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Literature Reviews

A literature review is a summary of previous research on a topic. It is a bibliographic essay that can be published as an article in a scholarly journal, a part of a larger report of a research project or an early chapter of a scholarly monograph. A literature review allows the author to review, summarize, and place into context the research and scholarly literature relevant to the topic. It forms the foundation for the author’s subsequent research, and allows the reader to be brought up to date on the current research in that field and to understand the context and significance of the new investigation.

In writing a literature review the author should try to answer relevant questions, such as:

  1. Who are the key researchers on this topic?
  2. Where is the scholarly conversation about this topic taking place?
  3. Any particular journals of note?
  4. What has been the focus of the research efforts so far and what is the current status?
  5. How have certain studies built on prior studies? Where are the connections?
  6. Where are the gaps in knowledge of the subject?
  7. Which areas have been identified as needing further research?
  8. Have there been any controversies or debate about the research? Is there consensus?
  9. Which methodologies have researchers used and which appear to be the most productive?
  10. What sources of information or data were identified that might be useful to you?
  11. How will your topic contribute to this body of knowledge?
  12. How does it fit into the larger context of what has already been done?
  13. How has the research that has already been done help frame the current investigation?

Depending on the intended audience, a literature review can be a short introductory section of a research article, report or policy paper that focuses on recent research, or, in the case of dissertations, theses, and review articles, it can be an extensive review of all relevant research.

The format is usually a bibliographic essay synthesizing the research on the topic and outlining the significance and value of the author’s approach to the research question. Sources are cited within the body of the essay, with full bibliographic citations at the end.

Examples:

Jackson, J. E., & Warren, K. B. (2005). Indigenous movements in Latin America, 1992-2004:

     Controversies, ironies, new directions. Annual Review of Anthropology, 34, 549-573. Retrieved

     June 20, 2007, from Annual Reviews database: http://www.annualreviews.org/   [Read the article*]


Williams, S., & Williams, L. (2005, May). Space invaders: The negotiation of teenage boundaries

     through the mobile phone. Sociological Review, 53(2), 314-331. Retrieved June 20, 2007, from

     SocIndex Full Text database (17131600): http://web.ebscohost.com [Read the article*]

For additional information, see:

Galvan, J. L. (2006). Writing literature reviews: A guide for students of the social and behaviorial

     sciences. (3rd. ed.). Glendale, CA: Pyrczak Publishing. 


Lyons, K. (2005, November 15).  How to ... write a literature review.  Retrieved June 20, 2007, from

     University Library, University of California, Santa Cruz Web site:

     http://library.ucsc.edu/ref/howto/literaturereview.html

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