What is a literature review?
A literature review is a specific type of academic essay that gives a critical summary of the available scholarly articles, books, and other sources that pertain to a chosen research area, topic, or theory. The author of the literature review takes a step beyond simply summarizing the literature and adds critical evaluations and synthesis of the themes found across the literature. Writing a literature review is often the first step taken before conducting a research project. Scholarly articles describing original research begin with a review of the literature regarding the topic, then go on to describe the experiment or study in detail. A literature review can also be the first step in writing a research paper. It helps you, the writer, organize your research into themes.
Why should I write a literature review?
YOUR GOAL is to determine the current state of knowledge about a particular topic by asking, “What do we know or not know about this issue?” In conducting this type of research, it is imperative to examine several different sources to determine where the knowledge overlap and where it falls short.
It works very much like a jigsaw puzzle. The individual pieces (arguments) must be put together in order to reveal the whole (state of knowledge).
KEY CONCEPT THAT IS WORTH REPEATING: A literature review is a synthesis and critical analysis of a body of research related to a particular topic or question. It can be stand-alone or part of a larger body of work, like a research paper. It consists of multiple voices from a body of scholarship and discusses them together. It differs from plain summary.
Watch this two-minute video for some literature review basics.
Before you begin searching for and reading literature on your topic, come up with a plan for organizing your sources. This could involve:
Sources are not discussed individually but grouped together. Your literature may be organized by:
Having a plan for figuring out which sources fit into the categories you choose will make it much easier when it is time to write.
When writing a literature review, you will be reading from a large and varied amount of scholarship. One way to organize your research is to keep a running synthesis matrix about readings that includes information like main argument or hypothesis, method(ology), and themes.
The organization of a matrix can help you distill and keep track of important information pertinent to a review of the literature. It's a chart that helps researchers categorize different arguments on a topic.
Watch this two-minute video for some synthesis matrix basics.
This sample matrix is structured with sources listed across the top and main points of argument along the side. As you analyze each source, you work vertically in its column, recording key information about significant ideas. For subsequent sources, you follow a similar process, placing related information in corresponding rows and adding new main ideas as needed.
This method allows you to:
Systematically organize information from multiple sources
Easily identify patterns, agreements, and contradictions across sources
Visualize the overall landscape of arguments on your topic
By completing the matrix, you create a comprehensive overview of your literature, making the writing process more straightforward and ensuring a well-structured, synthesized review.
Reading Before Writing
Now that you have a system to organize your sources it is time to do a LOT of reading. While some professors may specify how many sources are required, it can be difficult to know how many sources are "enough." If you are researching an emerging topic, there may not be much literature available yet, indicating it could be a good subject for further study. If it is a heavily studied topic, there may be an overwhelming number of sources. If this is the case, it may be a good time to look at your research question/topic and try to narrow the scope of your research.
As you read, ensure you add information to whatever organization tool you are using. Annotate the sources as you read, keeping note of how the source may fit into various categories. Which sources have similar main ideas, and which contradict each other? Keeping careful notes will make writing the review much easier.
Remember that research is iterative! You will go through many iterations as you work on your literature review. This may take many forms:
Once you feel you have read and organized a substantial amount of literature, it is time to begin writing. Review your synthesis matrix or spreadsheet and notice patterns of information. You may find that your sources, at times, discuss very similar material, or that they sometimes deal with completely different aspects of your topic. These patterns can be useful in creating a thesis statement that can guide your writing and keep you focused as you begin your draft
Synthesizing the literature is a crucial component of literature reviews. Keep in mind synthesis requires excellent organization of sources. Watch this two-minute video for some synthesis basics.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License from USU Libraries
This is an example of a page of a literature review. Notice that statements are made, and then in-text citations are used to show which sources covered that information. It may be only one source or many. Your paper should read like an essay with a structure and flow.
Zotero is another way to keep track of the large amounts of resources you are reviewing for your literature review. It is an excellent tool for organizing research. Here's a brief description of its key organizational features:
Collections: Zotero allows users to create collections (similar to folders) to group related items. You can organize your research by topic, project, course, or any other system that works for you.
Tags: Users can add tags to items, making it easy to categorize and find resources across different collections. This feature is particularly useful for cross-referencing and identifying themes in your research.
Search functionality: Zotero offers a powerful search feature that can help you quickly locate specific items in your library, searching across titles, authors, tags, and even the full text of attached PDFs.
Notes: You can attach notes to individual items, allowing you to summarize key points, add your own thoughts, or include relevant quotes. These notes are searchable and can be synced across devices.
Related items: Zotero allows you to link related items, helping you establish connections between different sources in your research.
Duplicate detection: The software automatically identifies and helps merge duplicate entries, keeping your library clean and organized.
Syncing: Zotero can sync your library across multiple devices, ensuring you have access to your research wherever you are.
Group libraries: For collaborative research, Zotero allows you to create shared group libraries, making it easy to collaborate with colleagues or classmates.
These features combined make Zotero a powerful tool for collecting, organizing, and managing research materials efficiently.
Find more information and instructions in the USMA Library Zotero Research Guide
The USMA Library has recently acquired a new GenAI tool for research: Scite.ai
Scite AI is a valuable tool for literature reviews that helps researchers find relevant sources and analyze citation contexts. Its "Smart Citations" categorize references as supporting, contrasting, or mentioning, providing insight into how studies are received and their impact.
Key features include:
Finding Relevant Sources: Advanced search filters help identify key papers and debates in a field.
Analyzing Citation Context: Understand how papers are cited to gain context about their significance.
Identifying Research Gaps: Surface areas needing further research based on citation patterns.
Organizing Research: Create collections of articles for easier management and analysis.
Evaluating Sources: Assess the reliability of sources by examining citation history.
Generating Insights: Use the AI assistant for quick answers about research topics.
Visualizing Research Landscapes: View trends and relationships in the literature.
Scite AI is available for all @westpoint.edu by signing up for an account (https://scite.ai/) using your @westpoint.edu email address. The single-sign-on feature is not yet available so you will need to create a password for logging in.
You can find more guidance about using Scite AI for literature reviews here.
