2. What?
A Literature Review provides an overview of the
information published to date on a specific
topic, summarizing and synthesizing the
ideas presented.
3. The Literature Review is not an annotated
bibliography: it is a narrative document that
synthesizes the sources consulted to develop
a conclusion. An annotated bibliography simply
deals with each resource in turn, describing and
evaluating the source in a single paragraph.
4. Decide on your topic and identify any related issues.
Begin with an Overview of the Topic, including the
reason for the review (research)
5. How?
Search relevant databases and library
catalogues to find information – journal
articles, books, “proper” websites
Write Annotations for each source, placing it in
the context of their contribution to the
research on the topic.
6. Organise
Organize the Sources into categories - e.g. those
that support one position, those against the position,
those that offer an alternative thesis. You may also
choose to organize sources in chronological order
within your categories
7. Connect
Connect Sources - explain how each source relates
to other sources, this is connective writing that turns
the whole piece into a constructed bit of writing
rather than a disjointed set of paragraphs
8. Conclude
Conclusion - discuss which sources are most
effective/useful in supporting your project and which
sources contribute the most to the understanding
and development of the research on the topic.
9. Why?
The idea is to show that you have looked at
information already published on the area you
are researching and used it to help you decide
how/what to research
Adapted from: http://www.ithacalibrary.com/sp/subjects/LitRev by Edward Moore 12/3/2012