Ask Us! National University Library

What is a literature review?

Here's an explanation from Designing and Managing Your Research Project: Core Skills for Social and Health Research:
 

A literature review is a systematic study of existing research and other published information on a specific topic. Literature reviews can be used to:

• identify key information relevant to a topic
• assess the status or quality of existing research
• critically examine support for alternative theories or arguments
• evaluate research methods used in previous studies. [...]

Doing a literature review usually involves four main steps:

• developing and refining the topic and scope of the literature to be reviewed
• searching for and retrieving copies of relevant research material
• reading through the studies located and assessing them
• writing a report summarising the key information found.

Often these steps will overlap. In most reviews, several rounds of searching, reading and writing may be needed before a review is complete.

How do I write a literature review?

Your instructor may have provided detailed instructions or sample papers in your course folders-- start there!

We suggest using SAGE Research Method's Project Planner, which provides step-by-step instructions for completing a literature review. 

You can find more information on writing literature reviews on our Research Process and Scholarship Guide.

The NU Writing Center can help you plan and edit your literature review.

Where can I see examples of literature reviews?

• Excelsior Online Writing Lab provides an annotated literature review sample here.
• The APA provides a sample/template literature review here.
• You can search ProQuest Dissertations and Theses for projects in your field (and read through their literature reviews) here.

How do I find articles and other sources for my literature review?

You can use the NU Library's resources to find scholarly books, peer-reviewed articles, and data sets to use in your review. If you're not sure how to start, here's how you can find help:

• Watch a tutorial to learn how to search our databases. The Roadmap to Research tutorial series is a great place to start!
• Schedule a research consultation with a librarian. A librarian can meet with you online to provide in-depth research assistance. This includes identifying the best resources, developing search strategies, and more. Consultations typically take 30-60 minutes. Please schedule at least 24 hours in advance.
• If you have a quick question, you can contact us using our 24-hour chat service, or by submitting an email to our team.