What is Literature Review?
A literature review is a critical summary and evaluation of all the published works on a particular topic or field. As you prepare a literature review, you are expected to read broadly on secondary sources, such as books, academic journals and any other relevant sources related in order to gain a thorough understanding of the existing research. Providing a comprehensive and balanced discussion of the major and important research is crucial to a good literature review, and also helpful to identify existing gaps and potential directions to your research topic.
Sources for a Literature Review
There are several different types of literature available and you will probably draw on all of them. The most common sources are listed below for reference:
- Books (textbooks, specialized books, reference books)
- Journal articles
- Published literature reviews of particular fields
- Reports e.g. Government reports, Professional Bodies reports
- Theses and dissertations
- Conference proceedings
- Step 1: Select and Define a Topic
- Step 2: Develop the Tools of Argumentation
- Step 3: Search the Literature
- Step 4: Survey the Literature
- Step 5: Critique the Literature
- Step 6: Write the Review
- Source: Machi, L. A. (2022). The literature review: six steps to success (4th ed.). Corwin.
- Plan your search & identify key concepts
- Identify any synonyms or similar concepts
e.g. Teenagers = youth, adolescent, adolescence, teen, young adult - Consider different word forms
e.g. ASD = Austium Spectrum Disorders, BMI = Body Mass Index, Cocounsellor = counselor (Spelling differences between British and American English) - Build your search by Boolean operators, AND, OR and NOT
- Use "quotation marks" for phrase searching
- Use truncation and wildcards
- Record your findings for future use
The terms "Scholarly" also known as "Academic" are usually used in University. Scholarly works means that the information has been written by researchers within a subject area and has been checked by other experts in the field. The most common one is a peer review journal article but it also refers to edited books, reports, conference proceedings…etc. It is important to check and ensure you are using scholarly sources for your assignment.
Scholarly vs Popular Sources?
After searching the information, it is important to evaluate your search results.
Please try using CRAAP guidelines to evaluate your results
Please try using CRAAP guidelines to evaluate your results
- Currency: the timelines of the information
- When was the information published or posted?
- Has the information been revised or updated?
- Is the information current or out-of date for your topic?
- Relevance: the importance of the information for your needs
- Does the information relate to your topic?
- Is the information at an appropriate level?
- Who is the intended audience?
- Authority: the source of the information
- Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor?
- What are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations given?
- What are the author's qualifications to write on the topic?
- Accuracy: the reliability, truthfulness, and correctness of the content
- Is the information supported by evidence?
- Has the information been reviewed or refereed?
- Where does the information come from?
- Purpose: the reason the information exists
- Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear?
- Is it a fact or opinion or propaganda?
- Does the point of view appear objective and impartial without cultural, religious, institutional or personal biases?
| Title | Call Number |
| 7 steps to a comprehensive literature review : a multimodal & cultural approach | LB2369 .O59 2016 |
| Doing a literature review in nursing, health and social care | RT81.5 .C676 2020 |
| Succeeding in literature reviews & research project plans for nursing students | RT81.5 .W493 2020 |
| Systematic approaches to a successful literature review | LB2369 .B66 2022 |
| Writing literature reviews : a guide for students of the social and behavioral sciences | H62 .G246 2017 |
| Doing a literature review in health and social care : a practical guide | Online Access |
| Health sciences literature review made easy : the matrix method | Online Access |
| The literature review : six steps to success | Online Access |
| Title | Call Number |
| An introduction to systematic reviews | H62 .G688 2017 |
| Doing a systematic review : a student's guide | LB2369 .D65 2017 |
| How to do a systematic literature review in nursing : a step-by-step guide | RT81.5 .B488 2016 |
| Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions | Online Access |
| Comprehensive systematic review for advanced practice nursing | Online Access |
| How to perform a systematic literature review : a guide for healthcare researchers, practitioners and students | Online Access |
| Making sense of evidence-based practice for nursing : an introduction to quantitative and qualitative research and systematic reviews | Online Access |
| Systematic reviews in health research : meta-analysis in context | Online Access |
| Systematic reviews to answer health care questions | Online Access |
| Institution | Resources |
| Australian National University | Purpose of Traditional Literature Reviews |
| Health Sciences Writing Centre, University of Toronto | The Literature Review: A Few Tips on Conducting It |
| Learning Lab, RMIT University | Literature Review |
| Learn HQ - Your learning headquarters, Monash University | Writing a literature review? |
| Library, University of Leicester | Literature Searching |
| Library, University of Queensland | Literature Reviews |
| NYU Libraries | Health (Nursing, Medicine, Allied Health): Literature Reviews |
| Royal College of Nursing Library | How to undertake a literature search |
| Selected video related to Literature Review | Search Strategy@YouTube |
| Sheridan Libraries, Johns Hopkins University | Write a Literature Review |
| The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Literature Reviews |
| University of Wollongong | Research Writing: How to Do a Literature Review |
| Institution | Resources |
| Cochrane Training | Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions |
| Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library | Systematic Searches |
| Queensland University of Technology Library | What is a Systematic Review? |
| Simmons University Library | Nursing - Systematic Reviews |
| The Chinese University of Hong Kong Library | Systematic Review |
| The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Pao Yue-Kong Library | Systematic Search for Systematic Review |
| The University of Melbourne Library | Systematic Reviews for Health Sciences and Medicine |
| The University of North Carolina Health Sciences Library | Systematic Reviews: Home |
| The University of Sydney Library | Systematic Review |
| University of Pennsylvania Penn Libraries | Systematic Reviews: Overview |