how to write a literature review grad coach

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

• Knowledge Base

Methodology

• 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.

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Upload your document to correct all your mistakes in minutes

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.

Receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting

Professional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:

• Academic style
• Vague sentences
• Style consistency

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.

Open Google Slides Download PowerPoint

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 July 10, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/dissertation/literature-review/

Is this article helpful?

Shona McCombes

Other students also liked, what is a theoretical framework | guide to organizing, what is a research methodology | steps & tips, how to write a research proposal | examples & templates, what is your plagiarism score.

How to Conduct a Literature Review: A Guide for Graduate Students

• Let's Get Started!
• Traditional or Narrative Reviews
• Systematic Reviews
• Typology of Reviews
• Literature Review Resources
• Developing a Search Strategy
• What Literature to Search
• Where to Search: Indexes and Databases
• Finding articles: Libkey Nomad
• Finding Dissertations and Theses
• Extending Your Searching with Citation Chains
• Forward Citation Chains - Cited Reference Searching
• Keeping up with the Literature
• Managing Your References
• Need More Information?

Bookmark This Guide!

https://instr.iastate.libguides.com/gradlitrev

Where to Get Help

Librarians at ISU are subject experts who can help with your research and course needs. There are experts available for every discipline at ISU who are ready to assist you with your information needs!

What we do:

• Answer questions via phone, chat and in-person
• Consult with student and faculty researchers on request
• Purchase materials for the collection
• Teach instruction session for ISU courses
• Support faculty getting ready for promotion & tenure reviews
• Help with data management plans

Find Your Librarian

   “Google can bring you back 100,000 answers. A librarian can bring you back the right one.” - Neil Gaiman

The literature review is an important part of your thesis or dissertation. It is a survey of existing literature that provides context for your research contribution, and demonstrates your subject knowledge. It is also the way to tell the story of how your research extends knowledge in your field.

The first step to writing a successful literature review is knowing how to find and evaluate literature in your field. This guide is designed to introduce you to tools and give you skills you can use to effectively find the resources needed for your literature review.

Before getting started, familiarize yourself with some essential resources provided by the Graduate College:

• Dissertation and Thesis Information
• Center for Communication Excellence
• Graduate College Handbook

Below are some questions that you can discuss with your advisor as you begin your research:

Questions to ask as you think about your literature review:

What is my research question.

Choosing a valid research question is something you will need to discuss with your academic advisor and/or POS committee. Ideas for your topic may come from your coursework, lab rotations, or work as a research assistant. Having a specific research topic allows you to focus your research on a project that is manageable. Beginning work on your literature review can help narrow your topic.

What kind of literature review is appropriate for my research question?

Depending on your area of research, the type of literature review you do for your thesis will vary. Consult with your advisor about the requirements for your discipline. You can view theses and dissertations from your field in the library's Digital Repository can give you ideas about how your literature review should be structured.

What kind of literature should I use?

The kind of literature you use for your thesis will depend on your discipline. The Library has developed a list of Guides by Subject with discipline-specific resources. For a given subject area, look for the guide titles "[Discipline] Research Guide." You may also consult our liaison librarians for information about the literature available your research area.

How will I make sure that I find all the appropriate information that informs my research?

Consulting multiple sources of information is the best way to insure that you have done a comprehensive search of the literature in your area. The What Literature to Search tab has information about the types of resources you may need to search. You may also consult our liaison librarians for assistance with identifying resources..

How will I evaluate the literature to include trustworthy information and eliminate unnecessary or untrustworthy information?

While you are searching for relevant information about your topic you will need to think about the accuracy of the information, whether the information is from a reputable source, whether it is objective and current. Our guides about Evaluating Scholarly Books and Articles and Evaluating Websites will give you criteria to use when evaluating resources.

How should I organize my literature? What citation management program is best for me?

Citation management software can help you organize your references in folders and/or with tags. You can also annotate and highlight the PDFs within the software and usually the notes are searchable. To choose a good citation management software, you need to consider which one can be streamlined with your literature search and writing process. Here is a guide page comparing EndNote, Mendeley & Zotero. The Library also has guides for three of the major citation management tools:

• EndNote & EndNote Web Guide
• Mendeley Guide
• Getting Started with Zotero

What steps should I take to ensure academic integrity?

The best way to ensure academic integrity is to familiarize yourself with different types of intentional and unintentional plagiarism and learn about the University's standards for academic integrity. Start with this guide . The Library also has a guide about your rights and responsibilities regarding copyrighted images and figures that you include in your thesis.

Where can I find writing and editing help?

Writing and editing help is available at the Graduate College's Center for Communication Excellence . The CCE offers individual consultations, peer writing groups, workshops and seminars to help you improve your writing.

Where can I find I find formatting standards? Technical support?

The Graduate College has a Dissertation/ Thesis website with extensive examples and videos about formatting theses and dissertations. The site also has templates and formatting instructions for Word and LaTex .

What citation style should I use?

The Graduate College thesis guidelines require that you "use a consistent, current academic style for your discipline." The Library has a Citation Style Guides resource you can use for guidance on specific citation styles. If you are not sure, please consult your advisor or liaison librarians for help.

Adapted from The Literature Review: For Dissertations, by the University of Michigan Library. Available: https://guides.lib.umich.edu/dissertationlitreview

Center for Communication Excellence/ Library Workshop Slides

Slides from the CCE/ Library Workshop "A Citation Here...A Citation There...Pretty Soon You'll Have a Lit Review" held on February 21, 2024 are below:

• CCE Workshop February 21, 2024
• Next: Types of Literature Reviews >>

The library's collections and services are available to all ISU students, faculty, and staff and Parks Library is open to the public .

• Last Updated: Jul 11, 2024 1:45 PM
• URL: https://instr.iastate.libguides.com/gradlitrev

University Writing Center

College of humanities, main navigation, how to write a literature review.

|  Make an Appointment  | How to Write a Graduate Proposal  | How to write a CV and Resume  | Preparing for the GRE Writing Test  | Writing a Personal Statement  |

Proposal Bootcamp

Learn how to craft a convincing research proposal in less than 4 hours.

Lesson Overview

• Welcome to the research proposal course (1:20) Start
• How to navigate this course (1:22) Start
• Suggested learning paths Start
• Practical exercise (2:21) Start
• Section overview (1:38) Start
• What (exactly) is a research proposal? (2:21) Start
• Test your knowledge Start
• The key purpose of a research proposal (2:42) Start
• How a research proposal is (typically) structured (3:33) Start
• Let's look at an actual research proposal (14:09) Start
• What reviewers want in a research proposal (4:01) Start
• Practical exercise (1:09) Start
• Additional Resources Start
• Section overview (2:19) Start
• Institution-specific research requirements (8:19) Start
• Proposal-specific research requirements (3:39) Start
• Ethics-related requirements (6:01) Start
• Test your knowldege Start
• Let's look at some proposal templates/briefs (6:40) Start
• The research topic (4:14) Start
• Practical exercise (0:52) Start
• Additional resources Start
• Section overview (2:00) Start
• Sample research topic (1:44) Start
• Research context or background (4:31) Start
• Research problem or problem statement (3:21) Start
• Research rationale (3:38) Start
• Research aims, objectives and questions (golden thread) (5:38) Start
• Other potential inclusions in the introduction (3:49) Start
• What reviewers look for in this section (2:57) Start
• Practical exercise (0:39) Start
• Section overview (2:23) Start
• Before you start the literature review (6:51) Start
• The theoretical framework (6:16) Start
• The empirical research (8:04) Start
• The research gap (4:56) Start
• Sources in your literature review (5:51) Start
• Tips to optimise your approach (4:06) Start
• What reviewers look for in the literature review of a research proposal (2:12) Start
• Practical exercise (0:37) Start
• Section overview (1:48) Start
• Methodology 101 (6:10) Start
• The key ingredients of the methodology section (0:59) Start
• Data collection (4:01) Start
• Sampling (5:57) Start
• Data analysis (4:06) Start
• Other potential inclusions (6:47) Start
• Supporting and justifying your methodological choices (4:49) Start
• What reviewers look for in the methodology section of a research proposal (2:19) Start
• Practical exercise (1:01) Start
• Section overview (1:22) Start
• Dissertation/thesis structure or outline (5:38) Start
• Project plan (9:14) Start
• Timelines (10:52) Start
• Budgets (5:39) Start
• Other potential inclusions (8:01) Start
• Practical exercise (0:35) Start
• Section overview (1:35) Start
• Tailoring the research proposal to your audience (6:11) Start
• Misconceptions and mistakes to avoid (9:03) Start
• How to use your research proposal after submission (4:05) Start
• Conclusion (0:53) Start

Suggested companies

The academic papers uk, graduate coach.

Grad Coach   Reviews

In the Private Tutor category

Visit this website

Company activity See all

Write a review

Reviews 4.9.

Most relevant

Nikki was great to work with and took the time to understand my needs and answer any questions I had! She also gave really good guidance on how to approach matters which helped me get through my project!

Date of experience : July 01, 2024

Reply from Grad Coach

Thanks for your feedback :)

Great experience

“Dr. Ethar Al-Saraf exemplified exceptional coaching prowess. I express my gratitude to Grad Coach for connecting me with him. Throughout my dissertation defense preparation and the process of organizing the research for it, he provided expert guidance and instilled in me a deep sense of self-belief and confidence in the culmination of my academic efforts.” I would not be in the process of accomplishing my dream of attaining my PhD without him. If you’re interested in more resources, Dr. Ethar Al-Saraf also participated in a podcast episode discussing research methodology cheat codes to conquer the almighty methodology chapter. Additionally, Grad Coach offers hands-on dissertation help, from developing research topics to crafting comprehensive literature reviews and analysis. You can learn more about Dr. Ethar Al-Saraf and book a free consultation on the Grad Coach website. He is absolutely the best.

Date of experience : July 12, 2024

I contacted GradCoach after obtaining my results.

I contacted GradCoach after obtaining my study's results. Nikki Phair was my coach and guided me through each section of my results. Her expertise enhanced my understanding of the findings. I completed my doctorate in May and am grateful to Nikki for her patience and expertise.

Date of experience : December 21, 2023

You're doing well in guiding research and providing first hand information including samples.

You're doing well in guiding research fellows the nitty-gritty in research and by providing evidence based sample to learn on.

I appreciate the service and the professionalism of the coach. I could not do statistics on my own and having this service is truly a godsend to me in helping me finish my program at school.

Date of experience : June 30, 2024

Great information at fingertips

Great information at fingertips. Helps me guide my grandson when he asks for my guidance. Could not be more oblidged.

Date of experience : July 06, 2024

Gradcoach: Great partners for those returning to academia

Before reaching out to GradCoach, I embarked on my second degree some twenty years after concluding the first one. Two decades is a long time for changes to occur, both in me (as a student) and the wider world of academia. As a student, I’m more confident in my work than previously but aware enough to identify my limits. Luckily, GradCoach, and (Dr) Nikki Phair were able to help. My first session with Nikki was to both dissect and discuss a research proposal, from which I secured the highest mark in the class. I then worked with Nikki in a consultative capacity, planning the steps for each following assignment upon receipt. Nikki also checked my work prior to submission, often caching silly mistakes and inconsistent logic on my part. For my closing project, the major piece, Nikki provided a greater level of support, ranging including literature reviews and statistical analysis and was always on hand for email support whenever a quirk arose. I think I could have pulled off an acceptable project on my own steam. However, when you work with Nikki, you don’t need to settle for ‘acceptable’, when she can help you attain ‘awesome.’ I’m looking forward to continuing the partnership for my future endeavours too. In closing, if you’re offered a chance to work with Nikki, you should accept the offer. You won’t regret it

Date of experience : June 28, 2024

5/5 from me!

5/5 from me! So many high quality, free resources available. Bless their generous socks <3

Thanks for the feedback :)

Really helpful

Their resources and videos are concise, clear and really helpful!

Date of experience : July 13, 2024

Awesome program

Awesome program and I am looking forward to focusing on the INTRO and LIT Review courses.

Date of experience : July 02, 2024

Fulfilling Experience

Im very grateful for the productive sessions that I had had with Dr Peter. The rich and constructive discussions and friendly environment really set me on the right path as I was unsure of where I was going with my writing before I signed up with Gradcoach. The fear of writing was put to rest with Dr. Peter's calm, positive and assuring manner. Kommol tata Gradcoach!

Date of experience : June 26, 2024

It would be nice if I could download…

It would be nice if I could download all the information as a word document.

Date of experience : July 09, 2024

Very grateful

I was “stuck” with my LR chapter and wanted guidance. I had an hour discussion with Dr K Warren which was very useful. I will definitely consult with Dr Warren again

I learned how to do and write the monster Literature Review

I learned how to do and write a literature review from Grad Coach youtube video, and when I finish it and send it to the supervisor, he gave me 10/10 for my work. I was surprised, because it was my first try! Thanks Grad coach for your efforts and the great things that you shared with us.

Thanks Amy! My grad coach Amy made my dissertation process go smoothly. She provided a literature kickstarter and gave feedback for content and editing. I’m happy to say that I successfully defended today, with no revisions.

Date of experience : June 24, 2024

How did I get so lucky so as to find Dr Kerryn Warren!

How did I get so lucky that in the sea of similar offers (and scams) online that I found Dr Kerryn Warren through Grad Coach. I had nearly abandoned my MA thesis after failing one year by a hair. It was the only thing I needed to finish in order to graduate, but I went back to work at my job and started drifting further away from the academic setting and frame of mind. At the same time I also felt so guilty for months because I would never have forgiven myself if I didn't get this thesis done and finally graduate. However, I also felt like I had maybe drifted too far because I didn't know how to a.) stay motivated and b.) put a clear plan into action that would address my thesis advisor's feedback. But after the initial meeting with Dr Kerryn I could quickly see the light at the end of the tunnel. We come from different disciplines but that really didn't matter, she just *got it* instantly. And no second was wasted in any of our meetings or review sessions, she hits the ground running! And her upbeat personality made things really fun, too. Dr Kerryn then helped me work around my crazy schedule and streamlined everything into a very do-able plan of action. The bulk of the work got done in less than two weeks and then - I passed. I actually passed with the rest of the graduating class this year. The sense of anxiety and shame was lifted off my shoulders and I felt a real sense of accomplishment. Because you do do your own work; this is not a shortcut to outsource your work. But this coaching does offer a huge sense of clarity. There wasn't a lot missing from my old thesis to get where I needed to go, but I can confidently say that I needed the exact help I was given to reach this milestone and could not have done it without. It's the best investment I've made in myself (aside from going back to uni). If I ever lean toward getting a PhD, and now thanks to making it this far I just might, then Dr Kerryn will be the first person I contact to work on the proposal (if she's still coaching!!). Many thanks!!

Date of experience : July 05, 2024

One on one one coaching support

One on one one coaching support, Dr. Alexandra provided me with excellent feedback.

Free downloadable Tools

The tool downloaded was quite helpful.

Date of experience : July 11, 2024

Well prepared lessons

Well prepared lessons, highly experienced tutors, great delivery, very useful links for further reference

The document I downloaded contained the…

The document I downloaded contained the content promised. The content was also well aid out.