What is the purpose of an academic literature review?
The main purpose of a literature review is to introduce the reader to the work that has preceded – and possibly influenced – the piece of work, offering writers a foundation for them to build their research from.
When included in larger pieces of work like dissertations or academic research projects, literature reviews help to establish context, ensuring readers are well-informed to understand the information in the sections to come.
Here are some more reasons why you might want to create an academic literature review:
- Highlight gaps in research. You can identify gaps that you can fill with your own research and takes, making your work more valuable and insightful.
- Support your argument. Few things top finding another piece of work that backs up the main claims of your research. A literature review can show that there are always data and perspectives that support your argument.
- Summarise previous research. You can summarise previous research into relevant fields and then reference this work in the body of the text to further support your main points.
- Contextualising research issues. A literature review provides context for research issues, so it can show how your research fits into broader academic conversations.
- Providing insight. Literature reviews help to deepen understanding by showcasing different perspectives on a topic. They also pinpoint patterns and frame the research in a broader context.
- Inform hypotheses. The information learned from the literature review can inform the hypotheses of the research. It helps to ensure it’s grounded in credible, expert knowledge.
How to write a literature review.
No academic research paper is complete without a literature review. To ensure your review is as thorough and effective as possible, you need to know what to write and how to structure it.
Here are some tips on how to write a literature review:
1. Select your topic.
First things first, you need to choose a suitable topic to base your research on. Whether you’re writing about politics or fashion, it’s essential that you select a topic that not only appeals to readers but one that keeps your interest. After all, you’ll be doing a great deal of research and writing about it.
Try to avoid topics that are too broad or too narrow, as well as those that are based on opinion or could be potentially offensive.
2. Search for relevant literature.
To find useful literature for your review, use suitable terms related to your topic. This should find relevant articles, studies and books. You can also use academic databases like Google Scholar, JSTOR and PubMed. There may even be some dedicated databases for your chosen field.
3. Select your sources.
You can choose from a range of books, journals, reports, websites, studies and multimedia content to explore in your literature review. Ensure you only use credible sources that you can reference and aim for primary sources composed by reputable scholars and publishers.
You should also be mindful of the date of publication for your sources, as they should reflect current knowledge – though you can use older publications to build your foundation or show how things have changed or evolved over time.
4. Read and take notes.
You should take notes as you read so you can later incorporate your key findings into your review. When doing this, ensure you keep track of the references – the last thing you want is to lose marks due to plagiarism.
Many opt to create an annotated bibliography, where you put together all your reference information and write a paragraph of summary and analysis for each. This way, you won’t forget what you’ve read later.
5. Identify key themes, patterns or arguments.
When writing a literature review, identifying links, relationships, contrasts and arguments is key. This can take your research and analysis to the next level. While you’re reading your sources, look out for trends, patterns, themes, conflicts, contradictions and gaps that can be filled with your own research.
6. Work out how to structure your literature review.
It’s a good idea to think about your strategy for structure before you start writing. Common structure options include chronological, thematic, methodological and theoretical. You can choose one or go for a mix if appropriate, depending on the length of your literature review. For instance, while you may choose a thematic structure, you can discuss each theme chronologically.
7. Write your first draft.
Now for the good part – get all your notes ready as it’s time to write your first draft. An effective literature review will include the following:
- Introduction. This should clearly outline the focus and purpose of the literature review.
- Body. You can split the body of your literature review into subsections depending on its length. Add subheadings and provide a few paragraphs of excellent data for each.
- Conclusion. Summarise your key findings and emphasise their significance. You can also highlight how your work fills gaps in existing research and contributes new knowledge.
8. Edit and refine your literature review.
Finally, you should edit and refine your literature review to ensure it’s as well-written as possible. Check factors like spelling and grammar, tone of voice, structure and flow and make changes accordingly. You can always come back to this later too – once you’ve completed your further discussion and results.
Editable literature review examples and template ideas.
