Writing the literature review might be easier
than you think.
It's only a critical recap of what has already
been researched on a topic, so no need to
panic.
In this video, you'll learn how to write a
literature review in 5 simple steps.
Hi, I'm Jessica from Scribbr, here to help
you achieve your academic goals.
We also zoom in on all of the steps outlined
in this video in separate videos
check out the playlist here.
Let's get ready to start writing!
Step 1, search for relevant literature on
your topic
In this context, literature just means any
academic sources like books or journal articles
about your topic.
First, you need to search in the right scholarly
databases, so something like google scholar,
JSTOR, science direct.
Search your keywords with boolean operators
like these to help you filter and refine the
search results.
Check out this video to find out how to use
them.
Step 2, evaluate and select sources
Unless your topic is super niche, you probably
can’t read EVERYTHING that’s been written
on the topic.
Once you've got the sources from step 1, read
the abstract to scan whether an article is
relevant or not.
Also scan the bibliography to find other relevant
sources!
You should also pay attention to the citation
count on Google Scholar.
If the count is high, the source is probably
important and you should include it.
Step 3, identify themes, debates, and gaps
As you read, take notes and pay attention
to the connections between different sources.
This way, you can organize your literature
review's arguments and structure a lot easier.
Here ar e some things to look for:
Trends and patterns in theory, method or results.
Themes
Debates or contradictions
Influential studies
And gaps
Step 4, outline your literature review’s
structure
You can go about your literature review's
structure in a few ways.
It all depends on what you found in the literature
and what you want to emphasize.
Here are 4 common approaches to structure
the literature review.
Chronological, that means from older to more
recent publications.
Thematic, so organized around several key
themes.
For methodological, you can compare the different
research methods being used across studies.
And use theoretical to discuss opposing theories
or models.
More details in this video, check it out.
And finally, get writing!
Make sure your literature review has an introduction,
a main body that summarizes and synthesizes
the sources, and a conclusion, just like other
academic texts.
Now let's get your literature review started!
To learn more about literature review, click
this playlist!
I'll see you there.
