how to structure a literature review introduction

PSYC 210: Foundations of Psychology

• Tips for Searching for Articles

What is a literature review?

Conducting a literature review, organizing a literature review, writing a literature review, helpful book.

• Avoiding Plagiarism
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A  literature review  is a compilation of the works published in a particular field of study or line of research, usually over a specific period of time, in the form of an in-depth, critical bibliographic essay or annotated list in which attention is drawn to the most significant works.

• Summarizes and analyzes previous research relevant to a topic
• Includes scholarly books and articles published in academic journals
• Can be an specific scholarly paper or a section in a research paper

The objective of a Literature Review is to find previous published scholarly works relevant to an specific topic

• Help gather ideas or information
• Keep up to date in current trends and findings
• Help develop new questions

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
• Helps focus your own research questions or problems
• Discovers relationships between research studies/ideas
• Suggests unexplored ideas or populations
• Identifies major themes, concepts, and researchers on a topic
• Tests assumptions; may help counter preconceived ideas and remove unconscious bias
• Identifies critical gaps, points of disagreement, or potentially flawed methodology or theoretical approaches

Source: "What is a Literature Review?", Old Dominion University,  https://guides.lib.odu.edu/c.php?g=966167&p=6980532

1. Choose a topic. Define your research question. 

Your literature review should be guided by a central research question. It 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.
• Write down terms that are related to your question for they will be useful for searches later. 

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.
• Consider these things when planning your time for research. 

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

• By Research Guide 

4. Conduct your searches and find the literature. 

• Review the abstracts carefully - this will save you time!
• Many databases will have a search history tab for you to return to for later.
• Use bibliographies and references of research studies to locate others.
• Use citation management software such as Zotero to keep track of your research citations. 

5. Review the literature. 

Some questions to help you analyze the research: 

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

Source: "Literature Review", University of West Florida,  https://libguides.uwf.edu/c.php?g=215113&p=5139469

A literature review is not a summary of the sources but a synthesis of the sources. It is made up of the topics the sources are discussing. Each section of the review is focused on a topic, and the relevant sources are discussed within the context of that topic. 

1. Select the most relevant material from the sources

• Could be material that answers the question directly
• Extract as a direct quote or paraphrase 

2. Arrange that material so you can focus on it apart from the source text itself

• You are now working with fewer words/passages
• Material is all in one place

3. Group similar points, themes, or topics together and label them 

• The labels describe the points, themes, or topics that are the backbone of your paper’s structure

4. Order those points, themes, or topics as you will discuss them in the paper, and turn the labels into actual assertions

• A sentence that makes a point that is directly related to your research question or thesis 

This is now the outline for your literature review. 

Source: "Organizing a Review of the Literature – The Basics", George Mason University Writing Center,  https://writingcenter.gmu.edu/writing-resources/research-based-writing/organizing-literature-reviews-the-basics

• Literature Review Matrix Here is a template on how people tend to organize their thoughts. The matrix template is a good way to write out the key parts of each article and take notes. Downloads as an XLSX file.

The most common way that literature reviews are organized is by theme or author. Find a general pattern of structure for the review. When organizing the review, consider the following: 

• the methodology 
• the quality of the findings or conclusions
• major strengths and weaknesses
• any other important information

Writing Tips: 

• Be selective - Select only the most important points in each source to highlight in the review. It should directly relate to the review's focus.
• Use quotes sparingly.
• Keep your own voice - Your voice (the writer's) should remain front and center. .   
• Aim for one key figure/table per section to illustrate complex content, summarize a large body of relevant data, or describe the order of a process
• Legend below image/figure and above table and always refer to them in text 

Source: "Composing your Literature Review", Florida A&M University,  https://library.famu.edu/c.php?g=577356&p=3982811

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How to Write a Research Proposal: A Complete Guide

A research proposal is a piece of writing that basically serves as your plan for a research project. It spells out what you’ll study, how you’ll go about it, and why it matters. Think of it as your pitch to show professors or funding bodies that your project is worth their attention and support.

This task is standard for grad students, especially those in research-intensive fields. It’s your chance to showcase your ability to think critically, design a solid study, and articulate why your research could make a difference.

In this article, we'll talk about how to craft a good research proposal, covering everything from the standard format of a research proposal to the specific details you'll need to include. 

Feeling overwhelmed by the idea of putting one together? That’s where DoMyEssay comes in handy.  Whether you need a little push or more extensive guidance, we’ll help you nail your proposal and move your project forward. 

Research Proposal Format

When you're putting together a research proposal, think of it as setting up a roadmap for your project. You want it to be clear and easy to follow so everyone knows what you’re planning to do, how you’re going to do it, and why it matters. 

Whether you’re following APA or Chicago style, the key is to keep your formatting clean so that it’s easy for committees or funding bodies to read through and understand.

Here’s a breakdown of each section, with a special focus on formatting a research proposal:

• Title Page : This is your first impression. Make sure it includes the title of your research proposal, your name, and your affiliations. Your title should grab attention and make it clear what your research is about.
• Abstract : This is your elevator pitch. In about 250 words, you need to sum up what you plan to research, how you plan to do it, and what impact you think it will have.
• Introduction : Here’s where you draw them in. Lay out your research question or problem, highlight its importance, and clearly outline what you aim to achieve with your study.
• Literature Review : Show that you’ve done your homework. In this section, demonstrate that you know the field and how your research fits into it. It’s your chance to connect your ideas to what’s already out there and show off a bit about what makes your approach unique or necessary.
• Methodology : Dive into the details of how you’ll get your research done. Explain your methods for gathering data and how you’ll analyze it. This is where you reassure them that your project is doable and you’ve thought through all the steps.
• Timeline : Keep it realistic. Provide an estimated schedule for your research, breaking down the process into manageable stages and assigning a timeline for each phase.
• Budget : If you need funding, lay out a budget that spells out what you need money for. Be clear and precise so there’s no guesswork involved about what you’re asking for.
• References/Bibliography : List out all the works you cited in your proposal. Stick to one citation style to keep things consistent.

Get Your Research Proposal Right 

Let our experts guide you through crafting a research proposal that stands out. From idea to submission, we've got you covered.

Research Proposal Structure

When you're writing a research proposal, you're laying out your questions and explaining the path you're planning to take to tackle them. Here’s how to structure your proposal so that it speaks to why your research matters and should get some attention.

Introduction

An introduction is where you grab attention and make everyone see why what you're doing matters. Here, you’ll pose the big question of your research proposal topic and show off the potential of your research right from the get-go:

• Grab attention : Start with something that makes the reader sit up — maybe a surprising fact, a challenging question, or a brief anecdote that highlights the urgency of your topic.
• Set the scene : What’s the broader context of your work? Give a snapshot of the landscape and zoom in on where your research fits. This helps readers see the big picture and the niche you’re filling.
• Lay out your plan : Briefly mention the main goals or questions of your research. If you have a hypothesis, state it clearly here.
• Make it matter : Show why your research needs to happen now. What gaps are you filling? What changes could your findings inspire? Make sure the reader understands the impact and significance of your work.

Literature Review

In your research proposal, the literature review does more than just recap what’s already out there. It's where you get to show off how your research connects with the big ideas and ongoing debates in your field. Here’s how to make this section work hard for you:

• Connect the dots : First up, highlight how your study fits into the current landscape by listing what others have done and positioning your research within it. You want to make it clear that you’re not just following the crowd but actually engaging with and contributing to real conversations. 
• Critique what’s out there : Explore what others have done well and where they’ve fallen short. Pointing out the gaps or where others might have missed the mark helps set up why your research is needed and how it offers something different.
• Build on what’s known : Explain how your research will use, challenge, or advance the existing knowledge. Are you closing a key gap? Applying old ideas in new ways? Make it clear how your work is going to add something new or push existing boundaries.

Aims and Objectives

Let's talk about the aims and objectives of your research. This is where you set out what you want to achieve and how you plan to get there:

• Main Goal : Start by stating your primary aim. What big question are you trying to answer, or what hypothesis are you testing? This is your research's main driving force.
• Detailed Objectives : Now, break down your main goal into smaller, actionable objectives. These should be clear and specific steps that will help you reach your overall aim. Think of these as the building blocks of your research, each one designed to contribute to the larger goal.

Research Design and Method

This part of your proposal outlines the practical steps you’ll take to answer your research questions:

• Type of Research : First off, what kind of research are you conducting? Will it be qualitative or quantitative research , or perhaps a mix of both? Clearly define whether you'll be gathering numerical data for statistical analysis or exploring patterns and theories in depth.
• Research Approach : Specify whether your approach is experimental, correlational, or descriptive. Each of these frameworks has its own way of uncovering insights, so choose the one that best fits the questions you’re trying to answer.
• Data Collection : Discuss the specifics of your data. If you’re in the social sciences, for instance, describe who or what you’ll be studying. How will you select your subjects or sources? What criteria will you use, and how will you gather your data? Be clear about the methods you’ll use, whether that’s surveys, interviews, observations, or experiments.
• Tools and Techniques : Detail the tools and techniques you'll use to collect your data. Explain why these tools are the best fit for your research goals.
• Timeline and Budget : Sketch out a timeline for your research activities. How long will each phase take? This helps everyone see that your project is organized and feasible.
• Potential Challenges : What might go wrong? Think about potential obstacles and how you plan to handle them. This shows you’re thinking ahead and preparing for all possibilities.

Ethical Considerations

When you're conducting research, especially involving people, you've got to think about ethics. This is all about ensuring everyone's rights are respected throughout your study. Here’s a quick rundown:

• Participant Rights : You need to protect your participants' rights to privacy, autonomy, and confidentiality. This means they should know what the study involves and agree to participate willingly—this is what we call informed consent.
• Informed Consent : You've got to be clear with participants about what they’re signing up for, what you’ll do with the data, and how you'll keep it confidential. Plus, they need the freedom to drop out any time they want.
• Ethical Approval : Before you even start collecting data, your research plan needs a green light from an ethics committee. This group checks that you’re set up to keep your participants safe and treated fairly.

You need to carefully calculate the costs for every aspect of your project. Make sure to include a bit extra for those just-in-case scenarios like unexpected delays or price hikes. Every dollar should have a clear purpose, so justify each part of your budget to ensure it’s all above board. This approach keeps your project on track financially and avoids any surprises down the line.

The appendices in your research proposal are where you stash all the extra documents that back up your main points. Depending on your project, this could include things like consent forms, questionnaires, measurement tools, or even a simple explanation of your study for participants. 

Just like any academic paper, your research proposal needs to include citations for all the sources you’ve referenced. Whether you call it a references list or a bibliography, the idea is the same — crediting the work that has informed your research. Make sure every source you’ve cited is listed properly, keeping everything consistent and easy to follow.

Research Proposal Got You Stuck? 

Get expert help with your literature review, ensuring your research is grounded in solid scholarship. 

How to Write a Research Proposal?

Whether you're new to this process or looking to refine your skills, here are some practical tips to help you create a strong and compelling proposal. 

Research Proposal Template

Here’s a simple and handy research proposal example in PDF format to help you get started and keep your work organized:

Writing a research proposal can be straightforward if you break it down into manageable steps:

• Pick a strong research proposal topic that interests you and has enough material to explore.
• Craft an engaging introduction that clearly states your research question and objectives.
• Do a thorough literature review to see how your work fits into the existing research landscape.
• Plan out your research design and method , deciding whether you’ll use qualitative or quantitative research.
• Consider the ethical aspects to ensure your research is conducted responsibly.
• Set up a budget and gather any necessary appendices to support your proposal.
• Make sure all your sources are cited properly to add credibility to your work.

If you need some extra support, DoMyEssay is ready to help with any type of paper, including crafting a strong research proposal. 

What Is a Research Proposal?

How long should a research proposal be, how do you start writing a research proposal.

Examples of Research proposals | York St John University. (n.d.). York St John University. https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/research-degrees/apply/examples-of-research-proposals/

World History Edu

• Journey to the West

Journey to the West: Origin Story, Themes & Symbolism of the Famed Classical Chinese Novel

by World History Edu · August 28, 2024

Journey to the West (Chinese: 西游记, Xī Yóu Jì) is a revered classical novel by Ming dynasty scholar Wu Cheng’en. Image: An illustrated edition of the story

Journey to the West is one of the most revered and influential works in Chinese literature. The classical novel is attributed to Wu Cheng’en, a scholar and poet of the Ming dynasty.

First published in the 16th century, the novel has since become a staple of Chinese culture, inspiring countless adaptations in literature, theater, film, television, and even modern pop culture. Journey to the West is not just a fantastical adventure story; it is also a profound exploration of Chinese religious beliefs, philosophy, and cultural values.

10 Greatest Chinese Philosophers

Plot Summary

Journey to the West is based on the historical pilgrimage of the Buddhist monk Xuánzàng (known as Tripitaka or Tang Sanzang in the novel) who traveled to India in the 7th century to retrieve Buddhist scriptures and bring them back to China. However, the novel turns this journey into a highly imaginative and allegorical narrative, blending history, mythology, and folklore.

The story can be divided into several key sections:

Introduction: The Origins of the Monkey King

The Monkey King fighting a wind demon

The novel opens with the birth of its most famous character, the Monkey King (Sun Wukong) . Born from a stone egg atop the Flower-Fruit Mountain, Sun Wukong is endowed with extraordinary strength and intelligence. He quickly rises to become the Monkey King, ruling over his tribe of monkeys.

However, Sun Wukong’s ambition leads him to challenge the celestial order. He acquires supernatural powers, including the ability to transform into 72 different forms, and steals the peaches of immortality from Heaven. His rebelliousness eventually provokes the wrath of the Jade Emperor, the ruler of Heaven, who orders his capture. After a series of epic battles, Sun Wukong is finally subdued by the Buddha himself and imprisoned under a mountain for 500 years as punishment.

The Quest Begins: The Pilgrimage to India

Image: The four protagonists—Monkey King, Tang Sanzang (on the White Dragon Horse), Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing—depicted on Beijing’s Summer Palace Long Corridor.

Five centuries later, the Bodhisattva Guanyin (Avalokiteśvara in Sanskrit) is tasked by the Buddha to find a monk who will undertake a pilgrimage to retrieve the Buddhist scriptures from India. She selects Xuánzàng, a pious and devout monk, for this mission.

Knowing that the journey will be fraught with danger, Guanyin recruits three supernatural beings to accompany and protect Xuánzàng: Sun Wukong (the Monkey King), Zhu Bajie (Pigsy), and Sha Wujing (Sandy). Each of these characters represents different aspects of the human condition, and their interactions provide much of the novel’s humor and moral lessons.

• Sun Wukong (The Monkey King) : He symbolizes human ambition, cunning, and irreverence but is also a loyal and brave protector.
• Zhu Bajie (Pigsy) : A former heavenly marshal banished to Earth for his gluttony and lust, he represents human weaknesses such as laziness and greed.
• Sha Wujing (Sandy) : A river ogre with a more subdued personality, he embodies the quieter virtues of patience and perseverance.

The three disciples, along with a dragon prince who transforms into Xuánzàng’s white horse, set out on the journey.

Adventures and Trials

The bulk of Journey to the West consists of the adventures and trials the pilgrims face as they travel westward. These episodes are episodic in nature, with each chapter often focusing on a new challenge, usually in the form of demons, monsters, or spiritual tests. Some of the most famous episodes include:

• The White Bone Demon : A demoness who tries to eat Xuánzàng’s flesh to gain immortality. Sun Wukong sees through her disguises and kills her, but Xuánzàng, unable to see the demon’s true nature, rebukes Sun Wukong and temporarily dismisses him from the group.
• The Red Boy : The son of the Bull Demon King and Princess Iron Fan, who captures Xuánzàng and nearly kills him before being subdued by Sun Wukong with the help of Guanyin.
• The Flaming Mountains : The pilgrims must cross a mountain range that is literally on fire. Sun Wukong eventually borrows the magical fan of Princess Iron Fan to extinguish the flames.

Throughout these trials, the pilgrims learn important lessons about the virtues of patience, humility, cooperation, and faith. Sun Wukong, in particular, undergoes significant character development, gradually learning to temper his impulsiveness and rebelliousness with discipline and self-control.

The Monkey King’s imprisonment was ended when a monk released him. Sun Wukong then proceeded to accompany the monk on a journey to retrieve Buddhist sutras from India. Image: An illustration of the Buddhist monk Tang Sanzang (also know as Tripitaka)

Conclusion: The Attainment of Enlightenment

After 81 hardships, the pilgrims finally reach India and obtain the sacred scriptures. However, they initially receive blank scrolls, a test of their sincerity and understanding. Only after expressing their confusion and disappointment do they receive the true scriptures.

Upon their return to China, the pilgrims are rewarded for their efforts. Xuánzàng and his disciples achieve spiritual enlightenment and are granted various honors and titles. Sun Wukong, for instance, attains Buddhahood, finally completing his journey from rebellious trickster to enlightened being.

Themes and Symbolism

Image: Earliest known edition of the book, published by the Shidetang Hall of Jinling, from the 16th century

Journey to the West is rich in themes and symbolism, many of which are deeply rooted in Chinese philosophy, Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism.

The Quest for Enlightenment

At its core, the novel is an allegory for the spiritual journey toward enlightenment. Each character’s personal flaws and strengths represent different obstacles and aids on this path. Xuánzàng’s unwavering devotion and humility, despite his occasional naivety, represent the ideal qualities of a spiritual seeker.

Human Weaknesses and Virtues

The disciples, particularly Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing, embody various human weaknesses such as pride, greed, lust, and anger. Their interactions and growth throughout the journey illustrate the importance of overcoming these flaws through discipline, perseverance, and faith.

An illustration of Shā Wùjìng from Journey to the West

The Power of Cooperation

The success of the pilgrimage hinges on the cooperation between the pilgrims, each of whom brings unique strengths to the group. Their teamwork, despite their differences and occasional conflicts, highlights the importance of unity and collaboration in overcoming challenges.

Buddhist and Daoist Philosophy

The novel is deeply infused with Buddhist teachings, particularly the concept of karma, the cycle of rebirth, and the quest for enlightenment. Daoist themes, such as the pursuit of immortality and the balance of opposites (yin and yang), also play a significant role in the narrative.

Critique of Authority

Journey to the West also contains subtle critiques of authority, particularly the corruption and inefficiency of the bureaucracy, whether celestial or earthly. Sun Wukong’s rebelliousness and his frequent clashes with heavenly authorities can be seen as a challenge to the rigid structures of power.

Literary Style and Structure

Journey to the West is known for its lively and engaging literary style. The narrative is fast-paced, filled with action, humor, and vivid descriptions. The episodic structure of the novel allows for a variety of adventures and encounters, each of which can be enjoyed independently while contributing to the overall narrative.

Wu Cheng’en’s use of language is masterful, blending classical Chinese prose with colloquial expressions and dialogue. The novel also incorporates poetry, which characters use to express their thoughts and emotions, adding a lyrical dimension to the story.

Historical and Cultural Context

Journey to the West was written during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), a period of relative stability and prosperity in China. This era saw a flourishing of literature, theater, and the arts, as well as a renewed interest in classical Chinese culture and values. The novel reflects the syncretism of Chinese religious and philosophical traditions, particularly the blending of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism, which was characteristic of the Ming period.

The novel also reflects the Ming dynasty’s fascination with the exotic and the unknown, as represented by the journey to the distant land of India. The descriptions of foreign lands, creatures, and deities in the novel capture the imagination and curiosity of the time.

Influence and Legacy

Image: The 1592 Shidetang Hall edition, the earliest printed version of Journey to the West, includes captioned cross-page illustrations of various scenes.

Journey to the West has had a profound impact on Chinese culture and literature. It is considered one of the “Four Great Classical Novels” of Chinese literature, alongside Water Margin , Romance of the Three Kingdoms , and Dream of the Red Chamber . The novel’s characters, particularly Sun Wukong, have become iconic figures in Chinese folklore and popular culture.

The story has been adapted into numerous forms of media, including opera, theater, film, television, comics, and video games. Some of the most famous adaptations include the 1960s Chinese TV series Journey to the West , the Japanese anime series Saiyūki ( Monkey Magic ), and the Dragon Ball franchise, which was heavily inspired by the novel.

In addition to its cultural impact, Journey to the West has also been the subject of extensive academic study, both in China and internationally. Scholars have explored its religious, philosophical, and literary dimensions, as well as its influence on later works of Chinese and global literature.

Journey to the West is a timeless masterpiece that transcends its historical and cultural origins. It is a story that combines adventure, humor, and profound wisdom, offering insights into the human condition and the spiritual quest for enlightenment. Whether read as an entertaining fantasy or as an allegory for deeper philosophical truths, Journey to the West continues to captivate readers and inspire generations of storytellers.

Sun Wukong in Chinese Mythology: Origin Story, Powers, Abilities, & Importance

Frequently Asked Questions About Journey to the West

The legacy of Journey to the West as one of the greatest works of world literature is firmly established, and its influence will undoubtedly continue to resonate for centuries to come. Image: 18th-century Chinese illustration depicting a scene from Journey to the West

What is Journey to the West ?

Journey to the West is a classic Chinese novel, written in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng’en. It is considered one of the “Four Great Classical Novels” of Chinese literature. The novel is a fictionalized and highly imaginative account of the pilgrimage of the Buddhist monk Xuánzàng to India to obtain sacred Buddhist scriptures. The story combines elements of mythology, folklore, religion, and adventure.

Who are the main characters in Journey to the West ?

Illustration of Sun Wukong with his magical staff.

The main characters are:

• Sun Wukong (The Monkey King): A powerful and mischievous monkey who becomes Xuánzàng’s disciple and protector.
• Xuánzàng (Tripitaka): The pious Buddhist monk who leads the pilgrimage to India.
• Zhu Bajie (Pigsy): A former heavenly marshal turned into a pig-like creature due to his indulgent and lazy nature.
• Sha Wujing (Sandy): A river ogre who serves as the group’s dependable and loyal companion.
• The White Dragon Horse: A dragon prince who transforms into a horse to carry Xuánzàng on the journey.

The Monkey King’s imprisonment was ended when a monk released him. Sun Wukong then proceeded to accompany the monk on a journey to retrieve Buddhist sutras from India.

What is the significance of the novel’s title, Journey to the West ?

The title refers to the westward journey undertaken by the monk Xuánzàng from China to India in search of Buddhist scriptures. The “West” symbolizes India, which was the birthplace of Buddhism and the source of the sacred texts that Xuánzàng sought to bring back to China.

What are the major themes in Journey to the West ?

The novel explores several major themes, including:

• The quest for enlightenment: The pilgrimage represents the spiritual journey towards enlightenment, with each character’s growth symbolizing progress on this path.
• Overcoming human weaknesses: The characters, particularly the disciples, embody various human flaws, such as greed, pride, and lust, which they must overcome throughout the journey.
• Cooperation and teamwork: The success of the journey depends on the cooperation between the pilgrims, each of whom has unique strengths and weaknesses.
• Buddhist and Daoist philosophy: The novel incorporates Buddhist teachings on karma, rebirth, and the pursuit of enlightenment, as well as Daoist ideas about immortality and the balance of opposites.

What is the historical background of Journey to the West ?

Journey to the West was written during the Ming dynasty, a period marked by cultural flourishing and a revival of classical Chinese literature. The novel draws on the historical pilgrimage of the monk Xuánzàng in the 7th century, but it greatly embellishes the story with fantastical elements, blending history, mythology, and folklore.

How does Journey to the West reflect Chinese religious and philosophical beliefs?

The novel is deeply rooted in Chinese religious and philosophical traditions, particularly Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism. It explores Buddhist concepts such as karma, the cycle of rebirth, and the pursuit of enlightenment. Daoist themes, such as the quest for immortality and the harmony of opposites, also play a significant role. Confucian values, such as loyalty, duty, and respect for hierarchy, are reflected in the characters’ relationships and interactions.

What role does Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, play in the novel?

Image: Global Star Productions

Sun Wukong is one of the most iconic characters in Chinese literature. He is a mischievous and rebellious monkey who acquires great power through his supernatural abilities. Initially defiant of authority, Sun Wukong is eventually subdued and becomes Xuánzàng’s most loyal disciple. Throughout the journey, he uses his strength, intelligence, and magical abilities to protect Xuánzàng and overcome various challenges. His character arc reflects the taming of wild impulses and the journey towards spiritual enlightenment.

What are some of the famous episodes in Journey to the West ?

Some of the most famous episodes include:

• The Birth of the Monkey King: The origin of Sun Wukong and his rise to power.
• The White Bone Demon: Sun Wukong’s battle with a shape-shifting demoness who tries to deceive and harm Xuánzàng.
• The Red Boy: The encounter with the fiery demon Red Boy, who captures Xuánzàng and nearly kills him.
• The Flaming Mountains: The pilgrims’ struggle to cross a mountain range that is perpetually on fire.

How does Journey to the West end?

After enduring 81 hardships and trials, the pilgrims finally reach India and obtain the sacred Buddhist scriptures. However, they initially receive blank scrolls as a test of their sincerity and understanding. After proving their worth, they receive the true scriptures. Upon returning to China, the pilgrims are rewarded for their efforts. Xuánzàng and his disciples achieve spiritual enlightenment, with Sun Wukong attaining Buddhahood.

Why is Journey to the West considered a classic?

Journey to the West is considered a classic because of its rich narrative, memorable characters, and deep exploration of spiritual and philosophical themes. It is a work that combines entertainment with moral lessons, making it accessible to readers of all ages and backgrounds. The novel has had a profound impact on Chinese culture and has inspired countless adaptations in literature, theater, film, television, and beyond.

How has Journey to the West influenced popular culture?

Journey to the West has had a significant influence on popular culture, both in China and internationally. The character of Sun Wukong, in particular, has become a cultural icon, appearing in various forms of media, including television series, films, comics, and video games. Notable adaptations include the 1960s Chinese TV series Journey to the West , the Japanese anime series Saiyūki ( Monkey Magic ), and the Dragon Ball franchise, which was inspired by the novel.

Black Myth: Wukong

Black Myth: Wukong is a 2024 action RPG developed by Game Science, inspired by the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West. Released on August 20 for PlayStation 5 and Windows, it follows Sun Wukong, receiving favorable reviews and selling more than 9.5 million units within days.

Who is Wu Cheng’en, and what is his connection to the novel?

Wu Cheng’en is traditionally credited as the author of Journey to the West . He was a scholar and poet during the Ming dynasty, known for his satirical and imaginative writing. Although his authorship was not confirmed until much later, Wu Cheng’en is now widely recognized as the author of this masterpiece.

What is the structure of Journey to the West ?

The novel is divided into 100 chapters, which can be roughly grouped into four main sections:

• Chapters 1-7: The birth and early adventures of Sun Wukong.
• Chapters 8-12: The background and introduction of Xuánzàng and his mission.
• Chapters 13-99: The journey to India, filled with various adventures and trials.
• Chapter 100: The return to China and the pilgrims’ rewards.

Humor plays a significant role in Journey to the West , often used to highlight the flaws and follies of the characters, particularly Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie. The novel’s use of satire and playful language adds a layer of entertainment while also providing social and moral commentary. Image: The golden statues showing the four heroes and the White Dragon Horse at the Rua Yai City Pillar Shrine in Suphan Buri, Thailand

What are some of the adaptations of Journey to the West ?

Journey to the West has been adapted into numerous forms, including:

• TV series and films: Various adaptations, such as the 1986 Chinese TV series Journey to the West and Stephen Chow’s films A Chinese Odyssey and Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons .
• Literature: Retellings and sequels, including Anthony C. Yu’s English translation and Jin Yong’s novel The Deer and the Cauldron , which references the novel.
• Theater and opera: Traditional Chinese operas and modern stage adaptations.
• Comics and manga: Works like Osamu Tezuka’s Boku no Son Gokū and the Dragon Ball series by Akira Toriyama, which draw inspiration from the novel.
• Video games: Titles like Enslaved: Odyssey to the West and various RPGs that incorporate characters and themes from the novel.

How does the novel depict the relationship between the mortal and the divine?

Journey to the West blurs the lines between the mortal and the divine, portraying gods, demons, and supernatural beings as fallible and often humorous characters. The novel reflects the idea that enlightenment and virtue are attainable by mortals, and that even divine beings are not immune to flaws and challenges.

10 Chinese Gods and Goddesses and their Powers

What are the “Four Great Classical Novels” of Chinese literature?

The “Four Great Classical Novels” of Chinese literature are:

• Journey to the West (西游记)
• Water Margin (水浒传)
• Romance of the Three Kingdoms (三国演义)
• Dream of the Red Chamber (红楼梦)

These works are considered the most important and influential novels in Chinese literary history.

What is the significance of the number 81 in the novel?

The number 81 is significant in Buddhist tradition, often associated with trials and tests. In Journey to the West , the pilgrims face 81 hardships before attaining the sacred scriptures, symbolizing the completion of a spiritual journey and the attainment of enlightenment after overcoming numerous challenges.

How does the novel address the theme of redemption?

Redemption is a key theme in Journey to the West , particularly in the character arcs of Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie. Sun Wukong’s journey from a rebellious troublemaker to a disciplined protector and eventual Buddha reflects the possibility of redemption through repentance, discipline, and spiritual growth. Zhu Bajie’s ongoing struggles with his base instincts also illustrate the difficult but rewarding path to redemption.

An illustration of Zhu Bajie, one of the four heroes in the novel.

Why is Journey to the West still relevant today?

Journey to the West remains relevant today because of its universal themes, such as the quest for self-improvement, the struggle against one’s flaws, and the importance of cooperation and faith. The novel’s blend of adventure, humor, and spiritual insight continues to resonate with readers, and its characters and stories have become an integral part of global culture.

Tags: Black Myth: Wukong Ming Dynasty Monkey King Sun Wukong Tang Sanzang Tripitaka Wu Cheng'en

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Coupling and coordinated development of environmental regulation and the upgrading of industrial structure: evidence from china’s 10 major urban agglomerations.

1. Introduction

2. literature review, 3. methodology, 3.1. explanation of methodology steps, 3.2. measurement of environmental regulation and the industrial structure upgrading, 3.3. indicator explanation, 3.4. the measurement of formal, informal environmental regulation and the upgrading of industrial structure comprehensive index, 3.5. the measurement of coupling and coordination degree (ccd), 3.6. classification criterion of coupling and coordination degree, 3.7. modeling, 3.7.1. the construction of baseline regression model, 3.7.2. the construction of the panel threshold regression model, 4. the calculation results and analysis of coupling and coordination degree, 4.1. summarized analysis of coupling and coordination degree, 4.2. analysis of coupling and coordination degree in different urban agglomerations, 5. empirical study, 5.1. analysis of baseline regression results, 5.2. analysis of panel threshold regression model results, 6. conclusions and policy implications, 6.1. improve the environmental regulatory policy system, 6.2. formulate differentiated industry development policies, 6.3. emphasize the synergy, coordination, and effectiveness of various policies, author contributions, informed consent statement, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

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Share and Cite

Zheng, X.; Liu, R.; Wang, H. Coupling and Coordinated Development of Environmental Regulation and the Upgrading of Industrial Structure: Evidence from China’s 10 Major Urban Agglomerations. Economies 2024 , 12 , 231. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies12090231

Zheng X, Liu R, Wang H. Coupling and Coordinated Development of Environmental Regulation and the Upgrading of Industrial Structure: Evidence from China’s 10 Major Urban Agglomerations. Economies . 2024; 12(9):231. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies12090231

Zheng, Xiaozhou, Renming Liu, and Huiping Wang. 2024. "Coupling and Coordinated Development of Environmental Regulation and the Upgrading of Industrial Structure: Evidence from China’s 10 Major Urban Agglomerations" Economies 12, no. 9: 231. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies12090231

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• 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.

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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.

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See an example

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

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

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

Download Word doc Download Google doc

Before you begin searching for literature, you need a clearly defined topic .

If you are writing the literature review section of a dissertation or research paper, you will search for literature related to your research problem and questions .

Make a list of keywords

Start by creating a list of keywords related to your research question. Include each of the key concepts or variables you’re interested in, and list any synonyms and related terms. You can add to this list as you discover new keywords in the process of your literature search.

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

Search for relevant sources

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

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

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

Make sure to read the abstract to find out whether an article is relevant to your question. When you find a useful book or article, you can check the bibliography to find other relevant sources.

You likely won’t be able to read absolutely everything that has been written on your topic, so it will be necessary to evaluate which sources are most relevant to your research question.

For each publication, ask yourself:

• What question or problem is the author addressing?
• What are the key concepts and how are they defined?
• What are the key theories, models, and methods?
• Does the research use established frameworks or take an innovative approach?
• What are the results and conclusions of the study?
• How does the publication relate to other literature in the field? Does it confirm, add to, or challenge established knowledge?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research?

Make sure the sources you use are credible , and make sure you read any landmark studies and major theories in your field of research.

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

Take notes and cite your sources

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

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

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

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.

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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 August 26, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/dissertation/literature-review/

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How to write a literature review introduction (+ examples)

The introduction to a literature review serves as your reader’s guide through your academic work and thought process. Explore the significance of literature review introductions in review papers, academic papers, essays, theses, and dissertations. We delve into the purpose and necessity of these introductions, explore the essential components of literature review introductions, and provide step-by-step guidance on how to craft your own, along with examples.

Why you need an introduction for a literature review

In academic writing , the introduction for a literature review is an indispensable component. Effective academic writing requires proper paragraph structuring to guide your reader through your argumentation. This includes providing an introduction to your literature review.

It is imperative to remember that you should never start sharing your findings abruptly. Even if there isn’t a dedicated introduction section .

When you need an introduction for a literature review

There are three main scenarios in which you need an introduction for a literature review:

What to include in a literature review introduction

It is crucial to customize the content and depth of your literature review introduction according to the specific format of your academic work.

Academic literature review paper

The introduction of an academic literature review paper, which does not rely on empirical data, often necessitates a more extensive introduction than the brief literature review introductions typically found in empirical papers. It should encompass:

Regular literature review section in an academic article or essay

In a standard 8000-word journal article, the literature review section typically spans between 750 and 1250 words. The first few sentences or the first paragraph within this section often serve as an introduction. It should encompass:

Introduction to a literature review chapter in thesis or dissertation

Some students choose to incorporate a brief introductory section at the beginning of each chapter, including the literature review chapter. Alternatively, others opt to seamlessly integrate the introduction into the initial sentences of the literature review itself. Both approaches are acceptable, provided that you incorporate the following elements:

Examples of literature review introductions

Example 1: an effective introduction for an academic literature review paper.

To begin, let’s delve into the introduction of an academic literature review paper. We will examine the paper “How does culture influence innovation? A systematic literature review”, which was published in 2018 in the journal Management Decision.

Example 2: An effective introduction to a literature review section in an academic paper

The second example represents a typical academic paper, encompassing not only a literature review section but also empirical data, a case study, and other elements. We will closely examine the introduction to the literature review section in the paper “The environmentalism of the subalterns: a case study of environmental activism in Eastern Kurdistan/Rojhelat”, which was published in 2021 in the journal Local Environment.

Thus, the author successfully introduces the literature review, from which point onward it dives into the main concept (‘subalternity’) of the research, and reviews the literature on socio-economic justice and environmental degradation.

Examples 3-5: Effective introductions to literature review chapters

Numerous universities offer online repositories where you can access theses and dissertations from previous years, serving as valuable sources of reference. Many of these repositories, however, may require you to log in through your university account. Nevertheless, a few open-access repositories are accessible to anyone, such as the one by the University of Manchester . It’s important to note though that copyright restrictions apply to these resources, just as they would with published papers.

Master’s thesis literature review introduction

Phd thesis literature review chapter introduction.

The second example is Deep Learning on Semi-Structured Data and its Applications to Video-Game AI, Woof, W. (Author). 31 Dec 2020, a PhD thesis completed at the University of Manchester . In Chapter 2, the author offers a comprehensive introduction to the topic in four paragraphs, with the final paragraph serving as an overview of the chapter’s structure:

PhD thesis literature review introduction

The last example is the doctoral thesis Metacognitive strategies and beliefs: Child correlates and early experiences Chan, K. Y. M. (Author). 31 Dec 2020 . The author clearly conducted a systematic literature review, commencing the review section with a discussion of the methodology and approach employed in locating and analyzing the selected records.

Steps to write your own literature review introduction

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How To Structure Your Literature Review

3 options to help structure your chapter.

By: Amy Rommelspacher (PhD) | Reviewer: Dr Eunice Rautenbach | November 2020 (Updated May 2023)

Writing the literature review chapter can seem pretty daunting when you’re piecing together your dissertation or thesis. As  we’ve discussed before , a good literature review needs to achieve a few very important objectives – it should:

• Demonstrate your knowledge of the research topic
• Identify the gaps in the literature and show how your research links to these
• Provide the foundation for your conceptual framework (if you have one)
• Inform your own  methodology and research design

To achieve this, your literature review needs a well-thought-out structure . Get the structure of your literature review chapter wrong and you’ll struggle to achieve these objectives. Don’t worry though – in this post, we’ll look at how to structure your literature review for maximum impact (and marks!).

But wait – is this the right time?

Deciding on the structure of your literature review should come towards the end of the literature review process – after you have collected and digested the literature, but before you start writing the chapter. 

In other words, you need to first develop a rich understanding of the literature before you even attempt to map out a structure. There’s no use trying to develop a structure before you’ve fully wrapped your head around the existing research.

Equally importantly, you need to have a structure in place before you start writing , or your literature review will most likely end up a rambling, disjointed mess. 

Importantly, don’t feel that once you’ve defined a structure you can’t iterate on it. It’s perfectly natural to adjust as you engage in the writing process. As we’ve discussed before , writing is a way of developing your thinking, so it’s quite common for your thinking to change – and therefore, for your chapter structure to change – as you write. 

Need a helping hand?

Like any other chapter in your thesis or dissertation, your literature review needs to have a clear, logical structure. At a minimum, it should have three essential components – an  introduction , a  body   and a  conclusion . 

Let’s take a closer look at each of these.

1: The Introduction Section

Just like any good introduction, the introduction section of your literature review should introduce the purpose and layout (organisation) of the chapter. In other words, your introduction needs to give the reader a taste of what’s to come, and how you’re going to lay that out. Essentially, you should provide the reader with a high-level roadmap of your chapter to give them a taste of the journey that lies ahead.

Here’s an example of the layout visualised in a literature review introduction:

Your introduction should also outline your topic (including any tricky terminology or jargon) and provide an explanation of the scope of your literature review – in other words, what you  will   and  won’t   be covering (the delimitations ). This helps ringfence your review and achieve a clear focus . The clearer and narrower your focus, the deeper you can dive into the topic (which is typically where the magic lies). 

Depending on the nature of your project, you could also present your stance or point of view at this stage. In other words, after grappling with the literature you’ll have an opinion about what the trends and concerns are in the field as well as what’s lacking. The introduction section can then present these ideas so that it is clear to examiners that you’re aware of how your research connects with existing knowledge .

2: The Body Section

The body of your literature review is the centre of your work. This is where you’ll present, analyse, evaluate and synthesise the existing research. In other words, this is where you’re going to earn (or lose) the most marks. Therefore, it’s important to carefully think about how you will organise your discussion to present it in a clear way. 

The body of your literature review should do just as the description of this chapter suggests. It should “review” the literature – in other words, identify, analyse, and synthesise it. So, when thinking about structuring your literature review, you need to think about which structural approach will provide the best “review” for your specific type of research and objectives (we’ll get to this shortly).

There are (broadly speaking)  three options  for organising your literature review.

Option 1: Chronological (according to date)

Organising the literature chronologically is one of the simplest ways to structure your literature review. You start with what was published first and work your way through the literature until you reach the work published most recently. Pretty straightforward.

The benefit of this option is that it makes it easy to discuss the developments and debates in the field as they emerged over time. Organising your literature chronologically also allows you to highlight how specific articles or pieces of work might have changed the course of the field – in other words, which research has had the most impact . Therefore, this approach is very useful when your research is aimed at understanding how the topic has unfolded over time and is often used by scholars in the field of history. That said, this approach can be utilised by anyone that wants to explore change over time .

For example , if a student of politics is investigating how the understanding of democracy has evolved over time, they could use the chronological approach to provide a narrative that demonstrates how this understanding has changed through the ages.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself to help you structure your literature review chronologically.

• What is the earliest literature published relating to this topic?
• How has the field changed over time? Why?
• What are the most recent discoveries/theories?

In some ways, chronology plays a part whichever way you decide to structure your literature review, because you will always, to a certain extent, be analysing how the literature has developed. However, with the chronological approach, the emphasis is very firmly on how the discussion has evolved over time , as opposed to how all the literature links together (which we’ll discuss next ).

Option 2: Thematic (grouped by theme)

The thematic approach to structuring a literature review means organising your literature by theme or category – for example, by independent variables (i.e. factors that have an impact on a specific outcome).

As you’ve been collecting and synthesising literature , you’ll likely have started seeing some themes or patterns emerging. You can then use these themes or patterns as a structure for your body discussion. The thematic approach is the most common approach and is useful for structuring literature reviews in most fields.

For example, if you were researching which factors contributed towards people trusting an organisation, you might find themes such as consumers’ perceptions of an organisation’s competence, benevolence and integrity. Structuring your literature review thematically would mean structuring your literature review’s body section to discuss each of these themes, one section at a time.

Here are some questions to ask yourself when structuring your literature review by themes:

• Are there any patterns that have come to light in the literature?
• What are the central themes and categories used by the researchers?
• Do I have enough evidence of these themes?

PS – you can see an example of a thematically structured literature review in our literature review sample walkthrough video here.

Option 3: Methodological

The methodological option is a way of structuring your literature review by the research methodologies used . In other words, organising your discussion based on the angle from which each piece of research was approached – for example, qualitative , quantitative or mixed  methodologies.

Structuring your literature review by methodology can be useful if you are drawing research from a variety of disciplines and are critiquing different methodologies. The point of this approach is to question  how  existing research has been conducted, as opposed to  what  the conclusions and/or findings the research were.

For example, a sociologist might centre their research around critiquing specific fieldwork practices. Their literature review will then be a summary of the fieldwork methodologies used by different studies.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself when structuring your literature review according to methodology:

• Which methodologies have been utilised in this field?
• Which methodology is the most popular (and why)?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the various methodologies?
• How can the existing methodologies inform my own methodology?

3: The Conclusion Section

Once you’ve completed the body section of your literature review using one of the structural approaches we discussed above, you’ll need to “wrap up” your literature review and pull all the pieces together to set the direction for the rest of your dissertation or thesis.

The conclusion is where you’ll present the key findings of your literature review. In this section, you should emphasise the research that is especially important to your research questions and highlight the gaps that exist in the literature. Based on this, you need to make it clear what you will add to the literature – in other words, justify your own research by showing how it will help fill one or more of the gaps you just identified.

Last but not least, if it’s your intention to develop a conceptual framework for your dissertation or thesis, the conclusion section is a good place to present this.

Example: Thematically Structured Review

In the video below, we unpack a literature review chapter so that you can see an example of a thematically structure review in practice.

Let’s Recap

In this article, we’ve  discussed how to structure your literature review for maximum impact. Here’s a quick recap of what  you need to keep in mind when deciding on your literature review structure:

• Just like other chapters, your literature review needs a clear introduction , body and conclusion .
• The introduction section should provide an overview of what you will discuss in your literature review.
• The body section of your literature review can be organised by chronology , theme or methodology . The right structural approach depends on what you’re trying to achieve with your research.
• The conclusion section should draw together the key findings of your literature review and link them to your research questions.

If you’re ready to get started, be sure to download our free literature review template to fast-track your chapter outline.

Psst… there’s more!

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

28 Comments

Great work. This is exactly what I was looking for and helps a lot together with your previous post on literature review. One last thing is missing: a link to a great literature chapter of an journal article (maybe with comments of the different sections in this review chapter). Do you know any great literature review chapters?

I agree with you Marin… A great piece

I agree with Marin. This would be quite helpful if you annotate a nicely structured literature from previously published research articles.

Awesome article for my research.

I thank you immensely for this wonderful guide

It is indeed thought and supportive work for the futurist researcher and students

Very educative and good time to get guide. Thank you

Great work, very insightful. Thank you.

Thanks for this wonderful presentation. My question is that do I put all the variables into a single conceptual framework or each hypothesis will have it own conceptual framework?

Thank you very much, very helpful

This is very educative and precise . Thank you very much for dropping this kind of write up .

Pheeww, so damn helpful, thank you for this informative piece.

I’m doing a research project topic ; stool analysis for parasitic worm (enteric) worm, how do I structure it, thanks.

comprehensive explanation. Help us by pasting the URL of some good “literature review” for better understanding.

great piece. thanks for the awesome explanation. it is really worth sharing. I have a little question, if anyone can help me out, which of the options in the body of literature can be best fit if you are writing an architectural thesis that deals with design?

I am doing a research on nanofluids how can l structure it?

Beautifully clear.nThank you!

Lucid! Thankyou!

Brilliant work, well understood, many thanks

I like how this was so clear with simple language 😊😊 thank you so much 😊 for these information 😊

Insightful. I was struggling to come up with a sensible literature review but this has been really helpful. Thank you!

You have given thought-provoking information about the review of the literature.

Thank you. It has made my own research better and to impart your work to students I teach

I learnt a lot from this teaching. It’s a great piece.

I am doing research on EFL teacher motivation for his/her job. How Can I structure it? Is there any detailed template, additional to this?

You are so cool! I do not think I’ve read through something like this before. So nice to find somebody with some genuine thoughts on this issue. Seriously.. thank you for starting this up. This site is one thing that is required on the internet, someone with a little originality!

I’m asked to do conceptual, theoretical and empirical literature, and i just don’t know how to structure it

Asking questions are actually fastidious thing if you are not understanding anything fully, but this article presents good understanding yet.

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• Writing well

How to write a literature review

• Starting well
• How to write an annotated bibliography
• How to write a case study response
• How to write a critique
• How to write an empirical article
• How to write an essay
• How to write a reflective task
• How to write a report
• Finishing well

Structure of a literature review

Determine your purpose.

Work out what you need to address in the literature review. What are you being asked to do in your literature review? What are you searching the literature to discover? Check your assignment question and your criteria sheet to know what to focus on.

Do an extensive search of the literature

Find out what has been written on the topic.

What kind of literature?

Select appropriate source material: Use a variety of academic or scholarly sources that are relevant, current and authoritative. An extensive review of relevant material will include — books, journal articles, reports, government documents, conference proceedings and web resources. The Library would be the best place to search for your sources.

How many resources?

The number of sources that you will be required to review will depend on what the literature review is for and how advanced you are in your studies. It could be from five sources at first year undergraduate level to more than fifty for a thesis. Your lecturer will advise you on these details.

Note the bibliographical details of your sources

Keep a note of the publication title, date, authors’ names, page numbers and publishers. These details will save you time later.

Read the literature

• Critically read each source, look for the arguments presented rather than for facts.
• Take notes as you read and start to organise your review around themes and ideas.
• Consider using a table, matrix or concept map to identify how the different sources relate to each other.

Analyse the literature you have found

In order for your writing to reflect strong critical analysis, you need to evaluate the sources. For each source you are reviewing ask yourself these questions:

• What are the key terms and concepts?
• How relevant is this article to my specific topic?
• What are the major relationships, trends and patterns?
• How has the author structured the arguments?
• How authoritative and credible is this source?
• What are the differences and similarities between the sources?
• Are there any gaps in the literature that require further study?

Write the review

• Start by writing your thesis statement. This is an important introductory sentence that will tell your reader what the topic is and the overall perspective or argument you will be presenting.
• Like essays, a literature review must have an introduction, a body and a conclusion.

Introduction

Your introduction should give an outline of:

• why you are writing a review, and why the topic is important
• the scope of the review — what aspects of the topic will be discussed
• the criteria used for your literature selection (e.g. type of sources used, date range)
• the organisational pattern of the review.

Body paragraphs

Each body paragraph should deal with a different theme that is relevant to your topic. You will need to synthesise several of your reviewed readings into each paragraph, so that there is a clear connection between the various sources. You will need to critically analyse each source for how they contribute to the themes you are researching.

The body could include paragraphs on:

• historical background
• methodologies
• previous studies on the topic
• mainstream versus alternative viewpoints
• principal questions being asked
• general conclusions that are being drawn.

Your conclusion should give a summary of:

• the main agreements and disagreements in the literature
• any gaps or areas for further research
• your overall perspective on the topic.
• outlined the purpose and scope?
• identified appropriate and credible (academic/scholarly) literature?
• recorded the bibliographical details of the sources?
• analysed and critiqued your readings?
• identified gaps in the literature and research?
• explored methodologies / theories / hypotheses / models?
• discussed the varying viewpoints?
• written an introduction, body and conclusion?
• checked punctuation and spelling?

Further information

• HiQ: Managing weekly readings
• HiQ: Notetaking
• HiQ: Structuring your assignment
• RMIT University: Literature review - Overview

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Introduction

Literature reviews take time. here is some general information to know before you start.  .

•  VIDEO -- This video is a great overview of the entire process.  (2020; North Carolina State University Libraries) --The transcript is included --This is for everyone; ignore the mention of "graduate students" --9.5 minutes, and every second is important  
• OVERVIEW -- Read this page from Purdue's OWL. It's not long, and gives some tips to fill in what you just learned from the video.  
• NOT A RESEARCH ARTICLE -- A literature review follows a different style, format, and structure from a research article.  

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The structure of a literature review

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A literature review should be structured like any other essay: it should have an introduction, a middle or main body, and a conclusion.

The introduction should:

• define your topic and provide an appropriate context for reviewing the literature;
• establish your reasons – i.e. point of view – for
• reviewing the literature;
• explain the organisation – i.e. sequence – of the review;
• state the scope of the review – i.e. what is included and what isn’t included. For example, if you were reviewing the literature on obesity in children you might say something like: There are a large number of studies of obesity trends in the general population. However, since the focus of this research is on obesity in children, these will not be reviewed in detail and will only be referred to as appropriate.

The middle or main body should:

• organise the literature according to common themes;
• provide insight into the relation between your chosen topic and the wider subject area e.g. between obesity in children and obesity in general;
• move from a general, wider view of the literature being reviewed to the specific focus of your research.

The conclusion should:

• summarise the important aspects of the existing body of literature;
• evaluate the current state of the literature reviewed;
• identify significant flaws or gaps in existing knowledge;
• outline areas for future study;
• link your research to existing knowledge.

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• Introduction

Literature Review: The What, Why and How-to Guide — Introduction

• Getting Started
• How to Pick a Topic
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What are Literature Reviews?

So, what is a literature review? "A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers. In writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. As a piece of writing, the literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g., your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries." Taylor, D.  The literature review: A few tips on conducting it . University of Toronto Health Sciences Writing Centre.

Goals of Literature Reviews

What are the goals of creating a Literature Review?  A literature could be written to accomplish different aims:

• To develop a theory or evaluate an existing theory
• To summarize the historical or existing state of a research topic
• Identify a problem in a field of research 

Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1997). Writing narrative literature reviews .  Review of General Psychology , 1 (3), 311-320.

What kinds of sources require a Literature Review?

• A research paper assigned in a course
• A thesis or dissertation
• A grant proposal
• An article intended for publication in a journal

All these instances require you to collect what has been written about your research topic so that you can demonstrate how your own research sheds new light on the topic.

Types of Literature Reviews

What kinds of literature reviews are written?

Narrative review: The purpose of this type of review is to describe the current state of the research on a specific topic/research and to offer a critical analysis of the literature reviewed. Studies are grouped by research/theoretical categories, and themes and trends, strengths and weakness, and gaps are identified. The review ends with a conclusion section which summarizes the findings regarding the state of the research of the specific study, the gaps identify and if applicable, explains how the author's research will address gaps identify in the review and expand the knowledge on the topic reviewed.

• Example : Predictors and Outcomes of U.S. Quality Maternity Leave: A Review and Conceptual Framework:  10.1177/08948453211037398  

Systematic review : "The authors of a systematic review use a specific procedure to search the research literature, select the studies to include in their review, and critically evaluate the studies they find." (p. 139). Nelson, L. K. (2013). Research in Communication Sciences and Disorders . Plural Publishing.

• Example : The effect of leave policies on increasing fertility: a systematic review:  10.1057/s41599-022-01270-w

Meta-analysis : "Meta-analysis is a method of reviewing research findings in a quantitative fashion by transforming the data from individual studies into what is called an effect size and then pooling and analyzing this information. The basic goal in meta-analysis is to explain why different outcomes have occurred in different studies." (p. 197). Roberts, M. C., & Ilardi, S. S. (2003). Handbook of Research Methods in Clinical Psychology . Blackwell Publishing.

• Example : Employment Instability and Fertility in Europe: A Meta-Analysis:  10.1215/00703370-9164737

Meta-synthesis : "Qualitative meta-synthesis is a type of qualitative study that uses as data the findings from other qualitative studies linked by the same or related topic." (p.312). Zimmer, L. (2006). Qualitative meta-synthesis: A question of dialoguing with texts .  Journal of Advanced Nursing , 53 (3), 311-318.

• Example : Women’s perspectives on career successes and barriers: A qualitative meta-synthesis:  10.1177/05390184221113735

Literature Reviews in the Health Sciences

• UConn Health subject guide on systematic reviews Explanation of the different review types used in health sciences literature as well as tools to help you find the right review type
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How to Structure Your Literature Review - Quick Guide with Examples

Table of Contents

A literature review is a process of reviewing the existing scholarly literature based on a specific topic. It is one of the critical components of your own research paper. By conducting a thorough literature review, you will get a synopsis of the relevant methods, theories, and research gaps of the existing research on the related topic.

However, writing a good literature review is not as easy as it sounds. It requires rigorous research and extensive exploration of hundreds of journal articles to land on the pertinent information. So, it’s essential to learn the components of a literature review structure before you start writing one.

That’s why this article exists — to help you understand how to structure a literature review in a research paper. Read through the article to get the gist of the components used and how to structure them.

Role of literature review structure in research

Why do you think structuring your literature review is crucial in your research? It plays a significant role in organizing and presenting the research evidence and information effectively to the readers.

A well-structured literature review ensures clarity and coherence in the research which enables readers to follow the logical flow of ideas. It helps researchers to logically present their arguments and findings, making it easier for readers to comprehend the research's context and contribution.

Furthermore, it aids in identifying relationships between diverse studies, identifying key themes, and highlighting any research gaps. In fact, one of the prominent reasons why the proper format of a literature review is important is that it provides a framework for the researchers to present their ideas in a systematic and organized sequence.

Overall, a well structured literature review provides a roadmap for readers to navigate through the existing research or existing knowledge. By clearly indicating the main sections and sub-sections of the research, readers can easily locate the information they are interested in.

It is essential for researchers who are conducting a literature review to gain an overview of a specific topic or to find relevant studies and build a concrete framework for their research.

When should I structure my literature review?

Writing and structuring a literature review imparts the required knowledge to the readers only when you do it at the right time. So, be sure to map out the structure after you conduct a thorough literature review of the existing sources.

You should structure the review once you’re done with reading and digesting the research papers and before you start writing your thesis, dissertation, or research paper. It bridges the gap between reviewing literature and writing a research paper.

In simpler words, once you’ve comprehended the existing literature and gained enough knowledge of the theories, key concepts, and research gaps of your study or topic, you will be in a position to map out a literature review structure. It gives you a boost to set the stage for your research paper writing. Once the structure is ready, you can reiterate or restructure it based on the flow of your research work.

Tip: Use SciSpace Literature Review to compare and contrast multiple research papers on a single screen, saving a significant amount of time. And to comprehend the research papers easily, utilize Copilot which explains even the most complicated nomenclature and context in the simplest way possible. Above all, these tools support 75+ languages making your literature review and research paper reading a breeze.

How to structure a literature review?

A literature review is also one of the chapters or sections in your research paper. The structure varies from one study to another depending on diverse factors. However, a typical structure of a literature review has 3 main parts — an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Let's get into them in detail.

a) Introduction of the literature review

The literature review introduction should give the readers an overview of what will you cover in the study and how the study is correlated. Ideally, it should provide the outline of your research and also explain the scope of your literature review. The introduction section is the most suitable segment to share your stance or perspective about the research topic and gently convey your contributions to the field through this study.

Since it happens to be the first paragraph, you must include and define its purpose, organization, and critical aspects of your research project.

Your introduction should give the following relevant background information to the readers:

• The “why” of the review? — should provide a reason for why you’re writing the review
• The “takeaway” of the review? — should portray the importance of the research
• Articulate the topics covered in the research in a sequential manner
• “What” of the review? — scope of the review
• How or where your topic is aligned with the niche or subject area

b) Body of the literature reviews

The format and structure of the central body part are of utmost importance in writing a good literature review.. This is the section where you summarize, synthesize, analyze, and critically evaluate your research work. Therefore, you must use sections and subsections to divide the body for each methodological approach or theme aspect of further research.

In this part, you will have to organize and present your discussion in a clear and coherent manner. There are different types of structural approaches to adhere to while organizing the main body part of the literature review. Let’s explore the types based on the length and format of your review.

i) Chronological literature reviews

The chronological approach to building literature review format has been described as one of the most straightforward approaches. It helps you articulate the growth and development of the research topic over time in chronological order.

However, do not restrict yourself to just making a list or summarizing the reference resources. Instead, write a brief discussion and analysis of the critical arguments, research, and trends that have shaped the current status of your research topic.

Additionally, you must provide an interpretation of these events in your curated version. This approach gives you a space to discuss the latest developments, key debates, trends, and gaps focused on your research topic.

Example: Locoregional Management of Breast Cancer: A Chronological Review This chronological review discusses the evolution of locoregional management through some key clinical trials and aims to highlight important points in the time period in which the evidence was generated and emphasize the 10-year outcomes for the comparability of results. Source: SciSpace

ii) Thematic literature review

The thematic literature review is the best way to structure your literature review based on the theme or category of your research. The format of a literature review is structured in sections and sub-sections based on the observed themes or patterns in your review.

Every part stays dedicated to presenting a different aspect of your chosen topic. For example, if you’re working on a topic of climatic conditions in Nigeria, you might find themes such as monsoon climate, tropical savannah climate, and so on. Unlike the chronological approach, the primary focus here is on different aspects of a particular topic, or issue instead of the progression of certain events. Example: A Thematic Review of Current Literature Examining Evidence-Based Practices and Inclusion

This paper provides a thematic summary of current literature combining the topics of evidence-based practices (EBPs) and inclusive settings and summarizes key findings from 27 peer-reviewed articles written in English and published between 2012-2022.

Source: SciSpace

iii) Methodological literature review

The methodological approach helps you formulate the structure of a literature review based on the research methodologies used. These methodologies could be qualitative, quantitative, or mixed. You can present your literature review structure in a form by showing a comparison between crucial findings, gatherings, and outcomes from different research methods.

If you’re working on research derived from different disciplines and methodologies, this approach would be more suitable to structure your literature review. This method majorly focuses on the type of analysis method used in the research (quantitative, qualitative, and mixed).

Example: Methodological review to develop a list of bias items used to assess reviews incorporating network meta-analysis: protocol and rationale

The methodological review aims to develop a list of items relating to biases in reviews with NMA, which will inform a new tool to assess the risk of bias in NMAs, and potentially other reporting or quality checklists for NMAs that are being updated.

iv) Theoretical literature review

Theoretical literature reviews are often used to discuss and analyze vital concepts and theories. Adopting this approach such a way that, you can significantly put forth the relevance and critical findings of a particular field or theoretical method. Proceeding in the same way, you can also outline an entirely new research framework.

Example: Theoretical Review Study: Peran Dan Fungsi Mutu Pelayanan Kesehatan Di Rumah Sakit

This paper analyzes various theories on the role and function of quality management in hospitals, where the authors investigate how the role and functions of the quality of health services in hospitals.

c) Conclusion of the literature review

The conclusion of your literature review must be focused on your key findings, and their results, and an elaborate emphasis on the significance of all aspects. Describing the research gaps and your contributions can be helpful in case you are writing a dissertation or thesis.

Moreover, you must specify the procedure and research methodology for developing the framework of your research topic. Additionally, if the relevant literature review is a standalone assignment for you, present the conclusion centered on the implications and suggestions for future references.

Lastly, you must ensure that your research paper does not lack any critical aspects and must not contain any grammatical or spelling mistakes. For this, you must proofread and edit it to perfection.

Overall, your conclusion should provide the reader with the following information:

• Provide an overview of the literature review.
• Highlight key areas for future research on the topic.
• Establish a connection between the review and your research.

Tip: Keep this checklist handy before writing your literature review!

• Outline the purpose and scope of the study
• Identify relevant and credible scholarly sources (research papers/literature)
• Use AI tools to streamline the literature review process
• Capture the bibliographical details of the sources
• Analyze and interpret the findings
• Identify research gaps in the literature
• Investigate methodologies/theories/hypotheses
• Brainstorm and research multiple standpoints
• Craft an introduction, a body, and a conclusion
• Final proofreading and all set!!

Wrapping up!

If you are working on your thesis, ensure to emphasize structuring your literature reviews and be keen in presenting it in a clear, coherent, and organized manner. The structure of a literature review is critical as it assists researchers in building upon existing knowledge, creating a theoretical framework, identifying relationships between studies, highlighting key concepts, and guiding readers through the research.

Scientific research can be made more accessible, informative, and impactful by structuring the literature review according to the different types of approaches discussed in this blog.

Frequently Asked Questions

When conducting a literature review, it's important to avoid:

1.Disorganization: Keep your review structured and coherent.

2.Lack of alignment: Ensure that your review aligns with your research objectives and questions.

3.Lack of synthesis: Connect and integrate the findings from different sources rather than presenting them in isolation.

Common challenges we encounter while organizing a literature review include:

1.Managing an exhaustive volume of scientific publications.

2.Ensuring coherence and flow between different sections.

3.Striving to maintain objectivity and relevance to your research topic.

When structuring a literature review, you should avoid including irrelevant or outdated sources, biased information, and repetitive content.

No, a literature review is typically not arranged in alphabetical order. Instead, it's usually organized thematically, chronologically, or by relevance to the research topic.

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Explore different methods on how to structure your literature review.

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There is no single, conventional way to structure a literature review. However, there are a range of standard approaches that you can choose from to give your literature review an overall shape. The structure you select will depend on the aims and purpose of your literature review as well as the literature that exists.

The function of your literature review

Every literature review needs to show how the research problem you’re investigating arose, and give a critical overview of how it, or aspects of it, have been addressed by other researchers to date. However, within that overall purpose, the particular function of your literature review may vary, depending on your own research aim, the current state of knowledge in the field, and the amount and breadth of literature that currently exists. For example:

• If there is a large, longstanding body of research already in your field, the function of your might be to give an overview of how it evolved, to show how you build on it and sit within it.
• If there is very little research on your topic or it’s cutting edge, the function of your literature review might be to look at why it’s been overlooked til now, and piece together a useful basis out of comparable work in related fields.
• If your research is interdisciplinary, drawing on and bringing together different strands of the literature in new ways, the function of your literature review might be to identify and connect these previously unrelated strands.
• If your own research takes a clear stance on a contested topic, the function of your literature review might be to outline why the issue is problematic and the different sides of a debate
• If there are various ways you might approach your research or your approach is new, then an overview of the different ways other people have addressed similar research problems might help justify your method.

General approaches

There are four general approaches to structuring a literature review, depending on the main relationship you are creating between the texts you are reviewing, and how they serve your research aims.

This approach is useful if your central aim is to:

• Chart the developments in your chosen field in a way that highlights causality and consequence (for instance, how one piece of research informed or gave rise to another and so on)
• Use a chronological sequence to demonstrate how an issue or research area has evolved over time

Sometimes, your literature review might aim to bring together previously unrelated areas of research, and there is no linear structure to that relationship – you simply identify the different themes under which you want to organise it, depending on which texts you want to talk about as a group. You might choose to arrange your review into different themes, contexts, schools of thought, subject disciplines, or by methods, theories and approaches.

The funnel structure moves from the broad to the detailed, the general to the specific, or from the abstract to the concrete. So you start with the broader aspects of your topic (the contextual background, for instance) and then gradually narrow your focus until you reach the specific aspect of the topic that you will be addressing. You might equally be looking at the more abstract, theoretical work on your subject before moving to more concrete case studies in which those approaches have been applied, or more general treatments to more detailed and smaller scale studies. That way, you are guiding your reader and helping them build their understanding of your topic: providing them with the background information and context they need in order to grasp your main ideas.

Often, your literature review has more than one function and there is more than one key point you want to convey. For instance, you may need to define your theoretical framework, evaluate how other researchers have approached your topic more generally, then outline your specific area of focus and how it relates to the existing literature. Your finished literature review will then comprise different sub-sections that each achieve a particular aim.

Deciding on a structure

When deciding on a structure, you might find it useful to consider the following questions:

• What is the function of my literature review?
• What do I want my literature review to demonstrate to the reader? What do I want them to take away from it?
• What structure would best allow me to achieve my purpose and get my key points across, talking about the texts I want to bring together without circling around in my writing?

Whichever of these structural principles you decide on as a way to organise the whole literature review, you may well be using others of them as a way to structure subsections or even paragraphs. For example, you might be using a thematic approach overall, but each section could be structured chronologically.

Checking in

Each structural approach or option has its own strengths and weaknesses. It’s important to check in with yourself and review your literature review drafts periodically to see if your structure is working for you. Is it helping you convey your main ideas, bring together the texts you want to talk about together, or is it leading you to be descriptive, repetitive or lose sight of the literature’s relevance to your own research? If not, is there another option that might work better for you? Sometimes, our main ideas and key points don’t become clear to us until we start writing. So it may be that you are better placed to make a more informed idea about your structure once you have begun trying it out.

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Structuring a literature review.

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• CAREER FEATURE
• 04 December 2020
• Correction 09 December 2020

How to write a superb literature review

Andy Tay is a freelance writer based in Singapore.

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Credit: Getty

Literature reviews are important resources for scientists. They provide historical context for a field while offering opinions on its future trajectory. Creating them can provide inspiration for one’s own research, as well as some practice in writing. But few scientists are trained in how to write a review — or in what constitutes an excellent one. Even picking the appropriate software to use can be an involved decision (see ‘Tools and techniques’). So Nature asked editors and working scientists with well-cited reviews for their tips.

WENTING ZHAO: Be focused and avoid jargon

Assistant professor of chemical and biomedical engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

When I was a research student, review writing improved my understanding of the history of my field. I also learnt about unmet challenges in the field that triggered ideas.

For example, while writing my first review 1 as a PhD student, I was frustrated by how poorly we understood how cells actively sense, interact with and adapt to nanoparticles used in drug delivery. This experience motivated me to study how the surface properties of nanoparticles can be modified to enhance biological sensing. When I transitioned to my postdoctoral research, this question led me to discover the role of cell-membrane curvature, which led to publications and my current research focus. I wouldn’t have started in this area without writing that review.

Collection: Careers toolkit

A common problem for students writing their first reviews is being overly ambitious. When I wrote mine, I imagined producing a comprehensive summary of every single type of nanomaterial used in biological applications. It ended up becoming a colossal piece of work, with too many papers discussed and without a clear way to categorize them. We published the work in the end, but decided to limit the discussion strictly to nanoparticles for biological sensing, rather than covering how different nanomaterials are used in biology.

My advice to students is to accept that a review is unlike a textbook: it should offer a more focused discussion, and it’s OK to skip some topics so that you do not distract your readers. Students should also consider editorial deadlines, especially for invited reviews: make sure that the review’s scope is not so extensive that it delays the writing.

A good review should also avoid jargon and explain the basic concepts for someone who is new to the field. Although I trained as an engineer, I’m interested in biology, and my research is about developing nanomaterials to manipulate proteins at the cell membrane and how this can affect ageing and cancer. As an ‘outsider’, the reviews that I find most useful for these biological topics are those that speak to me in accessible scientific language.

Bozhi Tian likes to get a variety of perspectives into a review. Credit: Aleksander Prominski

BOZHI TIAN: Have a process and develop your style

Associate professor of chemistry, University of Chicago, Illinois.

In my lab, we start by asking: what is the purpose of this review? My reasons for writing one can include the chance to contribute insights to the scientific community and identify opportunities for my research. I also see review writing as a way to train early-career researchers in soft skills such as project management and leadership. This is especially true for lead authors, because they will learn to work with their co-authors to integrate the various sections into a piece with smooth transitions and no overlaps.

After we have identified the need and purpose of a review article, I will form a team from the researchers in my lab. I try to include students with different areas of expertise, because it is useful to get a variety of perspectives. For example, in the review ‘An atlas of nano-enabled neural interfaces’ 2 , we had authors with backgrounds in biophysics, neuroengineering, neurobiology and materials sciences focusing on different sections of the review.

After this, I will discuss an outline with my team. We go through multiple iterations to make sure that we have scanned the literature sufficiently and do not repeat discussions that have appeared in other reviews. It is also important that the outline is not decided by me alone: students often have fresh ideas that they can bring to the table. Once this is done, we proceed with the writing.

I often remind my students to imagine themselves as ‘artists of science’ and encourage them to develop how they write and present information. Adding more words isn’t always the best way: for example, I enjoy using tables to summarize research progress and suggest future research trajectories. I’ve also considered including short videos in our review papers to highlight key aspects of the work. I think this can increase readership and accessibility because these videos can be easily shared on social-media platforms.

ANKITA ANIRBAN: Timeliness and figures make a huge difference

Editor, Nature Reviews Physics .

One of my roles as a journal editor is to evaluate proposals for reviews. The best proposals are timely and clearly explain why readers should pay attention to the proposed topic.

It is not enough for a review to be a summary of the latest growth in the literature: the most interesting reviews instead provide a discussion about disagreements in the field.

Careers Collection: Publishing

Scientists often centre the story of their primary research papers around their figures — but when it comes to reviews, figures often take a secondary role. In my opinion, review figures are more important than most people think. One of my favourite review-style articles 3 presents a plot bringing together data from multiple research papers (many of which directly contradict each other). This is then used to identify broad trends and suggest underlying mechanisms that could explain all of the different conclusions.

An important role of a review article is to introduce researchers to a field. For this, schematic figures can be useful to illustrate the science being discussed, in much the same way as the first slide of a talk should. That is why, at Nature Reviews, we have in-house illustrators to assist authors. However, simplicity is key, and even without support from professional illustrators, researchers can still make use of many free drawing tools to enhance the value of their review figures.

Yoojin Choi recommends that researchers be open to critiques when writing reviews. Credit: Yoojin Choi

YOOJIN CHOI: Stay updated and be open to suggestions

Research assistant professor, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon.

I started writing the review ‘Biosynthesis of inorganic nanomaterials using microbial cells and bacteriophages’ 4 as a PhD student in 2018. It took me one year to write the first draft because I was working on the review alongside my PhD research and mostly on my own, with support from my adviser. It took a further year to complete the processes of peer review, revision and publication. During this time, many new papers and even competing reviews were published. To provide the most up-to-date and original review, I had to stay abreast of the literature. In my case, I made use of Google Scholar, which I set to send me daily updates of relevant literature based on key words.

Through my review-writing process, I also learnt to be more open to critiques to enhance the value and increase the readership of my work. Initially, my review was focused only on using microbial cells such as bacteria to produce nanomaterials, which was the subject of my PhD research. Bacteria such as these are known as biofactories: that is, organisms that produce biological material which can be modified to produce useful materials, such as magnetic nanoparticles for drug-delivery purposes.

Synchronized editing: the future of collaborative writing

However, when the first peer-review report came back, all three reviewers suggested expanding the review to cover another type of biofactory: bacteriophages. These are essentially viruses that infect bacteria, and they can also produce nanomaterials.

The feedback eventually led me to include a discussion of the differences between the various biofactories (bacteriophages, bacteria, fungi and microalgae) and their advantages and disadvantages. This turned out to be a great addition because it made the review more comprehensive.

Writing the review also led me to an idea about using nanomaterial-modified microorganisms to produce chemicals, which I’m still researching now.

PAULA MARTIN-GONZALEZ: Make good use of technology

PhD student, University of Cambridge, UK.

Just before the coronavirus lockdown, my PhD adviser and I decided to write a literature review discussing the integration of medical imaging with genomics to improve ovarian cancer management.

As I was researching the review, I noticed a trend in which some papers were consistently being cited by many other papers in the field. It was clear to me that those papers must be important, but as a new member of the field of integrated cancer biology, it was difficult to immediately find and read all of these ‘seminal papers’.

That was when I decided to code a small application to make my literature research more efficient. Using my code, users can enter a query, such as ‘ovarian cancer, computer tomography, radiomics’, and the application searches for all relevant literature archived in databases such as PubMed that feature these key words.

The code then identifies the relevant papers and creates a citation graph of all the references cited in the results of the search. The software highlights papers that have many citation relationships with other papers in the search, and could therefore be called seminal papers.

My code has substantially improved how I organize papers and has informed me of key publications and discoveries in my research field: something that would have taken more time and experience in the field otherwise. After I shared my code on GitHub, I received feedback that it can be daunting for researchers who are not used to coding. Consequently, I am hoping to build a more user-friendly interface in a form of a web page, akin to PubMed or Google Scholar, where users can simply input their queries to generate citation graphs.

Tools and techniques

Most reference managers on the market offer similar capabilities when it comes to providing a Microsoft Word plug-in and producing different citation styles. But depending on your working preferences, some might be more suitable than others.

Reference managers

Here is a comparison of the more popular collaborative writing tools, but there are other options, including Fidus Writer, Manuscript.io, Authorea and Stencila.

Collaborative writing tools

*Markdown and LaTex are code-based formatting languages favoured by physicists, mathematicians and computer scientists who code on a regular basis, and less popular in other disciplines such as biology and chemistry.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-03422-x

Interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

Updates & Corrections

Correction 09 December 2020 : An earlier version of the tables in this article included some incorrect details about the programs Zotero, Endnote and Manubot. These have now been corrected.

Hsing, I.-M., Xu, Y. & Zhao, W. Electroanalysis 19 , 755–768 (2007).

Article   Google Scholar  

Ledesma, H. A. et al. Nature Nanotechnol. 14 , 645–657 (2019).

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Brahlek, M., Koirala, N., Bansal, N. & Oh, S. Solid State Commun. 215–216 , 54–62 (2015).

Choi, Y. & Lee, S. Y. Nature Rev. Chem . https://doi.org/10.1038/s41570-020-00221-w (2020).

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Writing a Literature Review

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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.

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Ten Simple Rules for Writing a Literature Review

Marco pautasso.

1 Centre for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology (CEFE), CNRS, Montpellier, France

2 Centre for Biodiversity Synthesis and Analysis (CESAB), FRB, Aix-en-Provence, France

Literature reviews are in great demand in most scientific fields. Their need stems from the ever-increasing output of scientific publications [1] . For example, compared to 1991, in 2008 three, eight, and forty times more papers were indexed in Web of Science on malaria, obesity, and biodiversity, respectively [2] . Given such mountains of papers, scientists cannot be expected to examine in detail every single new paper relevant to their interests [3] . Thus, it is both advantageous and necessary to rely on regular summaries of the recent literature. Although recognition for scientists mainly comes from primary research, timely literature reviews can lead to new synthetic insights and are often widely read [4] . For such summaries to be useful, however, they need to be compiled in a professional way [5] .

When starting from scratch, reviewing the literature can require a titanic amount of work. That is why researchers who have spent their career working on a certain research issue are in a perfect position to review that literature. Some graduate schools are now offering courses in reviewing the literature, given that most research students start their project by producing an overview of what has already been done on their research issue [6] . However, it is likely that most scientists have not thought in detail about how to approach and carry out a literature review.

Reviewing the literature requires the ability to juggle multiple tasks, from finding and evaluating relevant material to synthesising information from various sources, from critical thinking to paraphrasing, evaluating, and citation skills [7] . In this contribution, I share ten simple rules I learned working on about 25 literature reviews as a PhD and postdoctoral student. Ideas and insights also come from discussions with coauthors and colleagues, as well as feedback from reviewers and editors.

Rule 1: Define a Topic and Audience

How to choose which topic to review? There are so many issues in contemporary science that you could spend a lifetime of attending conferences and reading the literature just pondering what to review. On the one hand, if you take several years to choose, several other people may have had the same idea in the meantime. On the other hand, only a well-considered topic is likely to lead to a brilliant literature review [8] . The topic must at least be:

• interesting to you (ideally, you should have come across a series of recent papers related to your line of work that call for a critical summary),
• an important aspect of the field (so that many readers will be interested in the review and there will be enough material to write it), and
• a well-defined issue (otherwise you could potentially include thousands of publications, which would make the review unhelpful).

Ideas for potential reviews may come from papers providing lists of key research questions to be answered [9] , but also from serendipitous moments during desultory reading and discussions. In addition to choosing your topic, you should also select a target audience. In many cases, the topic (e.g., web services in computational biology) will automatically define an audience (e.g., computational biologists), but that same topic may also be of interest to neighbouring fields (e.g., computer science, biology, etc.).

Rule 2: Search and Re-search the Literature

After having chosen your topic and audience, start by checking the literature and downloading relevant papers. Five pieces of advice here:

• keep track of the search items you use (so that your search can be replicated [10] ),
• keep a list of papers whose pdfs you cannot access immediately (so as to retrieve them later with alternative strategies),
• use a paper management system (e.g., Mendeley, Papers, Qiqqa, Sente),
• define early in the process some criteria for exclusion of irrelevant papers (these criteria can then be described in the review to help define its scope), and
• do not just look for research papers in the area you wish to review, but also seek previous reviews.

The chances are high that someone will already have published a literature review ( Figure 1 ), if not exactly on the issue you are planning to tackle, at least on a related topic. If there are already a few or several reviews of the literature on your issue, my advice is not to give up, but to carry on with your own literature review,

The bottom-right situation (many literature reviews but few research papers) is not just a theoretical situation; it applies, for example, to the study of the impacts of climate change on plant diseases, where there appear to be more literature reviews than research studies [33] .

• discussing in your review the approaches, limitations, and conclusions of past reviews,
• trying to find a new angle that has not been covered adequately in the previous reviews, and
• incorporating new material that has inevitably accumulated since their appearance.

When searching the literature for pertinent papers and reviews, the usual rules apply:

• be thorough,
• use different keywords and database sources (e.g., DBLP, Google Scholar, ISI Proceedings, JSTOR Search, Medline, Scopus, Web of Science), and
• look at who has cited past relevant papers and book chapters.

Rule 3: Take Notes While Reading

If you read the papers first, and only afterwards start writing the review, you will need a very good memory to remember who wrote what, and what your impressions and associations were while reading each single paper. My advice is, while reading, to start writing down interesting pieces of information, insights about how to organize the review, and thoughts on what to write. This way, by the time you have read the literature you selected, you will already have a rough draft of the review.

Of course, this draft will still need much rewriting, restructuring, and rethinking to obtain a text with a coherent argument [11] , but you will have avoided the danger posed by staring at a blank document. Be careful when taking notes to use quotation marks if you are provisionally copying verbatim from the literature. It is advisable then to reformulate such quotes with your own words in the final draft. It is important to be careful in noting the references already at this stage, so as to avoid misattributions. Using referencing software from the very beginning of your endeavour will save you time.

Rule 4: Choose the Type of Review You Wish to Write

After having taken notes while reading the literature, you will have a rough idea of the amount of material available for the review. This is probably a good time to decide whether to go for a mini- or a full review. Some journals are now favouring the publication of rather short reviews focusing on the last few years, with a limit on the number of words and citations. A mini-review is not necessarily a minor review: it may well attract more attention from busy readers, although it will inevitably simplify some issues and leave out some relevant material due to space limitations. A full review will have the advantage of more freedom to cover in detail the complexities of a particular scientific development, but may then be left in the pile of the very important papers “to be read” by readers with little time to spare for major monographs.

There is probably a continuum between mini- and full reviews. The same point applies to the dichotomy of descriptive vs. integrative reviews. While descriptive reviews focus on the methodology, findings, and interpretation of each reviewed study, integrative reviews attempt to find common ideas and concepts from the reviewed material [12] . A similar distinction exists between narrative and systematic reviews: while narrative reviews are qualitative, systematic reviews attempt to test a hypothesis based on the published evidence, which is gathered using a predefined protocol to reduce bias [13] , [14] . When systematic reviews analyse quantitative results in a quantitative way, they become meta-analyses. The choice between different review types will have to be made on a case-by-case basis, depending not just on the nature of the material found and the preferences of the target journal(s), but also on the time available to write the review and the number of coauthors [15] .

Rule 5: Keep the Review Focused, but Make It of Broad Interest

Whether your plan is to write a mini- or a full review, it is good advice to keep it focused 16 , 17 . Including material just for the sake of it can easily lead to reviews that are trying to do too many things at once. The need to keep a review focused can be problematic for interdisciplinary reviews, where the aim is to bridge the gap between fields [18] . If you are writing a review on, for example, how epidemiological approaches are used in modelling the spread of ideas, you may be inclined to include material from both parent fields, epidemiology and the study of cultural diffusion. This may be necessary to some extent, but in this case a focused review would only deal in detail with those studies at the interface between epidemiology and the spread of ideas.

While focus is an important feature of a successful review, this requirement has to be balanced with the need to make the review relevant to a broad audience. This square may be circled by discussing the wider implications of the reviewed topic for other disciplines.

Rule 6: Be Critical and Consistent

Reviewing the literature is not stamp collecting. A good review does not just summarize the literature, but discusses it critically, identifies methodological problems, and points out research gaps [19] . After having read a review of the literature, a reader should have a rough idea of:

• the major achievements in the reviewed field,
• the main areas of debate, and
• the outstanding research questions.

It is challenging to achieve a successful review on all these fronts. A solution can be to involve a set of complementary coauthors: some people are excellent at mapping what has been achieved, some others are very good at identifying dark clouds on the horizon, and some have instead a knack at predicting where solutions are going to come from. If your journal club has exactly this sort of team, then you should definitely write a review of the literature! In addition to critical thinking, a literature review needs consistency, for example in the choice of passive vs. active voice and present vs. past tense.

Rule 7: Find a Logical Structure

Like a well-baked cake, a good review has a number of telling features: it is worth the reader's time, timely, systematic, well written, focused, and critical. It also needs a good structure. With reviews, the usual subdivision of research papers into introduction, methods, results, and discussion does not work or is rarely used. However, a general introduction of the context and, toward the end, a recapitulation of the main points covered and take-home messages make sense also in the case of reviews. For systematic reviews, there is a trend towards including information about how the literature was searched (database, keywords, time limits) [20] .

How can you organize the flow of the main body of the review so that the reader will be drawn into and guided through it? It is generally helpful to draw a conceptual scheme of the review, e.g., with mind-mapping techniques. Such diagrams can help recognize a logical way to order and link the various sections of a review [21] . This is the case not just at the writing stage, but also for readers if the diagram is included in the review as a figure. A careful selection of diagrams and figures relevant to the reviewed topic can be very helpful to structure the text too [22] .

Rule 8: Make Use of Feedback

Reviews of the literature are normally peer-reviewed in the same way as research papers, and rightly so [23] . As a rule, incorporating feedback from reviewers greatly helps improve a review draft. Having read the review with a fresh mind, reviewers may spot inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and ambiguities that had not been noticed by the writers due to rereading the typescript too many times. It is however advisable to reread the draft one more time before submission, as a last-minute correction of typos, leaps, and muddled sentences may enable the reviewers to focus on providing advice on the content rather than the form.

Feedback is vital to writing a good review, and should be sought from a variety of colleagues, so as to obtain a diversity of views on the draft. This may lead in some cases to conflicting views on the merits of the paper, and on how to improve it, but such a situation is better than the absence of feedback. A diversity of feedback perspectives on a literature review can help identify where the consensus view stands in the landscape of the current scientific understanding of an issue [24] .

Rule 9: Include Your Own Relevant Research, but Be Objective

In many cases, reviewers of the literature will have published studies relevant to the review they are writing. This could create a conflict of interest: how can reviewers report objectively on their own work [25] ? Some scientists may be overly enthusiastic about what they have published, and thus risk giving too much importance to their own findings in the review. However, bias could also occur in the other direction: some scientists may be unduly dismissive of their own achievements, so that they will tend to downplay their contribution (if any) to a field when reviewing it.

In general, a review of the literature should neither be a public relations brochure nor an exercise in competitive self-denial. If a reviewer is up to the job of producing a well-organized and methodical review, which flows well and provides a service to the readership, then it should be possible to be objective in reviewing one's own relevant findings. In reviews written by multiple authors, this may be achieved by assigning the review of the results of a coauthor to different coauthors.

Rule 10: Be Up-to-Date, but Do Not Forget Older Studies

Given the progressive acceleration in the publication of scientific papers, today's reviews of the literature need awareness not just of the overall direction and achievements of a field of inquiry, but also of the latest studies, so as not to become out-of-date before they have been published. Ideally, a literature review should not identify as a major research gap an issue that has just been addressed in a series of papers in press (the same applies, of course, to older, overlooked studies (“sleeping beauties” [26] )). This implies that literature reviewers would do well to keep an eye on electronic lists of papers in press, given that it can take months before these appear in scientific databases. Some reviews declare that they have scanned the literature up to a certain point in time, but given that peer review can be a rather lengthy process, a full search for newly appeared literature at the revision stage may be worthwhile. Assessing the contribution of papers that have just appeared is particularly challenging, because there is little perspective with which to gauge their significance and impact on further research and society.

Inevitably, new papers on the reviewed topic (including independently written literature reviews) will appear from all quarters after the review has been published, so that there may soon be the need for an updated review. But this is the nature of science [27] – [32] . I wish everybody good luck with writing a review of the literature.

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to M. Barbosa, K. Dehnen-Schmutz, T. Döring, D. Fontaneto, M. Garbelotto, O. Holdenrieder, M. Jeger, D. Lonsdale, A. MacLeod, P. Mills, M. Moslonka-Lefebvre, G. Stancanelli, P. Weisberg, and X. Xu for insights and discussions, and to P. Bourne, T. Matoni, and D. Smith for helpful comments on a previous draft.

Funding Statement

This work was funded by the French Foundation for Research on Biodiversity (FRB) through its Centre for Synthesis and Analysis of Biodiversity data (CESAB), as part of the NETSEED research project. The funders had no role in the preparation of the manuscript.

Library Guides

Literature reviews: structure.

• Criticality

Structure your Work

Uncertain about how to structure your literature review? Have a look at this revelatory video by Dr Jodie Salter and the University of Guelph. 

Video Link:  Writing the Literature Review: A Banquet Hall Analogy  

Structure of a literature review

A literature review should have an introduction, main body and a conclusion.

As shown in the video, above, the body should NOT be organised author by author (for that, there are annotated bibliographies ). Instead, it should be organised by topic (normally, from general background to specific aspects of the subject your dissertation is dealing with). Some paragraphs can be organised chronologically (for example outlining the development of an idea throughout time), by method, by sector, or other criteria.  

Introduction 

This should be a paragraph that can include some of the following: 

Outlining the scope of your literature review – sources, topics to be discussed / the aims of your review. 

Where/how does your topic fit into the wider subject area. 

Why the topic is important- is it an area of current interest/significance? 

Highlight the relevant issues or debates that have characterised your field of research. 

Has the topic been widely researched? Or not? 

Signposting for the reader, explaining the organisation / sequence of topics covered in the review. 

Provide strong sentences at beginnings of paragraphs: every paragraph shall deal with a topic or make a point.  

Signpost, showing the direction of your writing, and indicating your critical take on the sources you present.  

Use you own voice to comment on and evaluate the literature. 

Identify gaps in the literature.  

Write "so what" summary sentences throughout the review to help the reader understand how the sections of your review are relevant to your research. 

Use language to show confidence or caution, as appropriate: e.g. There is clearly a link... OR This suggests a possible link... 

Avoid "he/she said...": always name the authors. Vary the reporting words. See the guide on  Academic Voice and Language  for more guidance on logic, signposting, reporting words etc.  

Conclusion 

State how your literature review has met the review aim(s) outlined in the introduction. 

Summarise and synthesise the main issues/themes that the literature review has presented in relation to your topic area and research questions. 

If the literature review is part of a dissertation, underline the gaps identified in the literature. This provides a rationale for your chosen dissertation topic. 

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How to Write a Literature Review

What is a literature review.

• What Is the Literature
• Writing the Review

A literature review is much more than an annotated bibliography or a list of separate reviews of articles and books. It is a critical, analytical summary and synthesis of the current knowledge of a topic. Thus it should compare and relate different theories, findings, etc, rather than just summarize them individually. In addition, it should have a particular focus or theme to organize the review. It does not have to be an exhaustive account of everything published on the topic, but it should discuss all the significant academic literature and other relevant sources important for that focus.

This is meant to be a general guide to writing a literature review: ways to structure one, what to include, how it supplements other research. For more specific help on writing a review, and especially for help on finding the literature to review, sign up for a Personal Research Session .

The specific organization of a literature review depends on the type and purpose of the review, as well as on the specific field or topic being reviewed. But in general, it is a relatively brief but thorough exploration of past and current work on a topic. Rather than a chronological listing of previous work, though, literature reviews are usually organized thematically, such as different theoretical approaches, methodologies, or specific issues or concepts involved in the topic. A thematic organization makes it much easier to examine contrasting perspectives, theoretical approaches, methodologies, findings, etc, and to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of, and point out any gaps in, previous research. And this is the heart of what a literature review is about. A literature review may offer new interpretations, theoretical approaches, or other ideas; if it is part of a research proposal or report it should demonstrate the relationship of the proposed or reported research to others' work; but whatever else it does, it must provide a critical overview of the current state of research efforts. 

Literature reviews are common and very important in the sciences and social sciences. They are less common and have a less important role in the humanities, but they do have a place, especially stand-alone reviews.

Types of Literature Reviews

There are different types of literature reviews, and different purposes for writing a review, but the most common are:

• Stand-alone literature review articles . These provide an overview and analysis of the current state of research on a topic or question. The goal is to evaluate and compare previous research on a topic to provide an analysis of what is currently known, and also to reveal controversies, weaknesses, and gaps in current work, thus pointing to directions for future research. You can find examples published in any number of academic journals, but there is a series of Annual Reviews of *Subject* which are specifically devoted to literature review articles. Writing a stand-alone review is often an effective way to get a good handle on a topic and to develop ideas for your own research program. For example, contrasting theoretical approaches or conflicting interpretations of findings can be the basis of your research project: can you find evidence supporting one interpretation against another, or can you propose an alternative interpretation that overcomes their limitations?
• Part of a research proposal . This could be a proposal for a PhD dissertation, a senior thesis, or a class project. It could also be a submission for a grant. The literature review, by pointing out the current issues and questions concerning a topic, is a crucial part of demonstrating how your proposed research will contribute to the field, and thus of convincing your thesis committee to allow you to pursue the topic of your interest or a funding agency to pay for your research efforts.
• Part of a research report . When you finish your research and write your thesis or paper to present your findings, it should include a literature review to provide the context to which your work is a contribution. Your report, in addition to detailing the methods, results, etc. of your research, should show how your work relates to others' work.

A literature review for a research report is often a revision of the review for a research proposal, which can be a revision of a stand-alone review. Each revision should be a fairly extensive revision. With the increased knowledge of and experience in the topic as you proceed, your understanding of the topic will increase. Thus, you will be in a better position to analyze and critique the literature. In addition, your focus will change as you proceed in your research. Some areas of the literature you initially reviewed will be marginal or irrelevant for your eventual research, and you will need to explore other areas more thoroughly. 

Examples of Literature Reviews

See the series of Annual Reviews of *Subject* which are specifically devoted to literature review articles to find many examples of stand-alone literature reviews in the biomedical, physical, and social sciences. 

Research report articles vary in how they are organized, but a common general structure is to have sections such as:

• Abstract - Brief summary of the contents of the article
• Introduction - A explanation of the purpose of the study, a statement of the research question(s) the study intends to address
• Literature review - A critical assessment of the work done so far on this topic, to show how the current study relates to what has already been done
• Methods - How the study was carried out (e.g. instruments or equipment, procedures, methods to gather and analyze data)
• Results - What was found in the course of the study
• Discussion - What do the results mean
• Conclusion - State the conclusions and implications of the results, and discuss how it relates to the work reviewed in the literature review; also, point to directions for further work in the area

Here are some articles that illustrate variations on this theme. There is no need to read the entire articles (unless the contents interest you); just quickly browse through to see the sections, and see how each section is introduced and what is contained in them.

The Determinants of Undergraduate Grade Point Average: The Relative Importance of Family Background, High School Resources, and Peer Group Effects , in The Journal of Human Resources , v. 34 no. 2 (Spring 1999), p. 268-293.

This article has a standard breakdown of sections:

• Introduction
• Literature Review
• Some discussion sections

First Encounters of the Bureaucratic Kind: Early Freshman Experiences with a Campus Bureaucracy , in The Journal of Higher Education , v. 67 no. 6 (Nov-Dec 1996), p. 660-691.

This one does not have a section specifically labeled as a "literature review" or "review of the literature," but the first few sections cite a long list of other sources discussing previous research in the area before the authors present their own study they are reporting.

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The Guide to Literature Reviews

• What is a Literature Review?
• The Purpose of Literature Reviews
• Guidelines for Writing a Literature Review
• How to Organize a Literature Review?
• Software for Literature Reviews
• Using Artificial Intelligence for Literature Reviews
• How to Conduct a Literature Review?
• Common Mistakes and Pitfalls in a Literature Review
• Methods for Literature Reviews
• What is a Systematic Literature Review?
• What is a Narrative Literature Review?
• What is a Descriptive Literature Review?
• What is a Scoping Literature Review?
• What is a Realist Literature Review?
• What is a Critical Literature Review?
• Meta Analysis vs. Literature Review
• What is an Umbrella Literature Review?
• Differences Between Annotated Bibliographies and Literature Reviews
• Literature Review vs. Theoretical Framework
• How to Write a Literature Review?

Introduction

Why is the literature review structure important, how to structure literature reviews, what is a literature review outline, important reminders when structuring a literature review.

• How to Make a Cover Page for a Literature Review?
• How to Write an Abstract for a Literature Review?
• How to Write a Literature Review Introduction?
• How to Write the Body of a Literature Review?
• How to Write a Literature Review Conclusion?
• How to Make a Literature Review Bibliography?
• How to Format a Literature Review?
• How Long Should a Literature Review Be?
• Examples of Literature Reviews
• How to Present a Literature Review?
• How to Publish a Literature Review?

How to Structure a Literature Review?

Writing literature reviews is a crucial part of any research and its structure is vital for clarity and coherence. A good literature review begins with an introduction that outlines the research questions and the theoretical framework. The literature review section of any research paper should be well-organized, covering key concepts and common themes. It should include relevant sources and in-text citations, discussing literature related to the research project. Body paragraphs should compare existing studies and various methods used, highlighting gaps in the research area. By focusing on the overall structure, from the introduction to the conclusion, you can create a comprehensive and insightful review that supports your larger paper.

The structure of a literature review is crucial for several reasons. It provides a clear framework for presenting the research, ensuring that the information is organized logically. A well-structured literature review helps you synthesize existing knowledge and identify gaps in the research. It also allows you to compare and contrast different studies, highlighting key findings and relevant literature. With a logical structure, you can present a comprehensive overview of the topic, making it easier for readers to understand the research process and key themes. Additionally, a clear structure enhances the credibility of your review, showcasing your ability to critically evaluate and interpret existing research.

A structured literature review is a vital part of academic writing. It allows you to present your research coherently and systematically. This structure is important because it guides the reader through your analysis and synthesis of existing research. A clear structure makes it easier for readers to follow your argument and understand the connections between different studies. It also helps you stay organized and focused on the research question .

A well-structured literature review demonstrates your ability to conduct a thorough and critical evaluation of the literature. It shows that you can identify key themes and trends in the research, as well as gaps that need further exploration. This critical analysis is essential for advancing knowledge in your field and contributing to ongoing academic debates. By providing a structured review, you can highlight the significance of your research and its contribution to the broader academic community.

Structuring a literature review involves several steps. Start with an introduction that provides background information on the research topic and states the research question . The introduction should also outline the purpose and scope of the review. This section sets the stage for the rest of the review by providing context and explaining the significance of the topic.

Next, describe the methodology used to select and evaluate the literature. This includes the databases and search terms used to locate relevant studies, as well as the inclusion and exclusion criteria. By clearly explaining your search strategy, you provide transparency and allow others to replicate your review. This section also demonstrates the rigour of your research process, which is crucial if your full paper consists of a literature review. If your review forms only one section of your full empirical paper, then it is still important to keep clear notes on your review methodology even if this might not end up in your paper. Your notes can still help you maintain organization and rigour.

The main body of the literature review should be organized thematically, chronologically, or methodologically, depending on what best suits your research. Each section should discuss key findings and relevant literature, highlighting significant studies and their contributions. For example, you can organize the literature by key themes or topics, discussing studies that address similar issues. Alternatively, you can organize the review chronologically, showing how the research has evolved over time. Another approach is to organize the literature by methodology, comparing studies that use different research methods .

After discussing the literature, provide a critical evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the existing research. Identify gaps and suggest areas for future research. This critical evaluation is an important part of the literature review, as it demonstrates your ability to analyze and interpret the literature. By identifying gaps, you can highlight the need for further research and suggest new directions for future studies. If you are conducting your own empirical study, build off the gaps, limitations, or unresolved puzzles in the literature to explain why your research question is novel and interesting.

Finally, conclude the literature review by summarizing the key points and discussing the implications of the findings. Ensure that you follow a logical structure throughout, using clear headings and subheadings to guide the reader. The conclusion should highlight the significance and implications of the main insights you gleaned from your literature review, establishing a solid foundation from which research can continue to build.

A literature review outline is a roadmap that guides the writing process. It ensures that you cover all necessary components systematically. Here is an example outline for a literature review:

• Background information
• Research question
• Purpose and scope

Methodology

• Search strategy
• Inclusion and exclusion criteria
• Evaluation of sources
• Thematic, chronological, or methodological organization
• Discussion of key findings and relevant literature
• Critical evaluation
• Summary of key points
• Implications for future research
• Final thoughts
• Comprehensive list of cited sources following the appropriate reference style in your area

By following a structured outline, you can present a clear and coherent review that guides the reader through your analysis and synthesis of the literature. The sample outline above is well-suited to writing a full review paper, but you can also adapt this outline to write a literature review section as part of an empirical study. It also helps you stay focused on the research question and ensures that all relevant aspects of the topic are covered.

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When structuring a literature review, keep several important points in mind. First, maintain a clear and logical structure, using headings and subheadings to organize the content. Ensure that each section flows smoothly into the next, providing a cohesive narrative. A well-structured review makes it easier for readers to follow your argument and understand the connections between different studies.

Second, ensure that the structure allows for a critical evaluation of the literature. Identify strengths, weaknesses, and gaps in the research within each section. This approach demonstrates your understanding of the topic and ability to synthesize existing knowledge. Structuring your review to highlight these aspects provides a balanced and comprehensive analysis. Ensure the structure includes space to identify gaps in the research and suggest areas for future study.

Third, use a consistent citation style, such as APA or MLA, to reference sources. This adds credibility to your review and helps readers locate the original studies. Proper citation is an important aspect of academic writing, as it ensures that you give credit to the original authors and allows others to verify your sources.

Finally, remember to focus on the research question throughout the review, ensuring that all discussions are relevant to your topic. By staying focused on the research question, you can provide a clear and coherent review that addresses the main issues and debates in the literature. It is also important to provide a clear introduction and conclusion, summarizing the main points and discussing the implications of the findings.

By following these reminders, you can write a comprehensive and well-structured literature review. A clear structure and critical analysis are essential for presenting a thorough and balanced review that contributes to the academic community. By highlighting key findings, identifying gaps, and suggesting areas for future research, you can provide valuable insights into your research topic.

A well-structured literature review is essential for presenting a clear and comprehensive overview of a research topic. By following a logical structure and critically evaluating existing research, you can highlight key findings, identify gaps, and suggest areas for future research. Remember to organize your review using a clear outline, and focus on the research question throughout. With careful planning and attention to detail, you can write an effective literature review that contributes valuable insights to your field of study.

In conclusion, the structure of a literature review is crucial for presenting your research clearly and coherently. You can provide a comprehensive overview of your research topic with a structured outline. This helps readers understand the significance of your research and its contribution to the broader academic community. A well-structured literature review demonstrates your ability to conduct a thorough and critical evaluation of the literature, highlighting key findings and identifying gaps in the research. By following these guidelines, you can write an effective literature review that contributes valuable insights to your field of study.

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• Citation and Attribution

What Is a Literature Review?

Review the literature, write the literature review, further reading, learning objectives, attribution.

This guide is designed to:

• Identify the sections and purpose of a literature review in academic writing
• Review practical strategies and organizational methods for preparing a literature review

A literature review is a summary and synthesis of scholarly research on a specific topic. It should answer questions such as:

• What research has been done on the topic?
• Who are the key researchers and experts in the field?
• What are the common theories and methodologies?
• Are there challenges, controversies, and contradictions?
• Are there gaps in the research that your approach addresses?

The process of reviewing existing research allows you to fine-tune your research question and contextualize your own work. Preparing a literature review is a cyclical process. You may find that the research question you begin with evolves as you learn more about the topic.

Once you have defined your research question , focus on learning what other scholars have written on the topic.

In order to  do a thorough search of the literature  on the topic, define the basic criteria:

• Databases and journals: Look at the  subject guide  related to your topic for recommended databases. Review the  tutorial on finding articles  for tips. 
• Books: Search BruKnow, the Library's catalog. Steps to searching ebooks are covered in the  Finding Ebooks tutorial .
• What time period should it cover? Is currency important?
• Do I know of primary and secondary sources that I can use as a way to find other information?
• What should I be aware of when looking at popular, trade, and scholarly resources ? 

One strategy is to review bibliographies for sources that relate to your interest. For more on this technique, look at the tutorial on finding articles when you have a citation .

Tip: Use a Synthesis Matrix

As you read sources, themes will emerge that will help you to organize the review. You can use a simple Synthesis Matrix to track your notes as you read. From this work, a concept map emerges that provides an overview of the literature and ways in which it connects. Working with Zotero to capture the citations, you build the structure for writing your literature review.

How do I know when I am done?

A key indicator for knowing when you are done is running into the same articles and materials. With no new information being uncovered, you are likely exhausting your current search and should modify search terms or search different catalogs or databases. It is also possible that you have reached a point when you can start writing the literature review.

Tip: Manage Your Citations

These citation management tools also create citations, footnotes, and bibliographies with just a few clicks:

Zotero Tutorial

Endnote Tutorial

Your literature review should be focused on the topic defined in your research question. It should be written in a logical, structured way and maintain an objective perspective and use a formal voice.

Review the Summary Table you created for themes and connecting ideas. Use the following guidelines to prepare an outline of the main points you want to make. 

• Synthesize previous research on the topic.
• Aim to include both summary and synthesis.
• Include literature that supports your research question as well as that which offers a different perspective.
• Avoid relying on one author or publication too heavily.
• Select an organizational structure, such as chronological, methodological, and thematic.

The three elements of a literature review are introduction, body, and conclusion.

Introduction

• Define the topic of the literature review, including any terminology.
• Introduce the central theme and organization of the literature review.
• Summarize the state of research on the topic.
• Frame the literature review with your research question.
• Focus on ways to have the body of literature tell its own story. Do not add your own interpretations at this point.
• Look for patterns and find ways to tie the pieces together.
• Summarize instead of quote.
• Weave the points together rather than list summaries of each source.
• Include the most important sources, not everything you have read.
• Summarize the review of the literature.
• Identify areas of further research on the topic.
• Connect the review with your research.
• DeCarlo, M. (2018). 4.1 What is a literature review? In Scientific Inquiry in Social Work. Open Social Work Education. https://scientificinquiryinsocialwork.pressbooks.com/chapter/4-1-what-is-a-literature-review/
• Literature Reviews (n.d.) https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/literature-reviews/ Accessed Nov. 10, 2021

This guide was designed to: 

• Identify the sections and purpose of a literature review in academic writing 
• Review practical strategies and organizational methods for preparing a literature review​

Content on this page adapted from: 

Frederiksen, L. and Phelps, S. (2017).   Literature Reviews for Education and Nursing Graduate Students.  Licensed CC BY 4.0

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Structuring a literature review

To decide how to structure your literature review, it's helpful to first of all consider its purpose and what it is that you want to argue about the strengths and weaknesses of existing research. Having an argument about the literature is vital; the absence of an argument means that you'll simply be summarising what others have said about your research topic uncritically. Make it clear to readers how your research fits within the literature and the nature of your contribution to furthering knowledge (whether it builds on what others have already done or challenges exisiting understandings and approaches).

Considering the purpose and argument / key message of your literature review helps you to focus your review on what's relevant and needs to be covered, what's unnecessary and therefore can be excluded, and it can help you to decide how to sequence your ideas. If your purpose is to persuade your readers of your project's value and contribution to the field, and your argument is that there is a gap in the field that your research fills, then your structure should lead the readers logically to this conclusion. 

Like any other chapter, a literature review chapter or section should have an introduction that tells the reader what your argument is. Knowing your argument upfront can help your reader to understand why you are leading them through your selected bodies of literature and concepts.

After the introduction, a literature review often moves broadly from what is well known in the field and narrows down to what is less well known, which is where your research gap or issue is located. Your literature review may draw on different bodies of literature and show how they are relevant and are connected. To work out how best to order your discussion, consider the following questions.

• Which bodies of literature have the broadest or most narrow scope?
• Which bodies of literature are most commonly used in the field/s?
• Which concepts are most widely agreed upon?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the commonly used literature, and which of these does my study build on?
• What is the less well known literature that my study relates to?
• Are there studies / aspects of the literature that are minor or tangential within the field/s, but are important to my study?
• How can I convince my readers that this is a worthwhile area to investigate?
• If drawing on literature from different fields, how are they connected? Why am I connecting them?
• What are the studies that are the closest to mine? What are the strengths and weaknesses of these studies?
• What are the common themes in the literature? Can I sequence them from the most common themes down to the themes that are closely connected to my study?

One useful way to plan the structure of your literature review is to brainstorm, draw, and / or do a mind-map. Identify how the different concepts and bodies of literature fit together and how your study builds on them. This can show you logical ways to put your literature review together, as well as give you some ideas about how you can explain to your readers how the various parts fit together. You can also try to explain your literature review structure to someone who knows little about the field, to test whether it is clear and logical.

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How to Structure a Literature Review for a Dissertation

By Laura Brown on 26th February 2019

A literature review structure typically contains three essential parts,

• Introduction: It provides an overview of the topic or research question being addressed, and explain the purpose and scope of the literature review.
• Main Body: This section includes the methodology, themes/sections, and discussion/analysis. It provides a comprehensive analysis of the literature on a particular topic, synthesizes the findings, and identifies gaps or limitations in the literature.
• Conclusion: Here, the researcher summarises the main findings, highlights the implications of the findings, addresses the limitations and provides recommendations for future research.

Basically, literature review is the assessment of the selected readings. You are often asked to write it for three purposes:

• To review a book or an article, also known as a critical review.
• To review a bunch of readings and summarise the key points that are termed as an annotated bibliography .
• The last and main purpose is reviewing available literature chosen for a dissertation. This is called a literature review of a dissertation.

We have observed that students face numerous challenges when they structure a literature review paper and are left with no option but to buy literature review online. This blog will solve your problems, and we will briefly tell you how to structure a dissertation literature review .

Get Help For Your Dissertation Literature Review

What Is Included In Literature Review Structure

If you think that the structure of a literature review is impossible to prepare, then you might be wrong. If you know how to write an essay, then you can structure a literature review efficiently without any barriers. You may know that an essay has three parts: introduction, main body and conclusion. Similarly, the dissertation literature review structure is just like other essay structures, which contains:

• Introduction
• Discussion (main body)

To structure a good literature review, you should create a complete concept in your mind. It includes where you need to start and how you will conclude the whole review. Below is the complete outline that you can take as a guide to structure your good literature review.

Structure A Literature Review In An Easy Way

Get Your Dissertation Literature Review by Professionals

To make a good structure of a literature review in your dissertation that can get you distinction in your career, you have to focus on the main aspects of the research. Usually, researchers forget some crucial points and readings while structuring a literature review. If you do not want to leave any point unaddressed, then you should keep in mind below:

You need to brainstorm ideas of how you will carry your research. For example, what type of databases you will use and where you will get your concern research literature.

After making up your mind about the sources, go for reading different literature on the concerned research subject area.

After reading different literatures, draft the main body and closely relate research parts.

Then compare and evaluate those readings. Like, finding out the gaps in already available research and current knowledge.

Finally, to come up with the finest literature review structure, arrange your whole literature in the standard format of dissertation writing services . It will increase the readability score as well as the reader’s eagerness.

Literature Review Format For Dissertation

Get Assistance by Experts in Literature Review

According to a survey, almost 50% of the students face difficulties with it and often look for the structure of literature review examples . Well, here is how you can do it. Let’s understand how to structure a literature review of dissertation.

Introduction:

• Briefly define the research statement based on the previous studies on selected topic.
• Mention the reasons and aims of the review.
• Demonstrate concisely how your selected research will lead to the actual dissertation question.
• Mention inclusion and exclusion of the literature, like what is included and what is not included in the research.
• Mention gaps in the research and how your research will fill those gaps.

Discussion:

• Discuss the selected research in paragraph format. You need to be careful about the literature review paragraph structure. Here, you can also use headings and subheadings.
• Start your evaluation from the general subject area and move on to specify it to your research question. For example, ‘education’ in general and ‘early childhood education’ in specific.
• Select a wide range of sources to strengthen your structure for literature review. However, it is better to use sources which are up-to-date and recent, like not older than 5 to 7 years.
• Mention the literature gap that is still left to be filled. Like future work on the literature review of the selected research area.

Conclusion:

• Conclude your overall perception of the topic with preferred models.
• Summarise the key points evaluated in the discussion section.
• Outline the associations of the identified issues and recommendations for future review work .

This is simply how should a literature review be structured. Once you are familiar with the dissertation literature review structure, it’s time to delve into some tips for a literature review dissertation.

Things Which Makes A Literature Review Good

How To Write A Good Dissertation Literature Review

Writing a literature review can be a daunting task, but it is an essential part of any research project. A well-written literature review provides a thorough understanding of the research field, identifies gaps in the existing literature, and helps to establish the importance of proposed research project. Here are some tips to help you structure your literature review effectively:

A. Start with a clear introduction

In a proper structure for literature review, you should begin by providing a brief overview of the research area and the scope of your review. State the research questions or objectives that you aim to address through your literature review.

B. Identify the relevant literature

Conduct a comprehensive search of the literature using academic databases , such as Google Scholar , PubMed , and JSTOR . Identify the most relevant and recent studies, including theoretical and empirical research, to provide a comprehensive understanding of the research field.

C. Organise the literature

This is the most crucial part while you prepare the structure of literature review dissertation. Organise the literature based on themes, theories, or chronology. A thematic literature review groups the literature based on the key themes or key concepts that emerge from the literature.

A theoretical literature review evaluates the existing theories and frameworks in the research field. A chronological literature review presents the literature in form of publication, highlighting the historical perspective of the research field.

D. Critically evaluate the literature

Analyse the literature critically by comparing and contrasting different studies, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses, and identifying significant flaws, themes or gaps in existing knowledge. This will help you to establish the relevance and importance of your proposed research project.

E. Summarise the literature

Summarise the key findings by highlighting the main trends and themes that emerge from the literature. This will help you to provide a comprehensive overview of the research field and to establish the relevance of your proposed research project.

F. Write in a clear and concise style

Write your literature review in succinct manner, using appropriate academic language and referencing conventions. Ensure that your writing is well-structured and flows logically, with each paragraph focusing on a specific theme or aspect of the literature.

G. Conclude with a summary and future study

The final tip to structure a literature review of dissertation is to conclude your literature review by summarising the key findings and conclusions of the literature, highlighting any gaps or inconsistencies, and identifying the future directions for research in the field.

Tips In One Go

• Introduction to the literature
• Identification of relevancy
• Organisation based on themes & theories
• Critical evaluation of the literature
• Summarising the key findings
• Writing in a clear style
• Conclusion along with the future direction

Summing Up On How To Structure A Literature Review Of Dissertation

In conclusion, writing a literature review for a dissertation can be a challenging task, but by following these tips, you can come up comfortably with an astonishing structure of literature review dissertation and provide a thorough understanding of the research field. Remember to critically evaluate the literature, summarise the key findings, and follow concise style of writing.

Still, if you face any challenges with the literature review structure, we are always open to assist you. You can buy literature review paper with just a single click.

Source & References:

• https://www.monash.edu/learnhq/excel-at-writing/how-to-write…/literature-review/structuring-a-literature-review
• https://www.rlf.org.uk/resources/the-structure-of-a-literature-review/
• https://www.citewrite.qut.edu.au/write/writing-well/litreview.html
• https://libguides.westminster.ac.uk/literature-reviews/structure
• https://www.anu.edu.au/students/academic-skills/research-writing/literature-reviews/structuring-a-literature-review
• https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/literature-reviews/
• https://guides.lib.uoguelph.ca/c.php?g=130964&p=5000948
• https://research.library.gsu.edu/c.php?g=115595&p=754162
• https://www.otago.ac.nz/hedc/otago615355.pdf

Laura Brown, a senior content writer who writes actionable blogs at Crowd Writer.

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How to write a literature review in 6 steps

What is a literature review?

How to write a literature review, 1. determine the purpose of your literature review, 2. do an extensive search, 3. evaluate and select literature, 4. analyze the literature, 5. plan the structure of your literature review, 6. write your literature review, other resources to help you write a successful literature review, frequently asked questions about writing a literature review, related articles.

A literature review is an assessment of the sources in a chosen topic of research.

A good literature review does not just summarize sources. It analyzes the state of the field on a given topic and creates a scholarly foundation for you to make your own intervention. It demonstrates to your readers how your research fits within a larger field of study.

In a thesis, a literature review is part of the introduction, but it can also be a separate section. In research papers, a literature review may have its own section or it may be integrated into the introduction, depending on the field.

➡️ Our guide on what is a literature review covers additional basics about literature reviews.

• Identify the main purpose of the literature review.
• Do extensive research.
• Evaluate and select relevant sources.
• Analyze the sources.
• Plan a structure.
• Write the review.

In this section, we review each step of the process of creating a literature review.

In the first step, make sure you know specifically what the assignment is and what form your literature review should take. Read your assignment carefully and seek clarification from your professor or instructor if needed. You should be able to answer the following questions:

• How many sources do I need to include?
• What types of sources should I review?
• Should I evaluate the sources?
• Should I summarize, synthesize or critique sources?
• Do I need to provide any definitions or background information?

In addition to that, be aware that the narrower your topic, the easier it will be to limit the number of sources you need to read in order to get a good overview of the topic.

Now you need to find out what has been written on the topic and search for literature related to your research topic. Make sure to select appropriate source material, which means using academic or scholarly sources , including books, reports, journal articles , government documents and web resources.

➡️ If you’re unsure about how to tell if a source is scholarly, take a look at our guide on how to identify a scholarly source .

Come up with a list of relevant keywords and then start your search with your institution's library catalog, and extend it to other useful databases and academic search engines like:

• Google Scholar
• Science.gov

➡️ Our guide on how to collect data for your thesis might be helpful at this stage of your research as well as the top list of academic search engines .

Once you find a useful article, check out the reference list. It should provide you with even more relevant sources. Also, keep a note of the:

• authors' names
• page numbers

Keeping track of the bibliographic information for each source will save you time when you’re ready to create citations. You could also use a reference manager like Paperpile to automatically save, manage, and cite your references.

Read the literature. You will most likely not be able to read absolutely everything that is out there on the topic. Therefore, read the abstract first to determine whether the rest of the source is worth your time. If the source is relevant for your topic:

• Read it critically.
• Look for the main arguments.
• Take notes as you read.
• Organize your notes using a table, mind map, or other technique.

Now you are ready to analyze the literature you have gathered. While your are working on your analysis, you should ask the following questions:

• What are the key terms, concepts and problems addressed by the author?
• How is this source relevant for my specific topic?
• How is the article structured? What are the major trends and findings?
• What are the conclusions of the study?
• How are the results presented? Is the source credible?
• When comparing different sources, how do they relate to each other? What are the similarities, what are the differences?
• Does the study help me understand the topic better?
• Are there any gaps in the research that need to be filled? How can I further my research as a result of the review?

Tip: Decide on the structure of your literature review before you start writing.

There are various ways to organize your literature review:

• Chronological method : Writing in the chronological method means you are presenting the materials according to when they were published. Follow this approach only if a clear path of research can be identified.
• Thematic review : A thematic review of literature is organized around a topic or issue, rather than the progression of time.
• Publication-based : You can order your sources by publication, if the way you present the order of your sources demonstrates a more important trend. This is the case when a progression revealed from study to study and the practices of researchers have changed and adapted due to the new revelations.
• Methodological approach : A methodological approach focuses on the methods used by the researcher. If you have used sources from different disciplines that use a variety of research methods, you might want to compare the results in light of the different methods and discuss how the topic has been approached from different sides.

Regardless of the structure you chose, a review should always include the following three sections:

• An introduction, which should give the reader an outline of why you are writing the review and explain the relevance of the topic.
• A body, which divides your literature review into different sections. Write in well-structured paragraphs, use transitions and topic sentences and critically analyze each source for how it contributes to the themes you are researching.
• A conclusion , which summarizes the key findings, the main agreements and disagreements in the literature, your overall perspective, and any gaps or areas for further research.

➡️ If your literature review is part of a longer paper, visit our guide on what is a research paper for additional tips.

➡️ UNC writing center: Literature reviews

➡️ How to write a literature review in 3 steps

➡️ How to write a literature review in 30 minutes or less

The goal of a literature review is to asses the state of the field on a given topic in preparation for making an intervention.

A literature review should have its own independent section. You should indicate clearly in the table of contents where it can be found, and address this section as “Literature Review.”

There is no set amount of words for a literature review; the length depends on the research. If you are working with a large amount of sources, then it will be long. If your paper does not depend entirely on references, then it will be short.

Most research papers include a literature review. By assessing the available sources in your field of research, you will be able to make a more confident argument about the topic.

Literature reviews are most commonly found in theses and dissertations. However, you find them in research papers as well.