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literature review answers the question

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literature review answers the question

Writing a Literature Review

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A literature review is a document or section of a document that collects key sources on a topic and discusses those sources in conversation with each other (also called synthesis ). The lit review is an important genre in many disciplines, not just literature (i.e., the study of works of literature such as novels and plays). When we say “literature review” or refer to “the literature,” we are talking about the research ( scholarship ) in a given field. You will often see the terms “the research,” “the scholarship,” and “the literature” used mostly interchangeably.

Where, when, and why would I write a lit review?

There are a number of different situations where you might write a literature review, each with slightly different expectations; different disciplines, too, have field-specific expectations for what a literature review is and does. For instance, in the humanities, authors might include more overt argumentation and interpretation of source material in their literature reviews, whereas in the sciences, authors are more likely to report study designs and results in their literature reviews; these differences reflect these disciplines’ purposes and conventions in scholarship. You should always look at examples from your own discipline and talk to professors or mentors in your field to be sure you understand your discipline’s conventions, for literature reviews as well as for any other genre.

A literature review can be a part of a research paper or scholarly article, usually falling after the introduction and before the research methods sections. In these cases, the lit review just needs to cover scholarship that is important to the issue you are writing about; sometimes it will also cover key sources that informed your research methodology.

Lit reviews can also be standalone pieces, either as assignments in a class or as publications. In a class, a lit review may be assigned to help students familiarize themselves with a topic and with scholarship in their field, get an idea of the other researchers working on the topic they’re interested in, find gaps in existing research in order to propose new projects, and/or develop a theoretical framework and methodology for later research. As a publication, a lit review usually is meant to help make other scholars’ lives easier by collecting and summarizing, synthesizing, and analyzing existing research on a topic. This can be especially helpful for students or scholars getting into a new research area, or for directing an entire community of scholars toward questions that have not yet been answered.

What are the parts of a lit review?

Most lit reviews use a basic introduction-body-conclusion structure; if your lit review is part of a larger paper, the introduction and conclusion pieces may be just a few sentences while you focus most of your attention on the body. If your lit review is a standalone piece, the introduction and conclusion take up more space and give you a place to discuss your goals, research methods, and conclusions separately from where you discuss the literature itself.

Introduction:

Conclusion:

How should I organize my lit review?

Lit reviews can take many different organizational patterns depending on what you are trying to accomplish with the review. Here are some examples:

What are some strategies or tips I can use while writing my lit review?

Any lit review is only as good as the research it discusses; make sure your sources are well-chosen and your research is thorough. Don’t be afraid to do more research if you discover a new thread as you’re writing. More info on the research process is available in our "Conducting Research" resources .

As you’re doing your research, create an annotated bibliography ( see our page on the this type of document ). Much of the information used in an annotated bibliography can be used also in a literature review, so you’ll be not only partially drafting your lit review as you research, but also developing your sense of the larger conversation going on among scholars, professionals, and any other stakeholders in your topic.

Usually you will need to synthesize research rather than just summarizing it. This means drawing connections between sources to create a picture of the scholarly conversation on a topic over time. Many student writers struggle to synthesize because they feel they don’t have anything to add to the scholars they are citing; here are some strategies to help you:

The most interesting literature reviews are often written as arguments (again, as mentioned at the beginning of the page, this is discipline-specific and doesn’t work for all situations). Often, the literature review is where you can establish your research as filling a particular gap or as relevant in a particular way. You have some chance to do this in your introduction in an article, but the literature review section gives a more extended opportunity to establish the conversation in the way you would like your readers to see it. You can choose the intellectual lineage you would like to be part of and whose definitions matter most to your thinking (mostly humanities-specific, but this goes for sciences as well). In addressing these points, you argue for your place in the conversation, which tends to make the lit review more compelling than a simple reporting of other sources.

literature review answers the question

How to Write a Literature Review

Identify the question

Developing a research question.

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From Topic to Question (Infographic)

This graphic emphasizes how reading various sources can play a role in defining your research topic.

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From Topic to Question infographic

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Identify the question

In some cases, such as for a course assignment or a research project you're working on with a faculty mentor, your research question will be determined by your professor. If that's the case, you can move on to the next step .  Otherwise, you may need to explore questions on your own. 

A few suggestions

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According to The Craft of Research (2003) , a research question is more than a practical problem or something with a yes/no answer. A research question helps you learn more about something you don't already know and it needs to be significant enough to interest your readers.

Your Curiosity + Significance to Others = Research Question

How to get started.

In a research paper, you develop a unique question and then synthesize scholarly and primary sources into a paper that supports your argument about the topic.

Ask yourself these 6 questions 

These 6 journalistic question words can help you narrow your focus from a broad topic to a specific question.

Who : Are you interested in a specific group of people? Can your topic be narrowed by gender, sex, age, ethnicity, socio-economic status or something else? Are there any key figures related to your topic?

What : What are the issues surrounding your topic? Are there subtopics? In looking at background information, did you notice any gaps or questions that seemed unanswered?

Where : Can your topic be narrowed down to a geographic location? Warning: Don't get too narrow here. You might not be able to find enough information on a town or state.

When : Is your topic current or historical? Is it confined to a specific time period? Was there a causative event that led your topic to become an area of study?

Why : Why are you interested in this topic? Why should others be interested?

How : What kinds of information do you need? Primary sources, statistics? What is your methodology?

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Conducting a Literature Review: Research Question

literature review answers the question

Develop a Research Question

Before you can begin your literature review, you will need to select a topic. It is helpful to think about your research topic as a question. For example, instead of a topic like "diversity in the workplace," you could ask, "How does a diverse workplace impact job satisfaction?"

A good research question is manageable in scope - not too broad, but not too narrow. If your topic is too broad, you may become overwhelmed with the amount of information and find it difficult to organize your ideas. If your topic is too narrow, you may not be able to find enough information to include in your literature review.

It is often helpful to start with a broad idea, then narrow your focus by brainstorming related ideas. If you have a general area of interest, you can think about various issues in that general subject area. Do any of your ideas present a puzzle or problem that you are interested in investigating? Are there issues that make you wonder about causes or consequences?

As you brainstorm your topic, you may find it useful to document your ideas using a concept map (watch the videos to learn more about them). As you begin to investigate and evaluate scholarly literature on your topic, you may find it necessary to revise your original research question based on what you learn. Be sure to expand your literature search to include any new concepts you may identify along the way.

Your research question should be clear, focused, and complex enough to allow for adequate research and analysis. Most importantly, your research question should be interesting to you - you will be spending a great deal of time researching and writing so you should be eager to learn more about it.

Your problem statement or research question:

A good problem statement or research question:

Use the concept map handout or one of the free, mind mapping applications to help you brainstorm and develop a research question.

Concept Mapping

Learn how concept or mind maps can help your develop a research topic or question.

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literature review answers the question

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FAQ: What is a literature review and how do I write one?

Answered By: Jennifer Harris Last Updated: Oct 23, 2020     Views: 10601

"A literature review discusses published information in a particular subject area, and sometimes information in a particular subject area within a certain time period.

A literature review can be just a simple summary of the sources, but it usually has an organizational pattern and combines both summary and synthesis. A summary is a recap of the important information of the source, but a synthesis is a re-organization, or a reshuffling, of that information. It might give a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations. Or it might trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates. And depending on the situation, the literature review may evaluate the sources and advise the reader on the most pertinent or relevant." Source:  http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/literature-reviews/

The library has several books and ebooks in our collection which can help answer your questions about writing literature reviews. To find books and ebooks on writing a literature review, please search the  Multi-Search  or the  Online Library Catalog .

Further Help

This information is intended to be a guideline, not expert advice. Please be sure to speak to your professor about the appropriate way to write a literature review in your class assignments and projects.

Campus Students

To access academic support, visit your Brightspace course and select “Tutoring and Mentoring” from the Academic Support pulldown menu.

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Literature review questions examples/10 useful questions

To carry out a scientific literature review article, it is essential to select the most relevant articles in the field of interest. However, given that the scientific production is enormous, the number of articles is also huge, so this task is not easy. The key to being able to carry out an excellent review of scientific literature is the identification of the main topic and the establishment of an initial structure. In addition, a critical approach that considers the different positions that exist in relation to the chosen topic will undoubtedly help to have a better overview of the advances in the chosen topic. Literature review questions examples

In this article, we share with you the top 10 questions you can ask to achieve an excellent review article, both in the consideration of the most relevant articles and in the analysis and relevance of your publication.

10 useful questions to get the best previous literature review

To prepare your literature review article , we suggest asking yourself the following questions :

1. What is the topic of the review article?

First, select the topic of interest to prepare the review article, considering if there are preferential or conflicting positions and which of them is the one that seems most plausible. When choosing the topic, also think about the scope you want your article to have as this will affect the search for articles by means of keywords and search criteria that are determined

2. What type of review article will I carry out?

There are several types of literature review articles that you can write, depending on the approach you want to take to yours. You can concentrate on the theoretical or propositional advances, on the methodology or procedures that have been followed, the results obtained, whether quantitative or qualitative, or some other aspect that you want to analyze. Literature review questions examples

3. What type of audience will my article be aimed at?

In order to establish the development of your literature review article, you should think about the type of audience that might be interested in your article. They may be researchers working in the same field of study, or perhaps researchers from various disciplines who may be interested in your review .

4. What will the structure of the article be like?

To define the structure of the article , consider the general aspects involved in a literature review article. Once you have defined the topic, the type of article and your potential audience, you can draft a draft of the main sections that your article will include and that will be refined according to the results that you obtain from the review of the existing literature .

5. What is the background to the issue?

It is important that you provide a general background on the topic so that the reader understands the subsequent analyzes of your review article. These antecedents can consider the historical aspects related to the topic, the most common problems that arise or the best-known results that serve as the basis for the discussion of a development focused on the topic of your article. Literature review questions examples

6. How can I do an exhaustive search for articles ?

To carry out the scientific literature search that your review article will cover, you can create a checklist that considers the main bibliographic reference databases for scientific literature such as Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, Medline, and PubMed, the publications found in your institution (including undergraduate or graduate theses) and the most prominent journals in the area of ​​interest. You can also consult with your colleagues about important articles related to the topic you selected.

7. Has there been an important problem or aspect to deal with?

In the literature review, it is possible that an important or controversial problem or aspect has arisen. Depending on the approach you have decided to take for your article, consider whether this aspect is relevant to your article. If necessary, slightly modify the draft from its initial structure.

In addition to this, you can also keep informed of the latest advances in research , for which, you can consult publications on social networks such as Twitter, FaceBook and YouTube. In them, create alerts with the topic of your interest in case any investigation comes up that seems relevant to you while preparing your review article. Literature review questions examples

8. Is there any outstanding research or methodology?

When conducting your search for articles , identify those that concern the same research topic or methodology. Among them, there may be one that is outstanding and with which you can carry out a more in-depth discussion or that may even serve as a basis for defending a position that may result in a more attractive article .

9. Are there controversial or debatable results?

It is always interesting to know the different points of view related to a topic of interest, so a review article that includes conflicting results and conclusions can be of great interest to the rest of the researchers. You can carry out a rigorous analysis of the different points of view and conclude which one has the most informed results. Make sure you do a critical and objective analysis of the different positions. Present and contrast the evidence.

10. Have I reviewed my article well?

Although the answer to this question seems obvious, do not forget that, both during the entire process of writing your review article and preparing to submit it to a journal for publication, be sure to verify that your writing is always consistent and that it does not there are spelling mistakes. Since this is a review article, make sure that all reviewed articles have a balanced discussion regarding their relevance in the correct sections . Check the references carefully and check that they are complete and can be easily found in bibliographic reference databases. Also review your analysis and conclusions. Many articles that neglect these aspects can be rejected by the most important magazines. Literature review questions examples

Conclusions

The process of preparing an article, in general, has several branches that can be identified with the help of diagrams to visualize the process more easily. In order to write a literature review article, you can answer questions like the ones we have shown in this publication and we hope they will be of help to you.

The first part of those questions refers to searching for literature in popular publication sources such as Google Scholar , PubMed , Medline , Web of Science, and Scopus . To do this, it is necessary to define the topic to be investigated, the type of article that is going to be made and the audience to which it is directed. Once this is done, an initial draft of the structure that the article will follow can be made, taking into account that it may change slightly depending on the results obtained and the approach that is given to it.

Previous results that stand out or that run counter to your proposition can be an excellent source of analysis . When crafting your article, be careful and objective . Review both the content and the presentation, be sure to discuss each article in sufficient depth and its relevance in each of the sections presented. Do not forget that at Enago we offer editorial services to help you review your articles in aspects related to the writing, spelling and consistency of the text. Literature review questions examples

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Top 20 MCQs on literature review with answers

MCQs on literature review : The primary purpose of literature review is to facilitate detailed background of the previous studies to the readers on the topic of research.

In this blog post, we have published 20 MCQs on Literature Review (Literature Review in Research) with answers.

20 Multiple Choice Questions on Literature Review

1. Literature is a 

Written Record

Published Record

Unpublished Record

All of these

2. Which method of literature review involves a non-statistical method to present data having the feature of systematic Method too?

Narrative Method

Systematic Method

Meta-Analysis Method of Literature Review

Meta-Synthesis Method of Literature Review

3. Comparisons of non-statistical variables are performed under which method of literature review?

4. Literature review is not similar to

Annotated Bibliography 

5. APA Style, MLA Style, Chicago Manual, Blue Book, OSCOLA are famously known as

Citation Manuals

Directories

Abbreviation Manuals

6. Literature collected is reviewed and preferably arranged 

Alphabetically

Chronologically

None of these

7. Literature collected for review includes

Primary and Secondary Sources

Secondary and Tertiary Sources

Primary and Tertiary Sources

8. Literature includes

Previous Studies

Scholarly publications

Research Findings

9. No time frame is set to collect literature in which of the following method of compiling reviews?

Traditional Method

10. Which method of the literature review is more reliable for drawing conclusions of each individual researcher for new conceptualizations and interpretations?

11. The main purpose of finalization of research topics and sub-topics is

Collection of Literature

Collection of Questions

Collection of Statistics

Collection of Responses

12. Literature review is basically to bridge the gap between

Newly established facts

Previously established facts

Facts established time to time

Previous to current established facts

13. The last step in writing the literature review is 

Developing a Final Essay

Developing a Coherent Essay

Developing a Collaborated Essay

Developing a Coordinated Essay

14. The primary purpose of literature review is to facilitate detailed background of 

Present Studies

Previous studies

Future Studies

15. Narrative Literature Review method is also known as 

Advanced Method

Scientific Method

16. Which method of literature review starts with formulating research questions?

17. Which method of literature review involves application of clinical approach based on a specific subject.

18. Which literature review involves timeline based collection of literature for review

19. Which method of literature review involves application of statistical approach?

20. Which literature review method involves conclusions in numeric/statistical form?

More MCQs Related to MCQs on Literature Review

MCQs  on literature review  with answers PDF | Research methods multiple choice questions | Literature review  questions and answers

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Literature Review Research

Literature review, what is not a literature review, purpose of the literature review, types of literature review.

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A literature review is important because it:

Keep in mind the following, a literature review is NOT:

Not an essay 

Not an annotated bibliography  in which you summarize each article you reviewed.  A literature review goes beyond basic summarizing to critically analyze the reviewed works and their relationship to your research question.

Not a research paper   where you select resources to support one side of an issue versus another.  A lit review should explain and consider all sides of an argument to avoid bias, and areas of agreement and disagreement should be highlighted.

A literature review serves several purposes. For example, it

As Kennedy (2007) notes*, it is important to think of knowledge in a given field as consisting of three layers. First, there are the primary studies that researchers conduct and publish. Second are the reviews of those studies that summarize and offer new interpretations built from and often extending beyond the original studies. Third, there are the perceptions, conclusions, opinion, and interpretations that are shared informally that become part of the lore of field. In composing a literature review, it is important to note that it is often this third layer of knowledge that is cited as "true" even though it often has only a loose relationship to the primary studies and secondary literature reviews.

Given this, while literature reviews are designed to provide an overview and synthesis of pertinent sources you have explored, there are several approaches to how they can be done, depending upon the type of analysis underpinning your study. Listed below are definitions of types of literature reviews:

Argumentative Review      This form examines literature selectively in order to support or refute an argument, deeply imbedded assumption, or philosophical problem already established in the literature. The purpose is to develop a body of literature that establishes a contrarian viewpoint. Given the value-laden nature of some social science research [e.g., educational reform; immigration control], argumentative approaches to analyzing the literature can be a legitimate and important form of discourse. However, note that they can also introduce problems of bias when they are used to to make summary claims of the sort found in systematic reviews.

Integrative Review      Considered a form of research that reviews, critiques, and synthesizes representative literature on a topic in an integrated way such that new frameworks and perspectives on the topic are generated. The body of literature includes all studies that address related or identical hypotheses. A well-done integrative review meets the same standards as primary research in regard to clarity, rigor, and replication.

Historical Review      Few things rest in isolation from historical precedent. Historical reviews are focused on examining research throughout a period of time, often starting with the first time an issue, concept, theory, phenomena emerged in the literature, then tracing its evolution within the scholarship of a discipline. The purpose is to place research in a historical context to show familiarity with state-of-the-art developments and to identify the likely directions for future research.

Methodological Review      A review does not always focus on what someone said [content], but how they said it [method of analysis]. This approach provides a framework of understanding at different levels (i.e. those of theory, substantive fields, research approaches and data collection and analysis techniques), enables researchers to draw on a wide variety of knowledge ranging from the conceptual level to practical documents for use in fieldwork in the areas of ontological and epistemological consideration, quantitative and qualitative integration, sampling, interviewing, data collection and data analysis, and helps highlight many ethical issues which we should be aware of and consider as we go through our study.

Systematic Review      This form consists of an overview of existing evidence pertinent to a clearly formulated research question, which uses pre-specified and standardized methods to identify and critically appraise relevant research, and to collect, report, and analyse data from the studies that are included in the review. Typically it focuses on a very specific empirical question, often posed in a cause-and-effect form, such as "To what extent does A contribute to B?"

Theoretical Review      The purpose of this form is to concretely examine the corpus of theory that has accumulated in regard to an issue, concept, theory, phenomena. The theoretical literature review help establish what theories already exist, the relationships between them, to what degree the existing theories have been investigated, and to develop new hypotheses to be tested. Often this form is used to help establish a lack of appropriate theories or reveal that current theories are inadequate for explaining new or emerging research problems. The unit of analysis can focus on a theoretical concept or a whole theory or framework.

* Kennedy, Mary M. "Defining a Literature."  Educational Researcher  36 (April 2007): 139-147.

All content in this section is from The Literature Review created by Dr. Robert Larabee USC

Frequently asked questions

What is the purpose of a literature review.

There are several reasons to conduct a literature review at the beginning of a research project:

Writing the literature review shows your reader how your work relates to existing research and what new insights it will contribute.

Frequently asked questions: Academic writing

You may have seen both “appendices” or “appendixes” as pluralizations of “ appendix .” Either spelling can be used, but “appendices” is more common (including in APA Style ). Consistency is key here: make sure you use the same spelling throughout your paper.

The purpose of a lab report is to demonstrate your understanding of the scientific method with a hands-on lab experiment. Course instructors will often provide you with an experimental design and procedure. Your task is to write up how you actually performed the experiment and evaluate the outcome.

In contrast, a research paper requires you to independently develop an original argument. It involves more in-depth research and interpretation of sources and data.

A lab report is usually shorter than a research paper.

The sections of a lab report can vary between scientific fields and course requirements, but it usually contains the following:

A lab report conveys the aim, methods, results, and conclusions of a scientific experiment . Lab reports are commonly assigned in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.

The abstract is the very last thing you write. You should only write it after your research is complete, so that you can accurately summarize the entirety of your thesis , dissertation or research paper .

If you’ve gone over the word limit set for your assignment, shorten your sentences and cut repetition and redundancy during the editing process. If you use a lot of long quotes , consider shortening them to just the essentials.

If you need to remove a lot of words, you may have to cut certain passages. Remember that everything in the text should be there to support your argument; look for any information that’s not essential to your point and remove it.

Revising, proofreading, and editing are different stages of the writing process .

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 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.

Avoid citing sources in your abstract . There are two reasons for this:

There are some circumstances where you might need to mention other sources in an abstract: for example, if your research responds directly to another study or focuses on the work of a single theorist. In general, though, don’t include citations unless absolutely necessary.

An abstract is a concise summary of an academic text (such as a journal article or dissertation ). It serves two main purposes:

Abstracts are often indexed along with keywords on academic databases, so they make your work more easily findable. Since the abstract is the first thing any reader sees, it’s important that it clearly and accurately summarizes the contents of your paper.

In a scientific paper, the methodology always comes after the introduction and before the results , discussion and conclusion . The same basic structure also applies to a thesis, dissertation , or research proposal .

Depending on the length and type of document, you might also include a literature review or theoretical framework before the methodology.

Whether you’re publishing a blog, submitting a research paper , or even just writing an important email, there are a few techniques you can use to make sure it’s error-free:

If you want to be confident that an important text is error-free, it might be worth choosing a professional proofreading service instead.

Editing and proofreading are different steps in the process of revising a text.

Editing comes first, and can involve major changes to content, structure and language. The first stages of editing are often done by authors themselves, while a professional editor makes the final improvements to grammar and style (for example, by improving sentence structure and word choice ).

Proofreading is the final stage of checking a text before it is published or shared. It focuses on correcting minor errors and inconsistencies (for example, in punctuation and capitalization ). Proofreaders often also check for formatting issues, especially in print publishing.

The cost of proofreading depends on the type and length of text, the turnaround time, and the level of services required. Most proofreading companies charge per word or page, while freelancers sometimes charge an hourly rate.

For proofreading alone, which involves only basic corrections of typos and formatting mistakes, you might pay as little as $0.01 per word, but in many cases, your text will also require some level of editing , which costs slightly more.

It’s often possible to purchase combined proofreading and editing services and calculate the price in advance based on your requirements.

There are many different routes to becoming a professional proofreader or editor. The necessary qualifications depend on the field – to be an academic or scientific proofreader, for example, you will need at least a university degree in a relevant subject.

For most proofreading jobs, experience and demonstrated skills are more important than specific qualifications. Often your skills will be tested as part of the application process.

To learn practical proofreading skills, you can choose to take a course with a professional organization such as the Society for Editors and Proofreaders . Alternatively, you can apply to companies that offer specialized on-the-job training programmes, such as the Scribbr Academy .

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The Scribbr Citation Generator is developed using the open-source Citation Style Language (CSL) project and Frank Bennett’s citeproc-js . It’s the same technology used by dozens of other popular citation tools, including Mendeley and Zotero.

You can find all the citation styles and locales used in the Scribbr Citation Generator in our publicly accessible repository on Github .

Research Paper Guide

How To Write A Literature Review

Nova A.

Learn How To Write A Literature Review In Simple Steps

Published on: Dec 21, 2017

Last updated on: Dec 15, 2022

how to write a literature review

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A literature review requires a lot of research work. Most students contemplate it as the hardest and complicated part while writing a  research paper . Besides, you may also have to write it as a stand-alone assignment.

Drafting a strong literature review is considered the foundation of any research. It helps to evaluate existing research and tells your teacher how your research is relevant to the respective field. Moreover, it also discusses new insights that your research will contribute to the field of study.

Thus, a writer needs to be well prepared to utilize multiple scholarly sources to find the required research material. An organizational plan must also be developed to combine both the summary and synthesis of the previous literature.

Keep on reading this complete guide to learning how to write a literature review paper in simple steps.

What is a Literature Review?

A literature review is the research and evaluation of the available literature in your chosen topic area. It includes a survey of scholarly sources to provide an overview of the current research and available data and knowledge.

These sources include books, journal articles, and newspapers, that relate to your research question.

Moreover, it not only summarizes the sources. But it also analyzes, interprets, and evaluates the relevant theories, methods, points of view, and gaps in the existing literature.

However, this does not mean that a literature review is based on previous searches only. The writer discusses the research question and its various aspects and discusses the relevant study to support this claim.

What is the Importance of a Good Literature Review?

Some of the key reasons to add a literature review into your research paper, thesis, and dissertation include:

The length of a literature review usually depends on the length of the research project. For example, if you are writing a research paper of 10 pages. You will have to include 5 to 6 sources in your literature review.

However, consulting with the professor about proper requirements beforehand is a better way to avoid any last-minute issues.

Types of Literature Review

Here are the types of literature review.

types of literature review

How to Write a Literature Review?

To write a good literature review for a research paper, follow the given steps.

1. Search Relevant Literature

The first important step before starting a review section is to have a clearly defined topic.

Writing a literature review for a research paper requires you to search for literature. It should be relevant to your research problem and questions. Similarly, use the keywords to search for different sources.

To find the relevant journals and articles, look for the following useful academic databases.

However, for writing a review as a stand-alone assignment, develop a research question that gives direction to your search.

Such a question must be answered without gathering original data. Instead, you should answer it by reviewing the existing material.

Furthermore, create a list of keywords related to the topic and research question. Find useful articles and check for the reference list to come up with more authentic sources.

You probably would not be able to cover everything on the chosen topic. Thus, begin by reading the abstract to identify whether the article is relevant or not.

Also, take enough time to evaluate the sources. Make a list of citations and ensure there are no repetitive authors, articles, or publications in the literature review.

2. Analyze and Select Sources

Obviously, it is impossible to read each and every single thing written about the research topic. Instead, you have to analyze the sources that are most relevant to your research questions.

Answer the below questions while analyzing each source.

Make sure you are using credible and authentic sources. Also, read the important publications and articles to justify your argument.

Moreover, the scope of the literature review largely depends on the topic and discipline. For example, science students only evaluate recent literary work to write their reviews. Nevertheless, the humanities students also have to study and discuss the historical research and perspective about the topic.

Begin the writing process along with searching and reading the relevant sources. Note down important information to use in the text of your literature review.

It is better to cite your sources at this stage to avoid the risk of plagiarism. Moreover, it can also help in developing an  annotated bibliography .

3. Identify Connections

Start organizing the argument and structure of a literature review. For this, you have to identify the connection between the sources that are used while  writing an abstract .

Based on your evaluation, you can look for the following things:

These elements will help you identify your contribution to the existing knowledge.

4. Decide the Structure

There are various approaches that can be used to organize the literature review. Depending upon the length, it can follow a chronological, thematic, methodological, or theoretical framework.

The approaches to organizing a review are discussed below in detail.

It is the simplest approach to structure your literature review. However, do not just summarize and list the sources. Instead, analyze the critical debates, research, and patterns that have shaped the direction of the field. Also, discuss your interpretation of the developments.

This type of approach helps to organize the review into subsections. Each section will discuss a different aspect of the chosen topic.

It helps to compare the outcomes of gathering sources from different research methods. It may include the analysis of:

A literature review is often used to discuss various theories and key concepts. By using this approach, you can argue the relevance of a particular theoretical method. Similarly, you can also combine different theories to make a new framework for your research.

5. Write Your Literature Review

Like any other academic paper, a literature review format must have three sections: introduction, body section, and a conclusion. What to include in each section depends on the aims and objectives of your literature review.

5.1 Literature Review Introduction

It is the first paragraph that clearly defines the purpose and focus of the review.

If your literature review is part of your thesis or dissertation, restate the research question. Similarly, briefly summarize the whole context by highlighting literature gaps.

If you are writing a standalone literature review, provide background information on the topic. Also, discuss the scope of the literature and your research objectives. However, don’t forget to mention the results that you will draw from the literature.

5.2 Literature Review Body

Divide the body into subsections for each theme or a methodological approach. While writing the body of a literature review, keep in mind the following things.

5.3 Literature Review Conclusion

Summarize your key findings and emphasize their significance in the conclusion section.

While writing a conclusion for a dissertation or thesis, demonstrate the research gaps and your contributions. Also, discuss how you have developed the research framework by using the theories and methods.

However, a conclusion of a stand-alone literature review will discuss the overall implications and suggestions for future research.

6. Edit And Proofread

Once you are done with the writing process, don’t forget to edit and proofread your paper. It will help you ensure that the paper does not miss anything important and is free from grammatical, and spelling mistakes.

Have a look at the below-given document to learn writing a literature review.

Writing Literature Review for a Research Paper

Sample Literature Review

The above guide will definitely help you understand what a literature review is and how to write one. Here are some literature review examples and samples for you to learn the detailed structure.

Effects of Communication Styles on Marital Satisfaction

Divorce, Fertility, and Labor Force Participation

View Literature Review for a Qualitative Research Paper Here

View Literature Review for a Scientific Research Paper

Critical Thinking and Transferability: A Review of the Literature

Common Mistakes to Avoid

The following are some common mistakes that should be avoided while writing a perfect literature review.

There is a considerable amount of effort that goes into the literature review writing process. It is a complicated academic assignment that you get at high school, college, or university.

Some students lack good writing skills and for some, it is just a boring task. Thus, they look for professional help to deal with such a complex assignment.

This detailed guide will help you learn how to do a literature review in no time. However, you can take help from our  top essay writing service  that can help you write perfect literature reviews for research papers. 

The expert writers at  MyPerfectWords.com  have the right skills and experience to deliver your order within the given deadline.

By choosing our  essay writer , you will realize that buying a literature review has never been easier than it is now. We can also provide you with an example of a literature review to get a better idea.

Moreover, you can easily buy a well-written review by contacting our support team that is available 24/7. Simply, place your  order  now and get a high-quality literature review at affordable rates.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many sources should a literature review have.

To write a paper, 10 sources are needed in the literature review. To have 100 pages of text (in the body), you need at least 100 sources for your research. 

How do you start an introduction to a literature review?

The literature review in the introduction should introduce, establish the significance of the study, provide an overview of relevant literature to show context for research, and identify knowledge gaps. It will also illustrate how it can advance our understanding of a topic using studies that have been conducted before. 

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Nova Allison is a Digital Content Strategist with over eight years of experience. Nova has also worked as a technical and scientific writer. She is majorly involved in developing and reviewing online content plans that engage and resonate with audiences. Nova has a passion for writing that engages and informs her readers.

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Strategies for Planning a Dissertation Literature Review

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What is a Dissertation Literature Review?

A dissertation literature review is a critical assessment of pertinent literature that has been read and collated by the researcher.  The purpose of a literature review for dissertation is to identify a “gap” in the existing literature that your research will attempt to address.

In simpler terms, a dissertation literature review can be used as a summary of important sources that are referred to while conducting research. Furthermore, it also requires a researcher to engage with the literature, and provide critiques on the same.

A dissertation literature review answers the following questions:

How to Plan a Dissertation Literature Review?

Staying updated with new research sometimes gets difficult for researchers. Therefore, strategizing your way to dissertation literature completion is imperative.

literature review answers the question

Dissertation literature review forms the basis of the research and highlights any research gaps as support for a new argument, so you must follow well planned strategies to formulate an impactful one.

Develop a Strategy

Unless you are struggling to find a research topic and have decided to cast a wide net to see what you can find that might interest you, your literature search should have a purpose.

If you fall into the former category, you should talk to your supervisor and schedule a research consultation with a librarian to prevent yourself from wasting hundreds of hours of fruitless ‘database diving.’

If you fall into the latter category, you probably already have a topic selected, and your strategy should be to build a literature review for dissertation that is comprehensive enough to establish your expertise in the topic. Despite having a research topic ready, researchers often do not understand as to how much literature research is too much? If not everything, make sure to cover the significance! When you zero down on a research topic- jot down the main ideas, concepts, and related theories. Identify keywords and phrases specific to your research question. Use Boolean operators to optimize your search results. Use search tricks such as Phrase searching, truncation, and proximity searching to optimize your search results. Keep a track of your searches and set up alerts for any new research relevant to your topic! Collate all the required data by using keywords on multiple databases, and summarize the collated data in different sections, or under different headings. Identify any gaps in your searched data, and make sure that your systematic review warrants scope for further research.

It should also justify the need for the area of focus that you are pursuing, whether that is an identified gap in the research, or the potential for an extrapolation of an existing study.

To Replicate or Not to Replicate

If you think you have identified a gap in the research, your primary concern will be to make sure that no one else identified that gap and conducted the same study that you are proposing to do. If you are looking to  replicate a study  that was done ten years ago or because the results from that study were counterintuitive, replication becomes less of an issue (unless someone decides to replicate the study as well).

In either event, the last thing you want to be facing in your oral  defense of your dissertation  is for the examiner to ask you what you thought of Smith and Jones’ 2015 study on the same topic that you didn’t include in your literature review for dissertation.

A good review of the relevant literature for your proposed study has to have depth and breadth to establish your expertise and to validate the gap that you think you have identified, but it must also be as current as is physically possible. In other words, you should be checking databases right up to the day you complete your draft submission.

Focus on Filling the Gaps

Identifying the gaps in research is the most essential aspect of conducting literature review for dissertation, especially when the review forms part of your research proposal.  It confirms that your research is designed to fill this gap in the pertinent literature which adds to the existing knowledge of the research field and gives scope for future research. Furthermore, identification of gap in research indicates that the researcher has conducted the review with good critical analysis.

Use the Power of Automation

If you’re immersed in a particularly broad topic, the problem of staying current with the literature can be solved by the use of automation tools that your  academic librarian can help  you to set up:

Know Your Limit

The ease with which such alerts can be set-up can be a mixed blessing. If you’re not focused in your search terms and  keywords , you will continue to be bombarded with new links on a daily or even hourly basis. That can be very distracting when you’re trying to  write your data analysis  or conclusions and recommendations for  future research . It is important to stay current in the literature, but not at the cost of poor analysis of your data.

Remember, the literature review for dissertation is about demonstrating your mastery of the material to the extent that you are the logical expert to pursue the research you are proposing. That is done based on quality of material and the analysis of that material. It’s not about reading every piece of research you can lay your hand on.

How did you conduct your dissertation literature review? What strategies did you apply? How has literature reviewing benefitted you in finding answers to your research question? Have you ever used online tools to manage your references and literature? Let us know in the comments section below! You can also visit our  Q&A forum  for frequently asked questions related to different aspects of research writing and publishing answered by our team that comprises subject-matter experts, eminent researchers, and publication experts.

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Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper

A literature review surveys books, scholarly articles, and any other sources relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, and by so doing, provides a description, summary, and critical evaluation of these works in relation to the research problem being investigated. Literature reviews are designed to provide an overview of sources you have explored while researching a particular topic and to demonstrate to your readers how your research fits within a larger field of study.

Fink, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper . Fourth edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2014.

Importance of a Good Literature Review

A literature review may consist of simply a summary of key sources, but in the social sciences, a literature review usually has an organizational pattern and combines both summary and synthesis, often within specific conceptual categories . A summary is a recap of the important information of the source, but a synthesis is a re-organization, or a reshuffling, of that information in a way that informs how you are planning to investigate a research problem. The analytical features of a literature review might:

Given this, the purpose of a literature review is to:

Fink, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2005; Hart, Chris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998; Jesson, Jill. Doing Your Literature Review: Traditional and Systematic Techniques . Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2011; Knopf, Jeffrey W. "Doing a Literature Review." PS: Political Science and Politics 39 (January 2006): 127-132; Ridley, Diana. The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for Students . 2nd ed. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2012.

Types of Literature Reviews

It is important to think of knowledge in a given field as consisting of three layers. First, there are the primary studies that researchers conduct and publish. Second are the reviews of those studies that summarize and offer new interpretations built from and often extending beyond the primary studies. Third, there are the perceptions, conclusions, opinion, and interpretations that are shared informally among scholars that become part of the body of epistemological traditions within the field.

In composing a literature review, it is important to note that it is often this third layer of knowledge that is cited as "true" even though it often has only a loose relationship to the primary studies and secondary literature reviews. Given this, while literature reviews are designed to provide an overview and synthesis of pertinent sources you have explored, there are a number of approaches you could adopt depending upon the type of analysis underpinning your study.

Argumentative Review This form examines literature selectively in order to support or refute an argument, deeply embedded assumption, or philosophical problem already established in the literature. The purpose is to develop a body of literature that establishes a contrarian viewpoint. Given the value-laden nature of some social science research [e.g., educational reform; immigration control], argumentative approaches to analyzing the literature can be a legitimate and important form of discourse. However, note that they can also introduce problems of bias when they are used to make summary claims of the sort found in systematic reviews [see below].

Integrative Review Considered a form of research that reviews, critiques, and synthesizes representative literature on a topic in an integrated way such that new frameworks and perspectives on the topic are generated. The body of literature includes all studies that address related or identical hypotheses or research problems. A well-done integrative review meets the same standards as primary research in regard to clarity, rigor, and replication. This is the most common form of review in the social sciences.

Historical Review Few things rest in isolation from historical precedent. Historical literature reviews focus on examining research throughout a period of time, often starting with the first time an issue, concept, theory, phenomena emerged in the literature, then tracing its evolution within the scholarship of a discipline. The purpose is to place research in a historical context to show familiarity with state-of-the-art developments and to identify the likely directions for future research.

Methodological Review A review does not always focus on what someone said [findings], but how they came about saying what they say [method of analysis]. Reviewing methods of analysis provides a framework of understanding at different levels [i.e. those of theory, substantive fields, research approaches, and data collection and analysis techniques], how researchers draw upon a wide variety of knowledge ranging from the conceptual level to practical documents for use in fieldwork in the areas of ontological and epistemological consideration, quantitative and qualitative integration, sampling, interviewing, data collection, and data analysis. This approach helps highlight ethical issues which you should be aware of and consider as you go through your own study.

Systematic Review This form consists of an overview of existing evidence pertinent to a clearly formulated research question, which uses pre-specified and standardized methods to identify and critically appraise relevant research, and to collect, report, and analyze data from the studies that are included in the review. The goal is to deliberately document, critically evaluate, and summarize scientifically all of the research about a clearly defined research problem . Typically it focuses on a very specific empirical question, often posed in a cause-and-effect form, such as "To what extent does A contribute to B?" This type of literature review is primarily applied to examining prior research studies in clinical medicine and allied health fields, but it is increasingly being used in the social sciences.

Theoretical Review The purpose of this form is to examine the corpus of theory that has accumulated in regard to an issue, concept, theory, phenomena. The theoretical literature review helps to establish what theories already exist, the relationships between them, to what degree the existing theories have been investigated, and to develop new hypotheses to be tested. Often this form is used to help establish a lack of appropriate theories or reveal that current theories are inadequate for explaining new or emerging research problems. The unit of analysis can focus on a theoretical concept or a whole theory or framework.

NOTE : Most often the literature review will incorporate some combination of types. For example, a review that examines literature supporting or refuting an argument, assumption, or philosophical problem related to the research problem will also need to include writing supported by sources that establish the history of these arguments in the literature.

Baumeister, Roy F. and Mark R. Leary. "Writing Narrative Literature Reviews."  Review of General Psychology 1 (September 1997): 311-320; Mark R. Fink, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper . 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2005; Hart, Chris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998; Kennedy, Mary M. "Defining a Literature." Educational Researcher 36 (April 2007): 139-147; Petticrew, Mark and Helen Roberts. Systematic Reviews in the Social Sciences: A Practical Guide . Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 2006; Torracro, Richard. "Writing Integrative Literature Reviews: Guidelines and Examples." Human Resource Development Review 4 (September 2005): 356-367; Rocco, Tonette S. and Maria S. Plakhotnik. "Literature Reviews, Conceptual Frameworks, and Theoretical Frameworks: Terms, Functions, and Distinctions." Human Ressource Development Review 8 (March 2008): 120-130; Sutton, Anthea. Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review . Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, 2016.

Structure and Writing Style

I.  Thinking About Your Literature Review

The structure of a literature review should include the following in support of understanding the research problem :

The critical evaluation of each work should consider :

II.  Development of the Literature Review

Four Basic Stages of Writing 1.  Problem formulation -- which topic or field is being examined and what are its component issues? 2.  Literature search -- finding materials relevant to the subject being explored. 3.  Data evaluation -- determining which literature makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the topic. 4.  Analysis and interpretation -- discussing the findings and conclusions of pertinent literature.

Consider the following issues before writing the literature review: Clarify If your assignment is not specific about what form your literature review should take, seek clarification from your professor by asking these questions: 1.  Roughly how many sources would be appropriate to include? 2.  What types of sources should I review (books, journal articles, websites; scholarly versus popular sources)? 3.  Should I summarize, synthesize, or critique sources by discussing a common theme or issue? 4.  Should I evaluate the sources in any way beyond evaluating how they relate to understanding the research problem? 5.  Should I provide subheadings and other background information, such as definitions and/or a history? Find Models Use the exercise of reviewing the literature to examine how authors in your discipline or area of interest have composed their literature review sections. Read them to get a sense of the types of themes you might want to look for in your own research or to identify ways to organize your final review. The bibliography or reference section of sources you've already read, such as required readings in the course syllabus, are also excellent entry points into your own research. Narrow the Topic The narrower your topic, the easier it will be to limit the number of sources you need to read in order to obtain a good survey of relevant resources. Your professor will probably not expect you to read everything that's available about the topic, but you'll make the act of reviewing easier if you first limit scope of the research problem. A good strategy is to begin by searching the USC Libraries Catalog for recent books about the topic and review the table of contents for chapters that focuses on specific issues. You can also review the indexes of books to find references to specific issues that can serve as the focus of your research. For example, a book surveying the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may include a chapter on the role Egypt has played in mediating the conflict, or look in the index for the pages where Egypt is mentioned in the text. Consider Whether Your Sources are Current Some disciplines require that you use information that is as current as possible. This is particularly true in disciplines in medicine and the sciences where research conducted becomes obsolete very quickly as new discoveries are made. However, when writing a review in the social sciences, a survey of the history of the literature may be required. In other words, a complete understanding the research problem requires you to deliberately examine how knowledge and perspectives have changed over time. Sort through other current bibliographies or literature reviews in the field to get a sense of what your discipline expects. You can also use this method to explore what is considered by scholars to be a "hot topic" and what is not.

III.  Ways to Organize Your Literature Review

Chronology of Events If your review follows the chronological method, you could write about the materials according to when they were published. This approach should only be followed if a clear path of research building on previous research can be identified and that these trends follow a clear chronological order of development. For example, a literature review that focuses on continuing research about the emergence of German economic power after the fall of the Soviet Union. By Publication Order your sources by publication chronology, then, only if the order demonstrates a more important trend. For instance, you could order a review of literature on environmental studies of brown fields if the progression revealed, for example, a change in the soil collection practices of the researchers who wrote and/or conducted the studies. Thematic [“conceptual categories”] Thematic reviews of literature are organized around a topic or issue, rather than the progression of time. However, progression of time may still be an important factor in a thematic review. For example, a review of the Internet’s impact on American presidential politics could focus on the development of online political satire. While the study focuses on one topic, the Internet’s impact on American presidential politics, it will still be organized chronologically reflecting technological developments in media. The only difference here between a "chronological" and a "thematic" approach is what is emphasized the most: the role of the Internet in presidential politics. Note however that more authentic thematic reviews tend to break away from chronological order. A review organized in this manner would shift between time periods within each section according to the point made. Note that this is the most common approach in the social and behavioral sciences. Methodological A methodological approach focuses on the methods utilized by the researcher. For the Internet in American presidential politics project, one methodological approach would be to look at cultural differences between the portrayal of American presidents on American, British, and French websites. Or the review might focus on the fundraising impact of the Internet on a particular political party. A methodological scope will influence either the types of documents in the review or the way in which these documents are discussed.

Other Sections of Your Literature Review Once you've decided on the organizational method for your literature review, the sections you need to include in the paper should be easy to figure out because they arise from your organizational strategy. In other words, a chronological review would have subsections for each vital time period; a thematic review would have subtopics based upon factors that relate to the theme or issue. However, sometimes you may need to add additional sections that are necessary for your study, but do not fit in the organizational strategy of the body. What other sections you include in the body is up to you. However, only include what is necessary for the reader to locate your study within the larger scholarship about the research problem.

Here are examples of other sections, usually in the form of a single paragraph, you may need to include depending on the type of review you write:

IV.  Writing Your Literature Review

Once you've settled on how to organize your literature review, you're ready to write each section. When writing your review, keep in mind these issues.

Use Evidence A literature review section is, in this sense, just like any other academic research paper. Your interpretation of the available sources must be backed up with evidence [citations] that demonstrates that what you are saying is valid. Be Selective Select only the most important points in each source to highlight in the review. The type of information you choose to mention should relate directly to the research problem, whether it is thematic, methodological, or chronological. Related items that provide additional information but that are not key to understanding the research problem can be included in a list of further readings . Use Quotes Sparingly Some short quotes are appropriate if you want to emphasize a point, or if what an author stated cannot be easily paraphrased. Sometimes you may need to quote certain terminology that was coined by the author, is not common knowledge, or taken directly from the study. Do not use extensive quotes as a substitute for using your own words in reviewing the literature. Summarize and Synthesize Remember to summarize and synthesize your sources within each thematic paragraph as well as throughout the review. Recapitulate important features of a research study, but then synthesize it by rephrasing the study's significance and relating it to your own work and the work of others. Keep Your Own Voice While the literature review presents others' ideas, your voice [the writer's] should remain front and center. For example, weave references to other sources into what you are writing but maintain your own voice by starting and ending the paragraph with your own ideas and wording. Use Caution When Paraphrasing When paraphrasing a source that is not your own, be sure to represent the author's information or opinions accurately and in your own words. Even when paraphrasing an author’s work, you still must provide a citation to that work.

V.  Common Mistakes to Avoid

These are the most common mistakes made in reviewing social science research literature.

Cook, Kathleen E. and Elise Murowchick. “Do Literature Review Skills Transfer from One Course to Another?” Psychology Learning and Teaching 13 (March 2014): 3-11; Fink, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper . 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2005; Hart, Chris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998; Jesson, Jill. Doing Your Literature Review: Traditional and Systematic Techniques . London: SAGE, 2011; Literature Review Handout. Online Writing Center. Liberty University; Literature Reviews. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J. and Rebecca Frels. Seven Steps to a Comprehensive Literature Review: A Multimodal and Cultural Approach . Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2016; Ridley, Diana. The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for Students . 2nd ed. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2012; Randolph, Justus J. “A Guide to Writing the Dissertation Literature Review." Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation. vol. 14, June 2009; Sutton, Anthea. Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review . Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, 2016; Taylor, Dena. The Literature Review: A Few Tips On Conducting It. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Writing a Literature Review. Academic Skills Centre. University of Canberra.

Writing Tip

Break Out of Your Disciplinary Box!

Thinking interdisciplinarily about a research problem can be a rewarding exercise in applying new ideas, theories, or concepts to an old problem. For example, what might cultural anthropologists say about the continuing conflict in the Middle East? In what ways might geographers view the need for better distribution of social service agencies in large cities than how social workers might study the issue? You don’t want to substitute a thorough review of core research literature in your discipline for studies conducted in other fields of study. However, particularly in the social sciences, thinking about research problems from multiple vectors is a key strategy for finding new solutions to a problem or gaining a new perspective. Consult with a librarian about identifying research databases in other disciplines; almost every field of study has at least one comprehensive database devoted to indexing its research literature.

Frodeman, Robert. The Oxford Handbook of Interdisciplinarity . New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.

Another Writing Tip

Don't Just Review for Content!

While conducting a review of the literature, maximize the time you devote to writing this part of your paper by thinking broadly about what you should be looking for and evaluating. Review not just what scholars are saying, but how are they saying it. Some questions to ask:

When you begin to write your literature review section, you'll be glad you dug deeper into how the research was designed and constructed because it establishes a means for developing more substantial analysis and interpretation of the research problem.

Hart, Chris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1 998.

Yet Another Writing Tip

When Do I Know I Can Stop Looking and Move On?

Here are several strategies you can utilize to assess whether you've thoroughly reviewed the literature:

Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J. and Rebecca Frels. Seven Steps to a Comprehensive Literature Review: A Multimodal and Cultural Approach . Los Angeles, CA: Sage, 2016; Sutton, Anthea. Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review . Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, 2016.

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4 page literature review 

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Christian faith perspective on lack of parental guidance 

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a solution or community action plan to solve the issue of lack of parental guidance 

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Socially Excluded Young Men. Safer Communities, 11(4), 179-190. 

https://doi.org/10.1108/17578041211271445

Cordele, GA crime rates. NeighborhoodScout. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22, 2023, from 

https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ga/cordele/crime

Cunningham, N. J., & Sandhu, D. S. (1999, November 30). A comprehensive approach to 

school-Community Violence Prevention. Professional School Counseling. Retrieved 

January 22, 2023, from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ629153

Dangerfield, D. T., II, Heidari, O., Cooper, J., Allen, S., & Lucas, G. M. (2020). 

Motivations for Opioid and Stimulant Use Among Drug Using Black Sexual 

Minority Men: A Life Course Perspective. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 215. 

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108224

MW;, B. L. H. K. (n.d.). The etiology of Female juvenile delinquency and gang membership: A test of psychological and social structural explanations . Adolescence. Retrieved January 22, 2023, from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6666701/ 

Palmer, R., & McGeary, J. (2016). Models of Drug Addiction: Theories and Future 

Applications In Prevention and Treatment. Brown University Child & Adolescent 

Behavior Letter, 32(5), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1002/cbl.30122

Petion, A. R., Chang, C. Y., Brown, T. C., Mitchell, M. D., Grinnage, D., & Huffstead, 

M. E. (2023). "Battling Something Bigger Than Me": A Phenomenological 

Investigation Of Generational Trauma in African American Women. Journal of 

Counseling & Development, 101(1), 69-83. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12454

Rizzo, M. (2003). Why do Children Join Gangs? Journal of Gang Research, 11(1), 65-

Schewe, P. A., Risser, H. J., & Messinger, A. M. (2016, November 9). Safe from the start: Evaluating interventions for children exposed to violence . Northwestern Scholars. Retrieved January 22, 2023, from   https://www.scholars.northwestern.edu/en/publications/safe-from-the-start-evaluating-interventions-for-children-exposed

Stiles, M. M. (2002, December 1). Witnessing domestic violence: The effect on children .        

American Family Physician. Retrieved January 22, 2023, from https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2002/1201/p2052.html 

Stirbys, C. D. (2021). Potentializing Wellness to Overcome Generational 

Trauma. Grounded Theory Review, 20(1), 58-74.

Wu, J., Hu, X., & Orrick, E. A. (2022). The Relationship Between Motivations For 

Joining Gangs and Violent Offending: A Preliminary Test on Self-Determination Theory. Victims & Offenders, 17(3), 335-349. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2021.1898508

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Institute for Academic Development

Literature review

A general guide on how to conduct and write a literature review.

Please check course or programme information and materials provided by teaching staff , including your project supervisor, for subject-specific guidance.

What is a literature review?

A literature review is a piece of academic writing demonstrating knowledge and understanding of the academic literature on a specific topic placed in context.  A literature review also includes a critical evaluation of the material; this is why it is called a literature review rather than a literature report. It is a process of reviewing the literature, as well as a form of writing.

To illustrate the difference between reporting and reviewing, think about television or film review articles.  These articles include content such as a brief synopsis or the key points of the film or programme plus the critic’s own evaluation.  Similarly the two main objectives of a literature review are firstly the content covering existing research, theories and evidence, and secondly your own critical evaluation and discussion of this content. 

Usually a literature review forms a section or part of a dissertation, research project or long essay.  However, it can also be set and assessed as a standalone piece of work.

What is the purpose of a literature review?

…your task is to build an argument, not a library. Rudestam, K.E. and Newton, R.R. (1992) Surviving your dissertation: A comprehensive guide to content and process. California: Sage, p49.

In a larger piece of written work, such as a dissertation or project, a literature review is usually one of the first tasks carried out after deciding on a topic.  Reading combined with critical analysis can help to refine a topic and frame research questions.  Conducting a literature review establishes your familiarity with and understanding of current research in a particular field before carrying out a new investigation.  After doing a literature review, you should know what research has already been done and be able to identify what is unknown within your topic.

When doing and writing a literature review, it is good practice to:

Conducting a literature review

Focusing on different aspects of your literature review can be useful to help plan, develop, refine and write it.  You can use and adapt the prompt questions in our worksheet below at different points in the process of researching and writing your review.  These are suggestions to get you thinking and writing.

Developing and refining your literature review (pdf)

Developing and refining your literature review (Word)

Developing and refining your literature review (Word rtf)

Writing a literature review has a lot in common with other assignment tasks.  There is advice on our other pages about thinking critically, reading strategies and academic writing.  Our literature review top tips suggest some specific things you can do to help you submit a successful review.

Literature review top tips (pdf)

Literature review top tips (Word rtf)

Our reading page includes strategies and advice on using books and articles and a notes record sheet grid you can use.

Reading at university

The Academic writing page suggests ways to organise and structure information from a range of sources and how you can develop your argument as you read and write.

Academic writing

The Critical thinking page has advice on how to be a more critical researcher and a form you can use to help you think and break down the stages of developing your argument.

Critical thinking

As with other forms of academic writing, your literature review needs to demonstrate good academic practice by following the Code of Student Conduct and acknowledging the work of others through citing and referencing your sources.  

Good academic practice

As with any writing task, you will need to review, edit and rewrite sections of your literature review.  The Editing and proofreading page includes tips on how to do this and strategies for standing back and thinking about your structure and checking the flow of your argument.

Editing and proofreading

Guidance on literature searching from the University Library

The Academic Support Librarians have developed LibSmart I and II, Learn courses to help you develop and enhance your digital research skills and capabilities; from getting started with the Library to managing data for your dissertation.

Searching using the library’s DiscoverEd tool: DiscoverEd

Finding resources in your subject: Subject guides

The Academic Support Librarians also provide one-to-one appointments to help you develop your research strategies.

1 to 1 support for literature searching and systematic reviews

Advice to help you optimise use of Google Scholar, Google Books and Google for your research and study: Using Google

Managing and curating your references

A referencing management tool can help you to collect and organise and your source material to produce a bibliography or reference list. 

Referencing and reference management

Information Services provide access to Cite them right online which is a guide to the main referencing systems and tells you how to reference just about any source (EASE log-in may be required).

Cite them right

Published study guides

There are a number of scholarship skills books and guides available which can help with writing a literature review.  Our Resource List of study skills guides includes sections on Referencing, Dissertation and project writing and Literature reviews.

Study skills guides

Please note that Internet Explorer version 8.x is not supported as of January 1, 2016. Please refer to this support page for more information.

Elsevier

Journal of Business Research

Literature review as a research methodology: an overview and guidelines.

Knowledge production within the field of business research is accelerating at a tremendous speed while at the same time remaining fragmented and interdisciplinary. This makes it hard to keep up with state-of-the-art and to be at the forefront of research, as well as to assess the collective evidence in a particular area of business research. This is why the literature review as a research method is more relevant than ever. Traditional literature reviews often lack thoroughness and rigor and are conducted ad hoc, rather than following a specific methodology. Therefore, questions can be raised about the quality and trustworthiness of these types of reviews. This paper discusses literature review as a methodology for conducting research and offers an overview of different types of reviews, as well as some guidelines to how to both conduct and evaluate a literature review paper. It also discusses common pitfalls and how to get literature reviews published.

Cited by (0)

Hannah Snyder is an assistant professor at the department of marketing, BI - Norwegian School of Business, Oslo, Norway. Her research interest relates to service innovation, customer creativity, deviant customer behavior, and value co-creation as well as a special interest in literature review methodology. She has published in the Journal of Business Research , European Journal of Marketing , Journal of Service Management and International Journal of Nursing Studies .

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What is a Literature Review? | Guide, Template, & Examples

Published on 22 February 2022 by Shona McCombes . Revised on 7 June 2022.

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.

There are five key steps to writing a literature review:

A good literature review doesn’t just summarise sources – it analyses, synthesises, and critically evaluates to give a clear picture of the state of knowledge on the subject.

Table of contents

Why write 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, frequently asked questions about literature reviews, introduction.

When you write a dissertation or thesis, you will have to conduct a literature review to situate your research within existing knowledge. The literature review gives you a chance to:

You might also have to write a literature review as a stand-alone assignment. In this case, the purpose is to evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your knowledge of scholarly debates around a topic.

The content will look slightly different in each case, but the process of conducting a literature review follows the same steps. We’ve written a step-by-step guide that you can follow below.

Literature review guide

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.

You can also check out our templates with literature review examples and sample outlines at the links below.

Download Word doc Download Google doc

Prevent plagiarism, run a free check.

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 objectives and questions .

If you are writing a literature review as a stand-alone assignment, you will have to choose a focus and develop a central question to direct your search. Unlike a dissertation research question, this question has to be answerable without collecting original data. You should be able to answer it based only on a review of existing publications.

Make a list of keywords

Start by creating a list of keywords related to your research topic. 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 if you discover new keywords in the process of your literature search.

Search for relevant sources

Use your keywords to begin searching for sources. Some databases to search for journals and articles include:

You can use boolean operators to help narrow down your search:

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.

To identify the most important publications on your topic, take note of recurring citations. If the same authors, books or articles keep appearing in your reading, make sure to seek them out.

You probably won’t be able to read absolutely everything that has been written on the topic – you’ll have to evaluate which sources are most relevant to your questions.

For each publication, ask yourself:

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 find out how many times an article has been cited on Google Scholar – a high citation count means the article has been influential in the field, and should certainly be included in your literature review.

The scope of your review will depend on your topic and discipline: in the sciences you usually only review recent literature, but in the humanities you might take a long historical perspective (for example, to trace how a concept has changed in meaning over time).

Remember that you can use our template to summarise and evaluate sources you’re thinking about using!

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’s important to keep track of your sources with references to avoid plagiarism . It can be helpful to make an annotated bibliography, where you compile full reference 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.

You can use our free APA Reference Generator for quick, correct, consistent citations.

To begin organising your literature review’s argument and structure, you need to understand the connections and relationships between the sources you’ve read. Based on your reading and notes, you can look for:

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.

There are various approaches to organising the body of a literature review. You should have a rough idea of your strategy before you start writing.

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 summarising sources in order.

Try to analyse 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 organise 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:

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.

If you are writing the literature review as part of your dissertation or thesis, reiterate your central problem or research question and give a brief summary of the scholarly context. You can emphasise the timeliness of the topic (“many recent studies have focused on the problem of x”) or highlight a gap in the literature (“while there has been much research on x, few researchers have taken y into consideration”).

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, make sure to follow these tips:

In the conclusion, you should summarise the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasise their significance.

If the literature review is part of your dissertation or thesis, reiterate how your research addresses gaps and contributes new knowledge, or discuss how you have drawn on existing theories and methods to build a framework for your research. This can lead directly into your methodology section.

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 dissertation , thesis, research paper , or proposal .

There are several reasons to conduct a literature review at the beginning of a research project:

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  dissertation . After the introduction , it grounds your research in a scholarly field and leads directly to your theoretical framework or methodology .

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 Reference Generator.

McCombes, S. (2022, June 07). What is a Literature Review? | Guide, Template, & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 27 February 2023, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/thesis-dissertation/literature-review/

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100 Questions (and Answers) About Research Methods

100 Questions (and Answers) About Research Methods

"How do I create a good research hypothesis?"

"How do I know when my literature review is finished?"

"What is the difference between a sample and a population?"

"What is power and why is it important?"

In an increasingly data-driven world, it is more important than ever for students as well as professionals to better understand the process of research. This invaluable guide answers the essential questions that students ask about research methods in a concise and accessible way.

See what’s new to this edition by selecting the Features tab on this page. Should you need additional information or have questions regarding the HEOA information provided for this title, including what is new to this edition, please email [email protected] . Please include your name, contact information, and the name of the title for which you would like more information. For information on the HEOA, please go to http://ed.gov/policy/highered/leg/hea08/index.html .

For assistance with your order: Please email us at [email protected] or connect with your SAGE representative.

SAGE 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, CA 91320 www.sagepub.com

"This is a concise text that has good coverage of the basic concepts and elementary principles of research methods. It picks up where many traditional research methods texts stop and provides additional discussion on some of the hardest to understand concepts."

"I think it’s a great idea for a text (or series), and I have no doubt that the majority of students would find it helpful. The material is presented clearly, and it is easy to read and understand. My favorite example from those provided is on p. 7 where the author provides an actual checklist for evaluating the merit of a study. This is a great tool for students and would provide an excellent “practice” approach to learning this skill. Over time students wouldn’t need a checklist, but I think it would be invaluable for those students with little to no research experience."

I already am using 3 other books. This is a good book though.

Did not meet my needs

I had heard good things about Salkind's statistics book and wanted to review his research book as well. The 100 questions format is cute, and may provide a quick answer to a specific student question. However, it's not really organized in a way that I find particularly useful for a more integrated course that progressively develop and builds upon concepts.

comes across as a little disorganized, plus a little too focused on psychology and statistics.

This text is a great resource guide for graduate students. But it may not work as well with undergraduates orienting themselves to the research process. However, I will use it as a recommended text for students.

Key Features

· The entire research process is covered from start to finish: Divided into nine parts, the book  guides readers from the initial asking of questions, through the analysis and interpretation of data, to the final report

· Each question and answer provides a stand-alone explanation: Readers gain enough information on a particular topic to move on to the next question, and topics can be read in any order

· Most questions and answers supplement others in the book: Important material is reinforced, and connections are made between the topics

· Each answer ends with referral to three other related questions: Readers are shown where to go for additional information on the most closely related topics

Sample Materials & Chapters

Question #16: Question #16: How Do I Know When My Literature Review Is Finished?

Question #32: How Can I Create a Good Research Hypothesis?

Question #40: What Is the Difference Between a Sample and a Population, and Why

Question #92: What Is Power, and Why Is It Important?

For instructors

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literature review answers the question

Top 50 Literature Trivia Quiz Questions

I didn’t realize people were so hungry for literature trivia quiz questions and answers until I wrote my article: “Take the Ultimate Children’s Literature Quiz.” Since that post went live, it’s become my most visited blog article by far. That’s why I’ve assembled this sequel: 50 brand new literature trivia multiple choice questions. Dare to accept the challenge? Only true bookworms can answer all 50 English literature trivia questions… take this free classic literature quiz and prove you’re one of them!

And now onto the questions!

Classical and early literature to 1800 trivia.

literature review answers the question

1 – Name That Author: Who wrote The Iliad ?

a) Euripides

2 – Put the three cantos of The Divine Comedy in the correct order.

a) Paradiso, Purgatorio, Inferno

b) Inferno, Limbo, Paradiso

c) Purgatorio, Inferno, Limbo

d) Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso

3 – Don Quixote was written in which language?

a) Old English

4 – The hero Beowulf faces a monster known by this name.

a) Hrothgar

d) Minotaur

5 – John Donne is known as a member of which school of poetry?

a) Romanticism

b) Jacobean

c) Georgian

d) Metaphysical

6 – John Milton’s Paradise Lost was written during which century?

a) 1400’s

b) 1500’s

c) 1600’s

d) 1700’s

18th & 19th Century Literature Trivia

literature review answers the question

7 – Mark Twain’s beloved characters Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn reside in which state?

b) Missouri

c) Mississippi

d) Tennessee

8 – This genre of fiction, in which novels like Dracula are told in letters, diary entries, newspaper clippings, and more mixed formats, came to prominence in the late 18th century.

a) Belles-lettres

b) Pastoral

c) Bildungsroman

d) Epistolary

9 – Sir Walter Scott is known for his historical novels about which country?

b) Scotland

10 – In Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist , what food does Oliver famously ask for more of when he says: “Please, Sir, I want some more”?

11 – Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights recounts the tragic romance between which two lovers?

a) Catherine and Heathcliff

b) Eleanor and Christian

c) Isabella and Hindley

d) Anne and Gordon

12) Who is the heroine of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter ?

a) Anne Hutchinson

b) Emily Shelby

c) Agnes Grey

d) Hester Prynne

20th Century Literature Trivia

literature review answers the question

13 – Author Zora Neale Hurston was part of which literary movement

b) Harlem Renaissance

c) Transcendentalism

14 – Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood takes its name from which Shakespeare play?

b) Timon of Athens

15 – Who is the protagonist of James Joyce’s Ulysses ?

a) Leopold Bloom

b) Leopold Ulysses

c) Ulysses Bloom

d) Homer Bloom

16 – Who wrote The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test ?

a) William S. Burroughs

b) Hunter S. Thompson

c) Ken Kesey

d) Tom Wolfe

17 – In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye , protagonist Holden Caulfield worries about how this animal survives the winter in New York.

d) Squirrels

18 – How many volumes are in Marcel Proust’s novel à La Recherche du Temps Perdu (“In Search of Lost Time”)?

21st Century Literature Trivia

literature review answers the question

19 – The Girl with the Dragoon Tattoo was originally published in which language?

b) Norweigian

20 – In what year was Gillian Flynn’s domestic thriller Gone Girl published?

21 – E.L. James’s Fifty Shades of Grey was originally fan fiction for which book series?

a) The Twilight Series

b) The Harry Potter Series

c) The Outlander Series

d) The Left Behind Series

22 – Name That Book: What is the seventh and final installment in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series?

a) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

b) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

c) Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

d) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

23 – In Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus , two star-crossed lovers are rivals. What profession do they share?

b) Acrobats

b) Magicians

c) Tightrope Walkers

d) Trapeze Artists

24 – In Stephen King’s 11/22/63 , a high school English teacher hurtles back in time to 1963 and attempts to stop what monumental event?

a) The assassination of President John F. Kennedy

b) The moon landing of Apollo 11

c) The Cuban Missle Crisis

d) The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

25 – Name That Author: This writer penned the Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Goldfinch.

a) Elizabeth Strout

b) Donna Tartt

c) Anita Shreve

d) Anne Patchett

Sci-Fi and Fantasy Book Trivia

literature review answers the question

26 – Who is the hero of Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series?

a) Paul Atreides

b) Winston Smith

c) Arthur Dent

d) Rick Deckard

27 – Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 epic sci-fi film 2001: A Space Odyssey was inspired by a short story by this writer, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Kubrick.

a) Arthur C. Clarke

b) Robert Heinlein

c) Philip K. Dick

d) William Gibson

28 – In H.G. Wells’s The Time Machine , does the character first travel forward or backward in time?

b) Backward

29 – Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere is set in an underground world of which city?

c) New York City

30 – Who is the central hero of Patrick Rothfuss’s The Name of the Wind ?

a) Felurian

31 – Name That Book: Chronologically, this novel comes first in C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia series.

a) The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

b) The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

c) The Magician’s Nephew

d) The Silver Chair

32 – What’s the name of the college of magic that Quentin Coldwater attends in Lev Grossman’s Magicians trilogy?

a) Osthorne

b) Brasenose

c) Pembroke

d) Brakebills

Mystery and Thriller Book Trivia

literature review answers the question

33 – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes made his first appearance in print with which novel?

a) The Sign of the Four

b) The Valley of Fear

c) The Hound of the Baskervilles

d) A Study in Scarlet

34 – True or False: “Agatha Christie” is a pen name.

35 – Name That Author: Who wrote the noir classic The Maltese Falcon ?

a) James Ellory

b) Dashiell Hammett

c) James M. Cain

d) Raymond Chandler

36 – Tana French’s mystery series that starts with In the Woods is based in which city?

c) Edinburgh

37 – Who is the heroine of Janet Evanovich’s One for the Money and its sequels?

a) Sadie Pear

b) Stacy Partridge

c) Sarah Peach

d) Stephanie Plum

38 – Name That Author: Who wrote The Girl on the Train ?

a) A.J. Finn

b) Sophie Hannah

c) Paula Hawkins

d) Ruth Ware

Poets and Poetry Trivia

literature review answers the question

39 – Which is NOT a poem by Emily Dickinson?

a) “‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers”

b) “Because I could not stop for Death”

c) “Acquainted with the night”

d) “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain”

40 – Name That Poet: Who wrote the Beat classic “Howl”?

a) Jack Kerouac

b) Lawrence Ferlinghetti

c) Allen Ginsberg

d) William Carlos Williams

41 – Which two poets co-wrote the Lyrical Ballads ?

a) T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound

b) William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge

c) Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton

d) Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop

42 – When was Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” first published?

43 – Name That Poet: Which poet associated with Romanticism wrote Songs of Innocence and Experience ?

a) William Blake

b) John Keats

c) William Wordsworth

d) Percy Bysshe Shelley

44 – Who wrote I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings ?

a) Audre Lorde

b) Maya Angelou

c) Adrienne Rich

d) Gwendolyn Brooks

William Shakespeare Trivia

literature review answers the question

45 – How many acts are in Romeo and Juliet ?

46 – The character of Hamlet was the ruler of which country?

47 – Who is the youngest daughter of King Lear?

b) Cordelia

48 – Which of these ingredients does NOT appear in the Witches’s “Double, double toil and trouble” speech from Macbeth ?

a) Eye of newt

b) Lizard’s leg

c) Wing of bat

d) Tongue of dog

49 – William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury takes its title from which Shakespeare play?

b) King Lear

c) Romeo and Juliet

d) Much Ado About Nothing

50 – Which of these plays is NOT considered to be one of Shakespeare’s comedies?

a) Two Gentlemen of Verona

b) Merchant of Venice

d) Winter’s Tale

And now on to the answers!

1 – c

2 – d

3 – c

4 – b

5 – d

6 – c

7 – b

8 – d

9 – b

10 – d

11 – a

12 – d

13 – b

14 – b

15 – a

16 – d

17 – a

18 – d

19 – a

20 – a

21 – a

22 – d

23 – b

24 – a

25 – b

26 – c

27 – a

28 – a

29 – d

30 – b

31 – c

32 – d

33 – d

34 – b – False

35 – b

36 – a

37 – d

38 – c

39 – c

40 – c

41 – b

42 – c

43 – a

44 – b

45 – d

46 – a

47 – b

48 – c

49 – a

50 – c

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Sarah S. Davis is the founder of Broke by Books, a blog about her journey as a schizoaffective disorder bipolar type writer and reader. Sarah's writing about books has appeared on Book Riot, Electric Literature, Kirkus Reviews, BookRags, PsychCentral, and more. She has a BA in English from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Library and Information Science from Clarion University, and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts.

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COMMENTS

  1. How to Write 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 Frequently asked questions Introduction Quick Run-through Step 1 & 2 Step 3 Step 4

  2. Writing a Literature Review

    A literature review is a document or section of a document that collects key sources on a topic and discusses those sources in conversation with each other (also called synthesis ). The lit review is an important genre in many disciplines, not just literature (i.e., the study of works of literature such as novels and plays).

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    a) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. b) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. c) Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. d) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Buy the first book in the series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, on Amazon // Add Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on Goodreads.