge production and communication within the disciplines but also bears huge significance for individual language and cognitive development (Flowerdew, 2013 ; Moje, 2015 ). Recent researches on academic literacy gradually moved from regarding literacy as discrete, transferrable skills to literacy as a social practice, closely associated with disciplinary epistemology and identity (Gee, 2015 ). The view of literacy learning as both a textual and contextual practice is largely driven by the changing educational goal under the development of twenty-first century knowledge economy, which requires learners to be active co-constructors of knowledge rather than passive recipients (Gebhard, 2004 ). Academic literacy development in this sense is considered as a powerful tool for knowledge generation, communication and transformation.

However, up-till-now, there still seems to lack a clear definition and operationalization of the academic literacy construct that can guide effective pedagogy (Wingate, 2018 ). This can possibly lead to a peril of regarding academic literacy as an umbrella term, with few specifications on the potential of the construct to afford actual teaching and learning practices. In this sense, a systematic review in terms of how the construct was defined, operationalized and approached in actual research settings can embody huge potential in bridging the gap between theory and practice.

Based on these concerns, the study conducts a critical review of academic literacy research over the past twenty years in terms of the construct of the academic literacy, their methods, approaches, settings and keywords. A mixed methods approach is adopted to combine qualitative coding with quantitative analysis to investigate diachronic changes. Results of the study can enrich the understandings of the construct of academic literacy and its relations to actual pedagogical practices while shedding light on future directions of research.

Literature review

Academic literacy as a set of literacy skills specialized for content learning is closely associated with individual higher order thinking and advanced language skill development (Shanahan & Shanahan, 2008 ). Recent researches suggest that the development of the advanced literacy skills can only be achieved via students’ active engagement in authentic and purposeful disciplinary learning activities, imbued with meaning, value and emotions (Moje et al., 2008 ). Therefore, contrary to the ‘autonomous model’ of literacy development which views literacy as a set of discrete, transferrable reading and writing skills, academic literacy development is viewed as participation, socialization and transformation achieved via individual’s expanding involvement in authentic and meaningful disciplinary learning inquiries (Duff, 2010 ; Russell, 2009 ). Academic literacy development in this sense is viewed as a powerful mediation for individual socialization into the academic community, which is in turn closely related to issues of power disposition, resource distribution and social justice (Broom, 2004 ). In this sense, academic literacy development is by no means only a cognitive issue but situated social and cultural practices widely shaped by power, structure and ideology (Lillis & Scott, 2007 ; Wenger, 1998 ).

The view of literacy learning as a social practice is typically reflected in genre and the ‘academic literacies’ model. Genre, as a series of typified, recurring social actions serves as a powerful semiotic tool for individuals to act together meaningfully and purposefully (Fang & Coatoam, 2013 ). Academic literacy development in this sense is viewed as individual’s gradual appropriation of the shared cultural values and communicative repertoires within the disciplines. These routinized practices of knowing, doing and being not only serve to guarantee the hidden quality of disciplinary knowledge production but also entail a frame of action for academic community functioning (Fisher, 2019 ; Wenger, 1998 ). Therefore, academic literacy development empowers individual thinking and learning in pursuit of effective community practices.

Complementary to the genre approach, the ‘academic literacies’ model “views student writing and learning as issues at the level of epistemology and identities rather than skill or socialization” from the lens of critical literacy, power and ideology (Lea & Street, 1998 , p. 159). Drawing from ‘New Literacies’, the ‘academic literacies’ model approaches literacy development within the power of social discourse with the hope to open up possibilities for innovations and change (Lea & Street, 2006 ). Academic literacy development in this sense is regarded as a powerful tool for access, communication and identification within the academic community, and is therefore closely associated with issues of social justice and equality (Gee, 2015 ).

The notion of genre and ‘academic literacies’ share multiple resemblances with English for Academic Purposes (EAP), which according to Charles ( 2013 , p. 137) ‘is concerned with researching and teaching the English needed by those who use the language to perform academic tasks’. As can be seen, both approaches regard literacy learning as highly purposeful and contextual, driven by the practical need to ‘foregrounding the tacit nature of academic conventions’ (Lillis & Tuck, 2016 , p. 36). However, while EAP is more text-driven, ‘academic literacies’ are more practice-oriented (Lillis & Tuck, 2016 ). That is rather than focusing on the ‘normative’ descriptions of the academic discourse, the ‘academic literacies’ model lays more emphasis on learner agency, personal experiences and sociocultural diversity, regarded as a valuable source for individual learning and the transformation of community practices (Lillis & Tuck, 2016 ). This view of literacy learning as meaningful social participation and transformation is now gradually adopted in the approach of critical EAP (Charles, 2013 ).

In sum, all these approaches regard academic literacy development as multi-dimensional, encompassing both linguistic, cognitive and sociocultural practices (Cumming, 2013 ). However, up-till-now, there still seems to lack a clear definition and operationalization of the academic literacy construct that can guide concrete pedagogies. Short and Fitzsimmons ( 2007 , p. 2) provided a tentative definition of academic literacy from the following aspects:

Includes reading, writing, and oral discourse for school Varies from subject to subject Requires knowledge of multiple genres of text, purposes for text use, and text media Is influenced by students’ literacies in contexts outside of school Is influenced by students’ personal, social, and cultural experiences.

This definition has specified the main features of academic literacy as both a cognitive and sociocultural construct; however, more elaborations may be needed to further operationalize the construct in real educational and research settings. Drawing from this, Allison and Harklau ( 2010 ) and Fang ( 2012 ) specified three general approaches to academic literacy research, namely: the language, cognitive (disciplinary) and the sociocultural approach, which will be further elaborated in the following.

The language-based approach is mainly text-driven and lays special emphasis on the acquisition of language structures, skills and functions characteristic of content learning (Allison & Harklau, 2010 , p. 134; Uccelli et al., 2014 ), and highlights explicit instruction on academic language features and discourse structures (Hyland, 2008 ). This notion is widely influenced by Systemic Functional Linguistics which specifies the intricate connections between text and context, or linguistic choices and text meaning-making potential under specific communicative intentions and purposes (Halliday, 2000 ). This approach often highlights explicit consciousness-raising activities in text deconstruction as embodied in the genre pedagogy, facilitated by corpus-linguistic research tools to unveil structures and patterns of academic language use (Charles, 2013 ).

One typical example is data driven learning (DDL) or ‘any use of a language corpus by second or foreign language learners’ (Anthony, 2017 , p. 163). This approach encourages ‘inductive, self-directed’ language learning under the guidance of the teacher to examine and explore language use in real academic settings. These inquiry-based learning processes not only make language learning meaningful and purposeful but also help form more strategic and autonomous learners (Anthony, 2017 ).

In sum, the language approach intends to unveil the linguistic and rhetorical structure of academic discourse to make it accessible and available for reflection. However, academic literacy development entails more than the acquisition of academic language skills but also the use of academic language as tool for content learning and scientific reasoning (Bailey et al., 2007 ), which is closely connected to individual cognitive development, knowledge construction and communication within the disciplines (Fang, 2012 ).

Therefore, the cognitive or disciplinary-based approach views academic literacy development as higher order thinking and learning in academic socialization in pursuit of deep, contextualized meaning (Granville & Dison, 2005 ). This notion highlights the cognitive functions of academic literacy as deeply related to disciplinary epistemologies and identities, widely shaped by disciplinary-specific ways of knowing, doing and thinking (Moje, 2015 ). Just as mentioned by Shanahan ( 2012 , p. 70), ‘approaching a text with a particular point of view affects how individuals read and learn from texts’, academic literacy development is an integrated language and cognitive endeavor.

One typical example in this approach is the Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (CALLA) initiated by Chamot and O’Malley ( 1987 ), proposing the development of a curriculum that integrates mainstream content subject learning, academic language development and learning strategy instruction. This approach embeds language learning within an authentic, purposeful content learning environment, facilitated by strategy training. Another example is the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP model) developed by Echevarría et al. ( 2013 ). Sheltered instruction, according to Short et al. ( 2011 , p. 364) refers to ‘a subject class such as mathematics, science, or history taught through English wherein many or all of the students are second language learners’. This approach integrates language and content learning and highlights language learning for subject matter learning purposes (Allison & Harklau, 2010 ). To make it more specifically, the SIOP model promotes the use of instructional scaffolding to make content comprehensible while advancing students’ skills in a new language (Echevarría et al., 2013 , p. 18). Over the decade, this notion integrating language and cognitive development within the disciplines has gradually gained its prominence in bilingual and multilingual education (Goldenberg, 2010 ).

Complementary to the language and cognitive approach, the sociocultural approach contends literacy learning as a social issue, widely shaped by power, structure and ideology (Gee, 2015 ; Lea & Street, 2006 ). This approach highlights the role of learner agency and identity in transforming individual/community learning practices (Lillis & Scott, 2007 ). Academic literacy in this sense is viewed as a sociocultural construct imbued with meaning, value and emotions as a gateway for social access, power distribution and meaning reconstruction (Moje et al., 2008 ).

However, despite the various approaches to academic literacy teaching and learning, up-till-now, there still seems to be a paucity of research that can integrate these dimensions into effective intervention and research practices. Current researches on academic literacy development either take an interventionistic or descriptive approach. The former usually takes place within a concrete educational setting under the intention to uncover effective community teaching and learning practices (Engestrom, 1999 ). The later, on the contrary, often takes a more naturalistic or ethnographic approach with the hope to provide an in-depth account of individual/community learning practices (Lillis & Scott, 2007 ). These descriptions are often aligned to larger sociocultural contexts and the transformative role of learner agency in collective, object-oriented activities (Engeström, 1987 ; Wenger, 1998 ).

These different approaches to academic literacy development are influenced by the varying epistemological stances of the researcher and specific research purposes. However, all these approaches have pointed to a common conception of academic literacy as a multidimensional construct, widely shaped by the sociocultural and historical contexts. This complex and dynamic nature of literacy learning not only enables the constant innovation and expansion of academic literacy construct but also opens up the possibilities to challenge the preconceived notions of relevant research and pedagogical practices.

Based on these concerns, the study intends to conduct a critical review of the twenty years’ development of academic literacy research in terms of their definition of the academic literacy construct, research approaches, methodologies, settings and keywords with the hope to uncover possible developmental trends in interaction. Critical reflections are drawn from this systematic review to shed light on possible future research directions.

Through this review, we intended the address the following three research questions:

What is the construct of academic literacy in different approaches of academic literacy research?

What are the possible patterns of change in term of academic literacy research methods, approaches and settings over the past twenty years?

What are the main focuses of research within each approach of academic literacy development?

Methodology

The study adopts mixed methods to provide a systematic review of academic literacy research over the past twenty years. The rationale for choosing a mixed method is to integrate qualitative text analysis on the features of academic literacy research with quantitative corpus analysis applied on the initial coding results to unveil possible developmental trends.

Inclusion criteria

To locate academic literacy studies over the past twenty years, the researcher conducted a keyword search of ‘academic literacy’ within a wide range of databases within the realm of linguistic and education. For quality control, only peer-reviewed articles from the Social Sciences Citation Index (Web of Science) were selected. This initial selection criteria yielded 127 papers containing a keyword of ‘academic literacy’ from a range of high-quality journals in linguistics and education from a series of databases, including: Social Science Premium Collection, ERIC (U.S. Dept. of Education), ERIC (ProQuest), Taylor & Francis Online—Journals, Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts, Informa—Taylor & Francis (CrossRef), Arts & Humanities Citation Index (Web of Science), ScienceDirect Journals (Elsevier), ScienceDirect (Elsevier B.V.), Elsevier (CrossRef), ProQuest Education Journals, Sage Journals (Sage Publications), International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, JSTOR Archival Journals, Wiley Online Library etc. Among these results, papers from Journal of Second Language Writing, Language and Education, English for Specific Purposes, Teaching in Higher Education, Journal of English for Academic Purposes and Higher Education Research & Development are among the most frequent.

Based on these initial results, the study conducted a second-round detailed sample selection. The researcher manually excluded the irrelevant papers which are either review articles, papers written in languages other than English or not directly related to literacy learning in educational settings. After the second round of data selection, a final database of 94 high-quality papers on academic literacy research within the time span between 2002 and 2019 were generated. However, considering the time of observation in this study, only researches conducted before October 2019 were included, which leads to a slight decrease in the total number of researches accounted in that year.

Coding procedure

Coding of the study was conducted from multiple perspectives. Firstly, the study specified three different approaches to academic literacy study based on their different understandings and conceptualizations of the construct (Allison & Harklau, 2010 ). Based on this initial classification, the study then conducted a new round of coding on the definitions of academic literacy, research methods, settings within each approach to look for possible interactions. Finally, a quantitative keywords frequency analysis was conducted in respective approaches to reveal the possible similarities and differences in their research focus. Specific coding criteria are specified as the following.

Firstly, drawing from Allison and Harklau ( 2010 ), the study classified all the researches in the database into three broad categories: language, disciplinary and sociocultural. While the language approach mainly focuses on the development of general or disciplinary-specific academic language features (Hyland, 2008 ), the disciplinary approach views academic literacy development as deeply embedded in the inquiry of disciplinary-specific values, cultures and epistemologies and can only be achieved via individual’s active engagement in disciplinary learning and inquiry practices (Moje, 2015 ). The sociocultural approach, largely influenced by the ‘academic literacies’ model (Lea & Street, 1998 ) contends that academic literacy development entails more than individual socialization into the academic community but is also closely related to issues as power, identity and epistemology (Gee, 2015 ; Lillis, 2008 ).

Based on this initial coding, the study then identified the research methods in all studies within each approach as either quantitative, qualitative or mixed method. Drawing from Creswell ( 2014 ), quantitative research is defined as ‘an approach for testing objective theories by examining the relationship among variables’ (p. 3) and is often quantified or numbered using specific statistical procedures. The use of this approach in academic literacy studies are often closely associated with corpus-driven text analysis, developmental studies, academic language assessment or large-scale intervention studies. This approach is particularly useful in unveiling the possible developmental effects of effective interventions but may fall short to account for the process of development which are often highly idiosyncratic and contextual. The use of qualitative methods can to some extent address this concern, as they often intend to explore deep contextualized meanings that individuals or groups ascribe to a social problem (Creswell, 2014 ). Drawing from the notion of literacy learning as a social practice, qualitative methods and especially linguistic ethnographies are highly encouraged in early academic literacy studies for their potential to provide detailed descriptions of a phenomenon through prolonged engagement (Lillis, 2008 ). In complementary, the use of mixed methods integrates both quantitative and qualitative data to ‘provide a more complete understanding of a research problem than either approach alone’ (Creswell, 2014 , p. 3). This approach embodies huge potentialities in academic literacy research as it can align teaching and learning processes with possible developmental outcomes, which not only preserves the contextualized and practice-oriented nature of academic literacy research but also makes their results generalizable.

Secondly, the study classified all the researches into two types: interventionistic and descriptive. The former entails an intentional pedagogical intervention with an aim to improve individual and community learning practices. The latter, however, tends to adopt a more naturalistic approach under an intention to unveil the complex and dynamic interactions between academic literacy development and the wider sociocultural context. These two approaches complement each other in academic literacy researches in real educational settings, serving distinct purposes.

Thirdly, for a closer inspection of the context of research, the study specifies three general research settings: English as a native language (ENL), English as a second language (ESL) and English as a foreign language (EFL) (Kirkpatrick, 2007 ). According to Kirkpatrick ( 2007 , p. 27), ‘ENL is spoken in countries where English is the primary language of the great majority of the population’ where ‘English is spoken and used as a native language’. ESL in contrast, ‘is spoken in countries where English is an important and usually official language, but not the main language of the country’ (Kirkpatrick, 2007 , p. 27). These are also countries that are previously colonized by the English-speaking countries, often with a diverse linguistic landscape and complicated language policies (Broom, 2004 ). Therefore, language choices in these countries are often closely connected to issues as power, identity and justice. Academic literacy development in this respect serves both to guarantee social resource distribution and to empower individuals to change. Finally, ‘EFL occurs in countries where English is not actually used or spoken very much in the normal course of daily life’ (Kirkpatrick, 2007 , p. 27). Within these settings, for example in China, English language education used to serve only for its own purposes (Wen, 2019 ). However, dramatic changes have been going on these days in pursuit of a language-content integrated curriculum to achieve advanced literacy and cognitive skills development. (Zhang & Li, 2019 ; Zhang & Sun, 2014 ).

Finally, the study conducted detailed keywords analysis in terms of their frequency within each approach (language, disciplinary and sociocultural). Based on these, the researcher then merged the raw frequencies of similar constructs for example: testing and assessment, teaching and pedagogy to get a better representation of the results. This analysis reveals the focus of research within each approach and helps promote further operationalization of the academic literacy construct.

The coding was conducted by two independent coders, with coder one in charge of the coding of all data, and coder two responsible for 30% of the coding of the total data. Coder one, also the main researcher trained coder two in terms of the coding procedures in detail with ample practices until the threshold of intercoder reliability was reached. Coder two then coded the remaining 30% of the data independently with an interrater reliability of over 80%. The coding was done on an excel worksheet which makes data access and retrieval readily available. The statistical software R was used for keywords frequency analysis.

Data analyses in the study mainly involve three parts: (1) specifying the construct and operationalization of the academic literacy research; (2) investigating the dynamic interactions among research approaches, methods and settings; (3) identifying the focus of research within each approach through keywords analysis. The following parts deal with these questions respectively.

Definition and operationalization of the academic literacy construct

The study extracted all the explicit definitions of academic literacy within each approach (language, disciplinary and sociocultural) and conducted detailed thematic analysis recategorizing them into different themes (see Table 1 ).

Table 1 shows that the definitions of academic literacy vary with respect to the different conceptualizations and epistemologies of academic literacy development within each approach. For instance, the language-based approach mainly defines academic literacy from two aspects: (1) language use in academic settings; and (2) language competence required for academic study (Baumann & Graves, 2010 ; Sebolai, 2016 ). The former takes a relatively narrow view of academic literacy development as learners’ gradual appropriation of the linguistic and rhetorical features of the academic discourse (Schleppegrell, 2013 ; Uccelli et al., 2014 ). The latter in complementary specifies academic literacy development for content learning purposes, entailing the kind of competence students need to possess for academic study (Kabelo & Sebolai, 2016 ). Academic language learning in this sense does not serve for its own sake but is considered as a tool for content learning and cognitive development. Overall, the language-based approach to academic literacy development lays much emphasis on the acquisition of academic language features which serves as a prerequisite for learners to examine and explore the meaning-making potential of the academic language (Schleppegrell, 2013 ).

The disciplinary-based approach on the other hand focuses on an integrated development of advanced language and cognitive skills within the disciplines, with language learning closely intertwined with the appropriation of disciplinary-specific values, cultures and practices. In this sense, academic literacy development is viewed as a dynamic process of higher-order language socialization in pursuit of deep, collaborative contextual meaning (Lea & Street, 2006 ). During this process, academic literacy development goes hand in hand with cognitive development and knowledge production within the disciplines, along with learners’ gradually expanding involvement with the disciplinary-specific ways of doing knowing and thinking (Granville & Dison, 2005 ). Other researches within this approach regard academic literacy development as more than language socialization but widely shaped and constrained by issues of power, epistemology and identity (Lea & Street, 1998 ). This definition is also widely used in the sociocultural approach, regarding academic literacy development as a sociocultural enterprise, widely related to the identification, reification and transformation of the social practices (Wenger, 1998 ).

The sociocultural approach also known as the ‘academic literacies’ model views literacy learning at the level of power struggle, structure reconstruction and social justice (Gee, 2015 ). Academic literacy development in this sense is not only a shared repertoire for individual access to social communities but also a tool for emancipation and transformation, which is object-oriented, practice-driven and value-laden (Lillis & Scott, 2007 ).

Academic literacy research approaches, methods and settings

The study also analyzed changes in the approaches, methods and settings of academic literacy research over the past twenty years. Table 2 and Fig.  1 in the following present the number of quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods studies within the language-based, disciplinary-based and sociocultural approach respectively.

Methods approach interaction in academic literacy studies

Table 2 and Fig.  1 show that the research methods chosen tend to vary with the approaches. To begin with, the number of qualitative studies generally surpassed the quantitative ones in both the disciplinary and the sociocultural approach, especially in the latter where qualitative studies dominated. However, their numbers tended to decrease in the past five years giving way to the rising mixed method researches. This was particularly evident in the growing number of mixed-methods language and disciplinary studies observed after 2015, which can also be an indication of the emergence of more robust designs in relevant educational researches. Finally, while the sociocultural approach was mainly featured by qualitative research, research methods in the language approach were more evenly distributed, which can possibly be accounted by its relatively longer research tradition and more well-established research practices.

In addition, the study also specified changes in the number of descriptive and intervention studies each year (see Table 2 , Fig.  2 ). Results showed that: (1) generally there were more qualitative researches in both the intervention and descriptive approach compared to the quantitative ones, although their numbers decreased in the past five years, especially in terms of the number of qualitative intervention studies; (2) a growing number of mixed-methods intervention studies were perceived in recent years. The findings echoed Scammacca et al.’s ( 2016 ) a century progress of reading intervention studies, indicating the emergence of more ‘standard, structured and standardized group interventions’ with ‘more robust design’ compared to the previous ‘individualized intervention case studies’ (p. 780). This developmental trend can indicate a possible methodological shift towards more large-scale intervention studies in the future based on recursive and reflective pedagogical practices. For more detailed descriptions of the methods-approach interaction, the study further investigated changes in the number of descriptive and intervention studies within each approach (see Table 3 , Fig.  3 ).

Diachronic changes in academic literacy research methods

Methods-approach interaction in academic literacy studies

Table 3 suggests that while the sociocultural approach tended to be more descriptive, the language and disciplinary approaches were more likely to interventionist. Another developmental trend was a dramatic decrease in descriptive language studies after 2015, giving way to an evident increase in intervention studies. This phenomenon entails an intricate connection among academic literacy development, education and pedagogy, indicating that language socialization does not come naturally, and well-designed, explicit pedagogical interventions are often in need.

Furthermore, the study tracked diachronic changes in the settings of academic literacy research. Results show that among the 94 selected academic literacy researches, 81 take place in a higher education context, accounting for about 86% of the total. Only 10 out of the 13 remaining researches take place in secondary school settings and 3 in elementary school settings. These results suggest that up-till-now, discussions on academic literacy development are mainly restricted to higher education settings, closely linked to the learning of advanced language and thinking skills. However, future researches may also need to attend to academic literacy development in secondary or primary school settings, especially in face of the growing disciplinary learning demands for adolescents (Dyhaylongsod et al., 2015 ).

Finally, the study recorded the specific countries where academic literacy studies take place, among which South Africa stands as the highest with 22 studies amounting to 20.95% of the total, followed by the United States (17.14%), United Kingdom (12.38%), Australia (11.43%) and China (9.64%). These results suggest that academic literacy research most often take place in ENL or ESL settings with relatively long traditions of literacy teaching and learning, and prominent demands for academic literacy development within subject areas. In the meantime, the study attributes the high number of academic literacy research in the South African context to its complex linguistic realities and historical legacies, where literacy development is closely associated with issues of power, identity and equality (Broom, 2004 ; Lea & Street, 2006 ). Based on this, the study specified the approaches of academic literacy research within the ENL, ESL and EFL settings respectively (see Table 4 , Fig.  4 ).

Academic literacy research settings

Table 4 shows that while the ENL settings dominated most of the academic literacy researches, relevant studies in ESL and EFL settings gradually increased in recent years, indicating an expanding influence of the academic literacy construct in different educational settings. Another pattern was the observation of more balanced research approaches or more evenly distributed language, disciplinary and sociocultural researches in all three settings. This phenomenon suggests that there seems to be an increasing flexibility in academic literacy research in recent years under the intention to address specific contextual issues. All these developmental trends reinforce the notion of academic literacy as a multi-dimensional construct (Cumming, 2013 ).

Focus of academic literacy research

To investigate the focus of academic literacy research within each approach, the study conducted detailed keywords analysis in all studies (see Fig.  5 ). Results show that academic literacy development is a situated educational practice, closely linked to issues as content learning, teacher education, assessment and pedagogy. Another feature that stands out is the frequent appearance of ‘writing’ and its related practices, such as: academic writing, student writing etc. This phenomenon suggests that compared to reading, writing seems to share a greater emphasis in academic literacy research. This can possibly be accounted by the intricate connections among writing, language and content learning and the gradual shift of focus from learning to write to writing to learn in higher education settings (Prain & Hand, 2016 ).

Keywords analysis of academic literacy research

From Fig.  5 , it can be seen that different approaches share common and distinct research focuses. For instance, the disciplinary approach is mainly featured by content learning and the development of subject-matter knowledge and skills, with a close relation to situated educational practices as genre and pedagogy, disciplinary-specific teaching and learning, reading interventions and teacher education. The language approach on the other hand tends to be more text-oriented, focusing on the development of advanced cognitive and academic language skills, widely influenced by the notions of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) and genre pedagogy. In addition, assessment and testing are also a key issue in the language-based approach, indicating that language testing practices today are still largely text-oriented, focusing on the acquisition of specific academic language skills. Finally, keywords analysis results in the sociocultural approach revealed its deeply held assumptions of academic literacy development as a situated, complex sociocultural practice. One emerging feature is its growing attention to multilingualism, multiculturalism and international students. In an era of rapid globalization and academic exchange, academic literacy development has gradually become a global issue as is manifested in a rapid expansion of international students in ENL countries (Caplan & Stevens, 2017 ). These students, however, often face double barriers in language and content learning, especially in terms of advanced literacy skills development required for content learning and inquiry (Okuda & Anderson, 2018 ). In this sense, more attentions are needed for the implementation and innovation of effective community learning practices.

Data analysis results in the study reveal that: (1) academic literacy development is a multidimensional construct (Cumming, 2013 ); (2) there is a growing number of mixed-methods intervention studies in recent years especially within the language approach; (3) a gradual expansion of academic literacy research in ESL and EFL settings is perceived with increasing attention to international and multilingual students. The following parts of the discussion and conclusion will provide detailed analyses on these aspects.

Definition and keywords analysis of the academic literacy studies reveal that academic literacy is a multidimensional construct, embodying both textual and contextual practices and bears huge significance for individual language and cognitive development. Drawing from this, future researches may need to cross the boundaries to integrate the language, disciplinary and sociocultural aspects of academic literacy development within a holistic view of literacy teaching and learning. In this respect, academic literacy development can widely draw from various research domains as language acquisition, language socialization, genre and pedagogy and critical literacy (Duff, 2010 ; Gee, 2015 ; Hyland, 2008 ; Lea & Street, 2006 ; Russell, 2009 ). Future researches may need to pay more attention to these multiple aspects which closely intertwine and mutually shape one another to serve for the innovation and design of effective practices.

Data analysis in the study also demonstrated the intricate connections between literacy learning and pedagogical interventions. The development of academic literacy does not come naturally, but often calls for explicit instruction and interventions to address situated learning needs (Shanahan, 2012 ). It is hoped that in the future larger-scale interventions with more rigorous designs are necessary in pursuit of more effective pedagogical practices (Scammacca et al., 2016 ). This assumption, however, are not in contradiction to the dynamic and contextual nature of academic literacy development, as more sophisticated designs can generally provide more detailed account of the practice-driven and contextualized learning processes which are often cyclical and recursive in nature.

Lastly, results of the study revealed a growing trend of academic literacy research in EFL settings especially with respect to English language learners and international students. Compared to the ENL and ESL settings, academic literacy research in EFL settings, although a relatively recent issue, embodies huge potentialities. Drawn by the demand to promote higher-order thinking and learning and the need to innovate traditional form-focused, skilled-based EFL pedagogy, the notion of academic literacy development as a disciplinary-based, socioculturally constructed, dynamic academic socialization process offers a sensible option for pedagogical innovation and curriculum development in these contexts. In this sense, the notion of academic literacy as a multidimensional construct has provided a possible solution to the long-standing problems concerning the efficacy the efficiency of EFL education, the alignment of language and content learning as well as the challenges in curriculum design and material development in EFL settings (Wen, 2019 ).

Conclusion and implication

Results of the study suggest a relatively straight-forward agenda for the development of effective academic literacy pedagogies. Firstly, the study revealed an intricate connection between academic literacy development and disciplinary-specific knowledge construction and inquiry activities. Academic literacy development is by no means only a textual issue, but agentive scaffolded learning activities that are meaningful, purposeful and authentic. Literacy activities such as reading and writing in this sense are often object-oriented to serve for real knowledge production and communicative needs. Therefore, effective academic literacy instruction often aligns language development with content learning within meaningful disciplinary and social inquiries.

Secondly, in an era of rapid globalization and communication, the development of academic literacy often takes a critical role in resource distribution and power reconstruction. This has also led to an increasing attention to academic literacy development of international students in multilingual contexts, who often face multiple challenges in learning disciplinary literacy. However, contrary to the traditional ‘deficit model’ seeking for a remediation for their relatively ‘disadvantaged’ language background, the notion of academic literacy highlighted the role of teacher and learner agency in the development of new pedagogical practices. These innovative approaches often acknowledge and build on students’ diverse language and cultural backgrounds to make literacy learning a cognitively meaningful and culturally valuable practice.

The study can shed light on future research from both an empirical and pedagogical perspective. From an empirical perspective, future research may need to pay more attention to the multidimensionality of the construct of academic literacy. As revealed in the current study, academic literacy development embodies multiple dimensions as language learning, cognitive development and social transformation. Future research may need to transcend the epistemological boundaries to seek for a more integrated definition of academic literacy in which language, cognitive and social development mutually transform one another. From a pedagogical perspective, an activity-based, integrated pedagogy should be proposed in academic literacy development. In the case, students generally use language to engage in authentic communication and practices relating not only to the advancement of disciplinary knowledge but also for the betterment of society. As it is through these practices that students’ engagement in complex meaning making and higher order thinking are ensured, and the internalization of language knowledge and transformation of social practices gradually occur.

The study also bears some limitations. Although it seeks to provide a comprehensive overview of the general trend, method and focus of academic literacy research for nearly two decades, it does not go deeper into specific studies of their findings and implications. Future studies can possibly narrow down their scope of investigation to delve deeper and provide a more thorough analysis of specific research findings.

Availability of data and materials

The studies reviewed can be referred from the reference citations in the supplementary materials.

Abbreviations

Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach

Data driven learning

English for Academic Purposes

English as a native language

English as a second language

Systemic Functional Linguistics

Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol

Allison, H., & Harklau, L. (2010). Teaching academic literacies in secondary school. In G. Li & P. A. Edwards (Eds.), Best practices in ELL instruction. The Guilford Press.

Google Scholar  

Anthony, L. (2017). Introducing corpora and corpus tools into the technical writing classroom through Data-Driven Learning (DDL). In J. Flowerdew & T. Costley (Eds.), Discipline-specific writing: Theory into practice. Routledge.

Bailey, A. L., Butler, F. A., Stevens, R., & Lord, C. (2007). Further specifying the language demands of school. In A. L. Bailey (Ed.), The language demands of school: Putting academic English to the test. Yale University Press.

Basturkmen, H. (2017). Developing writing courses for specific academic purposes. In J. Flowerdew & T. Costley (Eds.), Discipline-specific writing: Theory into practice. Routledge.

Baumann, J. F., & Graves, M. F. (2010). What is academic vocabulary? Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 54 (1), 4–12.

Article   Google Scholar  

Bigelow, M., & Vinogradov, P. (2011). Teaching adult second language learners who are emergent readers. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 31 , 120–136.

Broom, Y. (2004). Reading English in multilingual South African primary schools. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 7 (6), 506–528.

Caplan, N. A., & Stevens, S. G. (2017). “Step out of the cycle”: Needs, challenges, and successes of international undergraduates at a U.S. University. English for Specific Purposes, 46 , 15–28.

Chamot, A. U., & O’Malley, J. M. (1987). The cognitive academic language learning approach: A bridge to the mainstream. TESOL Quarterly, 21 (2), 227–249.

Charles, M. (2013). English for academic purposes. In B. Paltridge & S. Starfield (Eds.), The handbook of English for specific purposes (pp. 137–155). Wiley-Blackwell.

Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches . Sage.

Cumming, A. (2013). Multiple dimensions of academic language and literacy development. Language Learning, 63 (1), 130–152.

Duff, P. A. (2010). Language socialization into academic discourse communities. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 30 , 169–192.

Dyhaylongsod, L., Snow, C. E., Selman, R. L., & Donovan, M. S. (2015). Toward disciplinary literacy: Dilemmas and challenges in designing history curriculum to support middle school students. Harvard Educational Review, 85 (4), 587–608.

Echevarria, J., Vogt, M., & Short, D. J. (2013). Making content comprehensible for English learners: The SIOP model . Pearson Education.

Engeström, Y. (1987). Learning by expanding: An activity-theoretical approach to developmental research . Cambridge University Press.

Engestrom, Y. (1999). Activity theory and individual and social transformation. In R.M.R.-L.P. Yrjo Engestrom (Ed.), Perspectives on activity theory. Cambridge University Press.

Chapter   Google Scholar  

Fang, Z. (2012). Approaches to developing content area literacies: A synthesis and a critique. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 56 (2), 103–108.

Fang, Z., & Coatoam, S. (2013). Disciplinary literacy: What you want to know about it. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 56 (8), 627–632.

Fisher, R. (2019). Reconciling disciplinary literacy perspectives with genre-oriented Activity Theory: Toward a fuller synthesis of traditions. Reading Research Quarterly, 54 (2), 237–251.

Flowerdew, J. (2013). Introduction: Approaches to the analysis of academic discourse in English. In J. Flowerdew (Ed.), Academic discourse. Routledge.

Gebhard, M. (2004). Fast capitalism, school reform, and second language literacy practices. The Modern Language Journal, 88 (2), 245–265.

Gee, J. P. (2015). Literacy and education . Routledge.

Goldenberg, C. (2010). Improving achievement for English learners: Conclusions from recent reviews and emerging research. In G. Li & P. A. Edwards (Eds.), Best practices in ELL instruction (pp. 15–44). The Guilford Press.

Granville, S., & Dison, L. (2005). Thinking about thinking: Integrating self-reflection into an academic literacy course. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 4 , 99–118.

Halliday, M. A. K. (2000). An introduction to functional grammar . Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.

Hyland, K. (2008). Genre and academic writing in the disciplines. Language Teaching, 41 (4), 543–562.

Kirkpatrick, A. (2007). World Englishes: Implications for international communication and English language teaching . Cambridge University Press.

Lea, M. R., & Street, B. V. (1998). Student writing in higher education: An academic literacies approach. Studies in Higher Education, 23 (2), 157–172.

Lea, M. R., & Street, B. V. (2006). The “Academic Literacies” model: Theory and applications. Theory into Practice, 45 (4), 368–377.

Lillis, T. (2008). Ethnography as method, methodology, and “deep theorizing” closing the gap between text and context in academic writing research. Written Communication , 25 (3), 353–388.

Lillis, T., & Scott, M. (2007). Defining academic literacies research: Issues of epistemology, ideology and strategy. Journal of Applied Linguistics, 4 (1), 5–32.

Lillis, T., & Tuck, J. (2016). Academic literacies: A critical lens on writing and reading in the academy. In K. Hyland & P. Shaw (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of English for academic purposes (pp. 30–44). Routledge.

Lillis, T., & Turner, J. (2001). Student writing in higher education: Contemporary confusion, traditional concerns. Teaching in Higher Education , 6 (1), 57–68.

Moje, E. B. (2015). Doing and teaching adolescent literacy with adolescent learners: A social and cultural enterprise. Harvard Educational Review, 85 (2), 254–278.

Moje, E. B., Overby, M., Tysvaer, N., & Morris, K. (2008). The complex world of adolescent literacy: Myths, motivations, and mysteries. Harvard Educational Review, 78 (1), 107–154.

Okuda, T., & Anderson, T. (2018). Second language graduate students’ experiences at the writing center: A language socialization perspective. TESOL Quarterly, 52 (2), 391–413.

Prain, V., & Hand, B. (2016). Coming to know more through and from writing. Educational Researcher, 45 (7), 430–434.

Russell, D. R. (2009). Texts in contexts: Theorizing learning by looking at genre and activity. In R. Edwards, G. Biesta, & M. Thorpe (Eds.), Rethinking contexts for learning and teaching: Communities, activities and networks. Routledge.

Scammacca, N. K., Roberts, G. J., Cho, E., Williams, J., Roberts, G., Vaughn, S. R., et al. (2016). A century of progress: Reading interventions for students in grades 4–12, 1914–2014. Review of Educational Research , 86 (3), 756–800.

Schleppegrell, M. J. (2013). The role of metalanguage in supporting academic language development. Language Learning, 63 (1), 153–170.

Sebolai, K. (2016). Distinguishing between English proficiency and academic literacy in English. Language Matters, 47 (1), 45–60.

Shanahan, C. (2012). How disciplinary experts read. In T. L. Jetlon & C. Shanahan (Eds.), Adolescent literacy in the academic disciplines: General principles and practical strategies. The Guilford Press.

Shanahan, T., & Shanahan, C. (2008). Teaching disciplinary literacy to adolescents: Rethinking content-area literacy. Harvard Educational Review, 78 (1), 40–59.

Short, D. J., Echevarría, J., & Richards-Tutor, C. (2011). Research on academic literacy development in sheltered instruction classrooms. Language Teaching Research, 15 (3), 363–380.

Short, D., & Fitzsimmons, S. (2007). Double the work: Challenges and solutions to acquiring language and academic literacy for adolescent English language learners—A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York . Alliance for Excellent Education.

Street, B. (2003). What’s “new” in New Literacy studies? Critical approaches to literacy in theory and practice. Current Issues in Comparative Education, 52 (2), 77–91.

Uccelli, P., Barr, C. D., Dobbs, C. L., Galloway, E. P., Meneses, A., & Sanchez, E. (2014). Core academic language skills: An expanded operational construct and a novel instrument to chart school-relevant language proficiency in preadolescent and adolescent learners. Applied Psycholinguistics, 36 (5), 1077–1109.

Wen, Q. (2019). Foreign language teaching theories in China in the past 70 years. Foreign Language in China, 16 (5), 14–22.

Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity . Cambridge University Press.

Book   Google Scholar  

Wingate, U. (2018). Academic literacy across the curriculum: Towards a collaborative instructional approach. Language Teaching, 51 (3), 349–364.

Zhang, L., & Li, D. (2019). An integrated development of students’ language and cognition under the CLIL pedagogy. Foreign Language Education in China, 2 (2), 16–24.

Zhang, L., & Sun, Y. (2014). A sociocultural theory-based writing curriculum reform on English majors. Foreign Language World, 5 , 2–10.

Zhao, K., & Chan, C. K. K. (2014). Fostering collective and individual learning through knowledge building. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning , 9 , 63–95.

Download references

Acknowledgements

I would like to express my sincere thanks to the two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments on the original manuscript.

The study was supported by the start up research funding for young scholars in Nanjing Normal University (No. 184080H202A135).

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

School of Foreign Languages, Nanjing Normal University, Wenyuanlu #1, Qixia District, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China

Dongying Li

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dongying Li .

Ethics declarations

Competing interests.

The author declares that there is no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ .

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Li, D. A review of academic literacy research development: from 2002 to 2019. Asian. J. Second. Foreign. Lang. Educ. 7 , 5 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-022-00130-z

Download citation

Received : 20 September 2021

Accepted : 01 February 2022

Published : 15 March 2022

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-022-00130-z

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Academic literacy
• Academic language
• Cognitive development
• Intervention
• Sociocultural context

How To Write An A-Grade Literature Review

3 straightforward steps (with examples) + free template.

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) | Expert Reviewed By: Dr. Eunice Rautenbach | October 2019

Quality research is about building onto the existing work of others , “standing on the shoulders of giants”, as Newton put it. The literature review chapter of your dissertation, thesis or research project is where you synthesise this prior work and lay the theoretical foundation for your own research.

Long story short, this chapter is a pretty big deal, which is why you want to make sure you get it right . In this post, I’ll show you exactly how to write a literature review in three straightforward steps, so you can conquer this vital chapter (the smart way).

Overview: The Literature Review Process

• Understanding the “ why “
• Finding the relevant literature
• Cataloguing and synthesising the information
• Outlining & writing up your literature review
• Example of a literature review

But first, the “why”…

Before we unpack how to write the literature review chapter, we’ve got to look at the why . To put it bluntly, if you don’t understand the function and purpose of the literature review process, there’s no way you can pull it off well. So, what exactly is the purpose of the literature review?

Well, there are (at least) four core functions:

• For you to gain an understanding (and demonstrate this understanding) of where the research is at currently, what the key arguments and disagreements are.
• For you to identify the gap(s) in the literature and then use this as justification for your own research topic.
• To help you build a conceptual framework for empirical testing (if applicable to your research topic).
• To inform your methodological choices and help you source tried and tested questionnaires (for interviews ) and measurement instruments (for surveys ).

Most students understand the first point but don’t give any thought to the rest. To get the most from the literature review process, you must keep all four points front of mind as you review the literature (more on this shortly), or you’ll land up with a wonky foundation.

Okay – with the why out the way, let’s move on to the how . As mentioned above, writing your literature review is a process, which I’ll break down into three steps:

• Finding the most suitable literature
• Understanding , distilling and organising the literature
• Planning and writing up your literature review chapter

Importantly, you must complete steps one and two before you start writing up your chapter. I know it’s very tempting, but don’t try to kill two birds with one stone and write as you read. You’ll invariably end up wasting huge amounts of time re-writing and re-shaping, or you’ll just land up with a disjointed, hard-to-digest mess . Instead, you need to read first and distil the information, then plan and execute the writing.

Step 1: Find the relevant literature

Naturally, the first step in the literature review journey is to hunt down the existing research that’s relevant to your topic. While you probably already have a decent base of this from your research proposal , you need to expand on this substantially in the dissertation or thesis itself.

Essentially, you need to be looking for any existing literature that potentially helps you answer your research question (or develop it, if that’s not yet pinned down). There are numerous ways to find relevant literature, but I’ll cover my top four tactics here. I’d suggest combining all four methods to ensure that nothing slips past you:

Method 1 – Google Scholar Scrubbing

Google’s academic search engine, Google Scholar , is a great starting point as it provides a good high-level view of the relevant journal articles for whatever keyword you throw at it. Most valuably, it tells you how many times each article has been cited, which gives you an idea of how credible (or at least, popular) it is. Some articles will be free to access, while others will require an account, which brings us to the next method.

Method 2 – University Database Scrounging

Generally, universities provide students with access to an online library, which provides access to many (but not all) of the major journals.

So, if you find an article using Google Scholar that requires paid access (which is quite likely), search for that article in your university’s database – if it’s listed there, you’ll have access. Note that, generally, the search engine capabilities of these databases are poor, so make sure you search for the exact article name, or you might not find it.

Method 3 – Journal Article Snowballing

At the end of every academic journal article, you’ll find a list of references. As with any academic writing, these references are the building blocks of the article, so if the article is relevant to your topic, there’s a good chance a portion of the referenced works will be too. Do a quick scan of the titles and see what seems relevant, then search for the relevant ones in your university’s database.

Method 4 – Dissertation Scavenging

Similar to Method 3 above, you can leverage other students’ dissertations. All you have to do is skim through literature review chapters of existing dissertations related to your topic and you’ll find a gold mine of potential literature. Usually, your university will provide you with access to previous students’ dissertations, but you can also find a much larger selection in the following databases:

• Open Access Theses & Dissertations
• Stanford SearchWorks

Keep in mind that dissertations and theses are not as academically sound as published, peer-reviewed journal articles (because they’re written by students, not professionals), so be sure to check the credibility of any sources you find using this method. You can do this by assessing the citation count of any given article in Google Scholar. If you need help with assessing the credibility of any article, or with finding relevant research in general, you can chat with one of our Research Specialists .

Alright – with a good base of literature firmly under your belt, it’s time to move onto the next step.

Need a helping hand?

Step 2: Log, catalogue and synthesise

Once you’ve built a little treasure trove of articles, it’s time to get reading and start digesting the information – what does it all mean?

While I present steps one and two (hunting and digesting) as sequential, in reality, it’s more of a back-and-forth tango – you’ll read a little , then have an idea, spot a new citation, or a new potential variable, and then go back to searching for articles. This is perfectly natural – through the reading process, your thoughts will develop , new avenues might crop up, and directional adjustments might arise. This is, after all, one of the main purposes of the literature review process (i.e. to familiarise yourself with the current state of research in your field).

As you’re working through your treasure chest, it’s essential that you simultaneously start organising the information. There are three aspects to this:

• Logging reference information
• Building an organised catalogue
• Distilling and synthesising the information

I’ll discuss each of these below:

2.1 – Log the reference information

As you read each article, you should add it to your reference management software. I usually recommend Mendeley for this purpose (see the Mendeley 101 video below), but you can use whichever software you’re comfortable with. Most importantly, make sure you load EVERY article you read into your reference manager, even if it doesn’t seem very relevant at the time.

2.2 – Build an organised catalogue

In the beginning, you might feel confident that you can remember who said what, where, and what their main arguments were. Trust me, you won’t. If you do a thorough review of the relevant literature (as you must!), you’re going to read many, many articles, and it’s simply impossible to remember who said what, when, and in what context . Also, without the bird’s eye view that a catalogue provides, you’ll miss connections between various articles, and have no view of how the research developed over time. Simply put, it’s essential to build your own catalogue of the literature.

I would suggest using Excel to build your catalogue, as it allows you to run filters, colour code and sort – all very useful when your list grows large (which it will). How you lay your spreadsheet out is up to you, but I’d suggest you have the following columns (at minimum):

• Author, date, title – Start with three columns containing this core information. This will make it easy for you to search for titles with certain words, order research by date, or group by author.
• Categories or keywords – You can either create multiple columns, one for each category/theme and then tick the relevant categories, or you can have one column with keywords.
• Key arguments/points – Use this column to succinctly convey the essence of the article, the key arguments and implications thereof for your research.
• Context – Note the socioeconomic context in which the research was undertaken. For example, US-based, respondents aged 25-35, lower- income, etc. This will be useful for making an argument about gaps in the research.
• Methodology – Note which methodology was used and why. Also, note any issues you feel arise due to the methodology. Again, you can use this to make an argument about gaps in the research.
• Quotations – Note down any quoteworthy lines you feel might be useful later.
• Notes – Make notes about anything not already covered. For example, linkages to or disagreements with other theories, questions raised but unanswered, shortcomings or limitations, and so forth.

If you’d like, you can try out our free catalog template here (see screenshot below).

2.3 – Digest and synthesise

Most importantly, as you work through the literature and build your catalogue, you need to synthesise all the information in your own mind – how does it all fit together? Look for links between the various articles and try to develop a bigger picture view of the state of the research. Some important questions to ask yourself are:

• What answers does the existing research provide to my own research questions ?
• Which points do the researchers agree (and disagree) on?
• How has the research developed over time?
• Where do the gaps in the current research lie?

To help you develop a big-picture view and synthesise all the information, you might find mind mapping software such as Freemind useful. Alternatively, if you’re a fan of physical note-taking, investing in a large whiteboard might work for you.

Step 3: Outline and write it up!

Once you’re satisfied that you have digested and distilled all the relevant literature in your mind, it’s time to put pen to paper (or rather, fingers to keyboard). There are two steps here – outlining and writing:

3.1 – Draw up your outline

Having spent so much time reading, it might be tempting to just start writing up without a clear structure in mind. However, it’s critically important to decide on your structure and develop a detailed outline before you write anything. Your literature review chapter needs to present a clear, logical and an easy to follow narrative – and that requires some planning. Don’t try to wing it!

Naturally, you won’t always follow the plan to the letter, but without a detailed outline, you’re more than likely going to end up with a disjointed pile of waffle , and then you’re going to spend a far greater amount of time re-writing, hacking and patching. The adage, “measure twice, cut once” is very suitable here.

In terms of structure, the first decision you’ll have to make is whether you’ll lay out your review thematically (into themes) or chronologically (by date/period). The right choice depends on your topic, research objectives and research questions, which we discuss in this article .

Once that’s decided, you need to draw up an outline of your entire chapter in bullet point format. Try to get as detailed as possible, so that you know exactly what you’ll cover where, how each section will connect to the next, and how your entire argument will develop throughout the chapter. Also, at this stage, it’s a good idea to allocate rough word count limits for each section, so that you can identify word count problems before you’ve spent weeks or months writing!

PS – check out our free literature review chapter template…

3.2 – Get writing

With a detailed outline at your side, it’s time to start writing up (finally!). At this stage, it’s common to feel a bit of writer’s block and find yourself procrastinating under the pressure of finally having to put something on paper. To help with this, remember that the objective of the first draft is not perfection – it’s simply to get your thoughts out of your head and onto paper, after which you can refine them. The structure might change a little, the word count allocations might shift and shuffle, and you might add or remove a section – that’s all okay. Don’t worry about all this on your first draft – just get your thoughts down on paper.

Once you’ve got a full first draft (however rough it may be), step away from it for a day or two (longer if you can) and then come back at it with fresh eyes. Pay particular attention to the flow and narrative – does it fall fit together and flow from one section to another smoothly? Now’s the time to try to improve the linkage from each section to the next, tighten up the writing to be more concise, trim down word count and sand it down into a more digestible read.

Once you’ve done that, give your writing to a friend or colleague who is not a subject matter expert and ask them if they understand the overall discussion. The best way to assess this is to ask them to explain the chapter back to you. This technique will give you a strong indication of which points were clearly communicated and which weren’t. If you’re working with Grad Coach, this is a good time to have your Research Specialist review your chapter.

Finally, tighten it up and send it off to your supervisor for comment. Some might argue that you should be sending your work to your supervisor sooner than this (indeed your university might formally require this), but in my experience, supervisors are extremely short on time (and often patience), so, the more refined your chapter is, the less time they’ll waste on addressing basic issues (which you know about already) and the more time they’ll spend on valuable feedback that will increase your mark-earning potential.

Literature Review Example

In the video below, we unpack an actual literature review so that you can see how all the core components come together in reality.

Let’s Recap

In this post, we’ve covered how to research and write up a high-quality literature review chapter. Let’s do a quick recap of the key takeaways:

• It is essential to understand the WHY of the literature review before you read or write anything. Make sure you understand the 4 core functions of the process.
• The first step is to hunt down the relevant literature . You can do this using Google Scholar, your university database, the snowballing technique and by reviewing other dissertations and theses.
• Next, you need to log all the articles in your reference manager , build your own catalogue of literature and synthesise all the research.
• Following that, you need to develop a detailed outline of your entire chapter – the more detail the better. Don’t start writing without a clear outline (on paper, not in your head!)
• Write up your first draft in rough form – don’t aim for perfection. Remember, done beats perfect.
• Refine your second draft and get a layman’s perspective on it . Then tighten it up and submit it to your supervisor.

Psst… there’s more!

This post is an extract from our bestselling Udemy Course, Literature Review Bootcamp . If you want to work smart, you don't want to miss this .

You Might Also Like:

38 Comments

Thank you very much. This page is an eye opener and easy to comprehend.

This is awesome!

I wish I come across GradCoach earlier enough.

But all the same I’ll make use of this opportunity to the fullest.

Thank you for this good job.

Keep it up!

You’re welcome, Yinka. Thank you for the kind words. All the best writing your literature review.

Thank you for a very useful literature review session. Although I am doing most of the steps…it being my first masters an Mphil is a self study and one not sure you are on the right track. I have an amazing supervisor but one also knows they are super busy. So not wanting to bother on the minutae. Thank you.

You’re most welcome, Renee. Good luck with your literature review 🙂

This has been really helpful. Will make full use of it. 🙂

Thank you Gradcoach.

Really agreed. Admirable effort

thank you for this beautiful well explained recap.

Thank you so much for your guide of video and other instructions for the dissertation writing.

It is instrumental. It encouraged me to write a dissertation now.

Thank you the video was great – from someone that knows nothing thankyou

an amazing and very constructive way of presetting a topic, very useful, thanks for the effort,

It is timely

It is very good video of guidance for writing a research proposal and a dissertation. Since I have been watching and reading instructions, I have started my research proposal to write. I appreciate to Mr Jansen hugely.

I learn a lot from your videos. Very comprehensive and detailed.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge. As a research student, you learn better with your learning tips in research

I was really stuck in reading and gathering information but after watching these things are cleared thanks, it is so helpful.

Really helpful, Thank you for the effort in showing such information

This is super helpful thank you very much.

Thank you for this whole literature writing review.You have simplified the process.

I’m so glad I found GradCoach. Excellent information, Clear explanation, and Easy to follow, Many thanks Derek!

You’re welcome, Maithe. Good luck writing your literature review 🙂

Thank you Coach, you have greatly enriched and improved my knowledge

Great piece, so enriching and it is going to help me a great lot in my project and thesis, thanks so much

This is THE BEST site for ANYONE doing a masters or doctorate! Thank you for the sound advice and templates. You rock!

Thanks, Stephanie 🙂

This is mind blowing, the detailed explanation and simplicity is perfect.

I am doing two papers on my final year thesis, and I must stay I feel very confident to face both headlong after reading this article.

thank you so much.

if anyone is to get a paper done on time and in the best way possible, GRADCOACH is certainly the go to area!

This is very good video which is well explained with detailed explanation

Thank you excellent piece of work and great mentoring

Thanks, it was useful

Thank you very much. the video and the information were very helpful.

Good morning scholar. I’m delighted coming to know you even before the commencement of my dissertation which hopefully is expected in not more than six months from now. I would love to engage my study under your guidance from the beginning to the end. I love to know how to do good job

Thank you so much Derek for such useful information on writing up a good literature review. I am at a stage where I need to start writing my one. My proposal was accepted late last year but I honestly did not know where to start

Like the name of your YouTube implies you are GRAD (great,resource person, about dissertation). In short you are smart enough in coaching research work.

This is a very well thought out webpage. Very informative and a great read.

Very timely.

I appreciate.

Very comprehensive and eye opener for me as beginner in postgraduate study. Well explained and easy to understand. Appreciate and good reference in guiding me in my research journey. Thank you

Thank you. I requested to download the free literature review template, however, your website wouldn’t allow me to complete the request or complete a download. May I request that you email me the free template? Thank you.

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• Print Friendly

• USC Libraries
• Research Guides

Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper

• 5. The Literature Review
• Purpose of Guide
• Design Flaws to Avoid
• Independent and Dependent Variables
• Glossary of Research Terms
• Reading Research Effectively
• Narrowing a Topic Idea
• Broadening a Topic Idea
• Extending the Timeliness of a Topic Idea
• Academic Writing Style
• Choosing a Title
• Making an Outline
• Paragraph Development
• Research Process Video Series
• Executive Summary
• The C.A.R.S. Model
• Background Information
• The Research Problem/Question
• Theoretical Framework
• Citation Tracking
• Content Alert Services
• Evaluating Sources
• Primary Sources
• Secondary Sources
• Tiertiary Sources
• Scholarly vs. Popular Publications
• Qualitative Methods
• Quantitative Methods
• Insiderness
• Using Non-Textual Elements
• Limitations of the Study
• Common Grammar Mistakes
• Writing Concisely
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Footnotes or Endnotes?
• Further Readings
• Generative AI and Writing
• USC Libraries Tutorials and Other Guides
• Bibliography

A literature review surveys prior research published in books, scholarly articles, and any other sources relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, and by so doing, provides a description, summary, and critical evaluation of these works in relation to the research problem being investigated. Literature reviews are designed to provide an overview of sources you have used in researching a particular topic and to demonstrate to your readers how your research fits within existing scholarship about the topic.

Fink, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper . Fourth edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2014.

Importance of a Good Literature Review

A literature review may consist of simply a summary of key sources, but in the social sciences, a literature review usually has an organizational pattern and combines both summary and synthesis, often within specific conceptual categories . A summary is a recap of the important information of the source, but a synthesis is a re-organization, or a reshuffling, of that information in a way that informs how you are planning to investigate a research problem. The analytical features of a literature review might:

• Give a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations,
• Trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates,
• Depending on the situation, evaluate the sources and advise the reader on the most pertinent or relevant research, or
• Usually in the conclusion of a literature review, identify where gaps exist in how a problem has been researched to date.

Given this, the purpose of a literature review is to:

• Place each work in the context of its contribution to understanding the research problem being studied.
• Describe the relationship of each work to the others under consideration.
• Identify new ways to interpret prior research.
• Reveal any gaps that exist in the literature.
• Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies.
• Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of effort.
• Point the way in fulfilling a need for additional research.
• Locate your own research within the context of existing literature [very important].

Fink, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2005; Hart, Chris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998; Jesson, Jill. Doing Your Literature Review: Traditional and Systematic Techniques . Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2011; Knopf, Jeffrey W. "Doing a Literature Review." PS: Political Science and Politics 39 (January 2006): 127-132; Ridley, Diana. The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for Students . 2nd ed. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2012.

Types of Literature Reviews

It is important to think of knowledge in a given field as consisting of three layers. First, there are the primary studies that researchers conduct and publish. Second are the reviews of those studies that summarize and offer new interpretations built from and often extending beyond the primary studies. Third, there are the perceptions, conclusions, opinion, and interpretations that are shared informally among scholars that become part of the body of epistemological traditions within the field.

In composing a literature review, it is important to note that it is often this third layer of knowledge that is cited as "true" even though it often has only a loose relationship to the primary studies and secondary literature reviews. Given this, while literature reviews are designed to provide an overview and synthesis of pertinent sources you have explored, there are a number of approaches you could adopt depending upon the type of analysis underpinning your study.

Argumentative Review This form examines literature selectively in order to support or refute an argument, deeply embedded assumption, or philosophical problem already established in the literature. The purpose is to develop a body of literature that establishes a contrarian viewpoint. Given the value-laden nature of some social science research [e.g., educational reform; immigration control], argumentative approaches to analyzing the literature can be a legitimate and important form of discourse. However, note that they can also introduce problems of bias when they are used to make summary claims of the sort found in systematic reviews [see below].

Integrative Review Considered a form of research that reviews, critiques, and synthesizes representative literature on a topic in an integrated way such that new frameworks and perspectives on the topic are generated. The body of literature includes all studies that address related or identical hypotheses or research problems. A well-done integrative review meets the same standards as primary research in regard to clarity, rigor, and replication. This is the most common form of review in the social sciences.

Historical Review Few things rest in isolation from historical precedent. Historical literature reviews focus on examining research throughout a period of time, often starting with the first time an issue, concept, theory, phenomena emerged in the literature, then tracing its evolution within the scholarship of a discipline. The purpose is to place research in a historical context to show familiarity with state-of-the-art developments and to identify the likely directions for future research.

Methodological Review A review does not always focus on what someone said [findings], but how they came about saying what they say [method of analysis]. Reviewing methods of analysis provides a framework of understanding at different levels [i.e. those of theory, substantive fields, research approaches, and data collection and analysis techniques], how researchers draw upon a wide variety of knowledge ranging from the conceptual level to practical documents for use in fieldwork in the areas of ontological and epistemological consideration, quantitative and qualitative integration, sampling, interviewing, data collection, and data analysis. This approach helps highlight ethical issues which you should be aware of and consider as you go through your own study.

Systematic Review This form consists of an overview of existing evidence pertinent to a clearly formulated research question, which uses pre-specified and standardized methods to identify and critically appraise relevant research, and to collect, report, and analyze data from the studies that are included in the review. The goal is to deliberately document, critically evaluate, and summarize scientifically all of the research about a clearly defined research problem . Typically it focuses on a very specific empirical question, often posed in a cause-and-effect form, such as "To what extent does A contribute to B?" This type of literature review is primarily applied to examining prior research studies in clinical medicine and allied health fields, but it is increasingly being used in the social sciences.

Theoretical Review The purpose of this form is to examine the corpus of theory that has accumulated in regard to an issue, concept, theory, phenomena. The theoretical literature review helps to establish what theories already exist, the relationships between them, to what degree the existing theories have been investigated, and to develop new hypotheses to be tested. Often this form is used to help establish a lack of appropriate theories or reveal that current theories are inadequate for explaining new or emerging research problems. The unit of analysis can focus on a theoretical concept or a whole theory or framework.

NOTE : Most often the literature review will incorporate some combination of types. For example, a review that examines literature supporting or refuting an argument, assumption, or philosophical problem related to the research problem will also need to include writing supported by sources that establish the history of these arguments in the literature.

Baumeister, Roy F. and Mark R. Leary. "Writing Narrative Literature Reviews."  Review of General Psychology 1 (September 1997): 311-320; Mark R. Fink, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper . 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2005; Hart, Chris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998; Kennedy, Mary M. "Defining a Literature." Educational Researcher 36 (April 2007): 139-147; Petticrew, Mark and Helen Roberts. Systematic Reviews in the Social Sciences: A Practical Guide . Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 2006; Torracro, Richard. "Writing Integrative Literature Reviews: Guidelines and Examples." Human Resource Development Review 4 (September 2005): 356-367; Rocco, Tonette S. and Maria S. Plakhotnik. "Literature Reviews, Conceptual Frameworks, and Theoretical Frameworks: Terms, Functions, and Distinctions." Human Ressource Development Review 8 (March 2008): 120-130; Sutton, Anthea. Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review . Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, 2016.

Structure and Writing Style

I.  Thinking About Your Literature Review

The structure of a literature review should include the following in support of understanding the research problem :

• An overview of the subject, issue, or theory under consideration, along with the objectives of the literature review,
• Division of works under review into themes or categories [e.g. works that support a particular position, those against, and those offering alternative approaches entirely],
• An explanation of how each work is similar to and how it varies from the others,
• Conclusions as to which pieces are best considered in their argument, are most convincing of their opinions, and make the greatest contribution to the understanding and development of their area of research.

The critical evaluation of each work should consider :

• Provenance -- what are the author's credentials? Are the author's arguments supported by evidence [e.g. primary historical material, case studies, narratives, statistics, recent scientific findings]?
• Methodology -- were the techniques used to identify, gather, and analyze the data appropriate to addressing the research problem? Was the sample size appropriate? Were the results effectively interpreted and reported?
• Objectivity -- is the author's perspective even-handed or prejudicial? Is contrary data considered or is certain pertinent information ignored to prove the author's point?
• Persuasiveness -- which of the author's theses are most convincing or least convincing?
• Validity -- are the author's arguments and conclusions convincing? Does the work ultimately contribute in any significant way to an understanding of the subject?

II.  Development of the Literature Review

Four Basic Stages of Writing 1.  Problem formulation -- which topic or field is being examined and what are its component issues? 2.  Literature search -- finding materials relevant to the subject being explored. 3.  Data evaluation -- determining which literature makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the topic. 4.  Analysis and interpretation -- discussing the findings and conclusions of pertinent literature.

Consider the following issues before writing the literature review: Clarify If your assignment is not specific about what form your literature review should take, seek clarification from your professor by asking these questions: 1.  Roughly how many sources would be appropriate to include? 2.  What types of sources should I review (books, journal articles, websites; scholarly versus popular sources)? 3.  Should I summarize, synthesize, or critique sources by discussing a common theme or issue? 4.  Should I evaluate the sources in any way beyond evaluating how they relate to understanding the research problem? 5.  Should I provide subheadings and other background information, such as definitions and/or a history? Find Models Use the exercise of reviewing the literature to examine how authors in your discipline or area of interest have composed their literature review sections. Read them to get a sense of the types of themes you might want to look for in your own research or to identify ways to organize your final review. The bibliography or reference section of sources you've already read, such as required readings in the course syllabus, are also excellent entry points into your own research. Narrow the Topic The narrower your topic, the easier it will be to limit the number of sources you need to read in order to obtain a good survey of relevant resources. Your professor will probably not expect you to read everything that's available about the topic, but you'll make the act of reviewing easier if you first limit scope of the research problem. A good strategy is to begin by searching the USC Libraries Catalog for recent books about the topic and review the table of contents for chapters that focuses on specific issues. You can also review the indexes of books to find references to specific issues that can serve as the focus of your research. For example, a book surveying the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may include a chapter on the role Egypt has played in mediating the conflict, or look in the index for the pages where Egypt is mentioned in the text. Consider Whether Your Sources are Current Some disciplines require that you use information that is as current as possible. This is particularly true in disciplines in medicine and the sciences where research conducted becomes obsolete very quickly as new discoveries are made. However, when writing a review in the social sciences, a survey of the history of the literature may be required. In other words, a complete understanding the research problem requires you to deliberately examine how knowledge and perspectives have changed over time. Sort through other current bibliographies or literature reviews in the field to get a sense of what your discipline expects. You can also use this method to explore what is considered by scholars to be a "hot topic" and what is not.

III.  Ways to Organize Your Literature Review

Chronology of Events If your review follows the chronological method, you could write about the materials according to when they were published. This approach should only be followed if a clear path of research building on previous research can be identified and that these trends follow a clear chronological order of development. For example, a literature review that focuses on continuing research about the emergence of German economic power after the fall of the Soviet Union. By Publication Order your sources by publication chronology, then, only if the order demonstrates a more important trend. For instance, you could order a review of literature on environmental studies of brown fields if the progression revealed, for example, a change in the soil collection practices of the researchers who wrote and/or conducted the studies. Thematic [“conceptual categories”] A thematic literature review is the most common approach to summarizing prior research in the social and behavioral sciences. Thematic reviews are organized around a topic or issue, rather than the progression of time, although the progression of time may still be incorporated into a thematic review. For example, a review of the Internet’s impact on American presidential politics could focus on the development of online political satire. While the study focuses on one topic, the Internet’s impact on American presidential politics, it would still be organized chronologically reflecting technological developments in media. The difference in this example between a "chronological" and a "thematic" approach is what is emphasized the most: themes related to the role of the Internet in presidential politics. Note that more authentic thematic reviews tend to break away from chronological order. A review organized in this manner would shift between time periods within each section according to the point being made. Methodological A methodological approach focuses on the methods utilized by the researcher. For the Internet in American presidential politics project, one methodological approach would be to look at cultural differences between the portrayal of American presidents on American, British, and French websites. Or the review might focus on the fundraising impact of the Internet on a particular political party. A methodological scope will influence either the types of documents in the review or the way in which these documents are discussed.

Other Sections of Your Literature Review Once you've decided on the organizational method for your literature review, the sections you need to include in the paper should be easy to figure out because they arise from your organizational strategy. In other words, a chronological review would have subsections for each vital time period; a thematic review would have subtopics based upon factors that relate to the theme or issue. However, sometimes you may need to add additional sections that are necessary for your study, but do not fit in the organizational strategy of the body. What other sections you include in the body is up to you. However, only include what is necessary for the reader to locate your study within the larger scholarship about the research problem.

Here are examples of other sections, usually in the form of a single paragraph, you may need to include depending on the type of review you write:

• Current Situation : Information necessary to understand the current topic or focus of the literature review.
• Sources Used : Describes the methods and resources [e.g., databases] you used to identify the literature you reviewed.
• History : The chronological progression of the field, the research literature, or an idea that is necessary to understand the literature review, if the body of the literature review is not already a chronology.
• Selection Methods : Criteria you used to select (and perhaps exclude) sources in your literature review. For instance, you might explain that your review includes only peer-reviewed [i.e., scholarly] sources.
• Standards : Description of the way in which you present your information.
• Questions for Further Research : What questions about the field has the review sparked? How will you further your research as a result of the review?

IV.  Writing Your Literature Review

Once you've settled on how to organize your literature review, you're ready to write each section. When writing your review, keep in mind these issues.

Use Evidence A literature review section is, in this sense, just like any other academic research paper. Your interpretation of the available sources must be backed up with evidence [citations] that demonstrates that what you are saying is valid. Be Selective Select only the most important points in each source to highlight in the review. The type of information you choose to mention should relate directly to the research problem, whether it is thematic, methodological, or chronological. Related items that provide additional information, but that are not key to understanding the research problem, can be included in a list of further readings . Use Quotes Sparingly Some short quotes are appropriate if you want to emphasize a point, or if what an author stated cannot be easily paraphrased. Sometimes you may need to quote certain terminology that was coined by the author, is not common knowledge, or taken directly from the study. Do not use extensive quotes as a substitute for using your own words in reviewing the literature. Summarize and Synthesize Remember to summarize and synthesize your sources within each thematic paragraph as well as throughout the review. Recapitulate important features of a research study, but then synthesize it by rephrasing the study's significance and relating it to your own work and the work of others. Keep Your Own Voice While the literature review presents others' ideas, your voice [the writer's] should remain front and center. For example, weave references to other sources into what you are writing but maintain your own voice by starting and ending the paragraph with your own ideas and wording. Use Caution When Paraphrasing When paraphrasing a source that is not your own, be sure to represent the author's information or opinions accurately and in your own words. Even when paraphrasing an author’s work, you still must provide a citation to that work.

V.  Common Mistakes to Avoid

These are the most common mistakes made in reviewing social science research literature.

• Sources in your literature review do not clearly relate to the research problem;
• You do not take sufficient time to define and identify the most relevant sources to use in the literature review related to the research problem;
• Relies exclusively on secondary analytical sources rather than including relevant primary research studies or data;
• Uncritically accepts another researcher's findings and interpretations as valid, rather than examining critically all aspects of the research design and analysis;
• Does not describe the search procedures that were used in identifying the literature to review;
• Reports isolated statistical results rather than synthesizing them in chi-squared or meta-analytic methods; and,
• Only includes research that validates assumptions and does not consider contrary findings and alternative interpretations found in the literature.

Cook, Kathleen E. and Elise Murowchick. “Do Literature Review Skills Transfer from One Course to Another?” Psychology Learning and Teaching 13 (March 2014): 3-11; Fink, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper . 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2005; Hart, Chris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998; Jesson, Jill. Doing Your Literature Review: Traditional and Systematic Techniques . London: SAGE, 2011; Literature Review Handout. Online Writing Center. Liberty University; Literature Reviews. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J. and Rebecca Frels. Seven Steps to a Comprehensive Literature Review: A Multimodal and Cultural Approach . Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2016; Ridley, Diana. The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for Students . 2nd ed. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2012; Randolph, Justus J. “A Guide to Writing the Dissertation Literature Review." Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation. vol. 14, June 2009; Sutton, Anthea. Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review . Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, 2016; Taylor, Dena. The Literature Review: A Few Tips On Conducting It. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Writing a Literature Review. Academic Skills Centre. University of Canberra.

Writing Tip

Break Out of Your Disciplinary Box!

Thinking interdisciplinarily about a research problem can be a rewarding exercise in applying new ideas, theories, or concepts to an old problem. For example, what might cultural anthropologists say about the continuing conflict in the Middle East? In what ways might geographers view the need for better distribution of social service agencies in large cities than how social workers might study the issue? You don’t want to substitute a thorough review of core research literature in your discipline for studies conducted in other fields of study. However, particularly in the social sciences, thinking about research problems from multiple vectors is a key strategy for finding new solutions to a problem or gaining a new perspective. Consult with a librarian about identifying research databases in other disciplines; almost every field of study has at least one comprehensive database devoted to indexing its research literature.

Frodeman, Robert. The Oxford Handbook of Interdisciplinarity . New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.

Another Writing Tip

Don't Just Review for Content!

While conducting a review of the literature, maximize the time you devote to writing this part of your paper by thinking broadly about what you should be looking for and evaluating. Review not just what scholars are saying, but how are they saying it. Some questions to ask:

• How are they organizing their ideas?
• What methods have they used to study the problem?
• What theories have been used to explain, predict, or understand their research problem?
• What sources have they cited to support their conclusions?
• How have they used non-textual elements [e.g., charts, graphs, figures, etc.] to illustrate key points?

When you begin to write your literature review section, you'll be glad you dug deeper into how the research was designed and constructed because it establishes a means for developing more substantial analysis and interpretation of the research problem.

Hart, Chris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1 998.

Yet Another Writing Tip

When Do I Know I Can Stop Looking and Move On?

Here are several strategies you can utilize to assess whether you've thoroughly reviewed the literature:

• Look for repeating patterns in the research findings . If the same thing is being said, just by different people, then this likely demonstrates that the research problem has hit a conceptual dead end. At this point consider: Does your study extend current research?  Does it forge a new path? Or, does is merely add more of the same thing being said?
• Look at sources the authors cite to in their work . If you begin to see the same researchers cited again and again, then this is often an indication that no new ideas have been generated to address the research problem.
• Search Google Scholar to identify who has subsequently cited leading scholars already identified in your literature review [see next sub-tab]. This is called citation tracking and there are a number of sources that can help you identify who has cited whom, particularly scholars from outside of your discipline. Here again, if the same authors are being cited again and again, this may indicate no new literature has been written on the topic.

Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J. and Rebecca Frels. Seven Steps to a Comprehensive Literature Review: A Multimodal and Cultural Approach . Los Angeles, CA: Sage, 2016; Sutton, Anthea. Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review . Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, 2016.

• << Previous: Theoretical Framework
• Next: Citation Tracking >>
• Last Updated: Apr 5, 2024 1:38 PM
• URL: https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide

• University of Oregon Libraries
• Research Guides

How to Write a Literature Review

What's a literature review.

• Literature Reviews: A Recap
• Reading Journal Articles
• Does it Describe a Literature Review?
• 1. Identify the Question
• 2. Review Discipline Styles
• Searching Article Databases
• Finding Full-Text of an Article
• Citation Chaining
• When to Stop Searching
• 4. Manage Your References
• 5. Critically Analyze and Evaluate
• 6. Synthesize
• 7. Write a Literature Review

What's a Literature Review? 

A literature review (or "lit review," for short) is an in-depth critical analysis of published scholarly research related to a specific topic. Published scholarly research (aka, "the literature") may include journal articles, books, book chapters, dissertations and thesis, or conference proceedings. 

A solid lit review must:

• be organized around and related directly to the thesis or research question you're developing
• synthesize results into a summary of what is and is not known
• identify areas of controversy in the literature
• formulate questions that need further research

• << Previous: Start
• Next: Literature Reviews: A Recap >>
• Last Updated: Jan 10, 2024 4:46 PM
• URL: https://researchguides.uoregon.edu/litreview

Contact Us Library Accessibility UO Libraries Privacy Notices and Procedures

1501 Kincaid Street Eugene, OR 97403 P: 541-346-3053 F: 541-346-3485

• Visit us on Facebook
• Visit us on Twitter
• Visit us on Youtube
• Visit us on Instagram
• Report a Concern
• Nondiscrimination and Title IX
• Accessibility
• Privacy Policy
• Find People

• Open access
• Published: 08 June 2022

A systematic review on digital literacy

• Hasan Tinmaz   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4310-0848 1 ,
• Yoo-Taek Lee   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1913-9059 2 ,
• Mina Fanea-Ivanovici   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2921-2990 3 &
• Hasnan Baber   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8951-3501 4  

Smart Learning Environments volume  9 , Article number:  21 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

43k Accesses

34 Citations

10 Altmetric

Metrics details

The purpose of this study is to discover the main themes and categories of the research studies regarding digital literacy. To serve this purpose, the databases of WoS/Clarivate Analytics, Proquest Central, Emerald Management Journals, Jstor Business College Collections and Scopus/Elsevier were searched with four keyword-combinations and final forty-three articles were included in the dataset. The researchers applied a systematic literature review method to the dataset. The preliminary findings demonstrated that there is a growing prevalence of digital literacy articles starting from the year 2013. The dominant research methodology of the reviewed articles is qualitative. The four major themes revealed from the qualitative content analysis are: digital literacy, digital competencies, digital skills and digital thinking. Under each theme, the categories and their frequencies are analysed. Recommendations for further research and for real life implementations are generated.

Introduction

The extant literature on digital literacy, skills and competencies is rich in definitions and classifications, but there is still no consensus on the larger themes and subsumed themes categories. (Heitin, 2016 ). To exemplify, existing inventories of Internet skills suffer from ‘incompleteness and over-simplification, conceptual ambiguity’ (van Deursen et al., 2015 ), and Internet skills are only a part of digital skills. While there is already a plethora of research in this field, this research paper hereby aims to provide a general framework of digital areas and themes that can best describe digital (cap)abilities in the novel context of Industry 4.0 and the accelerated pandemic-triggered digitalisation. The areas and themes can represent the starting point for drafting a contemporary digital literacy framework.

Sousa and Rocha ( 2019 ) explained that there is a stake of digital skills for disruptive digital business, and they connect it to the latest developments, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud technology, big data, artificial intelligence, and robotics. The topic is even more important given the large disparities in digital literacy across regions (Tinmaz et al., 2022 ). More precisely, digital inequalities encompass skills, along with access, usage and self-perceptions. These inequalities need to be addressed, as they are credited with a ‘potential to shape life chances in multiple ways’ (Robinson et al., 2015 ), e.g., academic performance, labour market competitiveness, health, civic and political participation. Steps have been successfully taken to address physical access gaps, but skills gaps are still looming (Van Deursen & Van Dijk, 2010a ). Moreover, digital inequalities have grown larger due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and they influenced the very state of health of the most vulnerable categories of population or their employability in a time when digital skills are required (Baber et al., 2022 ; Beaunoyer, Dupéré & Guitton, 2020 ).

The systematic review the researchers propose is a useful updated instrument of classification and inventory for digital literacy. Considering the latest developments in the economy and in line with current digitalisation needs, digitally literate population may assist policymakers in various fields, e.g., education, administration, healthcare system, and managers of companies and other concerned organisations that need to stay competitive and to employ competitive workforce. Therefore, it is indispensably vital to comprehend the big picture of digital literacy related research.

Literature review

Since the advent of Digital Literacy, scholars have been concerned with identifying and classifying the various (cap)abilities related to its operation. Using the most cited academic papers in this stream of research, several classifications of digital-related literacies, competencies, and skills emerged.

Digital literacies

Digital literacy, which is one of the challenges of integration of technology in academic courses (Blau, Shamir-Inbal & Avdiel, 2020 ), has been defined in the current literature as the competencies and skills required for navigating a fragmented and complex information ecosystem (Eshet, 2004 ). A ‘Digital Literacy Framework’ was designed by Eshet-Alkalai ( 2012 ), comprising six categories: (a) photo-visual thinking (understanding and using visual information); (b) real-time thinking (simultaneously processing a variety of stimuli); (c) information thinking (evaluating and combining information from multiple digital sources); (d) branching thinking (navigating in non-linear hyper-media environments); (e) reproduction thinking (creating outcomes using technological tools by designing new content or remixing existing digital content); (f) social-emotional thinking (understanding and applying cyberspace rules). According to Heitin ( 2016 ), digital literacy groups the following clusters: (a) finding and consuming digital content; (b) creating digital content; (c) communicating or sharing digital content. Hence, the literature describes the digital literacy in many ways by associating a set of various technical and non-technical elements.

• Digital competencies

The Digital Competence Framework for Citizens (DigComp 2.1.), the most recent framework proposed by the European Union, which is currently under review and undergoing an updating process, contains five competency areas: (a) information and data literacy, (b) communication and collaboration, (c) digital content creation, (d) safety, and (e) problem solving (Carretero, Vuorikari & Punie, 2017 ). Digital competency had previously been described in a technical fashion by Ferrari ( 2012 ) as a set comprising information skills, communication skills, content creation skills, safety skills, and problem-solving skills, which later outlined the areas of competence in DigComp 2.1, too.

• Digital skills

Ng ( 2012 ) pointed out the following three categories of digital skills: (a) technological (using technological tools); (b) cognitive (thinking critically when managing information); (c) social (communicating and socialising). A set of Internet skill was suggested by Van Deursen and Van Dijk ( 2009 , 2010b ), which contains: (a) operational skills (basic skills in using internet technology), (b) formal Internet skills (navigation and orientation skills); (c) information Internet skills (fulfilling information needs), and (d) strategic Internet skills (using the internet to reach goals). In 2014, the same authors added communication and content creation skills to the initial framework (van Dijk & van Deursen). Similarly, Helsper and Eynon ( 2013 ) put forward a set of four digital skills: technical, social, critical, and creative skills. Furthermore, van Deursen et al. ( 2015 ) built a set of items and factors to measure Internet skills: operational, information navigation, social, creative, mobile. More recent literature (vaan Laar et al., 2017 ) divides digital skills into seven core categories: technical, information management, communication, collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving.

It is worth mentioning that the various methodologies used to classify digital literacy are overlapping or non-exhaustive, which confirms the conceptual ambiguity mentioned by van Deursen et al. ( 2015 ).

• Digital thinking

Thinking skills (along with digital skills) have been acknowledged to be a significant element of digital literacy in the educational process context (Ferrari, 2012 ). In fact, critical thinking, creativity, and innovation are at the very core of DigComp. Information and Communication Technology as a support for thinking is a learning objective in any school curriculum. In the same vein, analytical thinking and interdisciplinary thinking, which help solve problems, are yet other concerns of educators in the Industry 4.0 (Ozkan-Ozen & Kazancoglu, 2021 ).

However, we have recently witnessed a shift of focus from learning how to use information and communication technologies to using it while staying safe in the cyber-environment and being aware of alternative facts. Digital thinking would encompass identifying fake news, misinformation, and echo chambers (Sulzer, 2018 ). Not least important, concern about cybersecurity has grown especially in times of political, social or economic turmoil, such as the elections or the Covid-19 crisis (Sulzer, 2018 ; Puig, Blanco-Anaya & Perez-Maceira, 2021 ).

Ultimately, this systematic review paper focuses on the following major research questions as follows:

Research question 1: What is the yearly distribution of digital literacy related papers?

Research question 2: What are the research methods for digital literacy related papers?

Research question 3: What are the main themes in digital literacy related papers?

Research question 4: What are the concentrated categories (under revealed main themes) in digital literacy related papers?

This study employed the systematic review method where the authors scrutinized the existing literature around the major research question of digital literacy. As Uman ( 2011 ) pointed, in systematic literature review, the findings of the earlier research are examined for the identification of consistent and repetitive themes. The systematic review method differs from literature review with its well managed and highly organized qualitative scrutiny processes where researchers tend to cover less materials from fewer number of databases to write their literature review (Kowalczyk & Truluck, 2013 ; Robinson & Lowe, 2015 ).

Data collection

To address major research objectives, the following five important databases are selected due to their digital literacy focused research dominance: 1. WoS/Clarivate Analytics, 2. Proquest Central; 3. Emerald Management Journals; 4. Jstor Business College Collections; 5. Scopus/Elsevier.

The search was made in the second half of June 2021, in abstract and key words written in English language. We only kept research articles and book chapters (herein referred to as papers). Our purpose was to identify a set of digital literacy areas, or an inventory of such areas and topics. To serve that purpose, systematic review was utilized with the following synonym key words for the search: ‘digital literacy’, ‘digital skills’, ‘digital competence’ and ‘digital fluency’, to find the mainstream literature dealing with the topic. These key words were unfolded as a result of the consultation with the subject matter experts (two board members from Korean Digital Literacy Association and two professors from technology studies department). Below are the four key word combinations used in the search: “Digital literacy AND systematic review”, “Digital skills AND systematic review”, “Digital competence AND systematic review”, and “Digital fluency AND systematic review”.

A sequential systematic search was made in the five databases mentioned above. Thus, from one database to another, duplicate papers were manually excluded in a cascade manner to extract only unique results and to make the research smoother to conduct. At this stage, we kept 47 papers. Further exclusion criteria were applied. Thus, only full-text items written in English were selected, and in doing so, three papers were excluded (no full text available), and one other paper was excluded because it was not written in English, but in Spanish. Therefore, we investigated a total number of 43 papers, as shown in Table 1 . “ Appendix A ” shows the list of these papers with full references.

Data analysis

The 43 papers selected after the application of the inclusion and exclusion criteria, respectively, were reviewed the materials independently by two researchers who were from two different countries. The researchers identified all topics pertaining to digital literacy, as they appeared in the papers. Next, a third researcher independently analysed these findings by excluded duplicates A qualitative content analysis was manually performed by calculating the frequency of major themes in all papers, where the raw data was compared and contrasted (Fraenkel et al., 2012 ). All three reviewers independently list the words and how the context in which they appeared and then the three reviewers collectively decided for how it should be categorized. Lastly, it is vital to remind that literature review of this article was written after the identification of the themes appeared as a result of our qualitative analyses. Therefore, the authors decided to shape the literature review structure based on the themes.

As an answer to the first research question (the yearly distribution of digital literacy related papers), Fig.  1 demonstrates the yearly distribution of digital literacy related papers. It is seen that there is an increasing trend about the digital literacy papers.

Yearly distribution of digital literacy related papers

Research question number two (The research methods for digital literacy related papers) concentrates on what research methods are employed for these digital literacy related papers. As Fig.  2 shows, most of the papers were using the qualitative method. Not stated refers to book chapters.

Research methods used in the reviewed articles

When forty-three articles were analysed for the main themes as in research question number three (The main themes in digital literacy related papers), the overall findings were categorized around four major themes: (i) literacies, (ii) competencies, (iii) skills, and (iv) thinking. Under every major theme, the categories were listed and explained as in research question number four (The concentrated categories (under revealed main themes) in digital literacy related papers).

The authors utilized an overt categorization for the depiction of these major themes. For example, when the ‘creativity’ was labelled as a skill, the authors also categorized it under the ‘skills’ theme. Similarly, when ‘creativity’ was mentioned as a competency, the authors listed it under the ‘competencies’ theme. Therefore, it is possible to recognize the same finding under different major themes.

Major theme 1: literacies

Digital literacy being the major concern of this paper was observed to be blatantly mentioned in five papers out forty-three. One of these articles described digital literacy as the human proficiencies to live, learn and work in the current digital society. In addition to these five articles, two additional papers used the same term as ‘critical digital literacy’ by describing it as a person’s or a society’s accessibility and assessment level interaction with digital technologies to utilize and/or create information. Table 2 summarizes the major categories under ‘Literacies’ major theme.

Computer literacy, media literacy and cultural literacy were the second most common literacy (n = 5). One of the article branches computer literacy as tool (detailing with software and hardware uses) and resource (focusing on information processing capacity of a computer) literacies. Cultural literacy was emphasized as a vital element for functioning in an intercultural team on a digital project.

Disciplinary literacy (n = 4) was referring to utilizing different computer programs (n = 2) or technical gadgets (n = 2) with a specific emphasis on required cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills to be able to work in any digital context (n = 3), serving for the using (n = 2), creating and applying (n = 2) digital literacy in real life.

Data literacy, technology literacy and multiliteracy were the third frequent categories (n = 3). The ‘multiliteracy’ was referring to the innate nature of digital technologies, which have been infused into many aspects of human lives.

Last but not least, Internet literacy, mobile literacy, web literacy, new literacy, personal literacy and research literacy were discussed in forty-three article findings. Web literacy was focusing on being able to connect with people on the web (n = 2), discover the web content (especially the navigation on a hyper-textual platform), and learn web related skills through practical web experiences. Personal literacy was highlighting digital identity management. Research literacy was not only concentrating on conducting scientific research ability but also finding available scholarship online.

Twenty-four other categories are unfolded from the results sections of forty-three articles. Table 3 presents the list of these other literacies where the authors sorted the categories in an ascending alphabetical order without any other sorting criterion. Primarily, search, tagging, filtering and attention literacies were mainly underlining their roles in information processing. Furthermore, social-structural literacy was indicated as the recognition of the social circumstances and generation of information. Another information-related literacy was pointed as publishing literacy, which is the ability to disseminate information via different digital channels.

While above listed personal literacy was referring to digital identity management, network literacy was explained as someone’s social networking ability to manage the digital relationship with other people. Additionally, participatory literacy was defined as the necessary abilities to join an online team working on online content production.

Emerging technology literacy was stipulated as an essential ability to recognize and appreciate the most recent and innovative technologies in along with smart choices related to these technologies. Additionally, the critical literacy was added as an ability to make smart judgements on the cost benefit analysis of these recent technologies.

Last of all, basic, intermediate, and advanced digital assessment literacies were specified for educational institutions that are planning to integrate various digital tools to conduct instructional assessments in their bodies.

Major theme 2: competencies

The second major theme was revealed as competencies. The authors directly categorized the findings that are specified with the word of competency. Table 4 summarizes the entire category set for the competencies major theme.

The most common category was the ‘digital competence’ (n = 14) where one of the articles points to that category as ‘generic digital competence’ referring to someone’s creativity for multimedia development (video editing was emphasized). Under this broad category, the following sub-categories were associated:

Problem solving (n = 10)

Safety (n = 7)

Information processing (n = 5)

Content creation (n = 5)

Communication (n = 2)

Digital rights (n = 1)

Digital emotional intelligence (n = 1)

Digital teamwork (n = 1)

Big data utilization (n = 1)

Artificial Intelligence utilization (n = 1)

Virtual leadership (n = 1)

Self-disruption (in along with the pace of digitalization) (n = 1)

Like ‘digital competency’, five additional articles especially coined the term as ‘digital competence as a life skill’. Deeper analysis demonstrated the following points: social competences (n = 4), communication in mother tongue (n = 3) and foreign language (n = 2), entrepreneurship (n = 3), civic competence (n = 2), fundamental science (n = 1), technology (n = 1) and mathematics (n = 1) competences, learning to learn (n = 1) and self-initiative (n = 1).

Moreover, competencies were linked to workplace digital competencies in three articles and highlighted as significant for employability (n = 3) and ‘economic engagement’ (n = 3). Digital competencies were also detailed for leisure (n = 2) and communication (n = 2). Furthermore, two articles pointed digital competencies as an inter-cultural competency and one as a cross-cultural competency. Lastly, the ‘digital nativity’ (n = 1) was clarified as someone’s innate competency of being able to feel contented and satisfied with digital technologies.

Major theme 3: skills

The third major observed theme was ‘skills’, which was dominantly gathered around information literacy skills (n = 19) and information and communication technologies skills (n = 18). Table 5 demonstrates the categories with more than one occurrence.

Table 6 summarizes the sub-categories of the two most frequent categories of ‘skills’ major theme. The information literacy skills noticeably concentrate on the steps of information processing; evaluation (n = 6), utilization (n = 4), finding (n = 3), locating (n = 2) information. Moreover, the importance of trial/error process, being a lifelong learner, feeling a need for information and so forth were evidently listed under this sub-category. On the other hand, ICT skills were grouped around cognitive and affective domains. For instance, while technical skills in general and use of social media, coding, multimedia, chat or emailing in specific were reported in cognitive domain, attitude, intention, and belief towards ICT were mentioned as the elements of affective domain.

Communication skills (n = 9) were multi-dimensional for different societies, cultures, and globalized contexts, requiring linguistic skills. Collaboration skills (n = 9) are also recurrently cited with an explicit emphasis for virtual platforms.

‘Ethics for digital environment’ encapsulated ethical use of information (n = 4) and different technologies (n = 2), knowing digital laws (n = 2) and responsibilities (n = 2) in along with digital rights and obligations (n = 1), having digital awareness (n = 1), following digital etiquettes (n = 1), treating other people with respect (n = 1) including no cyber-bullying (n = 1) and no stealing or damaging other people (n = 1).

‘Digital fluency’ involved digital access (n = 2) by using different software and hardware (n = 2) in online platforms (n = 1) or communication tools (n = 1) or within programming environments (n = 1). Digital fluency also underlined following recent technological advancements (n = 1) and knowledge (n = 1) including digital health and wellness (n = 1) dimension.

‘Social intelligence’ related to understanding digital culture (n = 1), the concept of digital exclusion (n = 1) and digital divide (n = 3). ‘Research skills’ were detailed with searching academic information (n = 3) on databases such as Web of Science and Scopus (n = 2) and their citation, summarization, and quotation (n = 2).

‘Digital teaching’ was described as a skill (n = 2) in Table 4 whereas it was also labelled as a competence (n = 1) as shown in Table 3 . Similarly, while learning to learn (n = 1) was coined under competencies in Table 3 , digital learning (n = 2, Table 4 ) and life-long learning (n = 1, Table 5 ) were stated as learning related skills. Moreover, learning was used with the following three terms: learning readiness (n = 1), self-paced learning (n = 1) and learning flexibility (n = 1).

Table 7 shows other categories listed below the ‘skills’ major theme. The list covers not only the software such as GIS, text mining, mapping, or bibliometric analysis programs but also the conceptual skills such as the fourth industrial revolution and information management.

Major theme 4: thinking

The last identified major theme was the different types of ‘thinking’. As Table 8 shows, ‘critical thinking’ was the most frequent thinking category (n = 4). Except computational thinking, the other categories were not detailed.

Computational thinking (n = 3) was associated with the general logic of how a computer works and sub-categorized into the following steps; construction of the problem (n = 3), abstraction (n = 1), disintegration of the problem (n = 2), data collection, (n = 2), data analysis (n = 2), algorithmic design (n = 2), parallelization & iteration (n = 1), automation (n = 1), generalization (n = 1), and evaluation (n = 2).

A transversal analysis of digital literacy categories reveals the following fields of digital literacy application:

Technological advancement (IT, ICT, Industry 4.0, IoT, text mining, GIS, bibliometric analysis, mapping data, technology, AI, big data)

Networking (Internet, web, connectivity, network, safety)

Information (media, news, communication)

Creative-cultural industries (culture, publishing, film, TV, leisure, content creation)

Academia (research, documentation, library)

Citizenship (participation, society, social intelligence, awareness, politics, rights, legal use, ethics)

Education (life skills, problem solving, teaching, learning, education, lifelong learning)

Professional life (work, teamwork, collaboration, economy, commerce, leadership, decision making)

Personal level (critical thinking, evaluation, analytical thinking, innovative thinking)

This systematic review on digital literacy concentrated on forty-three articles from the databases of WoS/Clarivate Analytics, Proquest Central, Emerald Management Journals, Jstor Business College Collections and Scopus/Elsevier. The initial results revealed that there is an increasing trend on digital literacy focused academic papers. Research work in digital literacy is critical in a context of disruptive digital business, and more recently, the pandemic-triggered accelerated digitalisation (Beaunoyer, Dupéré & Guitton, 2020 ; Sousa & Rocha 2019 ). Moreover, most of these papers were employing qualitative research methods. The raw data of these articles were analysed qualitatively using systematic literature review to reveal major themes and categories. Four major themes that appeared are: digital literacy, digital competencies, digital skills and thinking.

Whereas the mainstream literature describes digital literacy as a set of photo-visual, real-time, information, branching, reproduction and social-emotional thinking (Eshet-Alkalai, 2012 ) or as a set of precise specific operations, i.e., finding, consuming, creating, communicating and sharing digital content (Heitin, 2016 ), this study reveals that digital literacy revolves around and is in connection with the concepts of computer literacy, media literacy, cultural literacy or disciplinary literacy. In other words, the present systematic review indicates that digital literacy is far broader than specific tasks, englobing the entire sphere of computer operation and media use in a cultural context.

The digital competence yardstick, DigComp (Carretero, Vuorikari & Punie, 2017 ) suggests that the main digital competencies cover information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, digital content creation, safety, and problem solving. Similarly, the findings of this research place digital competencies in relation to problem solving, safety, information processing, content creation and communication. Therefore, the findings of the systematic literature review are, to a large extent, in line with the existing framework used in the European Union.

The investigation of the main keywords associated with digital skills has revealed that information literacy, ICT, communication, collaboration, digital content creation, research and decision-making skill are the most representative. In a structured way, the existing literature groups these skills in technological, cognitive, and social (Ng, 2012 ) or, more extensively, into operational, formal, information Internet, strategic, communication and content creation (van Dijk & van Deursen, 2014 ). In time, the literature has become richer in frameworks, and prolific authors have improved their results. As such, more recent research (vaan Laar et al., 2017 ) use the following categories: technical, information management, communication, collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving.

Whereas digital thinking was observed to be mostly related with critical thinking and computational thinking, DigComp connects it with critical thinking, creativity, and innovation, on the one hand, and researchers highlight fake news, misinformation, cybersecurity, and echo chambers as exponents of digital thinking, on the other hand (Sulzer, 2018 ; Puig, Blanco-Anaya & Perez-Maceira, 2021 ).

This systematic review research study looks ahead to offer an initial step and guideline for the development of a more contemporary digital literacy framework including digital literacy major themes and factors. The researchers provide the following recommendations for both researchers and practitioners.

Recommendations for prospective research

By considering the major qualitative research trend, it seems apparent that more quantitative research-oriented studies are needed. Although it requires more effort and time, mixed method studies will help understand digital literacy holistically.

As digital literacy is an umbrella term for many different technologies, specific case studies need be designed, such as digital literacy for artificial intelligence or digital literacy for drones’ usage.

Digital literacy affects different areas of human lives, such as education, business, health, governance, and so forth. Therefore, different case studies could be carried out for each of these unique dimensions of our lives. For instance, it is worth investigating the role of digital literacy on lifelong learning in particular, and on education in general, as well as the digital upskilling effects on the labour market flexibility.

Further experimental studies on digital literacy are necessary to realize how certain variables (for instance, age, gender, socioeconomic status, cognitive abilities, etc.) affect this concept overtly or covertly. Moreover, the digital divide issue needs to be analysed through the lens of its main determinants.

New bibliometric analysis method can be implemented on digital literacy documents to reveal more information on how these works are related or centred on what major topic. This visual approach will assist to realize the big picture within the digital literacy framework.

Recommendations for practitioners

The digital literacy stakeholders, policymakers in education and managers in private organizations, need to be aware that there are many dimensions and variables regarding the implementation of digital literacy. In that case, stakeholders must comprehend their beneficiaries or the participants more deeply to increase the effect of digital literacy related activities. For example, critical thinking and problem-solving skills and abilities are mentioned to affect digital literacy. Hence, stakeholders have to initially understand whether the participants have enough entry level critical thinking and problem solving.

Development of digital literacy for different groups of people requires more energy, since each group might require a different set of skills, abilities, or competencies. Hence, different subject matter experts, such as technologists, instructional designers, content experts, should join the team.

It is indispensably vital to develop different digital frameworks for different technologies (basic or advanced) or different contexts (different levels of schooling or various industries).

These frameworks should be updated regularly as digital fields are evolving rapidly. Every year, committees should gather around to understand new technological trends and decide whether they should address the changes into their frameworks.

Understanding digital literacy in a thorough manner can enable decision makers to correctly implement and apply policies addressing the digital divide that is reflected onto various aspects of life, e.g., health, employment, education, especially in turbulent times such as the COVID-19 pandemic is.

Lastly, it is also essential to state the study limitations. This study is limited to the analysis of a certain number of papers, obtained from using the selected keywords and databases. Therefore, an extension can be made by adding other keywords and searching other databases.

Availability of data and materials

The authors present the articles used for the study in “ Appendix A ”.

Baber, H., Fanea-Ivanovici, M., Lee, Y. T., & Tinmaz, H. (2022). A bibliometric analysis of digital literacy research and emerging themes pre-during COVID-19 pandemic. Information and Learning Sciences . https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-10-2021-0090 .

Article   Google Scholar  

Beaunoyer, E., Dupéré, S., & Guitton, M. J. (2020). COVID-19 and digital inequalities: Reciprocal impacts and mitigation strategies. Computers in Human Behavior, 111 , 10642. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106424

Blau, I., Shamir-Inbal, T., & Avdiel, O. (2020). How does the pedagogical design of a technology-enhanced collaborative academic course promote digital literacies, self-regulation, and perceived learning of students? The Internet and Higher Education, 45 , 100722. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2019.100722

Carretero, S., Vuorikari, R., & Punie, Y. (2017). DigComp 2.1: The Digital Competence Framework for Citizens with eight proficiency levels and examples of use (No. JRC106281). Joint Research Centre, https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC106281

Eshet, Y. (2004). Digital literacy: A conceptual framework for survival skills in the digital era. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia , 13 (1), 93–106, https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/4793/

Eshet-Alkalai, Y. (2012). Thinking in the digital era: A revised model for digital literacy. Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology, 9 (2), 267–276. https://doi.org/10.28945/1621

Ferrari, A. (2012). Digital competence in practice: An analysis of frameworks. JCR IPTS, Sevilla. https://ifap.ru/library/book522.pdf

Fraenkel, J. R., Wallen, N. E., & Hyun, H. H. (2012). How to design and evaluate research in education (8th ed.). Mc Graw Hill.

Google Scholar  

Heitin, L. (2016). What is digital literacy? Education Week, https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/what-is-digital-literacy/2016/11

Helsper, E. J., & Eynon, R. (2013). Distinct skill pathways to digital engagement. European Journal of Communication, 28 (6), 696–713. https://doi.org/10.1177/0267323113499113

Kowalczyk, N., & Truluck, C. (2013). Literature reviews and systematic reviews: What is the difference ? . Radiologic Technology, 85 (2), 219–222.

Ng, W. (2012). Can we teach digital natives digital literacy? Computers & Education, 59 (3), 1065–1078. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2012.04.016

Ozkan-Ozen, Y. D., & Kazancoglu, Y. (2021). Analysing workforce development challenges in the Industry 4.0. International Journal of Manpower . https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-03-2021-0167

Puig, B., Blanco-Anaya, P., & Perez-Maceira, J. J. (2021). “Fake News” or Real Science? Critical thinking to assess information on COVID-19. Frontiers in Education, 6 , 646909. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.646909

Robinson, L., Cotten, S. R., Ono, H., Quan-Haase, A., Mesch, G., Chen, W., Schulz, J., Hale, T. M., & Stern, M. J. (2015). Digital inequalities and why they matter. Information, Communication & Society, 18 (5), 569–582. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2015.1012532

Robinson, P., & Lowe, J. (2015). Literature reviews vs systematic reviews. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 39 (2), 103. https://doi.org/10.1111/1753-6405.12393

Sousa, M. J., & Rocha, A. (2019). Skills for disruptive digital business. Journal of Business Research, 94 , 257–263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2017.12.051

Sulzer, A. (2018). (Re)conceptualizing digital literacies before and after the election of Trump. English Teaching: Practice & Critique, 17 (2), 58–71. https://doi.org/10.1108/ETPC-06-2017-0098

Tinmaz, H., Fanea-Ivanovici, M., & Baber, H. (2022). A snapshot of digital literacy. Library Hi Tech News , (ahead-of-print).

Uman, L. S. (2011). Systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 20 (1), 57–59.

Van Deursen, A. J. A. M., Helsper, E. J., & Eynon, R. (2015). Development and validation of the Internet Skills Scale (ISS). Information, Communication & Society, 19 (6), 804–823. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2015.1078834

Van Deursen, A. J. A. M., & van Dijk, J. A. G. M. (2009). Using the internet: Skills related problems in users’ online behaviour. Interacting with Computers, 21 , 393–402. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intcom.2009.06.005

Van Deursen, A. J. A. M., & van Dijk, J. A. G. M. (2010a). Measuring internet skills. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 26 (10), 891–916. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2010.496338

Van Deursen, A. J. A. M., & van Dijk, J. A. G. M. (2010b). Internet skills and the digital divide. New Media & Society, 13 (6), 893–911. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444810386774

van Dijk, J. A. G. M., & Van Deursen, A. J. A. M. (2014). Digital skills, unlocking the information society . Palgrave MacMillan.

van Laar, E., van Deursen, A. J. A. M., van Dijk, J. A. G. M., & de Haan, J. (2017). The relation between 21st-century skills and digital skills: A systematic literature review. Computer in Human Behavior, 72 , 577–588. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.03.010

Download references

This research is funded by Woosong University Academic Research in 2022.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

AI & Big Data Department, Endicott College of International Studies, Woosong University, Daejeon, South Korea

Hasan Tinmaz

Endicott College of International Studies, Woosong University, Daejeon, South Korea

Yoo-Taek Lee

Department of Economics and Economic Policies, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania

Mina Fanea-Ivanovici

Abu Dhabi School of Management, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Hasnan Baber

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

The authors worked together on the manuscript equally. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hasnan Baber .

Ethics declarations

Competing of interests.

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ .

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Tinmaz, H., Lee, YT., Fanea-Ivanovici, M. et al. A systematic review on digital literacy. Smart Learn. Environ. 9 , 21 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40561-022-00204-y

Download citation

Received : 23 February 2022

Accepted : 01 June 2022

Published : 08 June 2022

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s40561-022-00204-y

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Digital literacy
• Systematic review
• Qualitative research

• 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

Learning and Teaching: Literature Review

• Course Texts
• Action Research
• TESOL, Literacy, and Culture

Literature Review

• Citation Resources
• Award-Winning Book Lists This link opens in a new window
• Publishing Your Work This link opens in a new window
• Remote Access Guide This link opens in a new window

Literature Reviews: An Overview for Graduate Students

1. Definition

Not to be confused with a book review, a literature review surveys scholarly articles, books and other sources (e.g. dissertations, conference proceedings) relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, providing a description, summary, and critical evaluation of each work. The purpose is to offer an overview of significant literature published on a topic.

2. Components

Similar to primary research, development of the literature review requires four stages:

• Problem formulation—which topic or field is being examined and what are its component issues?
• Literature search—finding materials relevant to the subject being explored
• Data evaluation—determining which literature makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the topic
• Analysis and interpretation—discussing the findings and conclusions of pertinent literature

Literature reviews should comprise the following elements:

• An overview of the subject, issue or theory under consideration, along with the objectives of the literature review
• Division of works under review into categories (e.g. those in support of a particular position, those against, and those offering alternative theses entirely)
• Explanation of how each work is similar to and how it varies from the others
• Conclusions as to which pieces are best considered in their argument, are most convincing of their opinions, and make the greatest contribution to the understanding and development of their area of research

In assessing each piece, consideration should be given to:

• Provenance—What are the author's credentials? Are the author's arguments supported by evidence (e.g. primary historical material, case studies, narratives, statistics, recent scientific findings)?
• Objectivity—Is the author's perspective even-handed or prejudicial? Is contrary data considered or is certain pertinent information ignored to prove the author's point?
• Persuasiveness—Which of the author's theses are most/least convincing?
• Value—Are the author's arguments and conclusions convincing? Does the work ultimately contribute in any significant way to an understanding of the subject?

3. Definition and Use/Purpose

A literature review may constitute an essential chapter of a thesis or dissertation, or may be a self-contained review of writings on a subject. In either case, its purpose is to:

• Place each work in the context of its contribution to the understanding of the subject under review
• Describe the relationship of each work to the others under consideration
• Identify new ways to interpret, and shed light on any gaps in, previous research
• Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies
• Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of effort
• Point the way forward for further research
• Place one's original work (in the case of theses or dissertations) in the context of existing literature

The literature review itself, however, does not present new primary scholarship.

All of the above information was obtained from UC Santa Cruz University Library http://guides.library.ucsc.edu/write-a-literature-review

Selected LitReview Resources at Copley

• << Previous: TESOL, Literacy, and Culture
• Next: Citation Resources >>
• Last Updated: Sep 8, 2023 2:34 PM
• URL: https://libguides.sandiego.edu/educ

• Library Guides
• Literature Reviews
• Getting Started

Literature Reviews: Getting Started

What is a literature review.

A literature review is an overview of the available research for a specific scientific topic. Literature reviews summarize existing research to answer a review question, provide context for new research, or identify important gaps in the existing body of literature.

An incredible amount of academic literature is published each year, by estimates over two million articles .

Sorting through and reviewing that literature can be complicated, so this Research Guide provides a structured approach to make the process more manageable.

THIS GUIDE IS AN OVERVIEW OF THE LITERATURE REVIEW PROCESS:

• Getting Started (asking a research question | defining scope)
• Choosing a Type of Review
• Searching the Literature
• Organizing the Literature
• Writing the Literature Review (analyzing | synthesizing)

A  literature search  is a systematic search of the scholarly sources in a particular discipline. A  literature review   is the analysis, critical evaluation and synthesis of the results of that search. During this process you will move from a review  of  the literature to a review  for   your research.   Your synthesis of the literature is your unique contribution to research.

WHO IS THIS RESEARCH GUIDE FOR?

— those new to reviewing the literature

— those that need a refresher or a deeper understanding of writing literature reviews

You may need to do a literature review as a part of a course assignment, a capstone project, a master's thesis, a dissertation, or as part of a journal article. No matter the context, a literature review is an essential part of the research process. 

Literature Review Process

Purpose of a Literature Review

What is the purpose of a literature review.

A literature review is typically performed for a specific reason. Even when assigned as an assignment, the goal of the literature review will be one or more of the following:

• To communicate a project's novelty by identifying a research gap

• An overview of research issues , methodologies or results relevant to field
• To explore the  volume and types of available studies
• To establish familiarity with current research before carrying out a new project
• To resolve conflicts amongst contradictory previous studies

Reviewing the literature helps you understand a research topic and develop your own perspective.

A LITERATURE REVIEW IS NOT :

• An annotated bibliography – which is a list of annotated citations to books, articles and documents that includes a brief description and evaluation for each entry
• A literary review – which is a critical discussion of the merits and weaknesses of a literary work
• A book review – which is a critical discussion of the merits and weaknesses of a particular book

Attribution

Thanks to Librarian Jamie Niehof at the University of Michigan for providing permission to reuse and remix this Literature Reviews guide.

The Library's Subject Specialists are happy to help with your literature reviews!  Find your Subject Specialist here . 

If you have questions about this guide, contact Librarians Matt Upson ([email protected]), Dr. Frances Alvarado-Albertorio ([email protected]), or Clarke Iakovakis ([email protected])

• Last Updated: Apr 4, 2024 4:51 PM
• URL: https://info.library.okstate.edu/literaturereviews

College & Research Libraries ( C&RL ) is the official, bi-monthly, online-only scholarly research journal of the Association of College & Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association.

C&RL is now on Instragram! Follow us today.

Jane Hammons, MSLIS, MS, MA is Assistant Professor and Teaching and Learning Engagement Librarian at The Ohio State University; email: [email protected] .

C&RL News

ALA JobLIST

Advertising Information

• Research is an Activity and a Subject of Study: A Proposed Metaconcept and Its Practical Application (70995 views)
• Information Code-Switching: A Study of Language Preferences in Academic Libraries (38472 views)
• Three Perspectives on Information Literacy in Academia: Talking to Librarians, Faculty, and Students (27038 views)

Academic Librarians as Teachers and Faculty Developers: Exploring the Potential of the “Teach the Teachers” Model of Information Literacy

Jane Hammons *

Proponents of the “teach the teachers” approach to information literacy, in which librarians concentrate on teaching the faculty to teach information literacy, have argued that it could potentially result in the increased integration of information literacy into the curriculum. However, more discussion of this model as a path forward for information literacy is needed. This essay explores the potential of the faculty-focused approach to information literacy through a critical analysis of the literature on librarians’ experiences as teachers and faculty developers. Through this exploration, the essay provides valuable insight into the ongoing conversations about the future of information literacy instruction.

Introduction

Librarians have been expressing concerns over the one-shot model of information literacy instruction for years. In a recent editorial, Nicole Pagowsky outlined many of the concerns librarians have, referring to the one-shot as a “faux-innocuous activity” which has “no memory of where information literacy has been and no vision of where it is going.” 1 Prior to Pagowsky, Melissa Bowles-Terry and Carrie Donovan also made a strong case against the one-shot, stating that the model lacks scalability and sustainability and limits the potential of information literacy as a movement and of librarians as educators. 2 For one alternative approach, a number of librarians have proposed that we concentrate more of our time on faculty development, or teaching the faculty to teach and integrate information literacy. 3 Some have gone as far as to state that librarians should eliminate most direct instruction to students in favor of working with faculty. 4 The faculty-focused approach has been referred to as the “teach the teacher” 5 or “train the trainer” 6 model or as “faculty-led information literacy instruction.” 7

In addition to specific arguments for the “teach the teachers” (TTT) approach, there have also been several recent articles calling for librarians to engage more with faculty development and increase collaboration with centers for teaching and learning. 8 These articles highlight the connections between the work of librarians and faculty developers and outline the potential benefits for librarians contributing to or leading faculty development initiatives, including raising the visibility of librarians as educators and campus leaders.

There are many examples of librarians engaging in faculty development, which will be addressed later. However, in a previous literature review on information literacy-focused, library-led faculty development, it was noted that libraries tend to engage in faculty development in addition to, rather than in place of, student-focused instruction. 9 The faculty-focused model has not become the primary approach for academic libraries to support the integration of information literacy into the curriculum. Further, it was determined that “the wide-scale adoption of a dedicated TTT approach to information literacy, especially one in which librarians would give up most or all direct instruction with students, would require a significant change in perception and practice among many librarians and disciplinary faculty.” 10 Here, a critical analysis of what this change in perception and practice might look like is provided through the consideration of librarians’ experiences as teachers and faculty developers. 11 More specifically:

What can research into librarians’ teacher identities and experiences as instructors tell us about how they might respond to a faculty-focused model of information literacy?

• What have been librarians’ experiences as faculty developers and what insights can this provide for understanding the potential of the TTT approach?

What changes need to be made, at the personal, institutional, and professional levels, to support the adoption of the TTT model as a primary means of information literacy instruction?

By focusing on these questions, valuable perspective to the ongoing debates among librarians about the most appropriate, or effective models for teaching information literacy may arise.

The faculty-focused model is, of course, not the only alternative to the one-shot model that has been proposed. Librarians have employed, and continue to employ, other models of information literacy instruction, including various types of online tutorials or modules, embedded librarian programs, and credit courses, with varying degrees of success. While these other models are important to include in the broader discussions over the best path for teaching information literacy, considered here is the faculty-focused model primarily in comparison to the one-shot model, for two reasons. First, the one-shot continues to maintain a dominant place in many librarians’ efforts to teach information literacy. Secondly, the faculty-focused model seems the most directly in contrast to the one-shot model. Although the adoption of a primarily TTT approach would not automatically mean that librarians would be required to stop offering all one-shots, if the faculty-focused model were to be adopted by librarians to the extent that has been proposed by some supporters, it could potentially result in a significant reduction in one-shots.

Definitions

To avoid confusion, the term librarian will refer to all those who work within a library, whether or not they have faculty status or the specific title of librarian. Faculty will refer to all of those outside of the library whose primary role is to teach or develop credit-bearing courses, including all ranks of tenure or non-tenure track faculty, instructors, lecturers, and graduate teaching assistants.

Faculty development can be defined as “activities and programs designed to improve instruction.” 12 The hope of faculty development is that student learning will increase if faculty adopt more effective teaching practices. 13 Other terms used for faculty development include academic development, educational development, and instructional development, with the specific term varying by location, institutional context, and individual preference. 14 In this essay, faculty development will be used, as it seems to be the term most commonly used by librarians when referring to this kind of work. 15

As Pagowsky notes, there is not always agreement among librarians as to what constitutes as one-shot. She describes a one-shot as “a standalone session, superficially (or not at all) connected to course content, that is tacked onto a class.” 16 For the purposes of this essay, a one-shot will be considered a virtual or in-person session in which a librarian provides course- or assignment-related instruction on research- or library-related topic(s). The librarian is considered a guest lecturer who generally has limited (or no) input into the design, course, or assignment, and does not have significant or sustained contact with the students before or after the session. Here, online tutorials or modules that are incorporated into a course as a replacement for face-to-face contact with a librarian are considered a form of one-shot. A one-shot model of library instruction is one in which librarians primarily, although not exclusively, teach in this capacity.

In contrast, in a “teach the teachers” or “faculty-focused” model of information literacy instruction, librarians would spend a significant amount of time providing strategic and sustained faculty development related to information literacy, with the intent that faculty will effectively incorporate information literacy-related goals, learning outcomes, assignments, activities, and assessments into their courses and programs. In this model, information literacy instruction could become so integrated into the course “that it becomes transparent to students” because they are learning about information literacy concepts and skills at the same time they are learning course content. 17 While the focus of a specific library-led faculty development initiative could be on a limited group of instructors such as every instructor in a specific department, the overall aim of a faculty-focused information literacy program would be to create program-level and institutional-level change in the teaching of information literacy.

Librarians have identified a wide range of concerns about the one-shot approach, including scalability and sustainability, the questionable pedagogical effectiveness of one-shots, and the impact of one-shots on librarians’ professional standing and mental health. 18 Information literacy programs centered on the one-shot can only grow so far before the number of requests moves beyond the limited staffing in most libraries. And, by focusing on one-shots, time is lost that could be spent on campus-wide initiatives that support information literacy. There are also concerns about what students are learning when they do attend a one-shot. Raising this issue is not meant as an insult toward librarians who devote significant time into developing effective teaching practices. But, as Pagowsky notes, “the one-shot—even if there is more than one—makes it difficult to reach deeper learning, critical thinking, and inclusive pedagogy.” 19

The difficulty of teaching higher level concepts within the one-shot context becomes even more significant when considering that one of the primary documents that many librarians use to guide their information literacy instruction programs, the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education , emphasizes a conceptual model of information literacy, highlighting key concepts and ways of thinking that students need to understand in order to navigate the information ecosystem. 20 The challenge of using the Framework in the one-shot context was anticipated by the authors, who clearly stated in the appendix that the Framework was “not designed to be implemented in a single information literacy session in a student’s academic career,” but instead needs to “be developmentally and systematically integrated into the student’s academic program at a variety of levels.” 21 To accomplish this, changes would need to be made to integrate information literacy at the program and institutional level, rather than just the classroom level. The Framework authors highlight the need for faculty to develop curricula that supports students’ “enhanced engagement with the core ideas about information and scholarship within their disciplines.” 22 This, in turn, increases librarians’ responsibility to collaborate and engage with faculty, instructional designers, and centers for teaching and learning in the development of such curricula. The one-shot model seems unsuited to support the types of changes that would need to take place to see the integration into the curriculum of information literacy as it is outlined in the Framework .

In addition to concerns about the pedagogical effectiveness of the one-shot and their relevance in relation to the Framework for Information Literacy , there are the concerns about how the one-shot format negatively impacts the perception of librarians, who may be seen as “reactive problem-solvers and guest lecturers” rather than educators, 23 and in worse case scenarios, little more than “baby-sitters.” 24 The lack of agency, combined with the repetitive nature of many one-shot sessions, can have mental and emotional health impacts and lead to burnout. 25

Proponents of the TTT model point out several potential benefits, including increased scalability and sustainability, expanded reach, and better integration of information literacy within the course and discipline. 26 Faculty represent a more reasonably-sized audience, and by teaching the faculty, librarians may expand their ability to reach students, as each faculty member who participates in faculty development likely teaches multiple courses or sections. In one example, librarians who trained teaching assistants to provide information literacy instruction were able to reach 78 sessions of a biology course over two semesters, although the liaison only taught or attended 14 of those sessions. 27 Additionally, students may be more inclined to take information literacy seriously, and to understand how it fits within the disciplinary context, if it is taught by their course instructor. 28 William Miller and Steven Bell point out that, by handing information literacy instruction over to a librarian, the faculty member could be creating the impression that information literacy is not part of the real content of the course. 29

There is some evidence in support of the TTT approach. In the previous review on multiple examples of TTT initiatives, the author found indications that faculty teaching behaviors can change as a result of participating in such initiatives and that the TTT approach can have a positive impact on student learning. 30 In one example, librarians at Utah State University facilitated an assignment design workshop for faculty and found that participants made changes in their courses in several areas, including increased scaffolding and modeling of research skills. 31 It was also noted that the majority of their participants reported that their revisions resulted in positive changes in their courses, including increased student engagement.

Despite such positive signs, clear evidence that a faculty development approach would result in improved student information literacy is still needed. Even when positive changes were indicated in previous reviews, the findings were often limited because, in many cases, evidence of changes in faculty teaching practices were based on assessments conducted shortly after the end of the program. Additionally, most reports of these initiatives did not include any assessment of the impact on student learning. As a result, more research on and discussion of the TTT model is needed.

To further consider the faculty-focused approach as a path forward for information literacy, multiple strands of the library and information science (LIS) literature on librarians’ experiences as teachers and faculty developers will be explored.

Librarians’ Experiences as Teachers

In their essay on the limitations of the one-shot, Bowles-Terry and Donovan refer to one-shots as “fiercely protected” by many librarians and acknowledge that one-shots “provide both personal reward and professional capital, so it is no small feat for librarians to rethink one-shots as their preferred instructional strategy.” 32 Those who have argued in favor of a faculty-focused approach, especially if this were to involve significantly limiting or eliminating one-shots, have acknowledged that it can be an unsettling idea. It has been described as a “radical recommendation” 33 and as running “counter to what most librarians have internalized from our graduate studies and professional lives.” 34 At the same time, however, articles such as those by Bowles-Terry and Donovan, and by Pagowsky, demonstrate that some librarians are more than ready to embrace alternative approaches to information literacy instruction.

In order to more fully explore how librarians might respond to a shift to a primarily faculty-focused approach to information literacy, multiple factors need to be considered, including librarians’ complicated relationship with teaching, the role of information literacy in providing professional legitimacy, librarians’ perceptions of their status and relationship with faculty, and concerns over emotional labor and burnout in relation to one-shot instruction.

Librarians’ Teaching Role and Teacher Identities

Librarians have been providing instruction for decades, but teaching has not always been considered a primary part of the librarian role. 35 For example, one study found that only a handful of job advertisements posted in 1973 emphasized instruction, but by the early 2000s, advertisements indicated that instruction had become an accepted and expected role for many librarians. 36 The expectations for librarians to teach have continued to grow. The Association of College and Research Libraries’ Roles and Strengths of Teaching Librarians from 2017 outlines multiple roles for librarians including advocate, coordinator, instructional designer, leader, lifelong learner, teacher, and teaching partner. 37 While an individual instruction librarian is not necessarily expected to play all of these roles, the descriptions highlight the wide-range of skills and knowledge that many teaching librarians are expected to possess.

As teaching responsibilities have grown, there has also been increasing investigation into librarians’ experiences and identities as teachers. 38  There is some evidence to support the idea that many librarians have embraced a teaching role and consider teaching to be a significant component of their professional identity. For example, in a recent survey of 87 instruction librarians, primarily from research, four-year, or comprehensive colleges or universities in the United States, Andrea Baer found that 71.26 percent (62) of the respondents identified as teachers and, furthermore, “many participants expressed great enthusiasm about their teacher roles and clearly saw those roles as central aspects of their professional identities and of their everyday work.” 39 For librarians such as these, any recommendation that librarians should consider significantly limiting the predominant approach through which librarians teach may not be especially welcome. 40  While librarians would still be supporting information literacy if they concentrated their efforts on teaching faculty, this could be seen as less visible and not “real” teaching.

Information Literacy and Professional Legitimacy

Librarians’ role in the development of information literacy and beliefs about the value of information literacy may also make many reluctant to adopt a more faculty-focused model. As Bowles-Terry and Donovan have stated, “a shift in thinking about information literacy will be a monumental undertaking due to the simple fact that the very people who have worked so hard to create acceptance of information literacy instruction must be those who lead the change in its fundamental delivery format.” 41

Librarians have played the primary role in developing the concept of information literacy. 42  Lisa O’Connor has commented on information literacy’s role in providing professional legitimacy for librarians, describing how information literacy developed at the time in which libraries’ traditional role as access provider was being challenged by educational reform and technological developments. 43 O’Connor argues that there is evidence to support the claim that “regardless of what else IL might achieve, it was in part a professional response and an attempt to rearticulate and legitimate librarians’ claim to an educational jurisdiction at a time their traditional access-oriented jurisdiction was threatened.” 44  

Moreover, in teaching information literacy, we can argue that we are serving a higher purpose. Librarians have frequently described information literacy as vital, and not just to students’ academic success, but to the functioning of an effective democratic society. 45  Susanna Cowan, in her essay “Information Literacy: The Battle We Won That We Lost,” outlines the lofty way in which we have presented information literacy and our role in supporting it as follows: “librarians advocating information literacy are good citizens (devoted) whose calling is the democratization of information (populism)—and it is  through us  (librarians) and our ability to filter access (winnow, sift) that truth will be found. A high calling indeed!” 46  The descriptions of information literacy outlined in the guiding documents developed by the American Library Association and the Association of College and Research Libraries also provide evidence of the status that we have granted information literacy.

In making the point that information literacy has served as a means of professional legitimacy for librarians as educators, the intention is not to imply that librarians do not truly believe in the value of information literacy. However, because information literacy is now so closely associated with the educational mission of the academic library and is also endowed with such significant attributes, it is less likely that many librarians would be willing to let go of information literacy, as Cowan argues that they should, 47 let alone give up their role as the primary teachers of information literacy to concentrate on faculty development. Although librarians recognize the value of information literacy, they also recognize that it has not always been viewed in the same way, especially by those outside of the library. 48 In Meeting the Challenge of Teaching Information Literacy , Michelle Reale describes how, from the beginning, information literacy has been difficult to define and “difficult, at best, to articulate to others, particularly those with whom we aimed to work with.” 49 The struggles that librarians have had in persuading faculty to pay attention to information literacy may create fear about what might happen if we were to try to make faculty the primary instructors of information literacy.

With this background, it is no wonder that the thought of trying to hand over the teaching of information literacy to faculty, even under the librarians’ guidance, will likely not sit well with many librarians. Librarians’ personal attachment to teaching, the role of teaching as part of our professional identity, the connection between librarians and information literacy, including the way in which information literacy has elevated their role as educators, and their concerns over the future of information literacy if handed over to faculty, are all legitimate reasons why librarians may hesitate to fully embrace a primarily faculty-focused approach to information literacy. Librarians, who have struggled for years to be accepted as real teachers, could feel that adopting the “teach the teachers” model might undermine all of the efforts they have put into developing effective teaching practices and building their student-centered information literacy programs.

Ambivalence, Lack of Preparation, Imposter Syndrome and Deference

At the same time, however, it must be noted that the librarian teaching role has never had universal acceptance, and there is clear evidence that some librarians have a much more ambivalent relationship to teaching. 50 Summarizing the findings of several previous studies, Heidi Julien and Jen Pecoskie state that this earlier research indicates that “some librarians remain unconvinced of the value of information literacy instruction, some feel unprepared for instructional roles, and some express hostility towards the instructional expectations they feel towards the students they teach and towards the teaching faculty on campuses.” 51 And although Baer’s recent study found support for the idea that many librarians are enthusiastic about teaching, she also found that nearly 15 percent of the respondents indicated that they did not consider themselves to be teachers, while another nearly 14 percent were ambivalent about the teaching role. 52

Librarians have frequently expressed concerns about their teaching abilities. Laura Saunders, for example, describes a “persistent lack of confidence shared by many librarians who take on instructional roles.” 53 There is a significant thread within the literature that points to the disconnect between the preparation that librarians receive in their LIS programs and the expectations for teaching that many librarians encounter. 54 While recent studies have found that most LIS programs do offer at least one class related to instruction, it still appears that many librarians are entering the profession with minimal teaching-related training. 55 There are also concerns about what students are being taught in LIS instruction courses. In a study comparing course descriptions with the Roles and Strengths of Teaching Librarians , Sandra Valenti and Brady Lund found that although the “instructional designer” and “teacher” role were both fairly well aligned with the course descriptions, several of the roles, including “leader” and “advocate” were much less prevalent and that, overall, many of the course descriptions included “outdated concepts.” 56

The lack of preparation that LIS students receive may contribute to the teaching anxiety and imposter syndrome (or phenomenon) that has been highlighted in a few studies and essays. 57 In one recent study, for example, Kacy Lundstrom, Britt Fagerheim, and Stephen Van Geem found that 64.9 percent of 925 librarians indicated that they experienced teaching anxiety and that those who had no coursework in instruction or information literacy were more likely to experience anxiety. 58 If librarians are not getting preparation in instruction or pedagogy, and may experience anxiety or imposter syndrome related to their role in teaching students, it seems likely that teaching the faculty would represent an even bigger hurdle. Bowles-Terry and Donovan point out that, even when librarians may feel confident in their ability to teach undergraduates, there is no guarantee that this confidence would transfer into activities such as instructional consultation or assignment design. 59 As activities such as these would be an important aspect of the TTT approach to information literacy, this represents a significant concern about the potential of this approach.

This contention that some librarians might be anxious or uncomfortable providing instruction or teaching-related consultations to a faculty audience is further supported by research into librarians’ deference behavior toward faculty. In a study of librarians’ teaching experiences and relationships with faculty, Heidi Julien and Jen Pecoskie found evidence of deference behavior throughout the participants’ comments, such as when participants described being “gifted” with time by faculty or were careful to show respect for the expertise of the faculty member. 60 In another study, Lyda McCartin and Raquel Wright-Mair surveyed 139 teaching-focused academic librarians in the United States and found that about 35 percent indicated “high deference” behavior. 61 While they don’t specifically use the term deference, in their 2013 article, “Not at Your Service: Building Genuine Faculty Librarian Partnerships,” Yvonne Nalani Meulemans and Allison Carr argue “that librarians must cease being at the service of faculty.” 62 In making such an argument, the authors provide evidence in support of the existence of such behavior among librarians.

Closely related, librarians have also raised significant concern about how they are treated by faculty and whether or not they are seen as real teachers. In the study by Julien and Pecoskie, librarians expressed feelings of being disrespected or exploited by faculty. 63 Reale describes the frustrations that librarians experience when it appears that faculty do not understand or value what they do, and how this, in turn, impacts the way that they think about themselves, asking: “So when we are not seen as equals, when we are seen as mere service providers instead of teachers, what happens to the quality of our work, not to mention our sense of what we can do, what we are doing, and what we hope to do in the future?” 64 How they are treated by faculty can thus contribute to a negative self-perception among librarians of their worth and abilities. Julien and Pecoskie, for example, suggest that the feelings of disrespect reported in their study appeared to be supported, at least in part, by “librarians’ self-positioning as defeated, passive, dependent, and subordinate to teaching faculty.” 65

The combination of librarians’ lack of preparation for teaching, deference behavior, and feelings of being disrespected by faculty are significant reasons why implementing a faculty-focused approach to information literacy could be challenging. Librarians may feel inadequate for the task of teaching the faculty, or fear that their efforts to do so will be dismissed just like their efforts to teach students so often seem to be. The TTT approach cannot work if librarians feel they are not capable of teaching and collaborating with faculty as fellow educators, rather than as service providers.

Emotional Labor and Burnout

Another factor that must be considered when thinking about the potential of the faculty-focused approach is the impact that teaching in the one-shot format may have on librarians’ mental and emotional health. As noted by Pagowsky, “instruction programs run heavily on service through emotional labor and care work—which tend to be invisible.” 66 Emotional labor is the awareness of the need to manage or regulate emotions in order to be effective at a job, and high levels of emotional labor have been associated with emotional exhaustion and burnout. 67 Librarianship has been described as a profession that includes a significant amount of emotional labor. 68

In their study of the emotional labor involved in library instruction, Heidi Julien and Shelagh Genuis highlight some of the negative emotions associated with instruction. 69 While acknowledging that many of their respondents expressed positive emotions related to their instructional role, they also found that “other participants were not so enthusiastic; frustration, disappointment, and other negative emotions were reported by many.” 70 Some participants expressed “emotional dissonance” related to their instructional work, indicating for example, that they had to hide their feelings in order to maintain appearances. 71

As mentioned, high levels of emotional labor have been associated with dissatisfaction and burnout. Concerns over instruction librarian burnout are not new. For example, in 1993 Karen Becker considered the nature of bibliographic instruction (BI) in relation to research on the causes of burnout and concluded that there was a strong potential for burnout among instruction librarians. 72 Although information literacy has generally replaced the term bibliographic instruction, the burnout concerns highlighted by Becker have not disappeared. 73 In reality, they may have increased as librarians’ teaching responsibilities have increased and the rhetoric around information literacy has expanded. The contrast between the high expectations that we have for information literacy, and the reality of teaching information literacy in the one-shot format may contribute to an increased potential for burnout. Pagowsky, for example, states plainly that “one-shots are transactional and keep us in cycles of ineffectiveness. They cause burnout.” 74 David Brennan and Elizabeth Davidson point out that the expansion of instruction responsibilities usually comes without an increase in resources or a decrease in other tasks, which represents a “certain recipe for eventual burnout.” 75

What does this mean for the potential of the TTT approach as the path forward for information literacy instruction? Based on this review, if the TTT model were to become the primary approach to information literacy, some librarians would likely react with anxiety, dismay, or even hostility. Many librarians experience genuine satisfaction in providing instruction to students and have embraced teaching as part of their professional identities. They have a strong belief in the need for information literacy and, as a result, real concern that if they attempted to place primary responsibility for teaching information literacy into the hands of faculty, something of great value may be lost. For reasons such as these, there would likely be some pushback against any model in which librarians remove themselves from the classroom to concentrate primarily on faculty development.

It is also clear, however, that many librarians have a complex relationship with teaching, and that not all librarians have embraced the teaching role, nor do all librarians experience satisfaction in teaching one-shots. While they may have a great belief in the value of information literacy, for many librarians, teaching in the one-shot format has become a source of frustration. The concerns that have been expressed about the one-shot model, emotional labor, and burnout indicate that at least a significant component of the profession is ready to consider an alternative approach.

At the same time, however, librarians who feel unprepared for the teaching role with students may find the transition to faculty development work a big leap. The evidence for deference behavior among librarians toward faculty demonstrates that some librarians would be uncomfortable when tasked with teaching faculty. And many librarians would likely also have significant concerns that their efforts to teach faculty would be dismissed by a group that has so often appeared to have little respect for librarians as educators.

Thus, considering librarians’ experiences with teaching provides mixed indications about the prospects for the wide-scale adoption of a primarily TTT approach to information literacy. While there are certainly reasons why many librarians may be ready to abandon the one-shot, there are also reasons why some librarians might be reluctant to adopt a more faculty-focused approach as the primary means of teaching information literacy. Examining what we can learn from librarians’ experiences as faculty developers may provide further insight.

Librarians’ Experiences as Faculty Developers

What have been librarians’ experiences as faculty developers and what insights can this provide for understanding the potential of the TTT approach to information literacy?

Librarians have been involved in efforts to support faculty development, in various forms, for decades. 76 Librarians have developed faculty-focused workshops and workshop series, 77 created online courses or modules, 78 led or participated in faculty communities of practice or faculty learning communities, 79 and led or engaged in course or assignment redesign programs. 80 Often, but not always, these efforts are focused on supporting instructors’ ability to teach information literacy. 81 What can librarians’ experiences with this work tell us about the potential of the faculty-focused approach to information literacy?

Librarians as Faculty Developers 

There has not been a significant amount of research into librarians’ experiences as faculty developers. The focus of articles describing library-led faculty development programs has typically been more on the implementation process or on the experience of the faculty participants, not the librarians. 82

There are a couple of studies focused on librarians who participated in Purdue University’s IMPACT program, in which librarians joined teams of course instructors and instructional designers to redesign courses with a student-centered focus. 83 In one of these studies, researchers highlight four categories of experiences for the librarians: Connector (the librarian connected the instructor with other experts in areas such as educational technology), Facilitator (the librarian helped the instructor through the course design process), Colleague (the librarian engaged with the instructor as a fellow educator), and Developer (the librarian supported the development of the instructor as a faculty member). 84 Overall, the findings of this study indicated that librarians can be effective in faculty developer roles, and that this need not center only on librarians’ expertise related to information literacy. The second study used an action research methodology to outline several steps that librarians in the IMPACT program could take to improve their participation. 85 These included developing knowledge in areas such as the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), framing information literacy in such a way that it would be practical for faculty, and connecting information literacy to other learning theories.

A broader survey of librarians’ experiences leading or contributing to faculty development initiatives was recently conducted by Karla Fribley, Jason Vance, and Justin Gardner. 86 They surveyed more than 150 librarians about their experiences engaging in faculty development work. They found that respondents generally expressed positive opinions about their abilities, agreeing that librarians have the knowledge and expertise needed to contribute to faculty development and that librarians should take leadership roles in faculty development initiatives. Respondents also highlighted perceived barriers for librarians to participate in this work, including a lack of recognition among faculty of librarians as real teachers, as well as lack of time. Overall, the authors find that librarians are well-positioned to engage in meaningful faculty development work. 87 They also suggest that some of the barriers that librarians perceive related to faculty development might be “self-imposed” and indicate that a shift in mindset might be needed for some librarians to embrace this new role. 88

Additional insight into librarians’ experiences and abilities as faculty developers can be gleaned from case studies and reflective essays in which librarians explore faculty development and discuss their work in this area. Rachel Fundator and Clarence Maybee reviewed the faculty development literature to identify the key responsibilities and activities of developers, highlighting the ways in which librarians can use these insights to move into faculty development. 89 They argue that librarians are well-positioned to take on a developer role. Misa Mi described the development and facilitation of a faculty learning community and the many benefits she gained from the experience. 90  Leading the faculty learning community helped her to “reinvent and grow herself as a faculty member by means of developing others.” 91 Katelyn Handler and Lauren Hays also expressed the personal enjoyment they found in leading faculty communities of practice and highlighted the benefits they derived from their experiences, including the opportunity to move beyond the service provider role and the chance to explore new areas of interest. 92 In a recent article, Melissa Bowles-Terry and Karen Sobel reflect on their experiences as librarians who have moved into faculty development leadership roles. They highlight the overlap between the two roles and indicate that “faculty development is one way for librarians to be in a visible role, and to facilitate the integration of information literacy and critical thinking into the curriculum.” 93

Examples such as these provide evidence that librarians can effectively engage as faculty developers. However, it must be noted that the sources above appear to focus primarily on librarians who voluntarily took on faculty development work, and as a result, would likely already be favorably disposed toward it. It is less clear whether librarians would have the same response if they were required to move into faculty development, especially if this work were to limit their existing role of providing instruction to students.

This point is supported by the evidence that some librarians may be uncertain about the faculty developer role more generally. In one small study, Shannon Fay Johnson and Ludwika Goodson found that, when asked to define the role of a faculty developer, many of the librarians in their study “indicated a high level of confusion about the role of faculty developer or instructional designer with several respondents indicating that they could not answer the question.” 94 Although this was only one study, it provides support for the idea that some librarians would act with uncertainty if asked to take on more of a faculty development role. 

Summary 

How does this evidence contribute to our understanding of the potential of the faculty-focused approach to information literacy? It’s been shown here that librarians are clearly capable of being effective faculty developers and that some librarians may find significant satisfaction from leading or contributing to faculty development initiatives. Engaging in faculty development work has allowed librarians to expand their own knowledge and move beyond the confines of the one-shot to become fellow educators and campus leaders. The numerous examples of library-led faculty development initiatives provide support for the idea that many librarians do already see value in using faculty development to support information literacy, even if the TTT model has not been adopted as the primary approach in most cases.

On the other hand, there is also evidence that some librarians may not be familiar with faculty development or may not recognize it as a potential path for librarians. The recent calls for librarians to engage in faculty development could be an indication that this role is one that has not yet gained significant traction among librarians. Librarians who are unfamiliar with faculty development in general, or who are not certain about the effectiveness of faculty development programs, would likely be opposed to a shift to a faculty-development approach to information literacy. And, since there is still limited research into the experiences of librarians as faculty developers, especially in the long-term, it is also not certain whether this path would allow librarians to avoid some of the problems associated with the one-shot, such as burnout.

Overall, then, while there is support for librarians engaging in faculty development, and indications that librarians can perform this role effectively, there are still impediments that would seem to make the wide-scale adoption of the TTT model as the primary approach to information literacy challenging at this time. In order to make a profession-wide shift to a faculty-focused approach more feasible, what would need to happen?

Moving Forward with Faculty-Focused Information Literacy

For the faculty-focused model to become a primary approach used in academic libraries, changes would be needed in several areas, including the preparation of librarians as teachers and pedagogy experts, the organizational structure in academic libraries, and librarians’ perceptions of their role and status.

As noted, there is already significant concern within the profession about the preparation, or lack thereof, that librarians receive for their teaching roles. This gap would need to be addressed for the faculty-focused model to be more widely adopted. If librarians are not sure of their ability to teach students, asking librarians to teach faculty would likely be an even greater challenge, especially given what is known about librarians’ deference behavior toward faculty. Even when librarians do receive instruction related to teaching, research indicates that this is often limited and centered around preparation for one-shots. 95 As others have pointed out, to effectively engage as developers, librarians would need more instruction on topics such as pedagogy, learning theory, instructional design and faculty development in general. 96 It would not be enough for librarians to teach faculty what information literacy is. Instead, they would need to be able to connect information literacy with other pedagogical strategies and provide practical guidance to show faculty how they can integrate information literacy into their course design process and teaching practices. 97

In addition to increased instruction in pedagogy, librarians would also need support to develop into campus-wide advocates and leaders related to information literacy. However, in their study of LIS instruction courses in comparison to the Roles and Strengths of Teaching Librarians , Valenti and Lund found that the roles of “leader” and “advocate” were less represented than other roles. 98 This is another area that would need to be addressed if the TTT model were to be adopted.

Beyond the changes that would need to be made in LIS programs, librarians would also need ongoing support and training related to faculty development. Currently, the one-shot is the focus of a significant amount of the literature supporting librarians’ instruction practices. Books such as The One-Shot Library Instruction Survival Guide , The Fortuitous Teacher: A Guide to Successful One-Shot Library Instruction , and Creating the One-Shot Library Workshop: A Step-By-Step Guide, as well as numerous articles, focus on supporting librarians’ efforts to teach one-shots. 99 In place of these types of works, librarians would need comprehensive guides to the development and implementation of faculty development programs in academic libraries.

The faculty development approach would also likely require a revision in the organizational structure in many academic libraries. There is significant variation in how library instruction programs are organized. A recent publication, Hidden Architectures of Information Literacy Programs: Structures, Practices, and Contexts , highlights several different models, including a team-teaching model, in which instruction is provided by a department or team dedicated to teaching, a subject liaison model, in which instruction is distributed across subject liaisons, and a combined model. 100 No matter the specific organizational structure, however, most academic libraries have programs or departments, or at least a few individuals, who devote a significant amount of their time and effort to providing information literacy instruction directly to students. While a faculty-focused model would not necessarily mean that all student-focused instruction would need to completely halt, there would need to be dedicated space within these organizations for librarians who have specialized knowledge in faculty development. Some currently existing positions devoted to student-facing instruction might need to transition into faculty development or into other roles within the library.

Librarians focused on faculty development would need organizational support. Lack of time has been noted as one of the perceived barriers preventing librarians from contributing to faculty development. 101 In addition, Fribley, Vance, and Gardner’s research suggest that librarians may be more willing to engage with faculty development when faculty development goals are clearly included as part of the library’s mission. 102 For the faculty-focused approach to be successful, libraries would need to make faculty development one of their stated priorities and give librarians the time needed to implement or engage with development initiatives.

To implement a primarily TTT approach, librarians would likely also need to collaborate more extensively with their campus faculty development centers, or centers for teaching and learning (CTLs). The need for librarians to engage more with these centers has already been acknowledged by several authors. 103 While Johnson and Goodson’s research highlight some of the challenges that the relationship between librarians and faculty developers may entail, including misunderstandings, uncertainty about each other’s roles, and the potential for conflict over territory, there is also evidence that faculty developers would welcome increased collaboration with librarians. 104 Although it was a limited study, Johnson and Goodson found that most of the faculty developers had collaborated with the library as part of their work and tended to rate the value of these collaborations higher than librarians did (although it is unclear why librarians tended to see less value in these collaborations). In another study, Sharon Mader and Craig Gibson surveyed 92 CTL directors regarding their perceptions of libraries/librarians, and found that the significant majority of respondents viewed librarians as fellow educators and felt that it was beneficial for librarians to be involved in center activities. 105 Studies such as these demonstrate that increased collaboration between librarians and faculty developers in support of a faculty-focused approach to information literacy is possible, but that more efforts to build these relationships would likely be needed.

Perhaps most importantly, for the TTT approach to be successful, there would need to be a change in how librarians think about themselves and their role as educators. In order for a faculty development approach to information literacy to be viable, librarians need to be confident in their ability not just to teach, but to teach faculty or to provide teaching-related consultations. While increases in coursework and training related to pedagogy might help to overcome some of these concerns, there would still be the ongoing challenge that many librarians struggle to see themselves as equal to faculty. Even when librarians think of themselves as teachers, or have faculty status themselves, this concern can still exist. For example, in one study of librarian teacher identities, researchers found that 83.3 percent of their respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they considered themselves to be teachers, but that only 56.9 percent agreed or strongly agreed that they were teachers in the same way as faculty who teach outside of the library. 106 And in their study of librarians’ experiences of faculty development, Fribley, Vance, and Gardner noted that librarians’ fears about not being accepted in a faculty development role did not appear to be impacted by faculty status. 107 Instead, the concern was shared by both non-faculty and faculty librarians. For the faculty development approach to be successful, librarians would need to find a way to overcome their tendency to defer to or think of themselves as being less than faculty.

To support this shift, more research into librarians’ experiences as faculty developers is needed, especially considering the factors that have allowed some librarians to successfully adopt a faculty developer persona. In addition, more evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of librarian-led faculty development is needed to help convince librarians of the viability of this approach. Collecting this evidence would, of course, require organizational and institutional changes that would encourage more librarians to develop and assess faculty development initiatives. Also, while there may not yet be significant evidence to show that the faculty-focused model would be effective in improving students’ information literacy, an examination of the faculty development literature provides indications of the effectiveness of faculty development in general. For example, in Faculty Development and Student Learning: Assessing the Connections , the authors discuss the results of a multi-year, mixed-method study across two institutions which found that faculty development does result in changes to faculty teaching practices and supports increased student learning. 108 Increased librarian engagement with the literature from the field of faculty development may provide additional support in favor of a faculty-focused model. 109

This essay intended to provide a critical analysis of the potential of the TTT model of information literacy through an examination of librarians’ experiences as teachers and faculty developers. It has demonstrated that librarians are capable of acting effectively as faculty developers and that some librarians would clearly find professional satisfaction in this role. Moreover, essays such as those by Bowles-Terry and Donovan, and Pagowsky, indicate that some librarians are ready to move beyond the one-shot approach and consider an alternative pathway. Taken together, this points to the viability of the faculty-focused model as a future path for information literacy. Many librarians already have some experience developing and implementing faculty-development initiatives focused on information literacy, which provide a foundation that other librarians interested in the approach can build on.

It also seems clear that the wide-scale implementation of the faculty-focused approach as the primary means of supporting information literacy would likely encounter significant roadblocks at this time, especially if it would mean that one-shot instruction would be reduced or eliminated. Many librarians would be understandably reluctant to abandon an approach that has brought them professional satisfaction in favor of taking on a role that they may be unfamiliar with, and in many cases, would probably feel unprepared for. Concerns about what information literacy might look like in the hands of faculty should also not be ignored. The success of this approach would, of course, require faculty to be willing to take on some responsibility for teaching information literacy, something which is by no means certain. In addition, librarians who are familiar with poorly designed library or research assignments developed by faculty may fear what could happen if they are no longer the primary teachers of information literacy. However, it is important to note that a faculty-focused model of information literacy instruction would not mean that librarians would be giving up all responsibility for information literacy to faculty and then standing aside with no additional role to play. Instead, librarians would continue to act as the guiding force in defining and promoting information literacy at their institutions. 110 And, if librarians are providing training and ongoing collaboration, it seems likely that the chances of faculty producing the types of unsatisfactory assignments that many librarians fear would be lessened, rather than increased. In the TTT model, faculty would have a better conceptual grasp on information literacy, would be more familiar with pedagogical strategies they can use to effectively teach information literacy in their courses, and would probably be more likely to view librarians as collaborative partners in assignment redesign.

While there are barriers to the wide-scale adoption of TTT approach, the existence of such impediments does not mean that librarians should stop exploring the potential of this model, or should not start taking steps that would allow them to make it a more realistic option for libraries in the future. Although the ultimate success of the TTT model is still up for debate, there are significant concerns with the one-shot approach—concerns which have only become more significant since the adoption of the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education . While not all librarians may be using the Framework to guide their instruction programs, it is problematic that the understanding of information literacy advocated by the major national organization for academic librarians is not really compatible with the one-shot instructional model. The Framework emphasizes the need for students to develop key understandings or ways of thinking that cannot be fully taught in a one-shot session but instead must be developed across a student’s academic career, which is a goal that librarians cannot reasonably expect to achieve on their own. Although the authors of the Framework do not directly mention the “teach the teachers” approach, they do specifically advocate for increased collaboration among librarians, faculty, instructional designers, and centers for teaching and learning in the design of “holistic” information literacy programs. 111 This type of collaboration seems much more aligned with the TTT model of information literacy than the one-shot model, providing additional support for the notion that librarians need to give increased consideration to the TTT approach.

The “teach the teachers” approach does not have to be the only one used in academic libraries. There would likely still be a place for limited one-shots even within a model where focusing on faculty development takes precedent. Bowles-Terry and Donovan, for example, note that working with faculty on course and assignment design at their institution did often lead to librarians continuing to work with the students in those classes, but they indicate that this was a more “targeted and sustainable” approach than responding to faculty requests for sessions. 112 Other models of instruction, such as credit courses taught by librarians, could also continue to be offered. Our institutional and instructional contexts are so varied that the notion that a single model of information literacy instruction would be effective at every institution is unrealistic. However, investing more time and attention on the faculty-focused approach could get librarians closer to their goal of seeing information literacy integrated into the curriculum.

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Amanda L. Folk and Stephanie Schulte for reviewing drafts of this paper and providing valuable guidance and feedback.

1.. Nicole Pagowsky, “The Contested One-Shot: Deconstructing Power Structures to Imagine New Futures,”  College & Research Libraries  82, no. 3 (2021): 300. Pagowsky’s editorial also functioned as a call for proposals for a special issue of College & Research Libraries focused on the one-shot, which was published after the completion of the current essay. Readers are encouraged to review that issue (Volume 83, no. 5, 2022) for additional critical discussion related to the one-shot model of information literacy and potential alternatives. In one of the essays in that volume, Urszula Lechtenberg and Carrie Donovan envision a model of information literacy in which librarians act as facilitators of information literacy through faculty development, instructional consultations, and designing information literacy learning objects, a model which closely aligns with the “teach the teachers” approach outlined in the current essay. See: Urszula Lechtenberg and Carrie Donovan, “Undoing Our Instructional Past: Envisioning New Models for Information Literacy” College & Research Libraries 83, no. 5 (2022): 837–840.

2. Melissa Bowles-Terry and Carrie Donovan, “Serving Notice on the One-Shot: Changing Roles for Instruction Librarians,”  International Information & Library Review  48, no. 2 (2016): 137–142, https://doi.org/10.1080/10572317.2016.1176457 .

3. Bowles-Terry and Donovan, “Serving Notice on the One-Shot”; Sandra Cowan and Nicole C. Eva, “Changing Our Aim: Infiltrating Faculty with Information Literacy,”  Communications in Information Literacy  10, no. 2 (2016): 163–177, https://doi.org/10.15760/comminfolit.2016.10.2.31 ; Barbara Fister, “Fostering Information Literacy through Faculty Development,”  Library Issues: Briefings for Faculty and Administrators  29, no. 4 (2009): 1–4; William Miller and Steven Bell, “A New Strategy for Enhancing Library Use: Faculty-Led Information Literacy Instruction,”  Library Issues: Briefings for Faculty and Administrators 25, no. 5 (2005): 1–4; Risë L. Smith, “Philosophical Shift: Teach the Faculty to Teach Information Literacy,” Paper presented at the 8th National Conference of the Association of College and Research Libraries  (1997), https://www.ala.org/acrl/publications/whitepapers/nashville/smith [accessed 28 March 2022].

4. Smith, “Philosophical Shift.”

5. Smith, “Philosophical Shift,”; Cowan and Eva, “Changing Our Aim.”

6. Michael Flierl, Rachel Fundator, Jason B. Reed, Bethany McGowan, Chao Cai, and Clarence Maybee, “Training the Trainer to Embed IL into Curricula: Results From an Action Research Project,”  Journal of Information Literacy  14, no. 1 (2020): 3–18, https://doi.org/10.11645/14.1.2670 ; Patricia Hartman, Renae Newhouse, and Valerie Perry, “Building a Sustainable Life Science Information Literacy Program Using the Train-the-Trainer Model,”  Issues in Science & Technology Librarianship  (2014), http://www.istl.org/14-summer/refereed1.html [accessed 28 March 2022] .

7. Miller and Bell, “A New Strategy for Enhancing Library Use.”

8. For examples see: Melissa Bowles-Terry and Karen Sobel, “Librarians as Faculty Developers: Competencies and Recommendations,”  The Journal of Academic Librarianship  48, no. 1 (2022): 102474, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2021.102474 ; Katelyn Handler and Lauren Hays, “Librarians as Faculty Developers: Leading Educational Development Initiatives,”  College & Research Libraries News  80, no. 4 (2019): 220–222, 235; Sharon Mader and Craig Gibson, “Teaching and Learning Centers: Recasting the Role of Librarians as Educators and Change Agents” (2019), https://alair.ala.org/bitstream/handle/11213/17689/TeachingandLearningCenters.pdf?sequence=1 [accessed 28 March 2022]; Sara Sharun and Erika E. Smith, “Educational Development Partnerships and Practices: Helping Librarians Move Beyond the One-Shot,”  College & Research Libraries News  81, no. 9 (2020): 445–449.

9. Jane Hammons, “Teaching the Teachers to Teach Information Literacy: A Literature Review,” The Journal of Academic Librarianship 46, no. 5 (2020): 102196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2020.102196

10. Hammons, “Teaching the Teachers.”

11. In a separate essay intended as a companion piece to this article, the potential of the “teach the teachers” approach is explored through an analysis of the faculty development literature on the effectiveness of faculty development and the experiences of faculty developers. See: Jane Hammons, “The Faculty-Focused Model of Information Literacy: Insights from the Faculty Development Literature,” Journal of Information Literacy, 16 no. 2 (2022): 22–40, http://dx.doi.org/10.11645/16.2.3222 .

12. Cheryl Amundsen, Philip Abrami, Lynn McAlpine, Cynthia Weston, Marie Krbavac, Amrit Mundy, and Mary Wilson, “The What and Why of Faculty Development in Higher Education: An In-Depth Review of the Literature,” Presentation at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) (2005) , https://www.sfu.ca/rethinkingteaching/publications/CAmundsen.etal.pdf [accessed 28 March 2022].

13. Katelyn Handler and Lauren Hays, “Keeping Up With… Faculty Development,” American Library Association (2019, Apr. 17), http://www.ala.org/acrl/publications/keeping_up_with/faculty_development [accessed 28 March 2022].

14. Jeanette McDonald and Denise Stockley, “Pathways to the Profession of Educational Development: An International Perspective,”  International Journal for Academic Development  13, no. 3 (2008): 213–218, https://doi.org/10.1080/13601440802242622 .

15. For examples see: Bowles-Terry and Sobel, “Librarians as Faculty Developers”; Fister,”Fostering Information Literacy through Faculty Development”; Patricia Iannuzzi, “Faculty Development and Information Literacy: Establishing Campus Partnerships,”  Reference Services Review  26, no. 3–4 (1998); 97–102, 116.

16. Pagowsky, “The Contested One-Shot,” 300.

17. Miller and Bell, “A New Strategy for Enhancing Library Use,” 2.

18. Bowles-Terry and Donovan, “Serving Notice on the One-Shot”; Cowan and Eva, “Changing Our Aim”; Miller and Bell, “A New Strategy for Enhancing Library Use”; Pagowsky, “The Contested One-Shot”; Smith, “Philosophical Shift.”

19. Pagowsky, “The Contested One-Shot,” 301.

20. Association of College & Research Libraries, “Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education,” (2016), https://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework .

21. Association of College & Research Libraries, “Framework for Information Literacy Appendices,” (2016), https://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframeworkapps .

22. Association of College & Research Libraries, “Framework for Information Literacy.”

23. Bowles-Terry and Donovan, “Serving Notice on the One-Shot,” 138.

24. Pagowsky, “The Contested One-Shot,” 304.

25. Bowles-Terry and Donovan, “Serving Notice on the One-Shot”; Pagowsky, “The Contested One-Shot.”

26. Cowan and Eva, “Changing Our Aim”; Fister, “Fostering Information Literacy through Faculty Development”; Miller and Bell, “A New Strategy for Enhancing Library Use”; Smith, “Philosophical Shift.” For an additional overview of arguments in favor of the approach, see: Hammons, “Teaching the Teachers.”

27. Hartman, Newhouse, and Perry, “Building a Sustainable Life Science Information Literacy Program.”

28. Cowan and Eva, “Changing Our Aim”; Fister, “Fostering Information Literacy”; Miller and Bell, “A New Strategy for Enhancing Library Use.”

29. Miller and Bell, “A New Strategy for Enhancing Library Use.”

30. Hammons, “Teaching the Teachers.”

31. Rachel Wishkoski, Kacy Lundstrom, and Erin Davis, “Faculty Teaching and Librarian-Facilitated Assignment Design,”  portal: Libraries and the Academy  19, no. 1 (2019): 95–126.

32. Bowles-Terry and Donovan, “Serving Notice on the One-Shot,” 139.

33. Miller and Bell, “A New Strategy for Enhancing Library Use,” 1.

34. Cowan and Eva, “Changing Our Aim,” 164.

35.  Susan Andriette Ariew, “How We Got Here: A Historical Look at the Academic Teaching Library and the Role of the Teaching Librarian,”  Communications in Information Literacy  8, no. 2 (2014): 208–224, https://doi.org/10.15760/comminfolit.2014.8.2.167 ; Cheryl Gunselman and Elizabeth Blakesley, “Enduring Visions of Instruction in Academic Libraries: A Review of a Spirited Early Twentieth-Century Discussion,”  portal: Libraries and the Academy  12, no. 3 (2012): 259–281, https://doi.org/10.1353/pla.2012.0027 ; Edward K. Owusu-Ansah, “Information Literacy and Higher Education: Placing the Academic Library in the Center of a Comprehensive Solution,”  The Journal of Academic Librarianship  30, no. 1 (2004): 3–16; Mary F. Salony, “The History of Bibliographic Instruction: Changing Trends from Books to the Electronic World,”  The Reference Librarian  24, no. 51–52 (1995): 31–51, https://doi.org/10.1300/J120v24n51_06 ; Robert Zai III, “Neither Fish Nor Fowl: A Role Theory Approach to Librarians Teaching,”  Journal of Library Administration  55, no. 1 (2015): 1–23, https://doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2014.978680 .

36. Claudene Sproles and Robert Detmering, “Working Information Literacy: The Instruction Librarian Specialty in Job Advertisements, 1973–2013,” Codex: Journal of the Louisiana Chapter of the ACRL 3, no. 4 (2015): 10–32.

37. Association of College & Research Libraries, “Roles and Strengths of Teaching Librarians,” (2017), https://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/teachinglibrarians [accessed 28 March 2022].

38. Trevor Austin and Janine Bhandol, “The Academic Librarian: Buying Into, Playing Out, and Resisting the Teacher Role in Higher Education,”  New Review of Academic Librarianship  19, no. 1 (2013): 15–35, https://doi.org/10.1080/13614533.2012.740438 ; Andrea Baer, “Academic Librarians› Development as Teachers: A Survey on Changes in Pedagogical Roles, Approaches, and Perspectives,”  Journal of Information Literacy  15, no. 1 (2021); 26–53, http://dx.doi.org/10.11645/15.1.2846 ; Erin L. Davis, Kacy Lundstrom, and Pamela N. Martin, “Librarian Perceptions and Information Literacy Instruction Models,”  Reference Services Review  (2011): 686–702, https://doi.org/10.1108/00907321111186695 ; Kaetrena D. Davis, “The Academic Librarian as Instructor: A Study of Teacher Anxiety,”  College & Undergraduate Libraries  14, no. 2 (2007): 77–101, https://doi.org/10.1300/J106v14n02_06 ; Heidi Julien and Jen (J.L.) Pecoskie, “Librarians› Experiences of the Teaching Role: Grounded in Campus Relationships,”  Library & Information Science Research  31, no. 3 (2009): 149–154, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2009.03.005 ; Heidi Julien and Shelagh K. Genuis, “Librarians› Experiences of the Teaching Role: A National Survey of Librarians,”  Library & Information Science Research  33, no. 2 (2011): 103–111, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2010.09.005 ; Scott Walter, “Librarians as Teachers: A Qualitative Inquiry into Professional Identity,”  College & Research Libraries  69, no. 1 (2008): 51–71; Emily Wheeler and Pamela McKinney, “Are Librarians Teachers? Investigating Academic Librarians› Perceptions of their Own Teaching Roles,”  Journal of Information Literacy  9, no. 2 (2015); 111–128; http://dx.doi.org/10.11645/9.2.1985 .

39. Baer, “Academic Librarians’ Development as Teachers,” 33, 49.

40. Bowles-Terry and Donovan, “Serving Notice on the One-Shot.”

41. Bowles-Terry and Donovan, “Serving Notice on the One-Shot,” 138.

42. William Badke, “Who Owns Information Literacy?”  Online Searcher  38, no. 4 (2014): 68–70; Susanna M. Cowan, “Information Literacy: The Battle We Won that We Lost?”  portal: Libraries and the Academy  14, no. 1 (2014): 23–32, https://doi.org/10.1353/pla.2013.0049 ; Owusu-Ansah, “Information Literacy and Higher Education.”

43. Lisa O’Connor, “Information Literacy as Professional Legitimation: A Critical Analysis,”  Journal of Education for Library and Information Science  50, no. 2 (2009): 79–89; Lisa O’Connor, “Information Literacy as Professional Legitimation: The Quest for Professional Jurisdiction,”  Library Review  58, no. 4, (2009): 272–289, https://doi.org/10.1108/00242530910952828 ; Lisa O’Connor, “Information literacy as Professional Legitimation: The Quest for a New Jurisdiction,”  Library Review 58, no. 7 (2009): 493–508, https://doi.org/10.1108/00242530910978190 .

44. O’Connor, “Information Literacy as Professional Legitimation: The Quest for Professional Jurisdiction,” 272.

45. Cowan, “Information Literacy: The Battle We Won”; Heidi Julien, “Beyond the Hyperbole: Information Literacy Reconsidered,”  Communications in Information Literacy  10, no. 2 (2016): 124–131; O’Connor, “Information Literacy as Professional Legitimation: A Critical Analysis.”

46. Cowan, “Information Literacy: The Battle We Won,” 24.

47. Cowan, “Information Literacy: The Battle We Won,” 30.

48. Badke, “Who Owns Information Literacy?” 

49. Michelle Reale, Meeting the Challenge of Teaching Information Literacy (American Library Association, 2020), 10.

50. Austin and Bhandol, “The Academic Librarian”; Baer, “Academic Librarians’ Development as Teachers”; Davis, Lundstom, and Martin, “Librarian Perceptions and Information Literacy Instruction Models”; Julien and Genuis, “Librarians’ Experiences of the Teaching Role”; Julien and Pecoskie, “Librarians’ Experiences of the Teaching Role”; Wheeler and McKinney, “Are Librarians Teachers?”; Zai III, “Neither Fish nor Fowl.”

51. Julien and Pecoskie, “Librarians’ Experiences of the Reaching Role,” 149.

52. Baer, “Academic Librarians’ Development as Teachers,” 33.

53. Laura Saunders, “Education for Instruction: A Review of LIS Instruction Syllabi,”  The Reference Librarian  56, no. 1 (2015): 19, https://doi.org/10.1080/02763877.2014.969392 .

54. Rebecca Albrecht and Sara Baron, “The Politics of Pedagogy: Expectations and Reality for Information Literacy in Librarianship,”  Journal of Library Administration  36, no. 1–2 (2002): 71–96, https://doi.org/10.1300/J111v36n01_06 ; Dani Brecher and Kevin Michael Klipfe, “Education Training for Instruction Librarians: A Shared Perspective,”  Communications in Information Literacy  8, no. 1 (2014): 43–49, https://doi.org/10.15760/comminfolit.2014.8.1.164 ; Kimberly Davies-Hoffman, Barbara Alvarez, Michelle Costello, and Debby Emerson, “Keeping Pace with Information Literacy Instruction for the Real World: When Will MLS Programs Wake Up and Smell the LILACs?”  Communications in Information Literacy  7, no. 1 (2013): 9–23, https://doi.org/10.15760/comminfolit.2013.7.1.131 ; Margaret Dodson, “On Target or Missing the Mark? Instruction Courses in LIS Graduate Programs,” Public Services Quarterly 16, no. 2 (2020): 83–94, https://doi.org/10.1080/15228959.2020.1745131 ; Claudene Sproles, Anna Marie Johnson, and Leslie Farison, “What the Teachers are Teaching: How MLIS Programs are Preparing Academic Librarians for Instructional Roles,”  Journal of Education for Library and Information Science  (2008): 195–209; Theresa Westbrock and Sarah Fabian, “Proficiencies for Instruction Librarians: Is There Still a Disconnect Between Professional Education and Professional Responsibilities?”  College & Research Libraries  71, no. 6 (2010): 569–590.

55. Saunders, “Education for Instruction”; Dodson, “On Target or Missing the Mark?”; David Brennan and M. Elizabeth Davidson, “‘Other Duties as Assigned’: Academic Librarians’ Perceptions of the Impact of Instructional Tasks,” in  Challenging the “Jacks of All Trades but Masters of None” Librarian Syndrome , eds. George J. Fowler and Samantha Schmehl Hines (Emerald Publishing Limited, 2018), 133–184.

56. Sandra J. Valenti and Brady D. Lund, “Preparing the Instructional Librarian: Representation of ACRL Roles and Strengths in MLS Course Descriptions,”  College & Research Libraries  82, no. 4 (2021): 543.

57. Davis, “The Academic Librarian as Instructor”; Jessica Martinez and Meredith Forrey, “Overcoming Imposter Syndrome: The Adventures of Two New Instruction Librarians,”  Reference Services Review 47, no. 3 (2019): 331–342, https://doi.org/10.1108/RSR-03-2019-0021 ; Kacy Lundstrom, Britt Fagerheim, and Stephen Van Geem, “Library Teaching Anxiety: Understanding and Supporting a Persistent Issue in Librarianship,”  College & Research Libraries  82, no. 3 (2021): 389–409; Caitlin McClurg and Rhiannon Jones, “Imposter Phenomenon and the MLIS,” in  Re-envisioning the MLS: Perspectives on the Future of Library and Information Science Education , eds. Johnna Percell, Lindsay C. Sarin, Paul T. Jaeger, and John Carlo Bertot, (Emerald Publishing Limited, 2018), 7–24; Reale, Meeting the Challenge.

58. Lundstrom, Fagerheim, and Van Geem, “Library Teaching Anxiety,” 392.

59. Bowles-Terry and Donovan, “Serving Notice on the One-Shot,” 140.

60. Julien and Pecoskie, “Librarians’ Experiences of the Teaching Role,” 151.”

61. Lyda Fontes McCartin and Raquel Wright-Mair, “It’s Not Personal, It’s Professional: Causes of Academic Librarian Deference Behavior,”  The Journal of Academic Librarianship  48, no. 1 (2022): 102483, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2021.102483 .

62. Yvonne Nalani Meulemans and Allison Carr, “Not at Your Service: Building Genuine Faculty‐Librarian Partnerships,”  Reference Services Review  (2013): 81, https://doi.org/10.1108/00907321311300893 .

63. Julien and Pecoskie, “Librarians’ Experiences of the Teaching Role” 152.

64. Reale, Meeting the Challenge , 42.

65. Julien and Pecoskie, “Librarians’ Experiences of the Teaching Role,” 152.

66. Pagowsky, “The Contested One-Shot,” 303.

67. Miriam L. Matteson and Shelly S. Miller, “Emotional Labor in Librarianship: A Research Agenda,”  Library & Information Science Research  34, no. 3 (2012): 176–183, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2012.02.003 ; Miriam L. Matteson and Shelly S. Miller, “A Study of Emotional Labor in Librarianship,”  Library & Information Science Research  35, no. 1 (2013): 54–62, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2012.07.005 ; Joanne Rodger and Norene Erickson, “The Emotional Labour of Public Library Work,”  Partnership: Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research/Partnership: Revue Canadienne de la Pratique et de la Recherche en Bibliothéconomie et Sciences de L’information  16, no. 1 (2021): 1–27.

68. Matteson and Miller, “Emotional Labor in Librarianship,” 177.

69. Heidi Julien and Shelagh K. Genuis, “Emotional Labour in Librarians’ Instructional Work,”  Journal of Documentation  65, no. 6 (2009); 926–937, https://doi.org/10.1108/00220410910998924 .

70. Julien and Genuis, “Emotional Labour,” 930.

71. Julien and Genuis, “Emotional Labour,” 932.

72. Karen A. Becker, “The Characteristics of Bibliographic Instruction in Relation to the Causes and Symptoms of Burnout,”  RQ  32, no. 3 (1993): 346–357.

73. For additional exploration of burnout in librarians, see: Mary Ann Affleck, “Burnout Among Bibliographic Instruction Librarians,”  Library & Information Science Research  18, no. 2 (1996): 165–183; Giovanna Badia, “Forty ways to Survive IL Instruction Overload; or, How to Avoid Teacher Burnout,”  College & Undergraduate Libraries  25, no. 1 (2018): 65–71, https://doi.org/10.1080/10691316.2017.1364077 ; David Brennan and M. Elizabeth Davidson, “Other Duties as Assigned”; Jennifer Nardine, “The State of Academic Liaison Librarian Burnout in ARL Libraries in the United States,”  College & Research Libraries  80, no. 4 (2019): 508–524, https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.80.4.508 ; Deborah F. Sheesley, “Burnout and the Academic Teaching Librarian: An Examination of the Problem and Suggested Solutions,”  The Journal of Academic Librarianship  27, no. 6 (2001): 447–451, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0099-1333(01)00264-6 .

74. Pagowsky, “The Contested One-Shot,” 306.

75. Brennan and Davidson, “Other Duties as Assigned,” 149.

76. Karla Fribley, Jason M. Vance, and Justin G. Gardner, “Academic Librarians and Campus-Wide Faculty Development: A National Survey,” portal: Libraries and the Academy 21, no. 2 (2021): 253–274, https://doi.org/10.1353/pla.2021.0015 .

77. For examples, see: Jennifer J. Little and Jane H. Tuten, “Strategic Planning: First Steps in Sharing Information Literacy Goals with Faculty Across Disciplines,” College & Undergraduate Libraries 13, no. 3 (2006): 113–123; Heather B. Loehr and Kenneth E. Gibson, “Promoting Librarian-Faculty Collaboration to Advance Information Literacy: Hanover College’s Pilot Program,”  Indiana Libraries  25, no. 4 (2006): 33–36.

78. For examples, see: Jane Hammons, “Teaching Information Literacy: Developing an Online Course for Faculty,” College & Research Libraries News 81, no. 7 (2020): 337–340; 349; Grace L. Veach,”Teaching Information Literacy to Faculty: An Experiment,”  College & Undergraduate Libraries  16, no. 1 (2009): 58–70.

79. For examples, see: Stephanie Crowe, Anne Pemberton, and Vonzell Yeager, “Information Literacy Faculty Fellows Program: Building a Faculty-Librarian Framework Community of Practice,”  College & Research Libraries News  80, no. 5 (2019): 285–288; Misa Mi, “Expanding Librarian Roles through a Librarian Initiated and Facilitated Faculty Learning Community,”  Journal of Library Administration  55, no. 1 (2015): 24–40, https://doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2014.978683 ; Diane VanderPol and Emily A.B. Swanson, “Rethinking Roles: Librarians and Faculty Collaborate to Develop Students’ Information Literacy,”  Journal of Library Innovation  4, no. 2 (2013).

80. For examples, see: Amanda L. Folk and Jane Hammons, “Expanding Our Reach: Implementing Instructor Development Programming,” International Information & Library Review 53, no. 1 (2021): 69–78, https://doi.org/10.1080/10572317.2021.1869451 ; Jane Hammons, Andrea Brooks, Mary Chesnut, and Lynn Warner, “Beyond the Library Walls: How a Faculty Institute Transformed Information Literacy Education across Campus,” Kentucky Libraries , 83, no. 1 (2019): 7–11; Anne Jumonville,”The Role of Faculty Autonomy in a Course-Integrated Information Literacy Program,”  Reference Services Review  42, no. 4 (2014): 536–551, https://doi.org/10.1108/RSR-07-2014-0020 ; Clarence Maybee, Tomalee Doan, and Catherine Fraser Riehle, “Making an IMPACT: Campus-wide Collaboration for Course and Learning Space Transformation,”  College and Research Libraries News 74, no. 1 (2013): 32–35, https://doi.org/10.5860/crln.74.1.8884 ; Michelle S. Millet, Jeremy Donald, and David W. Wilson, “Information Literacy Across the Curriculum: Expanding Horizons,”  College & Undergraduate Libraries  16, no. 2–3 (2009): 180–193, https://doi.org/10.1080/10691310902976451 ; Rachel Wishkoski, Kacy Lundstrom, and Erin Davis, “Librarians in the Lead: A Case for Interdisciplinary Faculty Collaboration on Assignment Design,”  Communications in Information Literacy  12, no. 2 (2018): 166–192, https://doi.org/10.15760/comminfolit.2018.12.2.7 ; Rachel Wishkoski, Kacy Lundstrom, and Erin Davis, “Faculty Teaching and Librarian-Facilitated Assignment Design,”  portal: Libraries and the Academy  19, no.1 (2019): 95–126, https://doi.org/10.1353/pla.2019.0006 .

81. For an overview of such initiatives, see: Hammons, “Teaching the Teachers.”

82. Flierl et al., “Training the Trainer,” 6.

83. Flierl et al., “Training the Trainer”; Michael Flierl, Clarence Maybee, and Rachel Fundator, “Academic Librarians’ Experiences as Faculty Developers: A Phenomenographic Study,”  Communications in Information Literacy  13, no. 2 (2019): 184–204, https://doi.org/10.15760/comminfolit.2019.13.2.4 .

84. Flierl, Maybee and Fundator, “Academic Librarians’ Experiences as Faculty Developers,” 190.

85. Flierl et al., “Training the Trainer.”

86. Fribley, Vance, and Gardner, “Academic Librarians and Campus-Wide Faculty Development.”

87. Fribley, Vance, and Gardner, “Academic Librarians and Campus-Wide Faculty Development,” 268.

88. Fribley, Vance, and Gardner, “Academic Librarians and Campus-Wide Faculty Development,” 267.

89. Rachel Fundator and Clarence Maybee. “Academic Librarians as Informed Learning Developers,” in  Informed Learning Applications: Insights from Research and Practice , ed. Kim L. Ranger (Emerald Publishing Limited, 2019), 81–94.

90. Mi, “Expanding Librarian Roles.”

91. Mi, “Expanding Librarian Roles,” 33.

92. Handler and Hays,” “Librarians as Faculty Developers.”

93. Bowles-Terry and Sobel, “Librarians as Faculty Developers,” 2.

94. Shannon Fay Johnson and Ludwika Goodson, “Faculty Development Centers and Libraries: United We Stand, Divided We Fall,”  ACRL 2015 Proceedings  (2015); 261.

95. Saunders, “Education for Instruction,” 17.

96. Bowles-Terry and Sobel, “Librarians as Faculty Developers”; Flierl et al., “Training the Trainer”; Fundator and Maybee, “Academic Librarians as Informed Learning Developers”; Mader and Gibson, “Teaching and Learning Centers.”

97. Flierl et al., “Training the Trainer.”

98. Valenti and Lund, “Preparing the Instructional Librarian” 539.

99. Heidi E. Buchanan & Beth A. McDonough, The One-Shot Library Instruction Survival Guide , 3 rd ed. (Chicago, IL: ALA Editions, 2021); Sarah Cisse, The Fortuitous Teacher: A Guide to Successful One-Shot Library Instruction (Chandos Publishing, 2016); Jerilyn Veldof, Creating the One-Shot Library Workshop: A Step-by-Step Guide (American Library Association, 2006) .

100. Carolyn Caffrey Gardner, Elizabeth Galoozis, and Rebecca Halpern, eds.  Hidden Architectures of Information Literacy Programs: Structures, Practices, and Contexts (Association of College and Research Libraries, 2020).

101. Fribley, Vance, and Gardner, “Academic Librarians and Campus-Wide Faculty Development,” 265.

102. Fribley, Vance, and Gardner, “Academic Librarians and Campus-Wide Faculty Development,” 266.

103. Bowles-Terry and Sobel, “Librarians as Faculty Developers”; Johnson and Goodson, “Faculty Development Centers and Libraries”; Mader and Gibson, “Teaching and Learning Centers.”

104. Johnson and Goodson, “Faculty Development Centers and Libraries.”

105. Mader and Gibson, “Teaching and Learning Centers.”

106. Davis, Lundstrom, and Martin, “Librarian Perceptions and Information Literacy Instruction Models,” 691–692. 

107. Fribley, Vance, and Gardner, “Academic Librarians and Campus-Wide Faculty Development,” 266.

108. Condon, William, Ellen R. Iverson, Cathryn A. Manduca, Carol Rutz, and Gudrun Willett, Faculty Development and Student Learning: Assessing the Connections , Indiana University Press, 2016.

109. For more information, see: Jane Hammons, “The Faculty-Focused Model of Information Literacy: Insights from the Faculty Development Literature.”

110. Miller and Bell, “A New Strategy for Enhancing Library Use.”

111. ACRL, “Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education”; “Framework for Information Literacy Appendices.”

112. Bowles-Terry and Donovan, “Serving Notice on the One-Shot” 141.

* Jane Hammons, MSLIS, MS, MA is Assistant Professor and Teaching and Learning Engagement Librarian at The Ohio State University; email: [email protected] . ©2024 Jane Hammons, Attribution-NonCommercial ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ ) CC BY-NC.

Article Views (Last 12 Months)

Contact ACRL for article usage statistics from 2010-April 2017.

Article Views (By Year/Month)

© 2024 Association of College and Research Libraries , a division of the American Library Association

Print ISSN: 0010-0870 | Online ISSN: 2150-6701

ALA Privacy Policy

ISSN: 2150-6701

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• Front Psychol

Digital literacy in the university setting: A literature review of empirical studies between 2010 and 2021

Nieves gutiérrez-Ángel.

1 Departamento de Psicología, Área de Psicología Evolutiva y de la Educación, Universidad de Almería, Almeria, Spain

Jesús-Nicasio Sánchez-García

2 Departamento de Psicología, Sociología y Filosofía, Universidad de León, Leon, Spain

Isabel Mercader-Rubio

Judit garcía-martín.

3 Departamento de Psicología Evolutiva y de la Educación, Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain

Sonia Brito-Costa

4 Instituto Politécnico de Coímbra, Coimbra, Portugal

5 Coimbra Education School, Research Group in Social and Human Sciences Núcleo de Investigação em Ciências Sociais e Humanas da ESEC (NICSH), Coimbra, Portugal

Associated Data

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

The impact of digital devices and the Internet has generated various changes at social, political, and economic levels, the repercussion of which is a great challenge characterized by the changing and globalized nature of today's society. This demands the development of new skills and new learning models in relation to information and communication technologies. Universities must respond to these social demands in the training of their future professionals. This paper aims to analyze the empirical evidence provided by international studies in the last eleven years, related to the digital literacy of university students, including those pursuing degrees related to the field of education. Our findings highlight the fact that the digital literacy that is offered in universities to graduate/postgraduate students, in addition to treating digital literacy as a central theme, also focuses on perceived and developed self-efficacy. This is done by strengthening competencies related to digital writing and reading, the use of databases, the digital design of content and materials, and the skills to edit, publish or share them on the web, or applications aimed at treating digital literacy as emerging pedagogies and educational innovation. Secondly, we found studies related to digital competencies and use of the Internet, social networks, web 2.0, or the treatment of digital risks and their relationship with digital literacy. Thirdly, we found works that, in addition to focusing on digital literacy, also focused on different psychological constructs such as motivation, commitment, attitudes, or satisfaction.

Systematic review registration: https://www.scopus.com/home.uri ; https://www.recursoscientificos.fecyt.es/ .

Introduction

The concept of digital literacy (DL) appears for the first time in the works of Zurkowski ( 1974 ), for whom it is an ability to identify, locate, and examine information. However, despite its novelty, the conceptions it encompasses have been changing (Lim and Newby, 2021 ). Proof of this are the contributions of Gilster ( 1997 ) who combines the idea that DL is also closely linked to skills such as access, evaluation, and management of information used in learning processes. Digital learning is understood as the set of technical-procedural, cognitive, and socio-emotional skills necessary to live, learn, and work in a digital society (Eshet-Alkalai, 2012 ; European Commission, 2018 ). It is related to reading, writing, calculation skills, and effective use of technology in personal, social, and professional areas. It is also considered inseparable from the social and educational needs of the society in which we live (Larraz, 2013 ; Brata et al., 2022 ). Therefore, we refer to a concept that has several aspects including the technological aspect, the informative and multimedia aspect, and the communicative aspect. It involves a complete process and multiple literacies (Gisbert and Esteve, 2011 ; Lázaro, 2015 ; Valverde et al., 2022 ). It requires mastery of certain competencies related to the identification of training needs, access to information in digital environments, the use of ICT tools to manage information, interpretation, and representation of information, and the evaluation of information and the transmission of information (Covello and Lei, 2010 ; Walsh et al., 2022 ).

Digital literacy in university students

In recent years, society has undergone enormous changes with the digitalization of many of its spheres at the information level, the communication level, the level of knowledge acquisition, the level of the establishment of social relations, and even the level of leisure. Thus, our habits and means of accessing, managing, and transforming information have also changed (European Union, 2013 ; Cantabrana and Cervera, 2015 ; Allen et al., 2020 ; López-Meneses et al., 2020 ).

These developments have also had a great impact on the educational field, in which we have to rethink firstly what kind of students we are training in terms of the skills they need in today's society, and secondly, whether we are training a profile of future teachers capable of training a student body that uses information and communication technologies as something inherent to their own personal and social development. In short, digital communication has changed practices related to literacy and has gained great relevance in the development of knowledge in the twenty-first century (Comisión Europea, 2012 , 2013 ; European Commission, 2012 ; OECD, 2012 ; Unión Europea, 2013 ; Instituto Nacional de Tecnologías Educativas y Formación del Profesorado, 2017 ; Gudmundsdottir and Hatlevik, 2018 ; Pérez and Nagata, 2019 ; Fernández-de-la-Iglesia et al., 2020 ).

The European Commission ( 2013 ) indicates that initial teacher training (IDT) should integrate teachers' digital literacy, betting on the pedagogical use of digital tools, enabling them to use them in an effective, appropriate, and contextualized manner. This teaching competence should be characterized by having a holistic, contextualized, performance-, function-, and development-oriented character. In short, it is about incorporating and adequately using ICT as a didactic resource (Cantabrana and Cervera, 2015 ; Castañeda et al., 2018 ; Tourón et al., 2018 ; Chow and Wong, 2020 ; Vodá et al., 2022 ).

In this sense, according to the work of Krumsvik ( 2009 ), the CDD ( competencia digital docente de los profesores –digital competency training for teachers) is composed of four components: basic digital skills (Bawden, 2008 ), didactic competence with ICT (Koehler and Mishra, 2008 ; Gisbert and Esteve, 2011 ), learning strategies, and digital training or training.

While at the Spanish level, the Common Framework of Digital Teaching Competence of the National Institute of Educational Technologies and Teacher Training (INTEF, 2017 ) standardizes it in five areas: information and information literacy, communication and collaboration, digital content creation, security, and problem solving (López-Meneses et al., 2020 ). Recently, they have been consolidated as competencies that must be acquired by any university student, along with the knowledge, skills, and attitude that make up a digitally competent citizen (Recio et al., 2020 ; Indah et al., 2022 ).

Digital literacy in future teachers

Several efforts have been made to equip future teachers with these competencies through different standards and frameworks to the level of learning acquired (Fraser et al., 2013 ; INTEF, 2017 ; UNESCO, 2018 ). However, how to work these competencies in initial training is still a hotly debated topic, in which special attention is paid to the promotion of experiences of a pedagogical and innovative nature to transform teaching practices, involving the integration of technologies in the classroom, as stated in the Horizon Report 2019 for the Higher Education (Educause, 2019 ; Le et al., 2022 ).

Universities are in a moment of transformation, from a teacher-focused teaching model to a model based on active learning through the use of digital technologies, giving rise to a new type of education in which the use of digital devices is intrinsic (Area, 2018 ; Aarsand, 2019 ). If digital resources and devices are an inescapable part of current and future teaching practice, digital competency training for future teachers becomes extremely relevant, given that teachers need to acquire these competencies in their initial training to integrate them into their practices as future teachers. That is, the digital competence (DC) acquired during their initial training significantly predicts the integration of technologies in future teaching practice (Nikou and Aavakare, 2021 ), which could range from basic digital literacy to the integration of technologies in their daily teaching practice (Gisbert et al., 2016 ; Alanoglu et al., 2022 ). Several studies have defined the different indicators that make up DC (Siddiq et al., 2017 ; González et al., 2018 ; Rodríguez-García et al., 2019 ; Cabero-Almenara and Palacios-Rodríguez, 2020 ).

This calls for a new paradigm, in which future teachers must be digitally literate, in terms of the application of active methodologies, digital competencies, and the use of innovative strategies, styles, and approaches (Garcia-Martin and Garcia-Sanchez, 2017 ; Gómez-García et al., 2021 ).

Currently, literacy workshops for future professionals are being carried out in a timely and precise manner from customized short training capsules to specific semester-long subjects in undergraduate or postgraduate studies. The training is focused on several specific aspects of digital literacy, but there is a lack of experience in imparting comprehensive digital training. In addition, there are just a few interactions with professional experts in such literacy (Ata and Yildirim, 2019 ; Campbell and Kapp, 2020 ; Domingo-Coscolla et al., 2020 ; Tomczyk et al., 2020 ; Vinokurova et al., 2021 ).

The present study

For the present study, we based our approach on quality and current education, in which DC was postulated as a key element for the development of students. The educational system was tasked with preparing them for their full development and participation in society (OECD, 2011 ). For this reason, digital literacy is understood as an essential requirement for development in the society in which we live, based on the promotion of strategies related to searching, obtaining, processing, and communicating information. All these aspects have been consolidated as the dimensions of literacy in the twenty-first century (Piscitelli, 2009 ; Martín and Tyner, 2012 ). It is, therefore, necessary to understand the reality of this subject and to investigate how these practices are being developed in the context of work. And secondly, it is equally necessary to implement new interventions and lines of research that respond to this urgent need for literacy required by today's society. Therefore, we posed the following research questions: What psychoeducational and learning variables are key in digital literacy? What is the current situation internationally regarding digital literacy in all disciplines in pre-service teacher education? What are the differences in digital literacy requirements pre and post pandemic?

The objective of this study is to analyze the empirical evidence provided by international studies from 2010 to 2021 related to the digital literacy of university students, including those who are pursuing careers related to the educational field.

Relevant differences will be observed in the contributions in empirical evidence from international studies pre-post-pandemic; and drawn from diverse cultural backgrounds (Spanish-Latin, Portuguese, Finnish, etc.,), gender, and personal digital resources.

Materials and methods

The systematic review is composed of four phases, following the model of Miller et al. ( 2016 ) and Scott et al. ( 2018 ).

PHASE 1: Search terms: In this phase, we developed a schematic of search terms from Web of Science and Scopus databases. We also accessed the databases to locate specific studies that were referenced in the publications that we found in the databases during our initial search. The schematic of terms and thematic axes that were used as a starting point for scanning both databases for anything related to the descriptor “digital” and the descriptor “literacy” is presented in Figure 1 .

Diagram of search terms used in the systematic review.

PHASE 2: Selection process based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. The following selection criteria were applied: year of publication between 2010 and 2021, availability of full text, and language of publication in English, Portuguese, or Spanish. Once the first results were obtained, they were selected based on title, abstract, and the use of standardized instruments in their methodology. We rejected the studies that used “ ad hoc ” instruments to measure digital competence.

In addition, the selection indicators provided by Cooper and Hedges ( 1994 ) and Cooper ( 2009 ) were used, such as peer-reviewed journals, referenced databases, and citation indexes.

PHASE 3: Analysis of methodological quality and indicators based on scientific evidence. Following Torgerson ( 2007 ) and Risko et al. ( 2008 ) and taking into consideration the MQQn (Risko et al., 2008 ), we used seven indicators to analyze the quality and effectiveness of the studies (Acosta and Garza, 2011 ). These were: alignment of theory, findings, reliability and validity, descriptive details of participants and the study, sample, and consistency of findings and conclusions with the data (Risko et al., 2008 ). Alternatively, evidence-based indicators were also used along with study effect sizes (Díaz and García, 2016 ; Canedo-García et al., 2017 ).

PHASE 4: Reliability and outcomes. Reliability was established for both the selection criteria and the coding criteria during each phase, to evidence the replicability of the results. In addition, the results entailed a qualitative analysis of the selected studies, the central arguments, and the evidence provided in a modulated way to address the research questions.

Therefore, the procedure to be followed was documented and charted according to the PRISMA statement (Moher et al., 2009 ; Page et al., 2021 ) (see Figure 2 ). Likewise, an analysis was undertaken of the key foci in the various studies to highlight the relevant findings and evidence they provided in this regard. The key focus of our work was: first, to analyze the documents related to the digital literacy of university students; second, to identify which variables affect digital literacy; and third, to undertake a comparative analysis between the different variables that were analyzed.

Flowchart of search results of empirical studies in databases applying the criteria of Moher et al. ( 2009 ) and Page et al. ( 2021 ).

All the selected studies had as samples university students who were pursuing some type of degree or postgraduate degree related to education, and therefore, studying to become future teachers. An intervention design was presented that corresponds to a pre-intervention, the intervention itself, and a post-intervention using techniques such as the activation of prior knowledge, instructions, emulation, and subsequent tests. We also found studies that had an experimental design assessing control groups and experimental groups (Kajee and Balfour, 2011 ; Kuhn, 2017 ; Pequeño et al., 2017 ; Sharp, 2018 ; Lerdpornkulrat et al., 2019 ).

In the case of those responsible for the intervention, practically in all cases, the teacher acts as such, with one or two of them taking the lead. Although the presence of specialized personnel should also be highlighted, as is the case of the work elaborated by Alfonzo and Batson ( 2014 ) and Elliott et al. ( 2018 ) in which a professional librarian also intervened. Or, in the work detailed by Ball ( 2019 ), where a consultant who is not a teacher but a professional expert in the use of digital devices and trained for such an occasion by a responsible brand (Apple) carried out the training at the center.

If we examine the constructs or competencies covered by the works selected in our search, we find that all of them, in addition to dealing with digital literacy, also focus on self-efficacy perceived and developed through digital literacy.

The results of our study could be understood under different themes.

First, we found studies that referred to digital competence and other educational issues. Within them, we found a series of competencies that are emphasized such as digital writing and reading. Research developed from digital media, such as databases, web, or applications aimed at the treatment of digital literacy was noted as emerging pedagogies and educational innovation. The digital design of content and materials and the skills to edit, publish or share them, and competencies related to mathematics and its digital literacy, formed part of digital literacy.

Second, we found studies related to digital competence and the use and employment of the Internet, social networks, web 2.0, and the treatment of digital risks and their relationship with digital literacy.

Third, we found works that in addition to focusing on digital literacy, also focused on different psychological constructs such as motivation, commitment, attitudes, or satisfaction ( Tables 1 , ​ ,2 2 ).

Summary of the results found.

Summary of the interventions found.

Regarding instructional literature, we found a large number of results on mass training programs or courses in which digital literacy was the focus. Examples include a course offered in which students could sign up to, or modules taught during the teaching of a subject. We also found investigations on interventions that had been carried out through different subjects in the study program from where the sample was taken. In this case, the samples were taken on an ad hoc basis from a specific student body which the researcher intentionally decided based on a previous intervention experience with them (Ata and Yildirim, 2019 ; Ball, 2019 ; Campbell and Kapp, 2020 ; Domingo-Coscolla et al., 2020 ; Tomczyk et al., 2020 ; Vinokurova et al., 2021 ).

In terms of material resources, all the studies used some type of documentation (digital or not) with instructions on the development of the activities, in which the students were provided with what to do and the steps to follow. In this case, the development scenario was both online and face-to-face, based on different activities given through workshops or seminars for their development.

It should also be noted that in those investigations in which the intervention itself required a specific application or program, the same was used, specifically, and even the intervention had a specific scenario since it was carried out in person in specialized laboratories where experts and specific material was available for this purpose. As an example of these specific materials, in our results, we found the use of the Photo Story 3, Dashboard, and Wikipedia, as well as the EMODO program or the SELI platform (Kajee and Balfour, 2011 ; Robertson et al., 2012 ; Ball, 2019 ; Hamutoglu et al., 2019 ; Tomczyk et al., 2020 ).

Regardless of the setting and the program or application employed, we can classify the duration of these interventions into two broad groups: those that had a duration of <1 semester, and those that had an intervention whose duration ranged from one semester to one academic year.

Regarding the instruments used, it should be noted that most of them used survey forms as an evaluation instrument, either by the researcher or by the students. In addition, it is usually used as a resource to collect information of a personal nature and about one's own experience throughout the intervention. We must also highlight the fact that in many of the results found, this form was used digitally or virtually, abandoning the old paper forms (Kajee and Balfour, 2011 ; Robertson et al., 2012 ; Carl and Strydom, 2017 ; Elliott et al., 2018 ; Ball, 2019 ; Lerdpornkulrat et al., 2019 ; Campbell and Kapp, 2020 ).

Regarding the use of questionnaires, scales or self-reports, we found several works that used participants' digital literacy histories as instruments. Through them, the researcher could learn first-hand about the sample's personal experience of digital literacy, the previous knowledge they possess, the digital skills they had mastered, those they lack, or those they consider they should improve. It also included the sample's vision regarding the use and employment of digital resources in teaching practice (Kajee and Balfour, 2011 ; Robertson et al., 2012 ; Pequeño et al., 2017 ; Elliott et al., 2018 ).

In the case of scales, we found two papers that employed a Likert-scale elaborated ad hoc . We also found studies that employed standardized scales like the Information Literacy Assessment Scale for Education (ILAS-ED), the Digital Literacy Scale, or the E-Learning Attitudes Scale.

Some of the studies we reviewed used semi-structured interviews as a means of monitoring and providing feedback to the students Table 3 ; (Kajee and Balfour, 2011 ; Alfonzo and Batson, 2014 ; Gill et al., 2015 ; Carl and Strydom, 2017 ; Elliott et al., 2018 ; Elphick, 2018 ; Ata and Yildirim, 2019 ; Campbell and Kapp, 2020 ).

Assessment intervention in the reviewed studies.

As for the sequence through which the different interventions were developed, we found two types—first, those that divided the contents in time, as is the case of the work of Kajee and Balfour ( 2011 ), who covered a first semester digital writing from online classes, self-instructions and face-to-face classes in a specific laboratory, and in a second semester was exposed to different digital research techniques, following the same methodology. In contrast, we spotted the second type, where the same technique was followed throughout the study, as is the case of Robertson et al. ( 2012 ). They applied digital stories as a tool for the development of the activity, but also the evaluation of the competency. In the research carried out by Lerdpornkulrat et al. ( 2019 ), it is apparent that with the use of the rubric, the teacher gave them an example of the work and asked them all to practice evaluating and grading this work. In this way, they could check if they understood how to use a rubric. They then used the rubric to self-assess their work. After receiving feedback, both groups of students revised and resubmitted their completed projects again.

In the investigation by Elliott et al. ( 2018 ), the intervention was structured in work modules with the following sequence of sessions: they were introduced in the first session with opportunities for group discussions and questions. Essential module reading was provided in weekly online study units and module workshops integrated academic reading and writing activities, such as paraphrasing and referencing, with module content.

In the study by Ball ( 2019 ), in the first year, the students took modules on publishing history, culture, markets, and media. In the second year, the intervention was based on their publishing skills, reading for writing development, and grammar and general literacy.

Hamutoglu et al. ( 2019 ) organized their intervention in different weeks, such that during the first week of the 14-week semester, the instructor oriented the students for the course and administered pre-tests. In the following week, students were provided with a session on the Edmodo platform and orientation training on the course content.

In the work of Gabriele et al. ( 2019 ), the experimental research plan (i.e., activities to be performed, methodology to be adopted) was established over 4 months followed by the organization of the reading material (power point presentations, introductory videos of the software, handouts, ad hoc created applications as examples).

We also found interventions that had very short time durations, but provide daily detail of the contents and interventions. Similarly, Alfonzo and Batson ( 2014 ) dedicate 1 day to the search and orientation in digital resources, 1 day to the APA standards, and 3 days to develop and use a specific application.

In the research by Istenic et al. ( 2016 ), the intervention was based on six different types of tasks related to a variety of mathematical problems, including problems with redundant data, problems with multiple solutions, problems with multiple paths to the solution, problems with no solution, mathematical problems in logic, and problems with insufficient information.

In some interventions, the sequence through which they are developed is the very development of the subject of the degree course from which they are implemented, as is the case of the work of Gill et al. ( 2015 ).

In the work of Carl and Strydom ( 2017 ), students were first familiarized with the devices and then introduced to electronic portfolios, which helped them to create blogs that serve as platforms for electronic portfolios, and guided them on how to collect artifacts and how to reflect and share content.

In one work we found narrative was used as a technique so that the students could later present their work, analyze it in groups, rework it and present it again to their classmates. Kuhn ( 2017 ), Pequeño et al. ( 2017 ), and Elphick ( 2018 ) followed this model.

Adopting a novel consultative approach, Botturi ( 2019 ) co-designed the intervention with his students in two steps: they were surveyed 4 weeks before the start of the course and asked to choose between two options: an overview of different topics/methods/experiences, or an in-depth exploration of one or two topics/methods/experiences. All respondents indicated a preference for the first option and provided indications of the topics they wished to cover (see Tables 4 , ​ ,5 5 ).

Assessment instruments used in the instructional intervention in the reviewed studies.

Treatment fidelity.

Indicators and controls used in the instructional intervention in the empirical studies reviewed II.

The limitations of our search are listed in Table 6 . At the theoretical level, we encountered studies that were not very current, missing research questions or hypotheses, or even missing objectives. At the statistical level, we found several studies had a small or unrepresentative sample.

Limitations of the instructional interventions described in the empirical studies reviewed.

Analyzing the interventions themselves, we identified a few limitations, especially in those studies that neither indicates the tasks, record the entire process, or lack key information to replicate the intervention. In some studies, key information relating to the person carrying out the intervention was missing, particularly on whether they had the specific training for this purpose. Another limitation that was identified was that very few evaluation strategies were in place to evaluate the interventions (see Table 7 ).

Indicators and controls used in the instructional intervention in the empirical studies reviewed.

Similarly, gaps were found regarding ethical controls, where in some studies the main limitation was that ethical controls were non-existent or not specified (Robertson et al., 2012 ; Istenic et al., 2016 ; Kuhn, 2017 ; Elphick, 2018 ; Ata and Yildirim, 2019 ; Tomczyk et al., 2020 ).

Figure 3 shows the evolution over the years of the samples used in each of the studies from 2011 to 2020.

Evolution over years of the samples used in the studies from 2010 to 2021.

Figure 4 shows the evolution over the years of the controls used in each of the studies from 2011 to 2021.

Evolution over years of the controls used in studies from 2010 to 2021.

This work aimed to analyze the empirical evidence found in international studies between 2011 to 2021 related to the digital literacy of university students, including those pursuing degrees in education. This objective has been met.

Regarding the first focus related to literacy, this paper highlighted the fact that studies from the West are the most prevalent in this field (Çoklar et al., 2017 ; Ata and Yildirim, 2019 ; Hamutoglu et al., 2019 ; Sujarwo et al., 2022 ), which correspond to cross-sectional studies, mostly employing instruments such as “the Digital Literacy Scale” developed by Ng ( 2012 ), and “the information literacy self-efficacy scale (ILS)” developed by Kurbanoglu et al. ( 2006 ). Regarding the level of mastery, the results showed an upper intermediate level of competence in information and digital literacy, communication, and collaboration, but a low intermediate level in terms of digital content creation, particularly in the creation and dissemination of multimedia content using different tools (López-Meneses et al., 2020 ; Moreno et al., 2020 ).

Regarding the second focus, digital literacy in university students, this study reviewed the various contributions of other works and found the presence of a competent group in this field, which makes efficient use of both the Internet and digital media (Çoklar et al., 2016 ; Ata and Yildirim, 2019 ; Lim and Newby, 2021 ). However, differences were also found in this collective relating to gender, where women were more competent than men in digital literacy, information literacy, technological literacy, and communicative literacy (Hamutoglu et al., 2019 ; López-Meneses et al., 2020 ; Navarro, 2020 ). However, on the other hand, we lso found studies that revealed particular gender gaps where men showed a higher propensity for DL, while women outperform men in the overall digital literacy test (Ata and Yildirim, 2019 ). Ata and Yildirim ( 2019 ) also found differences in DL between students where university students studying science or mathematics-related majors had higher levels of digital literacy than students majoring in social sciences or psychology fields (Ata and Yildirim, 2019 ; Chow and Wong, 2020 ).

And as for the third focus, digital literacy in future teachers, we found a dual use of digital literacy, in its social and leisure aspect (searching or maintaining friendships through social networks, sharing digital content, downloading content, or playing online games), and in its academic aspect (searching in search engines, working through online documents, organizing or synthesizing information from different processors, using computer programs to make presentations, edit images or content, or create audiovisual content (López-Meneses et al., 2020 ).

The main contribution of this review lies in its comparison between pre/post-pandemic studies, which show a great increase in the use of technologies in the educational world (across the curriculum), and research work focused on measuring the competencies of these devices (Baber et al., 2022 ). These new investigations have not only followed the line of previous ones but focused on the measurement of digital literacy and its influence on it by variables such as the degree of origin, gender, age, or being a digital native or immigrant (Castañeda-Peña et al., 2015 ; Çoklar et al., 2016 ; Castañeda et al., 2018 ; Ata and Yildirim, 2019 ; Gür et al., 2019 ; Hamutoglu et al., 2019 ; Lerdpornkulrat et al., 2019 ; González et al., 2020 ; Navarro, 2020 ; De Sixte et al., 2021 ). But there has been an expansion of the topics and variables that are studied in conjunction with digital literacy, among which we find as a novelty, the study of psycho-educational variables such as academic motivation (Chow and Wong, 2020 ), self-efficacy and motivation (Lerdpornkulrat et al., 2019 ), effort expectations (Nikou and Aavakare, 2021 ), and self-concept as a student and as a teacher (Yeşilyurt et al., 2016 ). The importance attached to the educational field, the identification of different roles or behaviors within the concept of digital literacy that is delimited, or even the types of uses within the concept of digital literacy (López-Meneses et al., 2020 ; Moreno et al., 2020 ; Navarro, 2020 ; Lim and Newby, 2021 ) are new trends.

Therefore, we can affirm that in this study the research predictions are fulfilled, in that the results found show relevant differences from international studies pre-post pandemic; and by different cultural backgrounds (Spanish Latin, Portuguese, Finnish...), gender, and personal digital resources. In terms of applications for educational practice, these results do not indicate that university students are competent in terms of digital literacy, although they demonstrate some competencies like online information search, information evaluation, information processing, information communication, and dissemination skills (Çoklar et al., 2016 ; Lerdpornkulrat et al., 2019 ). Therefore, there is the risk of training an incomplete student body in digital competence. For complete and comprehensive digital literacy for university students, especially future teachers, there is an urgent need to invest in digital literacy programs. This will ensure that the comprehensive digital competence of students corresponds to the use and employment of the Internet and digital devices in their teaching tasks (Gisbert et al., 2016 ), and be a guarantee of their integration into teaching practice (Aslan and Zhu, 2016 ; Nikou and Aavakare, 2021 ).

As for the limitations of this work, they are closely related to the seven indicators for analyzing study quality and effectiveness (Acosta and Garza, 2011), which are: alignment of theory, findings, reliability and validity, descriptive details of participants, and the study, sample, and consistency of findings and conclusions with the data (Risko et al., 2008 ). Along with evidence-based indicators, and effect sizes of studies (Díaz and García, 2016 ; Canedo-García et al., 2017 ). So future lines of research or work, should take into account overcoming these limitations, and embrace them in the face of their development.

The number of studies found in the systematic review is comparable to what is usual in this type of study and even higher. For example, in the exemplary systematic review by Scott et al. ( 2018 ), they identified only 29 studies that met the quality criteria, reviewing 50 years of studies published in the US, and of these, only four were quantitative. In the study by Borgi et al. ( 2020 ), they only found ten studies that fit the criteria in a very good analysis. Other systematic reviews go along the same lines, and in the same journal and section Frontiers in Psychology . For example, Dickson and Schubert ( 2020 ) and Liu et al. ( 2022 ) found only six studies in a review of great interest; the study by Nguyen et al. ( 2021 ) identified 18 eligible articles; Shou et al. ( 2022 ) with 12 studies included; or Tarchi et al. ( 2021 ); Huang ( 2022 ) found seven studies for quantitative analysis and eight for indirect evidence; Coxen et al. ( 2021 ) with 21 articles included in the focal analyzes of the systematic review. The number of studies to be representative is not defined by the number but by the existence of such studies. In a systematic review, all studies are reviewed, thus the population of published studies that fit the indicated criteria. With these studies, it was possible to do an analysis of objective indicators in a general comparison between studies; assessing the instruments used; examining the characteristics of the interventions such as strategies, instructional procedure, and psychological variables considered; comparing the fidelity controls of the treatments, which guarantees their rigor and their application in the terms prescribed by the empirical validation of the interventions; and reviewing the limitations of the studies and their contributions by years. These contributions were based on objective data from the studies and have been represented in tables and figures. In addition, a qualitative analysis is provided that highlights the value of intervention studies in relation to digital competence, and the key psychological variables that have been used. It is true that the studies published since 2010 were used, and that there could have been more studies before, but considering the evolution of this type of focus in relation to digital competence and the psychological variables involved, it is evident that the most interesting thing is to consider the recent years which is when its need and use has been generalized throughout the population.

Conclusions

In general, the results show that university students are digitally literate and make efficient use of both the Internet and digital media. In this sense, we found an intermediate or higher level in skills related to communication and collaboration, such as through different chat rooms, platforms, and communication applications. But an intermediate-low level in terms of digital content creation, especially in the creation and dissemination of multimedia content. So, this should be one of the future competencies to increase in this group. Although there are differences according to gender, age, or degree of origin.

We have to invest in comprehensive digital literacy programs for teachers in initial training, which appears implicit in the training plans of their official studies. Digital literacy needs to be a part of the official curriculum, and be developed rather quickly as a separate subject but in an interdisciplinary manner throughout their training. In this way, they become digitally literate people capable of creating and generating digital content and possessing the necessary competencies and skills to use and share such content.

We must also invest in assessing teachers' self-perception. Only by knowing their opinion, skills, and shortcomings, can digital training programs be designed. Digital literacy is a predictor of good digital use and a predictor of the good use and employment of digital devices and the Internet in the future when they would be teaching.

The findings of this study compel us to consider the following: first, we need to rethink the form and manner in which future teachers are capacitated in digital literacy, if we are doing it in the best way, or if on the contrary there are gaps that should be solved. Second, we should take into account the contributions of the results found and their consequences to formulate effective intervention designs and strategies to effectively capacitate pre-service teachers in digital literacy.

Data availability statement

Author contributions.

J-NS-G, NG-Á, IM-R, JG-M, and SB-C: conceptualization, methodology, software, writing—review and editing, visualization, supervision, and validation. NG-A: formal analysis, investigation, and resources: UAL, ULE, USAL, IPC, data curation, writing—original draft preparation, and funding acquisition. J-NS-G and NG-A: project administration. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

The generalx operating funds of the universities have been used Universidad de León (Spain), Universidad de Almería (Spain), Universidad de Salamanca (Spain), Instituto Politécnico de Coimbra and NICSH (Portugal).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

* The asterisk of focal references are APA standards.

• Aarsand P. (2019). Categorization activities in norwegian preschools: digital tools in identifying, articulating, and assessing . Front. Psychol. 10 , 973. 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00973 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Acosta S., Garza T. (2011). The Podcasting Playbook: A Typology of Evidence-Based Podagogy for PreK-12 Classrooms with English Language Learners . [ Google Scholar ]
• Alanoglu M., Aslan S., Karabatak S. (2022). Do teachers' educational philosophies affect their digital literacy? The mediating effect of resistance to change . Educ. Inf. Technol . 27 , 3447–3466. 10.1007/s10639-021-10753-3 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• * . Alfonzo P. M., Batson J. (2014). Utilizing a co-teaching model to enhance digital literacy instruction for doctoral students . Int. J. Doc. Stud. 9 , 61–71. 10.28945/1973 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Allen J., Belfi B., Borghans L. (2020). Is there a rise in the importance of socioemotional skills in the labor market? Evidence from a trend study among college graduates . Front. Psychol. 11 , 1710. 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01710 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Area M. (2018). Hacia la universidad digital: dónde estamos y a dónde vamos? Rev. Iberoam. Educ. Dist. 21 , 25–30. 10.5944/ried.21.2.21801 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Aslan A., Zhu C. (2016). Investigating variables predicting turkish pre-service teachers' integration of ICT into teaching practices . Br. J. Educ. Technol. 48 , 552–570. 10.1111/bjet.12437 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• * . Ata R., Yildirim K. (2019). Exploring Turkish pre-service teachers' perceptions and views of digital literacy . Educ. Sci. 9 , 40–56. 10.3390/educsci9010040 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Baber H., Fanea-Ivanovici M., Lee Y.-T., Tinmaz H. (2022). A bibliometric analysis of digital literacy research and emerging themes pre-during COVID-19 pandemic . Inform. Learn. Sci. 123 , 214–232. 10.1108/ILS-10-2021-0090 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• * . Ball C. (2019). WikiLiteracy: enhancing students' digital literacy with wikipedia . J. Inform. Liter. 13 , 253–271. 10.11645/13.2.2669 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Bawden D. (2008). Revisión de los conceptos de alfabetización informacional y alfabetización digital: traducción . Anal. Document. 5 , 361–408. Available online at: https://revistas.um.es/analesdoc/article/view/2261 [ Google Scholar ]
• Borgi M., Collacchi B., Giuliani A., Cirulli F. (2020). Dog visiting programs for managing depressive symptoms in older adults: a meta-analysis . Gerontologist 60 , e66–e75. 10.1093/geront/gny149 [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• * . Botturi L. (2019). Digital and media literacy in pre-service teacher education: a case study from Switzerland . Nordic J. Dig. Liter. 14 , 147–163. 10.18261/issn.1891-943x-2019-03-04-05 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Brata W., Padang R., Suriani C., Prasetya E., Pratiwi N. (2022). Student's digital literacy based on students' interest in digital technology, internet costs, gender, and learning outcomes . Int. J. Emerg. Technol. Learn. 17,138–151. 10.3991/ijet.v17i03.27151 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Cabero-Almenara J., Palacios-Rodríguez A. (2020). Marco europeo de competencia digital docente “DigCompEdu”. Traducción y adaptación del cuestionario “DigCompEdu Check-In” . Edmetic 9 , 213–234. 10.21071/edmetic.v9i1.12462 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• * . Campbell E., Kapp R. (2020). Developing an integrated, situated model for digital literacy in pre-service teacher education . J. Educ. 79 , 18–30. 10.17159/2520-9868/i79a02 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Canedo-García A., García-Sánchez J. N., Pacheco-Sanz D. I. (2017). a systematic review of the effectiveness of intergenerational programs . Front. Psychol. 8 , 1882. 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01882 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Cantabrana J. L. L., Cervera M. G. (2015). El desarrollo de la competencia digital docente a partir de una experiencia piloto de formación en alternancia en el Grado de Educación . Educar 51 , 321–348. 10.5565/rev/educar.725 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• * . Carl A., Strydom S. (2017). e-Portfolio as reflection tool during teaching practice: the interplay between contextual and dispositional variables . S. Afr. J. Educ. 37 , 1–10. 10.15700/saje.v37n1a1250 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Castañeda L., Esteve F., Adell J. (2018). Por qué es necesario repensar la competencia docente para el mundo digital? Rev. Educ. Distan. 56 , 2–20. 10.6018/red/56/6 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Castañeda-Peña H., Barbosa-Chacón J. W., Marciales G., Barreto I. (2015). Profiling information literacy in higher education: traces of a local longitudinal study . Univer. Psychol. 14 , 445–458. 10.11144/Javeriana.upsy14-2.pilh [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Chow S. K. Y., Wong J. L. K. (2020). Supporting academic self-efficacy, academic motivation, and information literacy for students in tertiary institutions . Educ. Sci. 10 , 361. 10.3390/educsci10120361 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Çoklar A., Efilti E., Şahin Y., AkÇay A. (2016). Determining the reasons of technostress experienced by teachers: A qualitative study. Turkish Online J. Qual. Inq . 7 , 71–96. 10.17569/tojqi.96082 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Çoklar A. N., Yaman N. D., Yurdakul I. K. (2017). Information literacy and digital nativity as determinants of online information search strategies . Comput. Hum. Behav. 70 , 1–9. 10.1016/j.chb.2016.12.050 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Comisión Europea (2012). Informe Conjunto de 2012 del Consejo y de la Comisión sobre la Aplicación del Marco Estratégico Para la Cooperación Europea en el Ámbito de la Educación y la Formación (ET 2020). Comisión Europea . Available online at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/ES/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52012XG0308(01)andfrom=EN
• Comisión Europea (2013). Monitor Education and Training 2013. Comisión Europea . Available online at: https://op.europa.eu/es/publication-detail/-/publication/25626e01-1bb8-403c-95da-718c3cfcdf19/language-en
• Cooper H. (2009). Research Synthesis and Meta-Analysis: A Step-By-Step Approach . London: Sage. [ Google Scholar ]
• Cooper H., Hedges L. V. (1994). The Handbook of Research Synthesis. New York: Russell Sage. [ Google Scholar ]
• Covello S., Lei J. (2010). A Review of Digital Literacy Assessment Instruments. IDE-712 Front-End Analysis Research . Syracuse: Analysis for Human Performance Technology Decisions. [ Google Scholar ]
• Coxen L., van der Vaart L., Van den Broeck A., Rothmann S. (2021). Basic psychological needs in the work context: a systematic literature review of diary studies . Front. Psychol . 12 :698526. 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.698526 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• De Sixte R., Fajardo I., Mañá A., Jáñez Á., Ramos M., García-Serrano M., et al.. (2021). Beyond the educational context: relevance of intrinsic reading motivation during COVID-19 confinement in Spain . Front. Psychol. 12 , 703251. 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.703251 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Díaz C., García J. N. (2016). Identification of relevant elements for promoting eficient interventions in older people . J. Psychodidact. 21 , 157–173. 10.1387/RevPsicodidact.13854 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Dickson G. T., Schubert E. (2020). Music on prescription to aid sleep quality: a literature review . Front. Psychol. 11 , 1695. 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01695 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• * . Domingo-Coscolla M., Bosco A., Carrasco Segovia S., Sánchez Valero J. A. (2020). Fomentando la competencia digital docente en la universidad: percepción de estudiantes y docentes . Rev. Invest. Educ. 38 , 167–782. 10.6018/rie.340551 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Educause (2019). Horizon Report 2019—Higher Education Edition . Boulder: Educause. [ Google Scholar ]
• * . Elliott S., Hendry H., Ayres C., Blackman K., Browning F., Colebrook D., et al.. (2018). 'On the outside I'm smiling but inside I'm crying.' Communication successes and challenges for undergraduate academic writing . J. Furth. High. Educ. 45 , 758–770. 10.1080/0309877X.2018.1455077 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• * . Elphick M. (2018). The impact of embedded iPad use on student perceptions of their digital capabilities . Educ. Sci. 8 , 102–125. 10.3390/educsci8030102 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Eshet-Alkalai Y. (2012). Thinking in the digital era: a revised model for digital literacy . Iss. Inform. Sci. Inform. Technol. 9 , 267–276. 10.28945/1621 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• European Comission . (2012). The European Commission and bureaucratic autonomy: Europe's custodians . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [ Google Scholar ]
• European Comission . (2013). The European Commission of the Twenty-First Century . Oxford: Oxford University Press. [ Google Scholar ]
• European Commission (Ed) (2018). Proposal for a Council Recommendation on Key Competences for Lifelong Learning. New York: European Commission. [ Google Scholar ]
• European Union (2013). Digital protest skills and online activism against copyright reform in France and the European Union . Policy Int. 5 , 27–55. [ Google Scholar ]
• Fernández-de-la-Iglesia J. C., Fernández-Morante M. C., Cebreiro B., Soto-Carballo J., Martínez-Santos A. E., Casal-Otero L. (2020). Competencias y actitudes para el uso de las TIC de los estudiantes del grado de maestro de Galicia . Publicaciones 50 , 103–120. 10.30827/publicaciones.v50i1.11526 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Fraser J., Atkins L., Richard H. (2013). Digilit Leicester. Supporting Teachers, Promoting Digital Literacy, Transforming Learning . Leicester: Leicester City Council. [ Google Scholar ]
• * . Gabriele L., Bertacchini F., Tavernise A., Vaca-Cárdenas L., Pantano P., Bilotta E. (2019). Lesson planning by computational thinking skills in Italian pre-service teachers . Inform. Educ. 18 , 69–104. 10.15388/infedu.2019.04 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Garcia-Martin J., Garcia-Sanchez J. N. (2017). Pre-service teachers' perceptions of the competence dimensions of digital literacy and of psychological and educational measures . Comp. Educ. 107 , 54–67. 10.1016/j.compedu.2016.12.010 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• * . Gill L., Dalgarno B., Carlson L. (2015). How does pre-service teacher preparedness to use ICTs for learning and teaching develop through their degree program? Austral. J. Teach. Educ. 40 , 36–59. Available online at: https://www.scopus.com/record/display.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84870756234andorigin=inwardandtxGid=927e8280a577067fddaa8df02fa0b665andfeatureToggles=FEATURE_NEW_DOC_DETAILS_EXPORT:1 [ Google Scholar ]
• Gilster P. (1997). Digital Literacy (p. 1) . New York, NY: Wiley Computer Pub. [ Google Scholar ]
• Gisbert M., Esteve F. (2011). Digital Leaners: la competencia digital de los estudiantes universitarios . La Cuestión Univer. 7 , 48–59. [ Google Scholar ]
• Gisbert M., Esteve F., Lázaro J. (2016). La competencia digital de los futuros docentes: “cómo se ven los actuales estudiantes de educación” Perspect. Educ. 55 , 34–52. 10.4151/07189729-Vol.55-Iss.2-Art.412 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Gómez-García G., Hinojo-Lucena F. J., Fernández-Martín F. D., Romero-Rodríguez J. M. (2021). Educational challenges of higher education: validation of the information competence scale for future teachers (ICS-FT) . Educ. Sci. 12, 14. 10.3390/educsci12010014 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• González M. J. M., Rivoir A., Lázaro-Cantabrana J. L., Gisbert-Cervera M. (2020). “Cuánto importa la competencia digital docente? Análisis de los programas de formación inicial docente en Uruguay . Int. J. Technol. Educ. Innov. 6 , 128–140. 10.24310/innoeduca.2020.v6i2.5601 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• González V., Román M., Prendes M. P. (2018). Formación en competenciasdigitales para estudiantes universitarios basada en el modelo DigComp . Rev. Electró. Tecnol. Educ. 65 , 1–15. [ Google Scholar ]
• Gudmundsdottir G. B., Hatlevik O. E. (2018). Newly qualified teachers' professional digital competence: implications for teacher education . Euro. J. Teach. Educ. 41 , 214–231. 10.1080/02619768.2017.1416085 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Gür D., Canan Ö., Hamutoglu N. B., Kaya G., Demirtas T. (2019). The Relationship between lifelong learning trends, digital literacy levels and usage of web 2.0 tools with social entrepreneurship characteristics . Croat. J. Educ. 21 , 45–76. Available online at: https://hrcak.srce.hr/220701 [ Google Scholar ]
• * . Hamutoglu N. B., Savaşçi M., Sezen-Gültekin G. (2019). Digital literacy skills and attitudes towards e-learning . J. Educ. Fut. 16 , 93–107. 10.30786/jef.509293 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Huang C. (2022). Self-Regulation of learning and EFL learners' hope and joy: a review of literature . Front. Psychol. 13 , 833279. 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.833279 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Indah R. N., Budhiningrum A. S., Afifi N. (2022). The research competence, critical thinking skills and digital literacy of Indonesian EFL students . J. Lang. Teach. Res. 13 , 315–324. 10.17507/jltr.1302.11 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Instituto Nacional de Tecnologías Educativas y Formación del Profesorado (2017). Marco Común de Competencia Digital Docente Octubre 2017. Instituto Nacional de Tecnologías Educativas y Formación del Profesorado . Available online at: https://aprende.intef.es/sites/default/files/2018-05/2017_1020_Marco-Com%C3%BAn-de-Competencia-Digital-Docente.pdf
• INTEF (Ed.) (2017). Marco Común de Competencia Digital Docente. INTEF . Available online at: https://aprende.intef.es/sites/default/files/2018-05/2017_1020_Marco-Com%C3%BAn-de-Competencia-Digital-Docente.pdf
• * . Istenic A., Cotic M., Solomonides I., Volk M. (2016). Engaging preservice primary and preprimary school teachers in digital storytelling for the teaching and learning of mathematics . Br. J. Educ. Technol. 47 , 29–50. 10.1111/bjet.12253 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• * . Kajee L., Balfour R. (2011). Students' access to digital literacy at a South African university: privilege and marginalisation . S. Afr. Linguist. Appl. Lang. Stud. 29 , 187–196. 10.2989/16073614.2011.633365 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Koehler M. J., Mishra P. (2008). “Introducing tpck,” in The Handbook of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (tpck) for Educators , ed AACTE Committee on Innovation and Technology (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; ), 3–29. [ Google Scholar ]
• Krumsvik R. J. (2009). Situated learning in the network society and the digitised school . Euro. J. Teach. Educ. 32 , 167–185. 10.1080/02619760802457224 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• * . Kuhn C. (2017). Are students ready to (re)-design their personal learning environment? The case of the e-dynamic space . J. N. Approach. Educ. Res. 6 , 11–19. 10.7821/naer.2017.1.185 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Kurbanoglu S. S., Akkoyunlu B., Umay A. (2006). Developing the information literacy scale . J. Doc. 62 , 730–743. 10.1108/00220410610714949 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Larraz E. F. (2013). Competencia digital en la educación superior: instrumentos de evaluación y nuevos entornos. Enl@ ce: Revista Venezolana de Información. Tecnología y Conocimiento . 10 , 29–43. [ Google Scholar ]
• Lázaro J. (2015). La Competència Digital Docent Com a Eina per Garantir la Qualitat en l'ús de les TIC en un Centre Escolar (Tesis doctoral: ), Tarragona: Universitat Rovira i Virgili. [ Google Scholar ]
• Le B., Lawrie G. A., Wang J. T. (2022). Student self-perception on digital literacy in STEM blended learning environments . J. Sci. Educ. Technol. 31 , 303–321. 10.1007/s10956-022-09956-1 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• * . Lerdpornkulrat T., Poondej C., Koul R., Khiawrod G., Prasertsirikul P. (2019). The positive effect of intrinsic feedback on motivational engagement and self-efficacy in information literacy . J. Psychoeduc. Assess. 37 , 421–434. 10.1177/0734282917747423 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Lim J., Newby T. J. (2021). Preservice teachers' attitudes toward Web 2.0 personal learning environments (PLEs): considering the impact of self-regulation and digital literacy . Educ. Inform. Technol. 26 , 3699–3720. 10.1007/s10639-021-10432-3 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Liu W., Xu Y., Xu T., Ye Z., Yang J., Wang Y. (2022). Integration of neuroscience and entrepreneurship: a systematic review and bibliometric analysis . Front. Psychol . 13, 810550. 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.810550 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• López-Meneses E., Sirignano F. M., Vázquez-Cano E., Ramírez-Hurtado J. M. (2020). University students' digital competence in three areas of the DigCom 2.1 model: a comparative study at three European universities . Austral. J. Educ. Technol. 36 , 69–88. 10.14742/ajet.5583 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Martín A., Tyner K. (2012). Media education, media literacy and digital competence . Co-municar 19 , 31–39. 10.3916/C38-2012-02-03 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Miller D. M., Scott C. E., McTigue E. M. (2016). Writing in the secondary-level disciplines: a systematic review of context, cognition and content . Educ. Psychol. Rev. 30 , 83–120. 10.1007/s10648-016-9393-z [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Moher D. Liberati A. Tetzlaff J. Altman D.G. The PRISMA Group . (2009). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement . PLoS Med . 6, e1000097. 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000097 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Moreno A. J., Fernández M. A., Godino A. L. (2020). Información y alfabetización digital docente: influencia de la rama formativa . J. Educ. Teach. Train. 10 , 140–150. Available online at: https://digibug.ugr.es/handle/10481/59591 [ Google Scholar ]
• Navarro J. A. M. (2020). La competencia digital de los estudiantes universitarios latinoamericanos . Int. J. Educ. Res. Innov. 14 , 276–289. 10.46661/ijeri.4387 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Ng W. (2012). Can we teach digital natives digital literacy? Comput. Educ. 59 , 1065–1078. 10.1016/j.compedu.2012.04.016 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Nguyen H. T. T., Hoang A. P., Do L. T. K., Schiffer S., Nguyen H. T. H. (2021). The rate and risk factors of postpartum depression in vietnam from 2010 to 2020: a literature review . Front. Psychol . 12, 731306. 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.731306 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Nikou S., Aavakare M. (2021). An assessment of the interplay between literacy and digital technology in higher education . Educ. Inform. Technol. 26 , 3893–3915. 10.1007/s10639-021-10451-0 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• OECD (2011). Informe Habilidades y Competencias Del Siglo xxi Para Los Aprendices Del Nuevo Milenio En los Paí ses de la . OECD . Available online at: http://recursostic.educacion.es/blogs/europa/media/blogs/europa/informes/Habilidades_y_competencias_siglo21_OCDE.pdf
• OECD (2012). Education at a Glance 2012. OECD Indicators. Panorama de la educación. Indicadores de la OCDE 2014. Informe español . Available online at: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/education-at-a-glance-2012_eag-2012-en
• Page M. J., McKenzie J. E., Bossuyt P. M., Boutron I., Hoffmann T. C., Mulrow C. D., et al.. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews . BMJ 372 , n71. 10.1136/bmj.n71 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• * . Paige K., Bentley B., Dobson S. (2016). Slowmation: an innovative twenty-first century teaching and learning tool for science and mathematics pre-service teachers . Austral. J. Teach. Educ. 2 , 1–15. 10.14221/ajte.2016v41n2.1 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• * . Pequeño J. M. G., Rodríguez E. F., de la Iglesia Atienza L. (2017). Narratives transmèdia amb joves universitaris. Una etnografia digital en la societat hiperconnectada . Anàlisi 57 , 81–95. Available online at: https://raco.cat/index.php/Analisi/article/view/330248 [ Google Scholar ]
• Pérez T. A., Nagata J. J. (2019). The digital culture of students of pedagogy specialising in the humanities in Santiago de Chile . Comput. Educ. 133 , 1–12. 10.1016/j.compedu.2019.01.002 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Piscitelli A. (2009). Nativos Digitales . Mexico: Santillana. 10.26439/contratexto2008.n016.782 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Recio F., Silva J., Marchant N. A. (2020). Análisis de la competencia digital en la formación inicial de estudiantes universitarios: un estudio de meta-análisis en la web of science . Rev. Med. Educ. 59 , 125–146. 10.12795/pixelbit.77759 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Risko V. J., Roller C. M., Cummins C., Bean R. M., Block C. C., Anders P. L., et al.. (2008). A critical analysis of research on reading teacher education . Read. Res. Q. 43 , 252–288. 10.1598/RRQ.43.3.3 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• * . Robertson L., Hughes J., Smith S. (2012). “Thanks for the assignment!”: digital stories as a form of reflective practice . Lang. Liter. 14 , 78–90. 10.20360/G2S88D [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Rodríguez-García A. M., Raso F., Ruiz-Palmero J. (2019). Competencia digital, educación superior y formación del profesorado: un estudio de meta-análisis en la web of Science . Pixel Bit 54 , 65–81. 10.12795/pixelbit.2019.i54.04 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Scott C. E., McTigue E. M., Miller D. M., Washburn E. K. (2018). The what, when, and how of preservice teachers and literacy across the disciplines: a systematic literature review of nearly 50 years of research . Teach. Teach. Educ. 73 , 1–13. 10.1016/j.tate.2018.03.010 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• * . Sharp L. A. (2018). Collaborative digital literacy practices among adult learners: levels of confidence and perceptions of importance . Int. J. Instruct. 11 , 153–166. 10.12973/iji.2018.11111a [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Shou S., Li Y., Fan G., Zhang Q., Yan Y., Lv T., et al.. (2022). The efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy for tic disorder: a meta-analysis and a literature review . Front. Psychol . 13, 851250. 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.851250 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Siddiq F., Gochyyev P., Wilson M. (2017). Learning in digital networks – ICT literacy: a novel assessment of students' 21st century skills . Comput. Educ. 109 , 11–37. 10.1016/j.compedu.2017.01.014 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Sujarwo S., Tristanti T., Kusumawardani E. (2022). Digital literacy model to empower women using community-based education approach . World J. Educ. Technol. Curr. Issues 14 , 175–188. 10.18844/wjet.v14i1.6714 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Tarchi C., Ruffini C., Pecini C. (2021). The contribution of executive functions when reading multiple texts: a systematic literature review . Front. Psychol . 12:, 716463. 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.716463 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• * . Tomczyk Ł., Potyrała K., Włoch A., Wnek-Gozdek J., Demeshkant N. (2020). Evaluation of the functionality of a new e-learning platform vs. previous experiences in e-learning and the self-assessment of own digital literacy . Sustainability 12 , 10219. 10.3390/su122310219 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Torgerson K. (2007). A genetic study of the acute anxious response to carbon dioxide stimulation in man . J. Psychiatric Res . 41 , 906–917. 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2006.12.002 [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Tourón J., Martín D., Navarro E., Pradas S., Íñigo V. (2018). Validación de constructo de un instrumento para medir la competencia digital docente de los profesores (CDD) . Rev. Española Pedag. 76 , 25–54. 10.22550/REP76-1-2018-02 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• UNESCO (2018). ICT Competency Framework for Teachers. UNESCO . Available online at: https://en.unesco.org/themes/ict-education/competency-framework-teachers
• Unión Europea (2013). Comprender las Polí ticas de la Unión Europea: Una Nueva Revolución Industrial . Unión Europea . Available online at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/factsheets/es/sheet/61/los-principios-generales-de-la-politica-industrial-de-la-union
• Valverde J., González A., Acevedo J. (2022). Desinformación y multialfabetización: Una revisión sistemática de la literatura . Comunicar 7 , 97–110. 10.3916/C70-2022-08 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• * . Vinokurova N., Mazurenko O., Prikhodchenko T., Ulanova S. (2021). Digital transformation of educational content in the pedagogical higher educational institution . Rev. Invest. Apuntes Univer. 11 , 1–20. 10.17162/au.v11i3.713 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Vodá A. I., Cautisanu C., Grádinaru C., Tánásescu C., de Moraes G. H. S. M. (2022). Exploring digital literacy skills in social sciences and humanities students . Sustainability 14 , 2483. 10.3390/su14052483 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Walsh K., Pink E., Ayling N., Sondergeld A., Dallaston E., Tournas P., et al.. (2022). Best practice framework for online safety education: results from a rapid review of the international literature, expert review, and stakeholder consultation . Int. J. Child Comput. Interact. 33 , 100474. 10.1016/j.ijcci.2022.100474 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Yeşilyurt E., Ulaş A. H., Akan D. (2016). Teacher self-efficacy, academic self-efficacy, and computer self-efficacy as predictors of attitude toward applying computer-supported education . Comput. Hum. Behav. 64 , 591–601. 10.1016/j.chb.2016.07.038 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Zurkowski P.G. (1974). The information service environment relationships and priorities . Relat. Pap. 5, 27. [ Google Scholar ]

Retirement planning – a systematic review of literature and future research directions

• Published: 28 October 2023

Cite this article

• Kavita Karan Ingale   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3570-4211 1 &
• Ratna Achuta Paluri 2  

506 Accesses

Explore all metrics

Rising life expectancy and an aging population across nations are leading to an increased need for long-term financial savings and a focus on the financial well-being of retired individuals amidst changing policy framework. This study is a systematic review based on a scientific way of producing high-quality evidence based on 191 articles from the Scopus and Web of Science databases. It adopts the Theory, Context, Characteristics, and Method (TCCM) framework to analyze literature. This study provides collective insights into financial decision-making for retirement savings and identifies constructs for operationalizing and measuring financial behavior for retirement planning. Further, it indicates the need for an interdisciplinary approach. Though cognitive areas were studied extensively, the non-cognitive areas received little attention. Qualitative research design is gaining prominence in research over other methods, with the sparse application of mixed methods design. The study’s TCCM framework explicates several areas for further research. Furthermore, it guides the practice and policy by integrating empirical evidence and concomitant findings. Coherent synthesis of the extant literature reconciles the highly fragmented field of retirement planning. No research reports prospective areas for further analysis based on the TCCM framework on retirement planning, which highlights the uniqueness of the study.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price includes VAT (Russian Federation)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Rent this article via DeepDyve

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

A Research Proposal to Examine Psychological Factors Influence on Financial Planning for Retirement in China

Domains and determinants of retirement timing: A systematic review of longitudinal studies

Micky Scharn, Ranu Sewdas, … Allard J. van der Beek

Reinventing Retirement

Deanna L. Sharpe

Data Availability

The research data will be made available on request.

Acknowledgment.

Elderly population is defined as a population aged 65 years and over.

Defined benefit plan guarantees benefits to the employee, while defined contribution plan requires employees to decide on their own investment and bear the financial risks identified with it.

“The old-age dependency ratio is defined as the number of individuals aged 65 and over per 100 people of working age defined as those at ages 20 to 64”(OECD 2023 ).

Adams GA, Rau BL (2011) Putting off tomorrow to do what you want today: planning for Retirement. Am Psychol 66(3):180–192. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022131

Article   Google Scholar  

Aegon Cfor, Longevity, Retirement ICR (2016) The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2016. In The Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey 2016 . https://www.aegon.com/contentassets/c6a4b1cdded34f1b85a4f21d4c66e5d3/2016-aegon-retirement-readiness-report-india.pdf

Agarwalla SK, Barua SK, Jacob J, Varma JR (2015) Financial Literacy among Working Young in Urban India. World Development , 67 (2013), 101–109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.10.004

Ajzen I (1991) The theory of Planned Behavior. Organ Behav Hum Decis Process 50:179–211. https://doi.org/10.47985/dcidj.475

Anderson A, Baker F, Robinson DT (2017) Precautionary savings, retirement planning, and misperceptions of financial literacy. J Financ Econ 126(2):383–398. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2017.07.008

Atkinson A, Messy FA (2011) Assessing financial literacy in 12 countries: an OECD/INFE international pilot exercise. J Pension Econ Finance 10(4):657–665. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474747211000539`

Aydin AE, Akben Selcuk E (2019) An investigation of financial literacy, money ethics, and time preferences among college students: a structural equation model. Int J Bank Mark 37(3):880–900. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBM-05-2018-0120

Bapat D (2020) Antecedents to responsible financial management behavior among young adults: the moderating role of financial risk tolerance. Int J Bank Mark 38(5):1177–1194. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBM-10-2019-0356

Beckett A, Hewer P, Howcroft B (2000) An exposition of consumer behaviour in the financial services industry. Int J Bank Mark 18(1):15–26. https://doi.org/10.1108/02652320010315325

Białowolski P (2019) Economic sentiment as a driver for household financial behavior. J Behav Experimental Econ 80(August 2017):59–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2019.03.006

Binswanger J, Carman KG (2012) How real people make long-term decisions: the case of retirement preparation. J Economic Behav Organ 81(1):39–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2011.08.010

Brounen D, Koedijk KG, Pownall RAJ (2016) Household financial planning and savings behavior. J Int Money Finance 69:95–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jimonfin.2016.06.011

Brown R, Jones M (2015) Mapping and exploring the topography of contemporary financial accounting research. Br Acc Rev 47(3):237–261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bar.2014.08.006

Brown S, Gray D (2016) Household finances and well-being in Australia: an empirical analysis of comparison effects. J Econ Psychol 53:17–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2015.12.006

Brown S, Taylor K (2014) Household finances and the big five personality traits. J Econ Psychol 45:197–212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2014.10.006

Brown S, Taylor K (2016) Early influences on saving behaviour: analysis of British panel data. J Bank Finance 62:1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2015.09.011

Brüggen EC, Post T, Schmitz K (2019) Interactivity in online pension planners enhances engagement with retirement planning – but not for everyone. J Serv Mark 33(4):488–501. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-02-2018-0082

Bruggen E, Post T, Katharina S (2019) Interactivity in online pension planners enhances engagement with retirement planning but not for everyone. J Serv Mark 33(4):488–501

Calcagno R, Monticone C (2015) Financial literacy and the demand for financial advice. J Bank Finance 50:363–380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2014.03.013

Campbell JY (2006) Household finance. J Finance 61(4):1553–1604. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6261.2006.00883.x

Choudhury K (2015) Service quality and customers’ behavioural intentions: class and mass banking and implications for the consumer and society. Asia Pac J Mark Logistics 27(5):735–757

Chowdhry N, Jung J, Dholakia U (2018) Association for consumer research. Adv Consum Res 42:42–46

Google Scholar  

Clark GL, Knox-Hayes J, Strauss K (2009) Financial sophistication, salience, and the scale of deliberation in UK retirement planning. Environ Plann A 41(10):2496–2515. https://doi.org/10.1068/a41265

Clark R, Lusardi A, Mitchell OS (2017) Employee Financial Literacy and Retirement Plan Behavior: a case study. Econ Inq 55(1):248–259. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.12389

Collins JM, Urban C (2016) The role of information on Retirement Planning: evidence from a field study. Econ Inq 54(4):1860–1872. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.12349

Creswell J (2009) Research Design Qualitative Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches. In Sage Publishing: Vol. Third edit . https://doi.org/10.1002/tl.20234

Csorba L (2020) The determining factors of financial culture, financial literacy, and financial behavior. Public Finance Q 65:67–83. https://doi.org/10.35551/PFQ_2020_1_6

Davidoff T, Gerhard P, Post T (2017) Reverse mortgages: what homeowners (don’t) know and how it matters. J Economic Behav Organ 133:151–171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2016.11.007

Davis FD (1989) Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology. MIS Quarterly: Management Information Systems 13(3):319–339. https://doi.org/10.2307/249008

Devlin J (2001) Consumer evaluation and competitive advantage in retail financial services - a research agenda. Eur J Mark 35(5/6):639–660

Dholakia U, Tam L, Yoon S, Wong N (2016) The ant and the grasshopper: understanding personal saving orientation of consumers. J Consum Res 43(1):134–155. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucw004

Dolls M, Doerrenberg P, Peichl A, Stichnoth H (2018) Do retirement savings increase in response to information about retirement and expected pensions? J Public Econ 158(July 2017):168–179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2017.12.014

Dragos SL, Dragos CM, Muresan GM (2020) From intention to the decision in purchasing life insurance and private pensions: different effects of knowledge and behavioural factors. J Behav Experimental Econ 87(March):101555. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2020.101555

Drever AI, Odders-white E, Kalish CW, Hoagland EM, Nelms EN, Drever AI, Odders-white E, Charles W, Else-quest NM, Hoagland EM, Nelms EN (2015) Foundations of Financial Weil-Being: Insights into the Role of Executive Function, Financial Socialization, and Experience-Based Learning in Childhood and Youth Source : The Journal of Consumer Affairs, Vol. 49, No. 1, Special Issue on Starting Ea. The Journal of Consumer Affairs , 49 (1)

Duflo E, Saez E (2002) Participation and investment decisions in a retirement plan: the influence of colleagues’ choices. J Public Econ 85(1):121–148. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0047-2727(01)00098-6

Duxbury D, Summers B, Hudson R, Keasey K (2013) How people evaluate defined contribution, annuity-based pension arrangements: a behavioral exploration. J Econ Psychol 34:256–269. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2012.10.008

Earl J, Bednall T, Muratore A (2015) A matter of time: why some people plan for retirement and others do not. Work Aging and Retirement 1(2):181–189. https://doi.org/10.1093/workar/wau005

Employees Benefits Research Institute (2020) EBRI Retirement Confidence Survey Report (Issue 202)

Engel JF, Kollat DT, Blackwell RD (1968) A model of consumer motivation and behavior. In: Research in consumer behavior. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., New York, pp 3–20

Erasmus A, Boshoff E, Rousseau G (2001) Consumer decision-making models within the discipline of consumer science: a critical approach. J Family Ecol Consumer Sci /Tydskrif Vir Gesinsekologie En Verbruikerswetenskappe 29(1):82–90. https://doi.org/10.4314/jfecs.v29i1.52799

Farrell L, Fry TRL, Risse L (2016) The significance of financial self-efficacy in explaining women’s personal finance behaviour. J Econ Psychol 54:85–99

Fernandes D, Lynch JG, Netemeyer RG (2014) Financial literacy, financial education, and downstream financial behaviors. Manage Sci 60(8):1861–1883. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2013.1849

Filbec G, Ricciardi V, Evensky H, Fan S, Holzhauer H, Spieler A (2017) Behavioral finance: a panel discussion. J Behav Experimental Finance 15:52–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbef.2015.07.003

Fishbein M (1979) A theory of reasoned action: some applications and implications. Nebraska Symposium on Motivation 27:65–116

Fisher PJ, Montalto CP (2010) Effect of saving motives and horizon on saving behaviors. J Econ Psychol 31(1):92–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2009.11.002

Flores SAM, Vieira KM (2014) Propensity toward indebtedness: an analysis using behavioral factors. J Behav Exp Finance 3:1–10

Foxall GR, Pallister JG (1998) Measuring purchase decision involvement for financial services: comparison of the Zaichkowsky and Mittal scales. Int J Bank Mark 16(5):180–194. https://doi.org/10.1108/02652329810228181

Friedman M (1957) Introduction to “A theory of the consumption function”. In: A theory of the consumption function. Princeton University Press, pp 1–6

Frydman C, Camerer CF (2016) The psychology and neuroscience of financial decision making. Trends Cogn Sci 20(9):661–675. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2016.07.003

Gardarsdóttir RB, Dittmar H (2012) The relationship of materialism to debt and financial well-being: the case of Iceland’s perceived prosperity. J Econ Psychol 33(3):471–481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2011.12.008

Gathergood J (2012) Self-control, financial literacy and consumer over-indebtedness. J Econ Psychol 33(3):590–602

Gerhard P, Gladstone JJ, Hoffmann AOI (2018) Psychological characteristics and household savings behavior: the importance of accounting for latent heterogeneity. J Economic Behav Organ 148:66–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2018.02.013

Gibbs PT (2009) Time, temporality, and

Goedde-Menke M, Lehmensiek-Starke M, Nolte S (2014) An empirical test of competing hypotheses for the annuity puzzle. J Econ Psychol 43:75–91

Gough O, Nurullah M (2009) Understanding what drives the purchase decision in pension and investment products. J Financial Serv Mark 14(2):152–172. https://doi.org/10.1057/fsm.2009.14

Griffin B, Loe D, Hesketh B (2012) Using Proactivity, Time Discounting, and the theory of Planned Behavior to identify predictors of Retirement Planning. Educ Gerontol 38(12):877–889. https://doi.org/10.1080/03601277.2012.660857

Gritten A (2011) New insights into consumer confidence in financial services. Int J Bank Mark 29(2):90–106. https://doi.org/10.1108/02652321111107602

Grohmann A (2018) Financial literacy and financial behavior: Evidence from the emerging Asian middle class. Pacific Basin Finance Journal , 48 (November 2017), 129–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pacfin.2018.01.007

Grohmann A, Kouwenberg R, Menkhoff L (2015) Childhood roots of financial literacy. J Econ Psychol 51:114–133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2015.09.002

Hair JF, Sarstedt M, Ringle CM, Mena JA (2012) An assessment of the use of partial least squares structural equation modeling in marketing research . 414–433. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-011-0261-6

Hanna SD, Kim KT, Chen SCC (2016) Retirement savings. In: Handbook of consumer finance research, pp 33–43

Harrison T, Waite K, White P (2006) Analysis by paralysis: the pension purchase decision process. Int J Bank Mark 24(1):5–23. https://doi.org/10.1108/02652320610642317

Hastings J, Mitchell O (2011) How financial literact and impatience shape retirement wealth and investment behaviors. Pengaruh Harga Diskon Dan Persepsi Produk Terhadap Nilai Belanja Serta Perilaku Pembelian Konsumen, NBER Working paper, 1–28

Hauff J, Carlander A, Amelie G, Tommy G, Holmen M (2016) Breaking the ice of low financial involvement: does narrative information format from a trusted sender increase savings in mutual funds? Int J Bank Mark 34(2):151–170

Hentzen JK, Hoffmann A, Dolan R, Pala E (2021) Artificial intelligence in customer-facing financial services: a systematic literature review and agenda for future research. Int J Bank Mark. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBM-09-2021-0417

Hershey DA, Mowen JC (2000) Psychological determinants of financial preparedness for retirement. Gerontologist 40(6):687–697. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/40.6.687

Hershey DA, Henkens K, Van Dalen HP (2007) Mapping the minds of retirement planners: a cross-cultural perspective. J Cross-Cult Psychol 38(3):361–382. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022107300280

Hershey DA, Jacobs-Lawson JM, McArdle JJ, Hamagami F (2007b) Psychological foundations of financial planning for retirement. J Adult Dev 14(1–2):26–36. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-007-9028-1

Hershey DA, Jacobs-Lawson JM, McArdle JJ, Hamagami F (2008) Psychological foundations of financial planning for retirement. J Adult Dev 14(1–2):26–36. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-007-9028-1

Hershfield H, Goldstein D, Sharpe W, Fox J, Yeykelis L, Carstensen L, Bailenson J (2011) Increasing saving behavior through age-progressed renderings of the future self. J Mark Res 48:23–37

Hoffmann AOI, Broekhuizen TLJ (2009) Susceptibility to and impact of interpersonal influence in an investment context. J Acad Mark Sci 37:488–503

Hoffmann AOI, Broekhuizen TLJ (2010) Understanding investors’ decisions to purchase innovative products: drivers of adoption timing and range. Int J Res Mark 27(4):342–355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2010.08.002

Hoffmann AOI, Plotkina D (2020a) Positive framing when assessing the personal resources to manage one’s finances increases consumers’ retirement self-efficacy and improves retirement goal clarity. Psychol Mark 38(12):2286–2304. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21563

Hoffmann AOI, Plotkina D (2020b) Why and when does financial information affect retirement planning intentions and which consumers are more likely to act on them? Journal of Business Research , 117 (September 2019), 411–431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.06.023

Hoffmann AOI, Plotkina D (2021) Let your past define your future. How recalling successful financial experiences can increase beliefs of self-efficacy in financial planning. J Consum Aff 55(3):847–871. https://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12378

Hoffmann AOI, Risse L (2020) Do good things come in pairs? How personality traits help explain individuals’ simultaneous pursuit of a healthy lifestyle and financially responsible behavior. J Consum Aff 54(3):1082–1120. https://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12317

Hsiao YJ, Tsai WC (2018) Financial literacy and participation in the derivatives markets. J Bank Finance 88:15–29

Huhmann BA, McQuitty S (2009) A model of consumer financial numeracy. Int J Bank Mark 27(4):270–293. https://doi.org/10.1108/02652320910968359

Huston SJ (2010) Measuring financial literacy. J Consum Aff 44(2):296–316. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6606.2010.01170.x

Ijevleva K, Arefjevs I (2014) Analysis of the Aggregate Financial Behaviour of customers using the Transtheoretical Model of Change. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 156(April):435–438. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.11.217

Ingale KK, Paluri RA (2020) Financial literacy and financial behavior: a bibliometric analysis. Rev Behav Finance. https://doi.org/10.1108/RBF-06-2020-0141

Jacobs-Lawson J, Hershey D (2005) Influence of future time perspective, financial knowledge, and financial risk tolerance on retirement savings behavior. Financial Serv Rev 14:331–344. https://doi.org/10.1088/1751-8113/44/8/085201

Jappelli T, Padula M (2013) Investment in financial literacy and saving decisions. J Bank Finance 37(8):2779–2792. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2013.03.019

Kadoya Y, Rahim Khan MS (2020) Financial literacy in Japan: new evidence using financial knowledge, behavior, and attitude. Sustain (Switzerland) 12(9). https://doi.org/10.3390/su12093683

Kamil NSSN, Musa R, Sahak SZ (2014) Examining the Role of Financial Intelligence Quotient (FiQ) in explaining credit card usage behavior: a conceptual Framework. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 130:568–576. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.04.066

Kerry MJ (2018) Psychological antecedents of retirement planning: a systematic review. Front Psychol 9(OCT). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01870

Kerry MJ, Embretson SE (2018) An experimental evaluation of competing age predictions of future time perspective between workplace and retirement domains. Front Psychol 8(JAN):1–9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02316

Kiliyanni AL, Sivaraman S (2016) The perception-reality gap in financial literacy: evidence from the most literate state in India. Int Rev Econ Educ 23:47–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iree.2016.07.001

Kimiyaghalam F, Mansori S, Safari M, Yap S (2017) Parents’ influence on retirement planning in Malaysia. Family Consumer Sci Res J 45(3):315–325

Klapper L, Lusardi A, Panos GA (2013) Financial literacy and its consequences: evidence from Russia during the financial crisis. J Bank Finance 37(10):3904–3923

Koehler DJ, Langstaff J, Liu WQ (2015) A simulated financial savings task for studying consumption and retirement decision-making. J Econ Psychol 46:89–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2014.12.004

Kramer MM (2016) Financial literacy, confidence, and financial advice seeking. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization , 131 (June 2015), 198–217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2016.08.016

Kumar S, Tomar S, Verma D (2019) Women’s financial planning for retirement: systematic literature review and future research agenda. Int J Bank Mark 37(1):120–141. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBM-08-2017-0165

Kwon KN, Lee J (2009) The effects of reference point, knowledge, and risk propensity on the evaluation of financial products. J Bus Res 62(7):719–725. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2008.07.002

Landerretche OM, Martínez C (2013) Voluntary savings, financial behavior, and pension finance literacy: evidence from Chile. J Pension Econ Finance 12(3):251–297. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474747212000340

Lee T (2017) (David). Clear, conspicuous, and improving: US corporate websites for critical financial literacy in retirement. International Journal of Bank Marketing , 35 (5), 761–780. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBM-01-2016-0010

Liang C-J, Wang Wen‐Hung, Farquhar JD (2009) (2009). The influence of customer perceptions on financial performance in financial services. International Journal of Bank Marketing , 27 (2), 129–149

Liberman N, Trope Y (2003) Construal level theory of intertemporal judgment and decision. In: Loewenstein G, Read D, Baumeister R (eds) Time and decision: economic and psychological perspectives on intertemporal choice, pp 245–276

Lim KL, Soutar GN, Lee JA (2013) Factors affecting investment intentions: a consumer behaviour perspective. J Financ Serv Mark 18:301–315

Lin C, Hsiao YJ, Yeh CY (2017) Financial literacy, financial advisors, and information sources on demand for life insurance. Pac Basin Finance J 43(March):218–237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pacfin.2017.04.002

Lown JM (2011) Development and validation of a Financial Self-Efficacy Scale. J Financial Couns Plann 22(2):54–63

Lusardi A, Mitchell OS (2007) Baby Boomer retirement security: the roles of planning, financial literacy, and housing wealth. J Monet Econ 54(1):205–224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmoneco.2006.12.001

Maloney M, McCarthy A (2017) Understanding pension communications at the organizational level: insights from bounded rationality theory & implications for HRM. Hum Resource Manage Rev 27(2):338–352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2016.08.001

Marjanovic Z, Fiksenbaum L, Greenglass E (2018) Financial threat correlates with acute economic hardship and behavioral intentions that can improve one’s personal finances and health. J Behav Experimental Econ 77(April):151–157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2018.09.012

Marques S, Mariano J, Lima ML, Abrams D (2018) Are you talking to the future me? The moderator role of future self-relevance on the effects of aging salience in retirement savings. J Appl Soc Psychol 48(7):360–368. https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12516

McKechnie S (1992) Consumer buying behaviour in financial services: an overview. Int J Bank Mark 10(5):5–39. https://doi.org/10.1108/02652329210016803

Milner T, Rosenstreich D (2013a) A review of consumer decision-making models and development of a new model for financial services. J Financial Serv Mark 18(2):106–120. https://doi.org/10.1057/fsm.2013.7

Milner T, Rosenstreich D (2013b) Insights into mature consumers of financial services. J Consumer Mark 30(3):248–257. https://doi.org/10.1108/07363761311328919

Mitchell OS, Mukherjee A (2017) Assessing the demand for micro pensions among India’s poor. J Econ Ageing 9:30–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeoa.2016.05.004

Mitchell O, Utkus S (2003) Lessons from Behavioral Finance for Retirement Plan Design (PRC WP 2003-6). http://prc.wharton.upenn.edu/prc/prc.html

Modigliani F, Brumberg RH (1954) Utility analysis and the consumption function: an interpretation of cross-section data. In: Kurihara KK (ed) Post-Keynesian economics. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, pp 388–436

Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman DG, Altman D, Antes G, Atkins D, Barbour V, Barrowman N, Berlin JA, Clark J, Clarke M, Cook D, D’Amico R, Deeks JJ, Devereaux PJ, Dickersin K, Egger M, Ernst E, …, Tugwell P (2009) Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. PLoS Med 6(7). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000097

Monti M, Pelligra V, Martignon L, Berg N (2014) Retail investors and financial advisors: new evidence on trust and advice taking heuristics. J Bus Res 67(8):1749–1757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2014.02.022

Mouna A, Anis J (2017) Financial literacy in Tunisia: its determinants and its implications on investment behavior. Res Int Bus Finance 39:568–577

Mullainathan S, Thaler R (2000) Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Economics Working Paper Series . September

Nga KH, Yeoh KK (2018) An exploratory model on retirement savings behaviour: a Malaysian study. Int J Bus Soc 19(3):637–659

OECD (2023) Old-age dependency ratio (indicator). https://doi.org/10.1787/e0255c98-en . Accessed 13 Oct 2023

Onwuegbuzie AJ, Collins KM (2007) A typology of mixed methods sampling designs in social science research. Qualitative Rep 12(2):474–498

Pallister JG, Wang HC, Foxall GR (2007) An application of the style/involvement model to financial services. Technovation 27(1–2):78–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2005.10.001

Pan L, Pezzuti T, Lu W, Pechmann C (2019) Hyperopia and frugality: different motivational drivers and yet similar effects on consumer spending. J Bus Res 95(August 2018):347–356

Parise G, Peijnenburg K (2017) Understanding the Determinants of Financial Outcomes and Choices: The Role of Noncognitive Abilities. BIS Working Papers

Paul J, Rosado-Serrano A (2019) Gradual internationalization vs Born-Global/International new venture models: a review and research agenda. Int Mark Rev 36(6):830–858. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMR-10-2018-0280

Paul J, Criado AR (2020) The art of writing literature review: what do we know and what do we need to know? Int Bus Rev 29(4):101717. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2020.101717

Paul J, Khatri P, Kaur Duggal H (2023) Frameworks for developing impactful systematic literature reviews and theory building: what, why and how? J Decis Syst 00(00):1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/12460125.2023.2197700

Petkoska J, Earl JK (2009) Understanding the influence of demographic and psychological variables on Retirement Planning. Psychol Aging 24(1):245–251. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014096

Piotrowska M (2019) The importance of personality characteristics and behavioral constraints for retirement saving. Econ Anal Policy 64:194–220

Plath DA, Stevenson TH (2005) Financial services consumption behavior across Hispanic American consumers. J Bus Res 58(8):1089–1099. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2004.03.003

Poterba JM (2015) Saver heterogeneity and the challenge of assessing retirement saving adequacy. Natl Tax J 68(2):377–388. https://doi.org/10.17310/ntj.2015.2.06

Potrich ACG, Vieira KM, Kirch G (2018) How well do women do when it comes to financial literacy? Proposition of an indicator and analysis of gender differences. J Behav Experimental Finance 17:28–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbef.2017.12.005

Rai D, Lin CW (2019) (Wilson). The influence of implicit self-theories on consumer financial decision making. Journal of Business Research , 95 (August 2018), 316–325. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.08.016

Ramalho TB, Forte D (2019) Financial literacy in Brazil – do knowledge and self-confidence relate with behavior? RAUSP Manage J 54(1):77–95. https://doi.org/10.1108/RAUSP-04-2018-0008

Rana J, Paul J (2017) Consumer behavior and purchase intention for organic food: a review and research agenda. J Retailing Consumer Serv 38(June):157–165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2017.06.004

Ranyard R, McNair S, Nicolini G, Duxbury D (2020) An item response theory approach to constructing and evaluating brief and in-depth financial literacy scales. J Consum Aff 54(3):1121–1156. https://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12322

RBI Household Finance Committee (2017) Indian household finance. Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai

Ruefenacht M, Schlager T, Maas P, Puustinen P (2015) Drivers of long-term savings behavior from consumer’s perspective. Electron Libr 34(1):1–5

Scholz JK, Seshadri A, Khitatrakun S (2006) Are Americans saving “optimally” for retirement? J Polit Econ 114(4):607–643

Schuabb T, França LH, Amorim SM (2019) Retirement savings model tested with Brazilian private health care workers. Front Psychol 10(JULY):1–11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01701

Schuhen M, Schurkmann S (2014) International Review of Economics Education. Int Rev Econ Educ 16:1–11

Segel-Karpas D, Werner P (2014) Perceived financial retirement preparedness and its correlates: a national study in Israel. Int J Aging Hum Dev 79(4):279–301. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091415015574177

Seth H, Talwar S, Bhatia A, Saxena A, Dhir A (2020) Consumer resistance and inertia of retail investors: Development of the resistance adoption inertia continuance (RAIC) framework. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services , 55 (August 2019), 102071. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102071

Sewell M (2008) Behavioural finance. Economist 389(8604):1–13. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230280786_5

Shefrin HM, Thaler RH (1988) The behavioral life‐cycle hypothesis. Econ Inq 26(4):609–643

Shim S, Serido J, Tang C (2012) The ant and the grasshopper revisited: the present psychological benefits of saving and future oriented financial behavior. J Econ Psychol 33(1):155–165

Simon HA (1978) Information-processing theory of human problem solving. In: Handbook of learning and cognitive processes, vol 5, pp 271–295

Sivaramakrishnan S, Srivastava M, Rastogi A (2017) Attitudinal factors, financial literacy, and stock market participation. Int J Bank Mark 34(1):1–5

Snyder H (2019) Literature review as a research methodology: an overview and guidelines. J Bus Res 104(August):333–339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039

Stawski RS, Hershey DA, Jacobs-Lawson JM (2007) Goal clarity and financial planning activities as determinants of retirement savings contributions. Int J Aging Hum Dev 64(1):13–32. https://doi.org/10.2190/13GK-5H72-H324-16P2

Steinert JI, Zenker J, Filipiak U, Movsisyan A, Cluver LD, Shenderovich Y (2018) Do saving promotion interventions increase household savings, consumption, and investments in Sub-saharan Africa? A systematic review and meta-analysis. World Dev 104:238–256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.11.018

Steinhart Y, Mazursky D (2010) Purchase availability and involvement antecedents among financial products. Int J Bank Mark 28(2):113–135. https://doi.org/10.1108/02652321011018314

Strömbäck C, Lind T, Skagerlund K, Västfjäll D, Tinghög G (2017) Does self-control predict financial behavior and financial well-being? J Behav Experimental Finance 14:30–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbef.2017.04.002

Strömbäck C, Skagerlund K, Västfjäll D, Tinghög G (2020) Subjective self-control but not objective measures of executive functions predict financial behavior and well-being. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance , 27 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbef.2020.100339

Tam L, Dholakia U (2014) Saving in cycles: how to get people to save more money. Psychol Sci 25(2):531–537. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797613512129

Tang N, Baker A (2016) Self-esteem, financial knowledge and financial behavior. J Econ Psychol 54:164–176

Tate M, Evermann J, Gable G (2015) An integrated framework for theories of individual attitudes toward technology. Inform Manage 52(6):710–727. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2015.06.005

Taylor MP, Jenkins SP, Sacker A (2011) Financial capability and psychological health. J Econ Psychol 32(5):710–723. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2011.05.006

Tennyson S, Yang HK (2014) The role of life experience in long-term care insurance decisions. Journal of Economic Psychology , 42 (2014), 175–188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2014.04.002

Thaler BRH (1994) Psychology and savings policies. Am Econ Rev 84(2):175–179. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3132220

Thaler R (1980) Toward a positive theory of consumer choice. J Econ Behav Organ 1:39–60

Thaler RH (2005) Advances in behavioral finance. Adv Behav Finance 2:1–694. https://doi.org/10.2307/2329257

Thaler R, Shefrin H (1981) An economic theory of self-control. J Polit Econ 89(2):392–406

Tomar S, Kent Baker H, Kumar S, Hoffmann AOI (2021) Psychological determinants of retirement financial planning behavior. Journal of Business Research , 133 (November 2020), 432–449. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.05.007

Topa G, Moriano JA, Depolo M, Alcover CM, Morales JF (2009) Antecedents and consequences of retirement planning and decision-making: a meta-analysis and model. J Vocat Behav 75(1):38–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2009.03.002

Topa G, Moriano JA, Depolo M, Alcover CM, Moreno A (2011) Retirement and wealth relationships: Meta-analysis and SEM. Res Aging 33(5):501–528. https://doi.org/10.1177/0164027511410549

Tranfield D, Denyer D, Smart P (2003) Towards a methodology for developing evidence-informed management knowledge by means of systematic review. Br J Manag 14(3):207–222. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.00375

Ülkümen G, Cheema A (2011) Framing goals to influence personal savings: the role of specificity and construal level. J Mark Res 48(6):958–969. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmr.09.0516

United Nations, Department of Economic and Social, Affairs PD (2020) (2019). World Population Ageing 2019. In United Nations . http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/ 978-94-007-5204-7_6

Utkarsh, Pandey A, Ashta A, Spiegelman E, Sutan A (2020) Catch them young: impact of financial Socialization, financial literacy and attitude towards money on the financial well-being of young adults. Int J Consumer Stud 44(6):531–541. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12583

Valente TW, Paredes P, Poppe P (1998) Matching the message to the process: the relative ordering of knowledge, attitudes, and practices in behavior change research. Hum Commun Res 24(3):366–385

Van Rooij M, Teppa F (2014) Personal traits and individual choices: taking action in economic and non-economic decisions. J Econ Behav Organ 100:33–43

van Rooij M, Lusardi A, Alessie R (2011) Financial literacy and stock market participation. J Financ Econ 101(2):449–472. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2011.03.006

Van Rooij MCJ, Lusardi A, Alessie RJM (2011a) Financial literacy and retirement planning in the Netherlands. J Econ Psychol 32(4):593–608. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2011.02.004

van Schie RJG, Dellaert BGC, Donkers B (2015) Promoting later planned retirement: construal level intervention impact reverses with age. J Econ Psychol 50:124–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2015.06.010

Venkatesh V, Morris M, Davis G, Davis F (2003) Factors influencing the Use of M-Banking by academics: Case Study sms-based M-Banking. MIS Q 27(3):425–478

Vitt LA (2004) Consumers’ financial decisions and the psychology of values. J Financial Service Professionals 58(November):68–77. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true &db=bth&AN=14888952&site=ehost-live

Wang L, Lu W, Malhotra NK (2011) Demographics, attitude, personality, and credit card features correlate with credit card debt: a view from China. J Econ Psychol 32(1):179–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2010.11.006

World Economic Forum (2019) Investing in (and for) our future. Issue June. www.weforum.org

Xia T, Wang Z, Li K (2014) Financial literacy overconfidence and stock market participation. Soc Indic Res 119(3):1233–1245. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-013-0555-9

Xiao JJ, Chen C, Chen F (2014) Consumer financial capability and financial satisfaction. Soc Indic Res 118(1):415–432. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-013-0414-8

Yeung DY, Zhou X (2017) Planning for retirement: longitudinal effect on retirement resources and post-retirement well-being. Front Psychol 8:1300

Zhou R, Pham MT (2004) Promotion and prevention across mental accounts: when financial products dictate consumers’ investment goals. J Consum Res 31(1):125–135. https://doi.org/10.1086/383429

Download references

Acknowledgements

Authors would like to acknowledge the academicians and researchers who guided the search of the article and would like to thank the experts for the valuable inputs to refine the work.

There is no funding received for this research.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune, India

Kavita Karan Ingale

Symbiosis Institute of Operations Management, Symbiosis International (Deemed) University, Pune, India

Ratna Achuta Paluri

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

Both authors contributed to the conceptualization, research design, methodology, analysis of the data,writing of the manuscript and its revision.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kavita Karan Ingale .

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest.

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Ingale, K.K., Paluri, R.A. Retirement planning – a systematic review of literature and future research directions. Manag Rev Q (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11301-023-00377-x

Download citation

Received : 14 December 2022

Accepted : 04 October 2023

Published : 28 October 2023

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11301-023-00377-x

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Retirement planning
• Systematic literature review
• Financial behavior
• Household finance
• Long-term savings
• Pension plan
• Financial literacy
• TCCM framework
• Find a journal
• Publish with us
• Track your research

• Open access
• Published: 12 December 2023

Examining the role of community resilience and social capital on mental health in public health emergency and disaster response: a scoping review

• C. E. Hall 1 , 2 ,
• H. Wehling 1 ,
• J. Stansfield 3 ,
• J. South 3 ,
• S. K. Brooks 2 ,
• N. Greenberg 2 , 4 ,
• R. Amlôt 1 &
• D. Weston 1  

BMC Public Health volume  23 , Article number:  2482 ( 2023 ) Cite this article

1772 Accesses

21 Altmetric

Metrics details

The ability of the public to remain psychologically resilient in the face of public health emergencies and disasters (such as the COVID-19 pandemic) is a key factor in the effectiveness of a national response to such events. Community resilience and social capital are often perceived as beneficial and ensuring that a community is socially and psychologically resilient may aid emergency response and recovery. This review presents a synthesis of literature which answers the following research questions: How are community resilience and social capital quantified in research?; What is the impact of community resilience on mental wellbeing?; What is the impact of infectious disease outbreaks, disasters and emergencies on community resilience and social capital?; and, What types of interventions enhance community resilience and social capital?

A scoping review procedure was followed. Searches were run across Medline, PsycInfo, and EMBASE, with search terms covering both community resilience and social capital, public health emergencies, and mental health. 26 papers met the inclusion criteria.

The majority of retained papers originated in the USA, used a survey methodology to collect data, and involved a natural disaster. There was no common method for measuring community resilience or social capital. The association between community resilience and social capital with mental health was regarded as positive in most cases. However, we found that community resilience, and social capital, were initially negatively impacted by public health emergencies and enhanced by social group activities.

Several key recommendations are proposed based on the outcomes from the review, which include: the need for a standardised and validated approach to measuring both community resilience and social capital; that there should be enhanced effort to improve preparedness to public health emergencies in communities by gauging current levels of community resilience and social capital; that community resilience and social capital should be bolstered if areas are at risk of disasters or public health emergencies; the need to ensure that suitable short-term support is provided to communities with high resilience in the immediate aftermath of a public health emergency or disaster; the importance of conducting robust evaluation of community resilience initiatives deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Peer Review reports

For the general population, public health emergencies and disasters (e.g., natural disasters; infectious disease outbreaks; Chemical, Biological, Radiological or Nuclear incidents) can give rise to a plethora of negative outcomes relating to both health (e.g. increased mental health problems [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]) and the economy (e.g., increased unemployment and decreased levels of tourism [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]). COVID-19 is a current, and ongoing, example of a public health emergency which has affected over 421 million individuals worldwide [ 7 ]. The long term implications of COVID-19 are not yet known, but there are likely to be repercussions for physical health, mental health, and other non-health related outcomes for a substantial time to come [ 8 , 9 ]. As a result, it is critical to establish methods which may inform approaches to alleviate the longer-term negative consequences that are likely to emerge in the aftermath of both COVID-19 and any future public health emergency.

The definition of resilience often differs within the literature, but ultimately resilience is considered a dynamic process of adaptation. It is related to processes and capabilities at the individual, community and system level that result in good health and social outcomes, in spite of negative events, serious threats and hazards [ 10 ]. Furthermore, Ziglio [ 10 ] refers to four key types of resilience capacity: adaptive, the ability to withstand and adjust to unfavourable conditions and shocks; absorptive, the ability to withstand but also to recover and manage using available assets and skills; anticipatory, the ability to predict and minimize vulnerability; and transformative, transformative change so that systems better cope with new conditions.

There is no one settled definition of community resilience (CR). However, it generally relates to the ability of a community to withstand, adapt and permit growth in adverse circumstances due to social structures, networks and interdependencies within the community [ 11 ]. Social capital (SC) is considered a major determinant of CR [ 12 , 13 ], and reflects strength of a social network, community reciprocity, and trust in people and institutions [ 14 ]. These aspects of community are usually conceptualised primarily as protective factors that enable communities to cope and adapt collectively to threats. SC is often broken down into further categories [ 15 ], for example: cognitive SC (i.e. perceptions of community relations, such as trust, mutual help and attachment) and structural SC (i.e. what actually happens within the community, such as participation, socialising) [ 16 ]; or, bonding SC (i.e. connections among individuals who are emotionally close, and result in bonds to a particular group [ 17 ]) and bridging SC (i.e. acquaintances or individuals loosely connected that span different social groups [ 18 ]). Generally, CR is perceived to be primarily beneficial for multiple reasons (e.g. increased social support [ 18 , 19 ], protection of mental health [ 20 , 21 ]), and strengthening community resilience is a stated health goal of the World Health Organisation [ 22 ] when aiming to alleviate health inequalities and protect wellbeing. This is also reflected by organisations such as Public Health England (now split into the UK Health Security Agency and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities) [ 23 ] and more recently, CR has been targeted through the endorsement of Community Champions (who are volunteers trained to support and to help improve health and wellbeing. Community Champions also reflect their local communities in terms of population demographics for example age, ethnicity and gender) as part of the COVID-19 response in the UK (e.g. [ 24 , 25 ]).

Despite the vested interest in bolstering communities, the research base establishing: how to understand and measure CR and SC; the effect of CR and SC, both during and following a public health emergency (such as the COVID-19 pandemic); and which types of CR or SC are the most effective to engage, is relatively small. Given the importance of ensuring resilience against, and swift recovery from, public health emergencies, it is critically important to establish and understand the evidence base for these approaches. As a result, the current review sought to answer the following research questions: (1) How are CR and SC quantified in research?; (2) What is the impact of community resilience on mental wellbeing?; (3) What is the impact of infectious disease outbreaks, disasters and emergencies on community resilience and social capital?; and, (4) What types of interventions enhance community resilience and social capital?

By collating research in order to answer these research questions, the authors have been able to propose several key recommendations that could be used to both enhance and evaluate CR and SC effectively to facilitate the long-term recovery from COVID-19, and also to inform the use of CR and SC in any future public health disasters and emergencies.

A scoping review methodology was followed due to the ease of summarising literature on a given topic for policy makers and practitioners [ 26 ], and is detailed in the following sections.

Identification of relevant studies

An initial search strategy was developed by authors CH and DW and included terms which related to: CR and SC, given the absence of a consistent definition of CR, and the link between CR and SC, the review focuses on both CR and SC to identify as much relevant literature as possible (adapted for purpose from Annex 1: [ 27 ], as well as through consultation with review commissioners); public health emergencies and disasters [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ], and psychological wellbeing and recovery (derived a priori from literature). To ensure a focus on both public health and psychological research, the final search was carried across Medline, PsycInfo, and EMBASE using OVID. The final search took place on the 18th of May 2020, the search strategy used for all three databases can be found in Supplementary file 1 .

Selection criteria

The inclusion and exclusion criteria were developed alongside the search strategy. Initially the criteria were relatively inclusive and were subject to iterative development to reflect the authors’ familiarisation with the literature. For example, the decision was taken to exclude research which focused exclusively on social support and did not mention communities as an initial title/abstract search suggested that the majority of this literature did not meet the requirements of our research question.

The full and final inclusion and exclusion criteria used can be found in Supplementary file 2 . In summary, authors decided to focus on the general population (i.e., non-specialist, e.g. non-healthcare worker or government official) to allow the review to remain community focused. The research must also have assessed the impact of CR and/or SC on mental health and wellbeing, resilience, and recovery during and following public health emergencies and infectious disease outbreaks which affect communities (to ensure the research is relevant to the review aims), have conducted primary research, and have a full text available or provided by the first author when contacted.

Charting the data

All papers were first title and abstract screened by CH or DW. Papers then were full text reviewed by CH to ensure each paper met the required eligibility criteria, if unsure about a paper it was also full text reviewed by DW. All papers that were retained post full-text review were subjected to a standardised data extraction procedure. A table was made for the purpose of extracting the following data: title, authors, origin, year of publication, study design, aim, disaster type, sample size and characteristics, variables examined, results, restrictions/limitations, and recommendations. Supplementary file 3 details the charting the data process.

Analytical method

Data was synthesised using a Framework approach [ 32 ], a common method for analysing qualitative research. This method was chosen as it was originally used for large-scale social policy research [ 33 ] as it seeks to identify: what works, for whom, in what conditions, and why [ 34 ]. This approach is also useful for identifying commonalities and differences in qualitative data and potential relationships between different parts of the data [ 33 ]. An a priori framework was established by CH and DW. Extracted data was synthesised in relation to each research question, and the process was iterative to ensure maximum saturation using the available data.

Study selection

The final search strategy yielded 3584 records. Following the removal of duplicates, 2191 records remained and were included in title and abstract screening. A PRISMA flow diagram is presented in Fig.  1 .

PRISMA flow diagram

At the title and abstract screening stage, the process became more iterative as the inclusion criteria were developed and refined. For the first iteration of screening, CH or DW sorted all records into ‘include,’ ‘exclude,’ and ‘unsure’. All ‘unsure’ papers were re-assessed by CH, and a random selection of ~ 20% of these were also assessed by DW. Where there was disagreement between authors the records were retained, and full text screened. The remaining papers were reviewed by CH, and all records were categorised into ‘include’ and ‘exclude’. Following full-text screening, 26 papers were retained for use in the review.

Study characteristics

This section of the review addresses study characteristics of those which met the inclusion criteria, which comprises: date of publication, country of origin, study design, study location, disaster, and variables examined.

Date of publication

Publication dates across the 26 papers spanned from 2008 to 2020 (see Fig.  2 ). The number of papers published was relatively low and consistent across this timescale (i.e. 1–2 per year, except 2010 and 2013 when none were published) up until 2017 where the number of papers peaked at 5. From 2017 to 2020 there were 15 papers published in total. The amount of papers published in recent years suggests a shift in research and interest towards CR and SC in a disaster/ public health emergency context.

Graph to show retained papers date of publication

Country of origin

The locations of the first authors’ institutes at the time of publication were extracted to provide a geographical spread of the retained papers. The majority originated from the USA [ 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ], followed by China [ 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ], Japan [ 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 ], Australia [ 51 , 52 , 53 ], The Netherlands [ 54 , 55 ], New Zealand [ 56 ], Peru [ 57 ], Iran [ 58 ], Austria [ 59 ], and Croatia [ 60 ].

There were multiple methodological approaches carried out across retained papers. The most common formats included surveys or questionnaires [ 36 , 37 , 38 , 42 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 57 , 59 ], followed by interviews [ 39 , 40 , 43 , 51 , 52 , 60 ]. Four papers used both surveys and interviews [ 35 , 41 , 45 , 58 ], and two papers conducted data analysis (one using open access data from a Social Survey [ 44 ] and one using a Primary Health Organisations Register [ 56 ]).

Study location

The majority of the studies were carried out in Japan [ 36 , 42 , 44 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 ], followed by the USA [ 35 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ], China [ 43 , 45 , 46 , 53 ], Australia [ 51 , 52 ], and the UK [ 54 , 55 ]. The remaining studies were carried out in Croatia [ 60 ], Peru [ 57 ], Austria [ 59 ], New Zealand [ 56 ] and Iran [ 58 ].

Multiple different types of disaster were researched across the retained papers. Earthquakes were the most common type of disaster examined [ 45 , 47 , 49 , 50 , 53 , 56 , 57 , 58 ], followed by research which assessed the impact of two disastrous events which had happened in the same area (e.g. Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in Mississippi, and the Great East Japan earthquake and Tsunami; [ 36 , 37 , 38 , 42 , 44 , 48 ]). Other disaster types included: flooding [ 51 , 54 , 55 , 59 , 60 ], hurricanes [ 35 , 39 , 41 ], infectious disease outbreaks [ 43 , 46 ], oil spillage [ 40 ], and drought [ 52 ].

Variables of interest examined

Across the 26 retained papers: eight referred to examining the impact of SC [ 35 , 37 , 39 , 41 , 46 , 49 , 55 , 60 ]; eight examined the impact of cognitive and structural SC as separate entities [ 40 , 42 , 45 , 48 , 50 , 54 , 57 , 59 ]; one examined bridging and bonding SC as separate entities [ 58 ]; two examined the impact of CR [ 38 , 56 ]; and two employed a qualitative methodology but drew findings in relation to bonding and bridging SC, and SC generally [ 51 , 52 ]. Additionally, five papers examined the impact of the following variables: ‘community social cohesion’ [ 36 ], ‘neighbourhood connectedness’ [ 44 ], ‘social support at the community level’ [ 47 ], ‘community connectedness’ [ 43 ] and ‘sense of community’ [ 53 ]. Table  1 provides additional details on this.

How is CR and SC measured or quantified in research?

The measures used to examine CR and SC are presented Table  1 . It is apparent that there is no uniformity in how SC or CR is measured across the research. Multiple measures are used throughout the retained studies, and nearly all are unique. Additionally, SC was examined at multiple different levels (e.g. cognitive and structural, bonding and bridging), and in multiple different forms (e.g. community connectedness, community cohesion).

What is the association between CR and SC on mental wellbeing?

To best compare research, the following section reports on CR, and facets of SC separately. Please see Supplementary file 4  for additional information on retained papers methods of measuring mental wellbeing.

• Community resilience

CR relates to the ability of a community to withstand, adapt and permit growth in adverse circumstances due to social structures, networks and interdependencies within the community [ 11 ].

The impact of CR on mental wellbeing was consistently positive. For example, research indicated that there was a positive association between CR and number of common mental health (i.e. anxiety and mood) treatments post-disaster [ 56 ]. Similarly, other research suggests that CR is positively related to psychological resilience, which is inversely related to depressive symptoms) [ 37 ]. The same research also concluded that CR is protective of psychological resilience and is therefore protective of depressive symptoms [ 37 ].

• Social capital

SC reflects the strength of a social network, community reciprocity, and trust in people and institutions [ 14 ]. These aspects of community are usually conceptualised primarily as protective factors that enable communities to cope and adapt collectively to threats.

There were inconsistencies across research which examined the impact of abstract SC (i.e. not refined into bonding/bridging or structural/cognitive) on mental wellbeing. However, for the majority of cases, research deems SC to be beneficial. For example, research has concluded that, SC is protective against post-traumatic stress disorder [ 55 ], anxiety [ 46 ], psychological distress [ 50 ], and stress [ 46 ]. Additionally, SC has been found to facilitate post-traumatic growth [ 38 ], and also to be useful to be drawn upon in times of stress [ 52 ], both of which could be protective of mental health. Similarly, research has also found that emotional recovery following a disaster is more difficult for those who report to have low levels of SC [ 51 ].

Conversely, however, research has also concluded that when other situational factors (e.g. personal resources) were controlled for, a positive relationship between community resources and life satisfaction was no longer significant [ 60 ]. Furthermore, some research has concluded that a high level of SC can result in a community facing greater stress immediately post disaster. Indeed, one retained paper found that high levels of SC correlate with higher levels of post-traumatic stress immediately following a disaster [ 39 ]. However, in the later stages following a disaster, this relationship can reverse, with SC subsequently providing an aid to recovery [ 41 ]. By way of explanation, some researchers have suggested that communities with stronger SC carry the greatest load in terms of helping others (i.e. family, friends and neighbours) as well as themselves immediately following the disaster, but then as time passes the communities recover at a faster rate as they are able to rely on their social networks for support [ 41 ].

Cognitive and structural social capital

Cognitive SC refers to perceptions of community relations, such as trust, mutual help and attachment, and structural SC refers to what actually happens within the community, such as participation, socialising [ 16 ].

Cognitive SC has been found to be protective [ 49 ] against PTSD [ 54 , 57 ], depression [ 40 , 54 ]) mild mood disorder; [ 48 ]), anxiety [ 48 , 54 ] and increase self-efficacy [ 59 ].

For structural SC, research is again inconsistent. On the one hand, structural SC has been found to: increase perceived self-efficacy, be protective of depression [ 40 ], buffer the impact of housing damage on cognitive decline [ 42 ] and provide support during disasters and over the recovery period [ 59 ]. However, on the other hand, it has been found to have no association with PTSD [ 54 , 57 ] or depression, and is also associated with a higher prevalence of anxiety [ 54 ]. Similarly, it is also suggested by additional research that structural SC can harm women’s mental health, either due to the pressure of expectations to help and support others or feelings of isolation [ 49 ].

Bonding and bridging social capital

Bonding SC refers to connections among individuals who are emotionally close, and result in bonds to a particular group [ 17 ], and bridging SC refers to acquaintances or individuals loosely connected that span different social groups [ 18 ].

One research study concluded that both bonding and bridging SC were protective against post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms [ 58 ]. Bridging capital was deemed to be around twice as effective in buffering against post-traumatic stress disorder than bonding SC [ 58 ].

Other community variables

Community social cohesion was significantly associated with a lower risk of post-traumatic stress disorder symptom development [ 35 ], and this was apparent even whilst controlling for depressive symptoms at baseline and disaster impact variables (e.g. loss of family member or housing damage) [ 36 ]. Similarly, sense of community, community connectedness, social support at the community level and neighbourhood connectedness all provided protective benefits for a range of mental health, wellbeing and recovery variables, including: depression [ 53 ], subjective wellbeing (in older adults only) [ 43 ], psychological distress [ 47 ], happiness [ 44 ] and life satisfaction [ 53 ].

Research has also concluded that community level social support is protective against mild mood and anxiety disorder, but only for individuals who have had no previous disaster experience [ 48 ]. Additionally, a study which separated SC into social cohesion and social participation concluded that at a community level, social cohesion is protective against depression [ 49 ] whereas social participation at community level is associated with an increased risk of depression amongst women [ 49 ].

What is the impact of Infectious disease outbreaks / disasters and emergencies on community resilience?

From a cross-sectional perspective, research has indicated that disasters and emergencies can have a negative effect on certain types of SC. Specifically, cognitive SC has been found to be impacted by disaster impact, whereas structural SC has gone unaffected [ 45 ]. Disaster impact has also been shown to have a negative effect on community relationships more generally [ 52 ].

Additionally, of the eight studies which collected data at multiple time points [ 35 , 36 , 41 , 42 , 47 , 49 , 56 , 60 ], three reported the effect of a disaster on the level of SC within a community [ 40 , 42 , 49 ]. All three of these studies concluded that disasters may have a negative impact on the levels of SC within a community. The first study found that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill had a negative effect on SC and social support, and this in turn explained an overall increase in the levels of depression within the community [ 40 ]. A possible explanation for the negative effect lays in ‘corrosive communities’, known for increased social conflict and reduced social support, that are sometimes created following oil spills [ 40 ]. It is proposed that corrosive communities often emerge due to a loss of natural resources that bring social groups together (e.g., for recreational activities), as well as social disparity (e.g., due to unequal distribution of economic impact) becoming apparent in the community following disaster [ 40 ]. The second study found that SC (in the form of social cohesion, informal socialising and social participation) decreased after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan; it was suggested that this change correlated with incidence of cognitive decline [ 42 ]. However, the third study reported more mixed effects based on physical circumstances of the communities’ natural environment: Following an earthquake, those who lived in mountainous areas with an initial high level of pre-community SC saw a decrease in SC post disaster [ 49 ]. However, communities in flat areas (which were home to younger residents and had a higher population density) saw an increase in SC [ 49 ]. It was proposed that this difference could be due to the need for those who lived in mountainous areas to seek prolonged refuge due to subsequent landslides [ 49 ].

What types of intervention enhance CR and SC and protect survivors?

There were mixed effects across the 26 retained papers when examining the effect of CR and SC on mental wellbeing. However, there is evidence that an increase in SC [ 56 , 57 ], with a focus on cognitive SC [ 57 ], namely by: building social networks [ 45 , 51 , 53 ], enhancing feelings of social cohesion [ 35 , 36 ] and promoting a sense of community [ 53 ], can result in an increase in CR and potentially protect survivors’ wellbeing and mental health following a disaster. An increase in SC may also aid in decreasing the need for individual psychological interventions in the aftermath of a disaster [ 55 ]. As a result, recommendations and suggested methods to bolster CR and SC from the retained papers have been extracted and separated into general methods, preparedness and policy level implementation.

General methods

Suggested methods to build SC included organising recreational activity-based groups [ 44 ] to broaden [ 51 , 53 ] and preserve current social networks [ 42 ], introducing initiatives to increase social cohesion and trust [ 51 ], and volunteering to increase the number of social ties between residents [ 59 ]. Research also notes that it is important to take a ‘no one left behind approach’ when organising recreational and social community events, as failure to do so could induce feelings of isolation for some members of the community [ 49 ]. Furthermore, gender differences should also be considered as research indicates that males and females may react differently to community level SC (as evidence suggests males are instead more impacted by individual level SC; in comparison to women who have larger and more diverse social networks [ 49 ]). Therefore, interventions which aim to raise community level social participation, with the aim of expanding social connections and gaining support, may be beneficial [ 42 , 47 ].

Preparedness

In order to prepare for disasters, it may be beneficial to introduce community-targeted methods or interventions to increase levels of SC and CR as these may aid in ameliorating the consequences of a public health emergency or disaster [ 57 ]. To indicate which communities have low levels of SC, one study suggests implementing a 3-item scale of social cohesion to map areas and target interventions [ 42 ].

It is important to consider that communities with a high level of SC may have a lower level of risk perception, due to the established connections and supportive network they have with those around them [ 61 ]. However, for the purpose of preparedness, this is not ideal as perception of risk is a key factor when seeking to encourage behavioural adherence. This could be overcome by introducing communication strategies which emphasise the necessity of social support, but also highlights the need for additional measures to reduce residual risk [ 59 ]. Furthermore, support in the form of financial assistance to foster current community initiatives may prove beneficial to rural areas, for example through the use of an asset-based community development framework [ 52 ].

Policy level

At a policy level, the included papers suggest a range of ways that CR and SC could be bolstered and used. These include: providing financial support for community initiatives and collective coping strategies, (e.g. using asset-based community development [ 52 ]); ensuring policies for long-term recovery focus on community sustainable development (e.g. community festival and community centre activities) [ 44 ]; and development of a network amongst cooperative corporations formed for reconstruction and to organise self-help recovery sessions among residents of adjacent areas [ 58 ].

This scoping review sought to synthesise literature concerning the role of SC and CR during public health emergencies and disasters. Specifically, in this review we have examined: the methods used to measure CR and SC; the impact of CR and SC on mental wellbeing during disasters and emergencies; the impact of disasters and emergencies on CR and SC; and the types of interventions which can be used to enhance CR. To do this, data was extracted from 26 peer-reviewed journal articles. From this synthesis, several key themes have been identified, which can be used to develop guidelines and recommendations for deploying CR and SC in a public health emergency or disaster context. These key themes and resulting recommendations are summarised below.

Firstly, this review established that there is no consistent or standardised approach to measuring CR or SC within the general population. This finding is consistent with a review conducted by the World Health Organization which concludes that despite there being a number of frameworks that contain indicators across different determinants of health, there is a lack of consensus on priority areas for measurement and no widely accepted indicator [ 27 ]. As a result, there are many measures of CR and SC apparent within the literature (e.g., [ 62 , 63 ]), an example of a developed and validated measure is provided by Sherrieb, Norris and Galea [ 64 ]. Similarly, the definitions of CR and SC differ widely between researchers, which created a barrier to comparing and summarising information. Therefore, future research could seek to compare various interpretations of CR and to identify any overlapping concepts. However, a previous systemic review conducted by Patel et al. (2017) concludes that there are nine core elements of CR (local knowledge, community networks and relationships, communication, health, governance and leadership, resources, economic investment, preparedness, and mental outlook), with 19 further sub-elements therein [ 30 ]. Therefore, as CR is a multi-dimensional construct, the implications from the findings are that multiple aspects of social infrastructure may need to be considered.

Secondly, our synthesis of research concerning the role of CR and SC for ensuring mental health and wellbeing during, or following, a public health emergency or disaster revealed mixed effects. Much of the research indicates either a generally protective effect on mental health and wellbeing, or no effect; however, the literature demonstrates some potential for a high level of CR/SC to backfire and result in a negative effect for populations during, or following, a public health emergency or disaster. Considered together, our synthesis indicates that cognitive SC is the only facet of SC which was perceived as universally protective across all retained papers. This is consistent with a systematic review which also concludes that: (a) community level cognitive SC is associated with a lower risk of common mental disorders, while; (b) community level structural SC had inconsistent effects [ 65 ].

Further examination of additional data extracted from studies which found that CR/SC had a negative effect on mental health and wellbeing revealed no commonalities that might explain these effects (Please see Supplementary file 5 for additional information)

One potential explanation may come from a retained paper which found that high levels of SC result in an increase in stress level immediately post disaster [ 41 ]. This was suggested to be due to individuals having greater burdens due to wishing to help and support their wide networks as well as themselves. However, as time passes the levels of SC allow the community to come together and recover at a faster rate [ 41 ]. As this was the only retained paper which produced this finding, it would be beneficial for future research to examine boundary conditions for the positive effects of CR/SC; that is, to explore circumstances under which CR/SC may be more likely to put communities at greater risk. This further research should also include additional longitudinal research to validate the conclusions drawn by [ 41 ] as resilience is a dynamic process of adaption.

Thirdly, disasters and emergencies were generally found to have a negative effect on levels of SC. One retained paper found a mixed effect of SC in relation to an earthquake, however this paper separated participants by area in which they lived (i.e., mountainous vs. flat), which explains this inconsistent effect [ 49 ]. Dangerous areas (i.e. mountainous) saw a decrease in community SC in comparison to safer areas following the earthquake (an effect the authors attributed to the need to seek prolonged refuge), whereas participants from the safer areas (which are home to younger residents with a higher population density) saw an increase in SC [ 49 ]. This is consistent with the idea that being able to participate socially is a key element of SC [ 12 ]. Overall, however, this was the only retained paper which produced a variable finding in relation to the effect of disaster on levels of CR/SC.

Finally, research identified through our synthesis promotes the idea of bolstering SC (particularly cognitive SC) and cohesion in communities likely to be affected by disaster to improve levels of CR. This finding provides further understanding of the relationship between CR and SC; an association that has been reported in various articles seeking to provide conceptual frameworks (e.g., [ 66 , 67 ]) as well as indicator/measurement frameworks [ 27 ]. Therefore, this could be done by creating and promoting initiatives which foster SC and create bonds within the community. Papers included in the current review suggest that recreational-based activity groups and volunteering are potential methods for fostering SC and creating community bonds [ 44 , 51 , 59 ]. Similarly, further research demonstrates that feelings of social cohesion are enhanced by general social activities (e.g. fairs and parades [ 18 ]). Also, actively encouraging activities, programs and interventions which enhance connectedness and SC have been reported to be desirable to increase CR [ 68 ]. This suggestion is supported by a recent scoping review of literature [ 67 ] examined community champion approaches for the COVID-19 pandemic response and recovery and established that creating and promoting SC focused initiatives within the community during pandemic response is highly beneficial [ 67 ]. In terms of preparedness, research states that it may be beneficial for levels of SC and CR in communities at risk to be assessed, to allow targeted interventions where the population may be at most risk following an incident [ 42 , 44 ]. Additionally, from a more critical perspective, we acknowledge that ‘resilience’ can often be perceived as a focus on individual capacity to adapt to adversity rather than changing or mitigating the causes of adverse conditions [ 69 , 70 ]. Therefore, CR requires an integrated system approach across individual, community and structural levels [ 17 ]. Also, it is important that community members are engaged in defining and agreeing how community resilience is measured [ 27 ] rather than it being imposed by system leads or decision-makers.

In the aftermath of the pandemic, is it expected that there will be long-term repercussions both from an economic [ 8 ] and a mental health perspective [ 71 ]. Furthermore, the findings from this review suggest that although those in areas with high levels of SC may be negatively affected in the acute stage, as time passes, they have potential to rebound at a faster rate than those with lower levels of SC. Ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness of current initiatives as the COVID-19 pandemic progresses into a recovery phase will be invaluable for supplementing the evidence base identified through this review.

• Recommendations

As a result of this review, a number of recommendations are suggested for policy and practice during public health emergencies and recovery.

Future research should seek to establish a standardised and validated approach to measuring and defining CR and SC within communities. There are ongoing efforts in this area, for example [ 72 ]. Additionally, community members should be involved in the process of defining how CR is measured.

There should be an enhanced effort to improve preparedness for public health emergencies and disasters in local communities by gauging current levels of SC and CR within communities using a standardised measure. This approach could support specific targeting of populations with low levels of CR/SC in case of a disaster or public health emergency, whilst also allowing for consideration of support for those with high levels of CR (as these populations can be heavily impacted initially following a disaster). By distinguishing levels of SC and CR, tailored community-centred approaches could be implemented, such as those listed in a guide released by PHE in 2015 [ 73 ].

CR and SC (specifically cognitive SC) should be bolstered if communities are at risk of experiencing a disaster or public health emergency. This can be achieved by using interventions which aim to increase a sense of community and create new social ties (e.g., recreational group activities, volunteering). Additionally, when aiming to achieve this, it is important to be mindful of the risk of increased levels of CR/SC to backfire, as well as seeking to advocate an integrated system approach across individual, community and structural levels.

It is necessary to be aware that although communities with high existing levels of resilience / SC may experience short-term negative consequences following a disaster, over time these communities might be able to recover at a faster rate. It is therefore important to ensure that suitable short-term support is provided to these communities in the immediate aftermath of a public health emergency or disaster.

Robust evaluation of the community resilience initiatives deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic response is essential to inform the evidence base concerning the effectiveness of CR/ SC. These evaluations should continue through the response phase and into the recovery phase to help develop our understanding of the long-term consequences of such interventions.

Limitations

Despite this review being the first in this specific topic area, there are limitations that must be considered. Firstly, it is necessary to note that communities are generally highly diverse and the term ‘community’ in academic literature is a subject of much debate (see: [ 74 ]), therefore this must be considered when comparing and collating research involving communities. Additionally, the measures of CR and SC differ substantially across research, including across the 26 retained papers used in the current review. This makes the act of comparing and collating research findings very difficult. This issue is highlighted as a key outcome from this review, and suggestions for how to overcome this in future research are provided. Additionally, we acknowledge that there will be a relationship between CR & SC even where studies measure only at individual or community level. A review [ 75 ] on articulating a hypothesis of the link to health inequalities suggests that wider structural determinants of health need to be accounted for. Secondly, despite the final search strategy encompassing terms for both CR and SC, only one retained paper directly measured CR; thus, making the research findings more relevant to SC. Future research could seek to focus on CR to allow for a comparison of findings. Thirdly, the review was conducted early in the COVID-19 pandemic and so does not include more recent publications focusing on resilience specifically in the context of COVID-19. Regardless of this fact, the synthesis of, and recommendations drawn from, the reviewed studies are agnostic to time and specific incident and contain critical elements necessary to address as the pandemic moves from response to recovery. Further research should review the effectiveness of specific interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic for collation in a subsequent update to this current paper. Fourthly, the current review synthesises findings from countries with individualistic and collectivistic cultures, which may account for some variation in the findings. Lastly, despite choosing a scoping review method for ease of synthesising a wide literature base for use by public health emergency researchers in a relatively tight timeframe, there are disadvantages of a scoping review approach to consider: (1) quality appraisal of retained studies was not carried out; (2) due to the broad nature of a scoping review, more refined and targeted reviews of literature (e.g., systematic reviews) may be able to provide more detailed research outcomes. Therefore, future research should seek to use alternative methods (e.g., empirical research, systematic reviews of literature) to add to the evidence base on CR and SC impact and use in public health practice.

This review sought to establish: (1) How CR and SC are quantified in research?; (2) The impact of community resilience on mental wellbeing?; (3) The impact of infectious disease outbreaks, disasters and emergencies on community resilience and social capital?; and, (4) What types of interventions enhance community resilience and social capital?. The chosen search strategy yielded 26 relevant papers from which we were able extract information relating to the aims of this review.

Results from the review revealed that CR and SC are not measured consistently across research. The impact of CR / SC on mental health and wellbeing during emergencies and disasters is mixed (with some potential for backlash), however the literature does identify cognitive SC as particularly protective. Although only a small number of papers compared CR or SC before and after a disaster, the findings were relatively consistent: SC or CR is negatively impacted by a disaster. Methods suggested to bolster SC in communities were centred around social activities, such as recreational group activities and volunteering. Recommendations for both research and practice (with a particular focus on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic) are also presented.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

Social Capital

Zortea TC, Brenna CT, Joyce M, McClelland H, Tippett M, Tran MM, et al. The impact of infectious disease-related public health emergencies on suicide, suicidal behavior, and suicidal thoughts. Crisis. 2020;42(6):474–87.

Article   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Davis JR, Wilson S, Brock-Martin A, Glover S, Svendsen ER. The impact of disasters on populations with health and health care disparities. Disaster Med Pub Health Prep. 2010;4(1):30.

Article   Google Scholar  

Francescutti LH, Sauve M, Prasad AS. Natural disasters and healthcare: lessons to be learned. Healthc Manage Forum. 2017;30(1):53–5.

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Jones L, Palumbo D, Brown D. Coronavirus: How the pandemic has changed the world economy. BBC News; 2021. Accessible at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51706225 .

Below R, Wallemacq P. Annual disaster statistical review 2017. Brussels: CRED, Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters; 2018.

Google Scholar  

Qiu W, Chu C, Mao A, Wu J. The impacts on health, society, and economy of SARS and H7N9 outbreaks in China: a case comparison study. J Environ Public Health. 2018;2018:2710185.

Worldometer. COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. 2021.

Harari D, Keep M. Coronavirus: economic impact house of commons library. Briefing Paper (Number 8866); 2021. Accessible at: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8866/ .

Nabavi N. Covid-19: pandemic will cast a long shadow on mental health, warns England’s CMO. BMJ. 2021;373:n1655.

Ziglio E. Strengthening resilience: a priority shared by health 2020 and the sustainable development goals. No. WHO/EURO: 2017-6509-46275-66939. World Health Organization; Regional Office for Europe; 2017.

Asadzadeh A, Kotter T, Salehi P, Birkmann J. Operationalizing a concept: the systematic review of composite indicator building for measuring community disaster resilience. Int J Disaster Risk Reduct. 2017;25:147.

Sherrieb K, Norris F, Galea S. Measuring capacities for community resilience. Soc Indicators Res. 2010;99(2):227.

Poortinga W. Community resilience and health: the role of bonding, bridging, and linking aspects of social capital. Health Place. 2011;18(2):286–95.

Ferlander S. The importance of different forms of social capital for health. Acta Sociol. 2007;50(2):115–28.

Nakagawa Y, Shaw R. Social capital: a missing link to disaster recovery. Int J Mass Emerge Disasters. 2004;22(1):5–34.

Grootaert C, Narayan D, Jones VN, Woolcock M. Measuring social capital: an integrated questionnaire. Washington, DC: World Bank Working Paper, No. 18; 2004.

Adler PS, Kwon SW. Social capital: prospects for a new concept. Acad Manage Rev. 2002;27(1):17–40.

Aldrich DP, Meyer MA. Social capital and community resilience. Am Behav Sci. 2015;59(2):254–69.

Rodriguez-Llanes JM, Vos F, Guha-Sapir D. Measuring psychological resilience to disasters: are evidence-based indicators an achievable goal? Environ Health. 2013;12(1):115.

De Silva MJ, McKenzie K, Harpham T, Huttly SR. Social capital and mental Illness: a systematic review. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2005;59(8):619–27.

Bonanno GA, Galea S, Bucciarelli A, Vlahov D. Psychological resilience after disaster: New York City in the aftermath of the september 11th terrorist attack. Psychol Sci. 2006;17(3):181.

World Health Organization. Health 2020: a European policy framework and strategy for the 21st century. World Health Organization. Regional Office for Europe; 2013.

Public Health England. Community-Centred Public Health: Taking a Whole System Approach. 2020.

SPI-B. The role of Community Champion networks to increase engagement in the context of COVID19: Evidence and best practice. 2021.

Public Health England. Community champions: A rapid scoping review of community champion approaches for the pandemic response and recovery. 2021.

Arksey H, O’Malley L. Scoping studies: towards a methodological framework. Int J Soc Res Methodol. 2005;8(1):19–32.

World Health Organisation. WHO health evidence network synthesis report: what quantitative and qualitative methods have been developed to measure health-related community resilience at a national and local level. 2018.

Hall C, Williams N, Gauntlett L, Carter H, Amlôt R, Peterson L et al. Findings from systematic review of public perceptions and responses. PROACTIVE EU. Deliverable 1.1. 2019. Accessible at: https://proactive-h2020.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/PROACTIVE_20210312_D1.1_V5_PHE_Systematic-Review-of-Public-Perceptions-and-Responses_revised.pdf .

Weston D, Ip A, Amlôt R. Examining the application of behaviour change theories in the context of Infectious disease outbreaks and emergency response: a review of reviews. BMC Public Health. 2020;20(1):1483.

Article   PubMed   PubMed Central   CAS   Google Scholar  

Patel SS, Rogers MB, Amlôt R, Rubin GJ. What do we mean by ‘community resilience’? A systematic literature review of how it is defined in the literature. PLoS Curr. 2017;9:ecurrents.dis.db775aff25efc5ac4f0660ad9c9f7db2.

PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Brooks SK, Weston D, Wessely S, Greenberg N. Effectiveness and acceptability of brief psychoeducational interventions after potentially traumatic events: a systematic review. Eur J Psychotraumatology. 2021;12(1):1923110.

Pawson R, Greenhalgh T, Harvey G, Walshe K. Realist review-a new method of systematic review designed for complex policy interventions. J Health Serv Res Policy. 2005;10(1_suppl):21–34.

Gale NK, Heath G, Cameron E, Rashid S, Redwood S. Using the framework method for the analysis of qualitative data in multi-disciplinary health research. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2013;13:1–8.

Bearman M, Dawson P. Qualitative synthesis and systematic review in health professions education. Med Educ. 2013;47(3):252–60.

Heid AR, Pruchno R, Cartwright FP, Wilson-Genderson M. Exposure to Hurricane Sandy, neighborhood collective efficacy, and post-traumatic stress symptoms in older adults. Aging Ment Health. 2017;21(7):742–50.

Hikichi H, Aida J, Tsuboya T, Kondo K, Kawachi I. Can community social cohesion prevent posttraumatic stress disorder in the aftermath of a disaster? A natural experiment from the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and tsunami. Am J Epidemiol. 2016;183(10):902–10.

Lee J, Blackmon BJ, Cochran DM, Kar B, Rehner TA, Gunnell MS. Community resilience, psychological resilience, and depressive symptoms: an examination of the Mississippi Gulf Coast 10 years after Hurricane Katrina and 5 years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Disaster med. 2018;12(2):241–8.

Lee J, Blackmon BJ, Lee JY, Cochran DM Jr, Rehner TA. An exploration of posttraumatic growth, loneliness, depression, resilience, and social capital among survivors of Hurricane Katrina and the deepwater Horizon oil spill. J Community Psychol. 2019;47(2):356–70.

Lowe SR, Sampson L, Gruebner O, Galea S. Psychological resilience after Hurricane Sandy: the influence of individual- and community-level factors on mental health after a large-scale natural disaster. PLoS One. 2015;10(5):e0125761.

Rung AL, Gaston S, Robinson WT, Trapido EJ, Peters ES. Untangling the disaster-depression knot: the role of social ties after deepwater Horizon. Soc Sci Med. 2017;177:19–26.

Weil F, Lee MR, Shihadeh ES. The burdens of social capital: how socially-involved people dealt with stress after Hurricane Katrina. Soc Sci Res. 2012;41(1):110–9.

Hikichi H, Aida J, Matsuyama Y, Tsuboya T, Kondo K, Kawachi I. Community-level social capital and cognitive decline after a Natural Disaster: a natural experiment from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. Soc Sci Med. 2018;257:111981.

Lau AL, Chi I, Cummins RA, Lee TM, Chou KL, Chung LW. The SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) pandemic in Hong Kong: effects on the subjective wellbeing of elderly and younger people. Aging Ment Health. 2008;12(6):746–60.

Sun Y, Yan T. The use of public health indicators to assess individual happiness in post-disaster recovery. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(21):4101.

Wong H, Huang Y, Fu Y, Zhang Y. Impacts of structural social capital and cognitive social capital on the psychological status of survivors of the yaan Earthquake. Appl Res Qual Life. 2018;14:1411–33.

Xiao H, Zhang Y, Kong D, Li S, Yang N. Social capital and sleep quality in individuals who self-isolated for 14 days during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in January 2020 in China. Med Sci Monit. 2020;26:e923921.

PubMed   PubMed Central   CAS   Google Scholar  

Matsuyama Y, Aida J, Hase A, Sato Y, Koyama S, Tsuboya T, et al. Do community- and individual-level social relationships contribute to the mental health of disaster survivors? A multilevel prospective study after the great East Japan earthquake. Soc Sci Med. 2016;151:187–95.

Ozaki A, Horiuchi S, Kobayashi Y, Inoue M, Aida J, Leppold C, Yamaoka K. Beneficial roles of social support for mental health vary in the Japanese population depending on disaster experience: a nationwide cross-sectional study. Tohoku J Exp Med. 2018;246(4):213–23.

Sato K, Amemiya A, Haseda M, Takagi D, Kanamori M, Kondo K, et al. Post-disaster changes in Social Capital and Mental Health: a natural experiment from the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake. Am J Epidemiol. 2020;189(9):910–21.

Tsuchiya N, Nakaya N, Nakamura T, Narita A, Kogure M, Aida J, Tsuji I, Hozawa A, Tomita H. Impact of social capital on psychological distress and interaction with house destruction and displacement after the great East Japan earthquake of 2011. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2017;71(1):52–60.

Brockie L, Miller E. Understanding older adults’ resilience during the Brisbane floods: social capital, life experience, and optimism. Disaster Med Pub Health Prep. 2017;11(1):72–9.

Caldwell K, Boyd CP. Coping and resilience in farming families affected by drought. Rural Remote Health. 2009;9(2):1088.

PubMed   Google Scholar  

Huang Y, Tan NT, Liu J. Support, sense of community, and psychological status in the survivors of the Yaan earthquake. J Community Psychol. 2016;44(7):919–36.

Wind T, Fordham M, Komproe H. Social capital and post-disaster mental health. Glob Health Action. 2011;4(1):6351.

Wind T, Komproe IH. The mechanisms that associate community social capital with post-disaster mental health: a multilevel model. Soc Sci Med. 2012;75(9):1715–20.

Hogg D, Kingham S, Wilson TM, Ardagh M. The effects of spatially varying earthquake impacts on mood and anxiety symptom treatments among long-term Christchurch residents following the 2010/11 Canterbury Earthquakes, New Zealand. Health Place. 2016;41:78–88.

Flores EC, Carnero AM, Bayer AM. Social capital and chronic post-traumatic stress disorder among survivors of the 2007 earthquake in Pisco, Peru. Soc Sci Med. 2014;101:9–17.

Rafiey H, Alipour F, LeBeau R, Salimi Y, Ahmadi S. Exploring the buffering role of social capital in the development of posttraumatic stress symptoms among Iranian earthquake survivors. Psychol Trauma. 2019;14(6):1040–6.

Babcicky P, Seebauer S. The two faces of social capital in private Flood mitigation: opposing effects on risk perception, self-efficacy and coping capacity. J Risk Res. 2017;20(8):1017–37.

Bakic H, Ajdukovic D. Stability and change post-disaster: dynamic relations between individual, interpersonal and community resources and psychosocial functioning. Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2019;10(1):1614821.

Rogers RW. A protection motivation theory of fear appeals and attitude change. J Psychol. 1975;91(1):93–114.

Lindberg K, Swearingen T. A reflective thrive-oriented community resilience scale. Am J Community Psychol. 2020;65(3–4):467–78.

Leykin D, Lahad M, Cohen O, Goldberg A, Aharonson-Daniel L. Conjoint community resiliency assessment measure-28/10 items (CCRAM28 and CCRAM10): a self-report tool for assessing community resilience. Am J Community Psychol. 2013;52:313–23.

Sherrieb K, Norris FH, Galea S. Measuring capacities for community resilience. Soc Indic Res. 2010;99:227–47.

Ehsan AM, De Silva MJ. Social capital and common mental disorder: a systematic review. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2015;69(10):1021–8.

Pfefferbaum B, Van Horn RL, Pfefferbaum RL. A conceptual framework to enhance community resilience using social capital. Clin Soc Work J. 2017;45(2):102–10.

Carmen E, Fazey I, Ross H, Bedinger M, Smith FM, Prager K, et al. Building community resilience in a context of climate change: the role of social capital. Ambio. 2022;51(6):1371–87.

Humbert C, Joseph J. Introduction: the politics of resilience: problematising current approaches. Resilience. 2019;7(3):215–23.

Tanner T, Bahadur A, Moench M. Challenges for resilience policy and practice. Working paper: 519. 2017.

Vadivel R, Shoib S, El Halabi S, El Hayek S, Essam L, Bytyçi DG. Mental health in the post-COVID-19 era: challenges and the way forward. Gen Psychiatry. 2021;34(1):e100424.

Article   CAS   Google Scholar  

Pryor M. Social Capital Harmonised Standard. London: Government Statistical Service. 2021. Accessible at: https://gss.civilservice.gov.uk/policystore/social-capital/ .

Public Health England NE. A guide to community-centred approaches for health and wellbeing. 2015.

Hawe P. Capturing the meaning of ‘community’ in community intervention evaluation: some contributions from community psychology. Health Promot Int. 1994;9(3):199–210.

Uphoff EP, Pickett KE, Cabieses B, Small N, Wright J. A systematic review of the relationships between social capital and socioeconomic inequalities in health: a contribution to understanding the psychosocial pathway of health inequalities. Int J Equity Health. 2013;12:1–12.

Download references

Acknowledgements

Not applicable.

This study was supported by the National Institute for Health Research Research Unit (NIHR HPRU) in Emergency Preparedness and Response, a partnership between Public Health England, King’s College London and the University of East Anglia. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR, Public Health England, the UK Health Security Agency or the Department of Health and Social Care [Grant number: NIHR20008900]. Part of this work has been funded by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, Department of Health and Social Care, as part of a Collaborative Agreement with Leeds Beckett University.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Behavioural Science and Insights Unit, Evaluation & Translation Directorate, Science Group, UK Health Security Agency, Porton Down, Salisbury, SP4 0JG, UK

C. E. Hall, H. Wehling, R. Amlôt & D. Weston

Health Protection Research Unit, Institute of Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience, King’s College London, 10 Cutcombe Road, London, SE5 9RJ, UK

C. E. Hall, S. K. Brooks & N. Greenberg

School of Health and Community Studies, Leeds Beckett University, Portland Building, PD519, Portland Place, Leeds, LS1 3HE, UK

J. Stansfield & J. South

King’s Centre for Military Health Research, Institute of Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience, King’s College London, 10 Cutcombe Road, London, SE5 9RJ, UK

N. Greenberg

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

DW, JSo and JSt had the main idea for the review. The search strategy and eligibility criteria were devised by CH, DW, JSo and JSt. CH conducted the database searches. CH and DW conducted duplicate, title and abstract and full text screening in accordance with inclusion criteria. CH conducted data extraction, CH and DW carried out the analysis and drafted the initial manuscript. All authors provided critical revision of intellectual content. All authors approved the final manuscript.

Authors’ information

Corresponding author.

Correspondence to D. Weston .

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate, consent for publication, competing interests.

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Additional file 1., additional file 2., additional file 3., additional file 4., additional file 5., rights and permissions.

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ ) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Hall, C.E., Wehling, H., Stansfield, J. et al. Examining the role of community resilience and social capital on mental health in public health emergency and disaster response: a scoping review. BMC Public Health 23 , 2482 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-17242-x

Download citation

Received : 04 April 2022

Accepted : 16 November 2023

Published : 12 December 2023

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-17242-x

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Mental health
• Community cohesion
• Public health emergency

BMC Public Health

ISSN: 1471-2458

• Submission enquiries: [email protected]
• General enquiries: [email protected]