How to Do a Literature Review: Home

Literature Review Handout (The Writing Center at UNC Chapel Hill)

How to Do a Literature Review (Kent State University Libraries)

How to Write a Literature Review (Concordia University Libraries)

Writing the Literature Review (ESC Online Writing Center, Suny Empire State College

Definition of a literature review:
A literature review is described as the process of reading, evaluating, and summarizing scholarly materials about a specific topic in which the results may be compiled in a report or used as part of a research article, thesis, or grant proposal.  (Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper, 3rd ed. by Arlene Fink)

Purpose of a literature review:

• To identify what is already known about an area of study
  It may also:
  Identify questions not answered in the research
  Make a case why further study of research questions is important to a field
   

The five steps involved in doing a literature review:

1. Identify and define the topic
2. Find information
3. Evaluate the  information content
4. Synthesize the information's content
5. Summarize your findings
    

The five components of a literature review:
      After completing the above 5 steps, it's time to write the review on your findings.
      Your literature review should include the following five components:

1. Abstract
2. Introduction
3. Body
4. Conclusion
5. Bibliography