Graduate Studies: Literature Reviews

What is a literature review?

• Both a process and a product

               -Process: involves researching a topic to familiarize yourself with relevant research; identify key authors, arguments, and publications;   and locate issues and gaps in research.

               -Product: a thoroughly-cited critical analysis that synthesizes what is currently known about a topic (theories and study results), written as a narrative.

• Addresses a topic from various points of view.
• Highlights: overall trends; conflicts in theory, methodology, evidence, conclusions; research gaps; new problems or perspectives.
• Narrative: has an organizational style and combines elements of both summary and synthesis.
• Provides a summary and synthesizes of an argument and the idea of others.

What ISN'T a literature review?

• An annotated bibliography
• A book review
• A literary review that critiques a specific work

Why do we do literature reviews?

• To support your research
• To introduce readers to current scholarship in your subject area, publications, arguments and ideas
• To position your work within the academic discipline

Grant, M.J., & Booth, A. (2009). A typology of reviews: An analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 26(2), 91-108. doi:10.1111/j.1471-1842.2009.00848.x