What is a Literature Review?
A literature review is a comprehensive summary and critical examination of existing research on a topic.
The review examines scholarly articles, books, and other sources to identify:
- Established theories and trends
- Patterns, arguments, unresolved issues
- Emergent developments in the field
The literature review may be organized by theme, methodology, time period, theory, movement, notable individuals, or other relevant system of organization.
A literature review is often the first step in a research project and may stand alone or be included in a larger work such as a scholarly article or dissertation. It can help you to gain a deep understanding of your topic, which in turn helps you develop research questions that may ultimately transform into a thesis. A literature review reveals:
- What questions are routinely considered and how they are analyzed.
- How the understanding and interpretation of a topic has changed over time.
- What questions have been neglected or under-represented in the scholarly literature.
The other tabs on this page will help you learn how to research and write a literature review and how to find professional literature reviews in library databases.
