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How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates

How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates

Published on January 2, 2023 by Shona McCombes . Revised on September 11, 2023.

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 that you can later apply to your paper, thesis, or dissertation topic .

There are five key steps to writing a literature review:

Search for relevant literature
Evaluate sources
Identify themes, debates, and gaps
Outline the structure
Write your literature review

A good literature review doesn’t just summarize sources—it analyzes, synthesizes , and critically evaluates to give a clear picture of the state of knowledge on the subject.

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What is the purpose of 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, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions, introduction.

Quick Run-through
Step 1 & 2

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

Demonstrate your familiarity with the topic and its scholarly context
Develop a theoretical framework and methodology for your research
Position your work in relation to other researchers and theorists
Show how your research addresses a gap or contributes to a debate
Evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your knowledge of the scholarly debates around your topic.

Writing literature reviews is a particularly important skill if you want to apply for graduate school or pursue a career in research. We’ve written a step-by-step guide that you can follow below.

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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.

Example literature review #1: “Why Do People Migrate? A Review of the Theoretical Literature” ( Theoretical literature review about the development of economic migration theory from the 1950s to today.)
Example literature review #2: “Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines” ( Methodological literature review about interdisciplinary knowledge acquisition and production.)
Example literature review #3: “The Use of Technology in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Thematic literature review about the effects of technology on language acquisition.)
Example literature review #4: “Learners’ Listening Comprehension Difficulties in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Chronological literature review about how the concept of listening skills has changed over time.)

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

Download Word doc Download Google doc

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 problem and questions .

Make a list of keywords

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

Social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok
Body image, self-perception, self-esteem, mental health
Generation Z, teenagers, adolescents, youth

Search for relevant sources

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

Your university’s library catalogue
Google Scholar
Project Muse (humanities and social sciences)
Medline (life sciences and biomedicine)
EconLit (economics)
Inspec (physics, engineering and computer science)

You can also use boolean operators to help narrow down your search.

Make sure to 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.

You likely won’t be able to read absolutely everything that has been written on your topic, so it will be necessary to evaluate which sources are most relevant to your research question.

For each publication, ask yourself:

What question or problem is the author addressing?
What are the key concepts and how are they defined?
What are the key theories, models, and methods?
Does the research use established frameworks or take an innovative approach?
What are the results and conclusions of the study?
How does the publication relate to other literature in the field? Does it confirm, add to, or challenge established knowledge?
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research?

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 use our template to summarize and evaluate sources you’re thinking about using. Click on either button below to download.

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 is important to keep track of your sources with citations to avoid plagiarism . It can be helpful to make an annotated bibliography , where you compile full citation 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.

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

Trends and patterns (in theory, method or results): do certain approaches become more or less popular over time?
Themes: what questions or concepts recur across the literature?
Debates, conflicts and contradictions: where do sources disagree?
Pivotal publications: are there any influential theories or studies that changed the direction of the field?
Gaps: what is missing from the literature? Are there weaknesses that need to be addressed?

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.

Most research has focused on young women.
There is an increasing interest in the visual aspects of social media.
But there is still a lack of robust research on highly visual platforms like Instagram and Snapchat—this is a gap that you could address in your own research.

There are various approaches to organizing the body of a literature review. 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 summarizing sources in order.

Try to analyze 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 organize 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:

Look at what results have emerged in qualitative versus quantitative research
Discuss how the topic has been approached by empirical versus theoretical scholarship
Divide the literature into sociological, historical, and cultural sources

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.

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, you can follow these tips:

Summarize and synthesize: give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole
Analyze and interpret: don’t just paraphrase other researchers — add your own interpretations where possible, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole
Critically evaluate: mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources
Write in well-structured paragraphs: use transition words and topic sentences to draw connections, comparisons and contrasts

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

When you’ve finished writing and revising your literature review, don’t forget to proofread thoroughly before submitting. Not a language expert? Check out Scribbr’s professional proofreading services !

This article has been adapted into lecture slides that you can use to teach your students about writing a literature review.

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If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

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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.

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

To familiarize yourself with the current state of knowledge on your topic
To ensure that you’re not just repeating what others have already done
To identify gaps in knowledge and unresolved problems that your research can address
To develop your theoretical framework and methodology
To provide an overview of the key findings and debates on the topic

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 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 credible sources on a topic, often used in dissertations , theses, and research papers . Literature reviews give an overview of knowledge on a subject, helping you identify relevant theories and methods, as well as gaps in existing research. Literature reviews are set up similarly to other academic texts , with an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion .

An annotated bibliography is a list of source references that has a short description (called an annotation ) for each of the sources. It is often assigned as part of the research process for a paper .

Cite this Scribbr article

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McCombes, S. (2023, September 11). How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates. Scribbr. Retrieved April 9, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/dissertation/literature-review/

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

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

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

There are five key steps to writing a literature review:

Search for relevant literature
Evaluate sources
Identify themes, debates and gaps
Outline the structure
Write your 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.

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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.

Quick Run-through
Step 1 & 2

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:

Demonstrate your familiarity with the topic and scholarly context
Develop a theoretical framework and methodology for your research
Position yourself in relation to other researchers and theorists
Show how your dissertation addresses a gap or contributes to a debate

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.

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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.

Example literature review #1: “Why Do People Migrate? A Review of the Theoretical Literature” ( Theoretical literature review about the development of economic migration theory from the 1950s to today.)
Example literature review #2: “Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines” ( Methodological literature review about interdisciplinary knowledge acquisition and production.)
Example literature review #3: “The Use of Technology in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Thematic literature review about the effects of technology on language acquisition.)
Example literature review #4: “Learners’ Listening Comprehension Difficulties in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Chronological literature review about how the concept of listening skills has changed over time.)

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

Download Word doc Download Google doc

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.

Social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok
Body image, self-perception, self-esteem, mental health
Generation Z, teenagers, adolescents, youth

Search for relevant sources

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

Your university’s library catalogue
Google Scholar
Project Muse (humanities and social sciences)
Medline (life sciences and biomedicine)
EconLit (economics)
Inspec (physics, engineering and computer science)

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:

What question or problem is the author addressing?
What are the key concepts and how are they defined?
What are the key theories, models and methods? Does the research use established frameworks or take an innovative approach?
What are the results and conclusions of the study?
How does the publication relate to other literature in the field? Does it confirm, add to, or challenge established knowledge?
How does the publication contribute to your understanding of the topic? What are its key insights and arguments?
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research?

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:

Trends and patterns (in theory, method or results): do certain approaches become more or less popular over time?
Themes: what questions or concepts recur across the literature?
Debates, conflicts and contradictions: where do sources disagree?
Pivotal publications: are there any influential theories or studies that changed the direction of the field?
Gaps: what is missing from the literature? Are there weaknesses that need to be addressed?

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.

Most research has focused on young women.
There is an increasing interest in the visual aspects of social media.
But there is still a lack of robust research on highly-visual platforms like Instagram and Snapchat – this is a gap that you could address in your own research.

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.

Methodological

Look at what results have emerged in qualitative versus quantitative research
Discuss how the topic has been approached by empirical versus theoretical scholarship
Divide the literature into sociological, historical, and cultural sources

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:

Summarise and synthesise: give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole.
Analyse and interpret: don’t just paraphrase other researchers – add your own interpretations, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole.
Critically evaluate: mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources.
Write in well-structured paragraphs: use transitions and topic sentences to draw connections, comparisons and contrasts.

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:

To familiarise yourself with the current state of knowledge on your topic
To ensure that you’re not just repeating what others have already done
To identify gaps in knowledge and unresolved problems that your research can address
To develop your theoretical framework and methodology
To provide an overview of the key findings and debates on the topic

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 9 April 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/thesis-dissertation/literature-review/

Is this article helpful?

Shona McCombes

Other students also liked, how to write a dissertation proposal | a step-by-step guide, what is a theoretical framework | a step-by-step guide, what is a research methodology | steps & tips.

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Conducting a Literature Review

Literature Reviews

How to Write a Literature Review
Writing a Literature Review Learning how to write a literature review is critical tool for an academic, and perhaps even a professional career. Being able to summarize and synthesize prior research relating to a certain topic not only demonstrates having a goof grasp on available information for a certain topic, but it also assists with the leaning process. Although literature reviews are important for one's academic career they are often misunderstood and underdeveloped. This article is intended to provide both undergraduate and graduate students skills and perspectives on how to develop and strengthen their skills in writing a literature review.
Conceptual Issues in Framing Theory: A Systematic Examination of a Decade's Literature Although many scholars have pointed out problems in framing research, there has been very few systematic examinations of the published literature. To examine the common conceptual debates, the present study content analyzes framing literature from 93 peer-reviewed journals for a decade. Two methods were employed for the sample: First, every journal identified as a 'communication journal' in the Journal Citation Report was included; second, keyword searches in electronic databases were used. The main findings showed that framing studies have concentrated more on message design and 'unique' frames. Consistent with existing debates, results highlight the lack of research about production of frames and mixed frames. This examination of a decade's published literature reveals better direction for future research.
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The Purpose of a Literature Review is to gain an understanding of the existing research relevant to a particular topic or area of study and to present that knowledge in the form of a written report. Learning important concepts, and research methods will bring insights into the topic chosen. Ultimately, achieving a better understanding of a particular discipline and/or topic based upon the research findings.

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Sample APA-Style Papers (7th edition)

The following links provide samples of student-paper formatting in APA's 7th edition style. The first is from APA's web site; the second is from Purdue OWL's web site.

Sample APA Student Paper This document from the APA web site illustrates the 7th edition formatting of a student paper. This format is a simplified version of the professional paper format (excluding things like running heads, etc.).
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Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL): Annotated Bibliographies This helpful page from PurdueOWL explains the purpose of annotated bibliographies, what they often contain, and why they're helpful.
Guidelines for Formatting Annotated Bibliographies (APA, 7th ed.) This document provides guidance for formatting annotated bibliographies, including a sample annotated bib.

Formatting a Literature Review in APA Style (7th edition)

While APA doesn't itself provide an example of how to format a literature review, it does provide some guidance in its Publication Manual * about the content of a lit review:

Literature Reviews:

provide summaries and evaluations of findings/theories in the research literature of a particular discipline or field;
may include qualitative, quantitative, or a variety of other types of research;
should define and clarify the problem being reviewed;
summarize previous research to inform readers of where research stands currently in regard to the problem;
identify relationships, contradictions, gaps, and inconsistencies in the current literature;
suggest next steps or further research needed to move toward solving the problem. (APA, 2020, Section 1.6, p. 8)

* American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association: The official guide to APA style (7th ed.). American Psychological Association.

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Literature Review Guide: Examples of Literature Reviews

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All good quality journal articles will include a small Literature Review after the Introduction paragraph. It may not be called a Literature Review but gives you an idea of how one is created in miniature.

Sample Literature Reviews as part of a articles or Theses

Sample Literature Review on Critical Thinking (Gwendolyn Reece, American University Library)
Hackett, G and Melia, D . The hotel as the holiday/stay destination:trends and innovations. Presented at TRIC Conference, Belfast, Ireland- June 2012 and EuroCHRIE Conference

Links to sample Literature Reviews from other libraries

Sample literature reviews from University of West Florida

Standalone Literature Reviews

Attitudes towards the Disability in Ireland
Martin, A., O'Connor-Fenelon, M. and Lyons, R. (2010). Non-verbal communication between nurses and people with an intellectual disability: A review of the literature. Journal of Intellectual Diabilities, 14(4), 303-314.

Irish Theses

Phillips, Martin (2015) European airline performance: a data envelopment analysis with extrapolations based on model outputs. Master of Business Studies thesis, Dublin City University.
The customers’ perception of servicescape’s influence on their behaviours, in the food retail industry : Dublin Business School 2015
Coughlan, Ray (2015) What was the role of leadership in the transformation of a failing Irish Insurance business. Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.
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Last Updated: Feb 27, 2024 4:07 PM
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What Is A Literature Review?

A plain-language explainer (with examples).

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) & Kerryn Warren (PhD) | June 2020 (Updated May 2023)

If you’re faced with writing a dissertation or thesis, chances are you’ve encountered the term “literature review” . If you’re on this page, you’re probably not 100% what the literature review is all about. The good news is that you’ve come to the right place.

Literature Review 101

What (exactly) is a literature review
What’s the purpose of the literature review chapter
How to find high-quality resources
How to structure your literature review chapter
Example of an actual literature review

What is a literature review?

The word “literature review” can refer to two related things that are part of the broader literature review process. The first is the task of reviewing the literature – i.e. sourcing and reading through the existing research relating to your research topic. The second is the actual chapter that you write up in your dissertation, thesis or research project. Let’s look at each of them:

Reviewing the literature

The first step of any literature review is to hunt down and read through the existing research that’s relevant to your research topic. To do this, you’ll use a combination of tools (we’ll discuss some of these later) to find journal articles, books, ebooks, research reports, dissertations, theses and any other credible sources of information that relate to your topic. You’ll then summarise and catalogue these for easy reference when you write up your literature review chapter.

The literature review chapter

The second step of the literature review is to write the actual literature review chapter (this is usually the second chapter in a typical dissertation or thesis structure ). At the simplest level, the literature review chapter is an overview of the key literature that’s relevant to your research topic. This chapter should provide a smooth-flowing discussion of what research has already been done, what is known, what is unknown and what is contested in relation to your research topic. So, you can think of it as an integrated review of the state of knowledge around your research topic.

Starting point for the literature review

What’s the purpose of a literature review?

The literature review chapter has a few important functions within your dissertation, thesis or research project. Let’s take a look at these:

Purpose #1 – Demonstrate your topic knowledge

The first function of the literature review chapter is, quite simply, to show the reader (or marker) that you know what you’re talking about . In other words, a good literature review chapter demonstrates that you’ve read the relevant existing research and understand what’s going on – who’s said what, what’s agreed upon, disagreed upon and so on. This needs to be more than just a summary of who said what – it needs to integrate the existing research to show how it all fits together and what’s missing (which leads us to purpose #2, next).

Purpose #2 – Reveal the research gap that you’ll fill

The second function of the literature review chapter is to show what’s currently missing from the existing research, to lay the foundation for your own research topic. In other words, your literature review chapter needs to show that there are currently “missing pieces” in terms of the bigger puzzle, and that your study will fill one of those research gaps . By doing this, you are showing that your research topic is original and will help contribute to the body of knowledge. In other words, the literature review helps justify your research topic.

Purpose #3 – Lay the foundation for your conceptual framework

The third function of the literature review is to form the basis for a conceptual framework . Not every research topic will necessarily have a conceptual framework, but if your topic does require one, it needs to be rooted in your literature review.

For example, let’s say your research aims to identify the drivers of a certain outcome – the factors which contribute to burnout in office workers. In this case, you’d likely develop a conceptual framework which details the potential factors (e.g. long hours, excessive stress, etc), as well as the outcome (burnout). Those factors would need to emerge from the literature review chapter – they can’t just come from your gut!

So, in this case, the literature review chapter would uncover each of the potential factors (based on previous studies about burnout), which would then be modelled into a framework.

Purpose #4 – To inform your methodology

The fourth function of the literature review is to inform the choice of methodology for your own research. As we’ve discussed on the Grad Coach blog , your choice of methodology will be heavily influenced by your research aims, objectives and questions . Given that you’ll be reviewing studies covering a topic close to yours, it makes sense that you could learn a lot from their (well-considered) methodologies.

So, when you’re reviewing the literature, you’ll need to pay close attention to the research design , methodology and methods used in similar studies, and use these to inform your methodology. Quite often, you’ll be able to “borrow” from previous studies . This is especially true for quantitative studies , as you can use previously tried and tested measures and scales.

How do I find articles for my literature review?

Finding quality journal articles is essential to crafting a rock-solid literature review. As you probably already know, not all research is created equally, and so you need to make sure that your literature review is built on credible research .

We could write an entire post on how to find quality literature (actually, we have ), but a good starting point is Google Scholar . Google Scholar is essentially the academic equivalent of Google, using Google’s powerful search capabilities to find relevant journal articles and reports. It certainly doesn’t cover every possible resource, but it’s a very useful way to get started on your literature review journey, as it will very quickly give you a good indication of what the most popular pieces of research are in your field.

One downside of Google Scholar is that it’s merely a search engine – that is, it lists the articles, but oftentimes it doesn’t host the articles . So you’ll often hit a paywall when clicking through to journal websites.

Thankfully, your university should provide you with access to their library, so you can find the article titles using Google Scholar and then search for them by name in your university’s online library. Your university may also provide you with access to ResearchGate , which is another great source for existing research.

Remember, the correct search keywords will be super important to get the right information from the start. So, pay close attention to the keywords used in the journal articles you read and use those keywords to search for more articles. If you can’t find a spoon in the kitchen, you haven’t looked in the right drawer.

Need a helping hand?

How should I structure my literature review?

Unfortunately, there’s no generic universal answer for this one. The structure of your literature review will depend largely on your topic area and your research aims and objectives.

You could potentially structure your literature review chapter according to theme, group, variables , chronologically or per concepts in your field of research. We explain the main approaches to structuring your literature review here . You can also download a copy of our free literature review template to help you establish an initial structure.

In general, it’s also a good idea to start wide (i.e. the big-picture-level) and then narrow down, ending your literature review close to your research questions . However, there’s no universal one “right way” to structure your literature review. The most important thing is not to discuss your sources one after the other like a list – as we touched on earlier, your literature review needs to synthesise the research , not summarise it .

Ultimately, you need to craft your literature review so that it conveys the most important information effectively – it needs to tell a logical story in a digestible way. It’s no use starting off with highly technical terms and then only explaining what these terms mean later. Always assume your reader is not a subject matter expert and hold their hand through a journe y of the literature while keeping the functions of the literature review chapter (which we discussed earlier) front of mind.

A good literature review should synthesise the existing research in relation to the research aims, not simply summarise it.

Example of a literature review

In the video below, we walk you through a high-quality literature review from a dissertation that earned full distinction. This will give you a clearer view of what a strong literature review looks like in practice and hopefully provide some inspiration for your own.

Wrapping Up

In this post, we’ve (hopefully) answered the question, “ what is a literature review? “. We’ve also considered the purpose and functions of the literature review, as well as how to find literature and how to structure the literature review chapter. If you’re keen to learn more, check out the literature review section of the Grad Coach blog , as well as our detailed video post covering how to write a literature review .

Psst… there’s more!

This post is an extract from our bestselling Udemy Course, Literature Review Bootcamp . If you want to work smart, you don't want to miss this .

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16 Comments

Thanks for this review. It narrates what’s not been taught as tutors are always in a early to finish their classes.

Thanks for the kind words, Becky. Good luck with your literature review 🙂

This website is amazing, it really helps break everything down. Thank you, I would have been lost without it.

This is review is amazing. I benefited from it a lot and hope others visiting this website will benefit too.

Timothy T. Chol [email protected]

Thank you very much for the guiding in literature review I learn and benefited a lot this make my journey smooth I’ll recommend this site to my friends

This was so useful. Thank you so much.

Hi, Concept was explained nicely by both of you. Thanks a lot for sharing it. It will surely help research scholars to start their Research Journey.

The review is really helpful to me especially during this period of covid-19 pandemic when most universities in my country only offer online classes. Great stuff

Great Brief Explanation, thanks

So helpful to me as a student

GradCoach is a fantastic site with brilliant and modern minds behind it.. I spent weeks decoding the substantial academic Jargon and grounding my initial steps on the research process, which could be shortened to a couple of days through the Gradcoach. Thanks again!

This is an amazing talk. I paved way for myself as a researcher. Thank you GradCoach!

Well-presented overview of the literature!

This was brilliant. So clear. Thank you

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Teesside University Student & Library Services
Subject LibGuides

Business Research Methods

Literature Review
Studying for your Project
Project Outline
Project Management
Report Writing
How to Reference
Reading Lists Online

What is a literature review

“A literature review is a description of the literature relevant to a particular field or topic. It gives an overview of what has been said, who the key writers are, what are the prevailing theories and hypotheses, what questions are being asked, and what methods and methodologies are appropriate and useful" (Emerald Insight).

A literature review is not just a summary of everything you have read on the topic. It is a critical analysis of the existing research relevant to your topic, and you should show how the literature relates to your topic and identify any gaps in the area of research. Our Learning Hub has lots of useful guidance for carrying out a Literature Review .

How is it different?

It's on a much larger scale from your research for previous modules.

You may need to devise new ways of searching and managing your results.

Think about:

Using RefWorks to manage your references
Setting up alerts to retrieve new results for your searches

How to carry out a review

Devise a search strategy
Search systematically
Read critically – i.e. deconstruct the material
Put it all back together – reconstruct

1. Devise a search strategy

Think about the sort of research that would help your project.

1. What subject areas does you topic fall into?

2. What possible sources could you use? Think broadly, for example:

Company reports
Industry profiles
Market research
Financial reports
Newspaper articles
Journal articles

3. What don't you want? What are the limits? For example, geographical restrictions or time periods.

2. Search systematically

Plan your search first, thinking about your keywords
Use the pages on this LibGuide to identify quality resources
Use the tutorials and advice on those pages to improve your searches
Use the Inter Library Loans service to borrow books or to obtain copies of papers which aren't in the library
Speak to the Business Librarians for help with your searches, or to recommend new items for library stock
Look at the programme of Succeed @ Tees workshops , and attend any which are relevant.

3. Read critically - i.e. deconstruct your results

Read critically, argument: .

What is the main argument?
Is the main argument clear and logical?
What is the evidence?
Is the evidence valid?
Does the evidence support the conclusions?

4. Put it all back together – reconstruct

Group your topic areas – develop themes
Briefly summarise key findings

- See Phrasebank for suggestions of how to phrase your sentences.

Use the academic papers as examples of the style of academic writing as well as for their content
Check your referencing

Succeed@Tees Workshops: Writing a Literature Review

The following workshop will help you to develop your skills in writing a literature review :

Writing a literature review

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Last Updated: Feb 7, 2024 11:37 AM
URL: https://libguides.tees.ac.uk/business_research

University of La Verne
Subject Guides

Literature Review Basics

Tutorials & Samples
Literature Review Introduction
Writing Literature Reviews
Primary & Secondary Sources

Literature Review Tutorials

Literature Reviews: An Overview for Students What is a literature review? What purpose does it serve in research? What should you expect when writing one? Find out here in this guide from NCSU libraries.
Write a Lit Review from Virginia Commonwealth University Follow this guide to learn how to write a literature review, beginning with a synthesis matrix.
Literature Review: The What, Why and How-to Guide This guide will help you understand what is a Literature Review, why it is important and how it is done. Also includes information on Annotated Bibliographies.
Writing a Literature Review from the University of Toledo Covers what a lit review is, lit review types, writing a lit review and further readings.
The Literature Review Process A guide from the University of North Texas on selecting a topic, searching the literature, plan before reviewing, reviewing the literature and writing the review.
The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Permission granted to use this guide.

Sample Literature Reviews

Business Literature Review Example One Sharing economy: A comprehensive literature review
Business Literature Review Example Two Internet marketing: a content analysis of the research
Education Literature Review Sample One Teachers’ perception of STEM integration and education: a systematic literature review
Education Literature Review Sample Two Issues and Challenges for Teaching Successful Online Courses in Higher Education: A Literature Review
Gerontology Literature Review Sample One Attitudes towards caring for older people: literature review and methodology
Gerontology Literature Review Sample Two Literature review: understanding nursing competence in dementia care
Psychology Literature Review Sample One Psychological Correlates of University Students’ Academic Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Psychology Literature Review Sample Two Misuse of Prescription Stimulants Among College Students: A Review of the Literature and Implications for Morphological and Cognitive Effects on Brain Functioning
Public Administration Literature Review Sample One Considering the Environment in Transportation Planning: Review of Emerging Paradigms and Practice in the United States
Public Administration Literature Review Sample Two Assessing the impact of research on policy: a literature review
Sociology Literature Review Sample One Employment Among Current and Former Welfare Recipients: A Literature Review
Sociology Literature Review Sample Two Deployment and family functioning: A literature review of US operations in Afghanistan and Iraq
Technology Literature Review Sample One Social media and innovation: A systematic literature review and future research directions
Technology Literature Review Sample Two Blockchain as a disruptive technology for business: A systematic review
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Last Updated: Jun 28, 2023 9:19 AM
URL: https://laverne.libguides.com/litreviews

15 Literature Review Examples

literature review examples, types, and definition, explained below

Literature reviews are a necessary step in a research process and often required when writing your research proposal . They involve gathering, analyzing, and evaluating existing knowledge about a topic in order to find gaps in the literature where future studies will be needed.

Ideally, once you have completed your literature review, you will be able to identify how your research project can build upon and extend existing knowledge in your area of study.

Generally, for my undergraduate research students, I recommend a narrative review, where themes can be generated in order for the students to develop sufficient understanding of the topic so they can build upon the themes using unique methods or novel research questions.

If you’re in the process of writing a literature review, I have developed a literature review template for you to use – it’s a huge time-saver and walks you through how to write a literature review step-by-step:

Get your time-saving templates here to write your own literature review.

Literature Review Examples

For the following types of literature review, I present an explanation and overview of the type, followed by links to some real-life literature reviews on the topics.

1. Narrative Review Examples

Also known as a traditional literature review, the narrative review provides a broad overview of the studies done on a particular topic.

It often includes both qualitative and quantitative studies and may cover a wide range of years.

The narrative review’s purpose is to identify commonalities, gaps, and contradictions in the literature .

I recommend to my students that they should gather their studies together, take notes on each study, then try to group them by themes that form the basis for the review (see my step-by-step instructions at the end of the article).

Example Study

Title: Communication in healthcare: a narrative review of the literature and practical recommendations

Citation: Vermeir, P., Vandijck, D., Degroote, S., Peleman, R., Verhaeghe, R., Mortier, E., … & Vogelaers, D. (2015). Communication in healthcare: a narrative review of the literature and practical recommendations. International journal of clinical practice , 69 (11), 1257-1267.

Source: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/ijcp.12686

Overview: This narrative review analyzed themes emerging from 69 articles about communication in healthcare contexts. Five key themes were found in the literature: poor communication can lead to various negative outcomes, discontinuity of care, compromise of patient safety, patient dissatisfaction, and inefficient use of resources. After presenting the key themes, the authors recommend that practitioners need to approach healthcare communication in a more structured way, such as by ensuring there is a clear understanding of who is in charge of ensuring effective communication in clinical settings.

Other Examples

Burnout in United States Healthcare Professionals: A Narrative Review (Reith, 2018) – read here
Examining the Presence, Consequences, and Reduction of Implicit Bias in Health Care: A Narrative Review (Zestcott, Blair & Stone, 2016) – read here
A Narrative Review of School-Based Physical Activity for Enhancing Cognition and Learning (Mavilidi et al., 2018) – read here
A narrative review on burnout experienced by medical students and residents (Dyrbye & Shanafelt, 2015) – read here

2. Systematic Review Examples

This type of literature review is more structured and rigorous than a narrative review. It involves a detailed and comprehensive plan and search strategy derived from a set of specified research questions.

The key way you’d know a systematic review compared to a narrative review is in the methodology: the systematic review will likely have a very clear criteria for how the studies were collected, and clear explanations of exclusion/inclusion criteria.

The goal is to gather the maximum amount of valid literature on the topic, filter out invalid or low-quality reviews, and minimize bias. Ideally, this will provide more reliable findings, leading to higher-quality conclusions and recommendations for further research.

You may note from the examples below that the ‘method’ sections in systematic reviews tend to be much more explicit, often noting rigid inclusion/exclusion criteria and exact keywords used in searches.

Title: The importance of food naturalness for consumers: Results of a systematic review

Citation: Roman, S., Sánchez-Siles, L. M., & Siegrist, M. (2017). The importance of food naturalness for consumers: Results of a systematic review. Trends in food science & technology , 67 , 44-57.

Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S092422441730122X

Overview: This systematic review included 72 studies of food naturalness to explore trends in the literature about its importance for consumers. Keywords used in the data search included: food, naturalness, natural content, and natural ingredients. Studies were included if they examined consumers’ preference for food naturalness and contained empirical data. The authors found that the literature lacks clarity about how naturalness is defined and measured, but also found that food consumption is significantly influenced by perceived naturalness of goods.

A systematic review of research on online teaching and learning from 2009 to 2018 (Martin, Sun & Westine, 2020) – read here
Where Is Current Research on Blockchain Technology? (Yli-Huumo et al., 2016) – read here
Universities—industry collaboration: A systematic review (Ankrah & Al-Tabbaa, 2015) – read here
Internet of Things Applications: A Systematic Review (Asghari, Rahmani & Javadi, 2019) – read here

3. Meta-analysis

This is a type of systematic review that uses statistical methods to combine and summarize the results of several studies.

Due to its robust methodology, a meta-analysis is often considered the ‘gold standard’ of secondary research , as it provides a more precise estimate of a treatment effect than any individual study contributing to the pooled analysis.

Furthermore, by aggregating data from a range of studies, a meta-analysis can identify patterns, disagreements, or other interesting relationships that may have been hidden in individual studies.

This helps to enhance the generalizability of findings, making the conclusions drawn from a meta-analysis particularly powerful and informative for policy and practice.

Title: Cholesterol and Alzheimer’s Disease Risk: A Meta-Meta-Analysis

Citation: Sáiz-Vazquez, O., Puente-Martínez, A., Ubillos-Landa, S., Pacheco-Bonrostro, J., & Santabárbara, J. (2020). Cholesterol and Alzheimer’s disease risk: a meta-meta-analysis. Brain sciences, 10(6), 386.

Source: https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10060386

O verview: This study examines the relationship between cholesterol and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Researchers conducted a systematic search of meta-analyses and reviewed several databases, collecting 100 primary studies and five meta-analyses to analyze the connection between cholesterol and Alzheimer’s disease. They find that the literature compellingly demonstrates that low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels significantly influence the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

The power of feedback revisited: A meta-analysis of educational feedback research (Wisniewski, Zierer & Hattie, 2020) – read here
How Much Does Education Improve Intelligence? A Meta-Analysis (Ritchie & Tucker-Drob, 2018) – read here
A meta-analysis of factors related to recycling (Geiger et al., 2019) – read here
Stress management interventions for police officers and recruits (Patterson, Chung & Swan, 2014) – read here

Other Types of Reviews

Scoping Review: This type of review is used to map the key concepts underpinning a research area and the main sources and types of evidence available. It can be undertaken as stand-alone projects in their own right, or as a precursor to a systematic review.
Rapid Review: This type of review accelerates the systematic review process in order to produce information in a timely manner. This is achieved by simplifying or omitting stages of the systematic review process.
Integrative Review: This review method is more inclusive than others, allowing for the simultaneous inclusion of experimental and non-experimental research. The goal is to more comprehensively understand a particular phenomenon.
Critical Review: This is similar to a narrative review but requires a robust understanding of both the subject and the existing literature. In a critical review, the reviewer not only summarizes the existing literature, but also evaluates its strengths and weaknesses. This is common in the social sciences and humanities .
State-of-the-Art Review: This considers the current level of advancement in a field or topic and makes recommendations for future research directions. This type of review is common in technological and scientific fields but can be applied to any discipline.

How to Write a Narrative Review (Tips for Undergrad Students)

Most undergraduate students conducting a capstone research project will be writing narrative reviews. Below is a five-step process for conducting a simple review of the literature for your project.

Search for Relevant Literature: Use scholarly databases related to your field of study, provided by your university library, along with appropriate search terms to identify key scholarly articles that have been published on your topic.
Evaluate and Select Sources: Filter the source list by selecting studies that are directly relevant and of sufficient quality, considering factors like credibility , objectivity, accuracy, and validity.
Analyze and Synthesize: Review each source and summarize the main arguments in one paragraph (or more, for postgrad). Keep these summaries in a table.
Identify Themes: With all studies summarized, group studies that share common themes, such as studies that have similar findings or methodologies.
Write the Review: Write your review based upon the themes or subtopics you have identified. Give a thorough overview of each theme, integrating source data, and conclude with a summary of the current state of knowledge then suggestions for future research based upon your evaluation of what is lacking in the literature.

Literature reviews don’t have to be as scary as they seem. Yes, they are difficult and require a strong degree of comprehension of academic studies. But it can be feasibly done through following a structured approach to data collection and analysis. With my undergraduate research students (who tend to conduct small-scale qualitative studies ), I encourage them to conduct a narrative literature review whereby they can identify key themes in the literature. Within each theme, students can critique key studies and their strengths and limitations , in order to get a lay of the land and come to a point where they can identify ways to contribute new insights to the existing academic conversation on their topic.

Ankrah, S., & Omar, A. T. (2015). Universities–industry collaboration: A systematic review. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 31(3), 387-408.

Asghari, P., Rahmani, A. M., & Javadi, H. H. S. (2019). Internet of Things applications: A systematic review. Computer Networks , 148 , 241-261.

Dyrbye, L., & Shanafelt, T. (2016). A narrative review on burnout experienced by medical students and residents. Medical education , 50 (1), 132-149.

Geiger, J. L., Steg, L., Van Der Werff, E., & Ünal, A. B. (2019). A meta-analysis of factors related to recycling. Journal of environmental psychology , 64 , 78-97.

Martin, F., Sun, T., & Westine, C. D. (2020). A systematic review of research on online teaching and learning from 2009 to 2018. Computers & education , 159 , 104009.

Mavilidi, M. F., Ruiter, M., Schmidt, M., Okely, A. D., Loyens, S., Chandler, P., & Paas, F. (2018). A narrative review of school-based physical activity for enhancing cognition and learning: The importance of relevancy and integration. Frontiers in psychology , 2079.

Patterson, G. T., Chung, I. W., & Swan, P. W. (2014). Stress management interventions for police officers and recruits: A meta-analysis. Journal of experimental criminology , 10 , 487-513.

Reith, T. P. (2018). Burnout in United States healthcare professionals: a narrative review. Cureus , 10 (12).

Ritchie, S. J., & Tucker-Drob, E. M. (2018). How much does education improve intelligence? A meta-analysis. Psychological science , 29 (8), 1358-1369.

Roman, S., Sánchez-Siles, L. M., & Siegrist, M. (2017). The importance of food naturalness for consumers: Results of a systematic review. Trends in food science & technology , 67 , 44-57.

Sáiz-Vazquez, O., Puente-Martínez, A., Ubillos-Landa, S., Pacheco-Bonrostro, J., & Santabárbara, J. (2020). Cholesterol and Alzheimer’s disease risk: a meta-meta-analysis. Brain sciences, 10(6), 386.

Vermeir, P., Vandijck, D., Degroote, S., Peleman, R., Verhaeghe, R., Mortier, E., … & Vogelaers, D. (2015). Communication in healthcare: a narrative review of the literature and practical recommendations. International journal of clinical practice , 69 (11), 1257-1267.

Wisniewski, B., Zierer, K., & Hattie, J. (2020). The power of feedback revisited: A meta-analysis of educational feedback research. Frontiers in Psychology , 10 , 3087.

Yli-Huumo, J., Ko, D., Choi, S., Park, S., & Smolander, K. (2016). Where is current research on blockchain technology?—a systematic review. PloS one , 11 (10), e0163477.

Zestcott, C. A., Blair, I. V., & Stone, J. (2016). Examining the presence, consequences, and reduction of implicit bias in health care: a narrative review. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations , 19 (4), 528-542

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Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

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Forensic neuropathology in the past decade: a scoping literature review

Open access
Published: 13 July 2023

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Petteri Oura 1 , 2 ,
Antti Hakkarainen 1 , 2 &
Antti Sajantila 1 , 2

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While there has been notable research activity in the field of clinical neuropathology over the recent years, forensic approaches have been less frequent. This scoping literature review explored original research on forensic neuropathology over the past decade (January 1, 2010, until February 12, 2022) using the MEDLINE database. The aims were to (1) analyze the volume of research on the topic, (2) describe meta-level attributes and sample characteristics, and (3) summarize key research themes and methods. Of 5053 initial hits, 2864 fell within the target timeframe, and 122 were included in the review. Only 3–17 articles were published per year globally. Most articles originated from the Europe (39.3%) and Asia (36.1%) and were published in forensic journals (57.4%). A median sample included 57 subjects aged between 16 and 80 years. The most common research theme was traumatic intracranial injury (24.6%), followed by anatomy (12.3%) and substance abuse (11.5%). Key methods included immunotechniques (31.1%) and macroscopic observation (21.3%). Although a number of novel findings were reported, most were of preliminary nature and will require further validation. In order to reach breakthroughs and validate novel tools for routine use, more research input is urged from researchers across the world. It would be necessary to ensure appropriate sample sizes and make use of control groups.

Forensic neurology: a distinct subspecialty at the intersection of neurology, neuroscience and law

R. Ryan Darby, Ciaran Considine, … William C. Darby

Forensic Pathology Historical Roots and Modern Evolution

Research on the Potential Biomarkers of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: a Systematic Review and Bibliometric Analysis

Yishu Liu, Chudong Wang, … Jifeng Cai

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Introduction

Neurological diseases [ 1 ] and trauma to the central nervous system (CNS) [ 2 ] are common causes of death globally. A comprehensive postmortem examination of the CNS often requires particular expertise and sophisticated tissue processing techniques [ 3 , 4 ]. Neuropathological expertise is therefore of high value in both clinical [ 5 ] and forensic pathology [ 3 ]. While there has been notable research activity in the field of clinical neuropathology over the recent years [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ], forensic approaches appear less frequent [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. However, the role of CNS remains important in the medico-legal practice [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ], as CNS-related findings may have pivotal significance in cause-of-death investigation [ 3 ] and legal proceedings [ 25 , 26 ].

Literature reviews aid in the efficient utilization of current knowledge. Systematic approaches are needed to summarize and disseminate research findings and identify gaps in the existing literature [ 27 ]. However, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, there are no broad-scoped overviews summarizing literature on forensic neuropathology, at least from the past decade. This scoping literature review explored literature on forensic neuropathology from January 1, 2010, until February 12, 2022. The aims were to (1) analyze the volume of research on the topic, (2) describe meta-level attributes and sample characteristics, and (3) summarize key research themes and methods.

Materials and methods

Research questions.

Scoping reviews are exploited to determine the scope and volume of literature on a given topic and to identify key concepts [ 28 , 29 ]. In contrast to systematic reviews, scoping reviews are particularly useful when the research question is broad and the body of literature has not been comprehensively reviewed before. We conducted a MEDLINE-based scoping review to explore scientific literature on forensic neuropathology published over the past decade.

The following research questions were formulated in accordance with the general aims of the study:

Volume of research

What is the volume of original research on forensic neuropathology per year?

Meta-level attributes and sample characteristics

Which journals publish studies on forensic neuropathology in terms of subspecialty and impact?

What is the geographical distribution of publications?

What kind of samples are used in terms of size and age distribution?

Research themes and methods

What are the key concepts, i.e., main research themes and methodological approaches in forensic neuropathology?

Are there knowledge gaps?

This review did not aim to summarize or classify particular findings of the studies; however, these are addressed in the supplementary material .

Search strategy, inclusion, and exclusion criteria

The search strategy was developed by the first author (P.O.) and reviewed by the last author of the paper (A.S.). Table 1 presents the specific search terms used in MEDLINE. Figure 1 is a flowchart demonstrating the article selection process with exclusions.

Flowchart demonstrating the article selection process with exclusions

We aimed to find peer-reviewed, original articles that addressed a neuropathological method or finding related to a medico-legal or forensic question in a human sample. A neuropathological method was defined as a macroscopic, microscopic, or other laboratory technique used to examine a tissue sample obtained from the CNS or intracranial structures including vasculature. We focused on English-language articles that were published and indexed in MEDLINE between January 1, 2010, and the database search date. Short communications, retrospective summaries of autopsy findings, and other similar publication types were included if they were original articles based on authentic human samples. Studies that solely focused on postmortem imaging, analysis of body fluids, human identification, or skull fractures without the use of neuropathological methods were excluded.

The search was conducted in the MEDLINE database February 12, 2022. First, P.O. screened all hits on the basis of titles, abstracts, and full texts, if necessary. Each hit was assigned with a rationale for inclusion or exclusion to be later validated by A.S.

Data extraction and synthesis

Data extraction was performed with the help of an Excel spreadsheet. Table 2 presents the variables collected in the data extraction process. The spreadsheet was a priori planned by P.O. and reviewed by A.S.; an internal pilot was carried out in the beginning of data collection (20 hits from the year 2010). Data extraction was performed on the basis of full texts and potential supplementary material of the articles. While P.O. was primarily responsible for extracting the data, the spreadsheet was reviewed and commented by A.S. A formal risk of bias assessment was not performed, as it is not customary in scoping reviews [ 28 ], and was not considered necessary in relation to the present research questions.

Data synthesis was conducted in accordance with the predefined research questions. The distributions of publication year, journal characteristics, geographical location, sample characteristics, primary research theme, and methodological approach were tabulated using frequencies with percentages or medians with interquartile ranges, as appropriate. In addition to these summary statistics, a supplementary table containing the extracted data of individual studies was constructed.

Literature search

Of 5053 initial hits, 2864 fell within the target timeframe, and 122 were finally included in the review [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 96 , 97 , 98 , 99 , 100 , 101 , 102 , 103 , 104 , 105 , 106 , 107 , 108 , 109 , 110 , 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 , 115 , 116 , 117 , 118 , 119 , 120 , 121 , 122 , 123 , 124 , 125 , 126 , 127 , 128 , 129 , 130 , 131 , 132 , 133 , 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 , 138 , 139 , 140 , 141 , 142 , 143 , 144 , 145 , 146 , 147 , 148 , 149 , 150 , 151 ], corresponding to 4.3% of hits within timeframe (Fig. 1 ). Most exclusions were due to wrong context (e.g., forensic psychiatry) or article type (i.e., not original article). Individual summaries of the 122 included articles, together with aims and main findings, are presented in Supplementary Table 1 .

Meta-level attributes

Table 3 shows the annual distribution of publications over the review period; 3 to 17 articles were published per year globally. Table 4 is a bibliographic and geographic summary of the studies. Forensic journals were the most common publication channel (57.4%), followed by clinical journals (e.g., general medicine, neurology, or pediatric journals; 23.0%), and pathology journals (8.2%). Median impact factor was 2.3, while 11.5% of studies were published in journals without an Impact Factor. As for geographical distribution, Europe (39.3%) and Asia (36.1%) were the two most common study regions.

Sample characteristics

Table 5 is a summary of sample characteristics. A median sample included 57 subjects (interquartile range 29–101; full range 4–1222), which included both cases and controls, if applicable. Control groups were utilized in less than half of the studies (43.4%). Medians of minimum and maximum ages were 16 and 80 years, respectively. A total of 30.3% of studies were based on adult-only samples, another 30.3% had both adults and minors, and 12.3% were based on minors. Subject ages were not stated in over a quarter of the studies (27.0%).

Lists of research themes and methodological approaches are presented in Table 6 . Individual summaries of the articles, together with aims and main findings, are presented in Supplementary Table 1 .

The most common research theme was traumatic intracranial injury (24.6%), which comprised focal and diffuse traumatic brain injuries [ 30 , 31 , 39 , 43 , 54 , 55 , 64 , 83 , 85 , 86 , 94 , 106 , 107 , 115 , 116 , 120 , 123 , 130 , 132 , 139 , 150 ] and traumatic intracranial hemorrhages [ 30 , 47 , 54 , 57 , 58 , 65 , 83 , 87 , 99 , 113 , 114 , 130 , 141 , 150 ]. Studies often used immunotechniques to identify traumatic changes and estimate the age of injury [ 39 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 94 , 106 , 107 , 115 , 120 , 132 , 139 ]. While some studies described macroscopic injury patterns and combinations in accident and assault scenarios [ 30 , 47 , 65 , 99 , 114 , 116 , 130 , 141 ], others used conventional histology [ 57 , 58 , 113 ] or several methods [ 31 , 43 , 54 , 55 , 64 , 83 , 150 ] to address varying research questions.

The second most common entity was anatomy (12.3%). While most studies described the anatomical variants of vasculature [ 41 , 68 , 75 , 105 , 126 , 127 , 135 ] and other intracranial structures [ 44 , 73 , 74 , 151 ], some aimed to generate reference values for brain weight in various populations [ 69 , 98 , 102 , 125 ]. The main techniques were macroscopic observation, conventional histology, and weight measurement. Moreover, one study evaluated the biomechanical properties of the dura mater [ 151 ].

Substance abuse was the primary entity in 11.5% of the studies. Both chronic and acute abuse were represented. The selection of substances included alcohols [ 38 , 52 , 82 ], opioids [ 38 , 100 , 109 , 117 , 118 , 119 ], stimulants [ 38 , 53 , 81 , 136 , 147 ], and other or multiple substances [ 48 , 50 , 117 , 118 ]. Immunotechniques [ 38 , 48 , 50 , 117 , 118 , 147 ], genetic techniques [ 81 ], or the two together [ 119 , 136 ] were often utilized to identify brain damage and distinguish substance abuse from other causes of death. Some studies primarily reported macroscopic observations [ 52 , 53 , 82 , 109 ] or brain weight [ 100 ] among substance abusers.

Laboratory methods were the main focus in 7.4% of the studies [ 45 , 67 , 70 , 72 , 97 , 111 , 133 , 138 , 148 ]. The studies showed notable heterogeneity, addressing technical aspects of, e.g., formalin pigment deposition [ 45 ], immunohistochemistry [ 133 ], DNA extraction [ 67 ], and freezing preparation of putrefied brain tissue [ 97 ].

Sudden unexpected deaths in infancy and childhood were addressed in 6.6% of the studies [ 33 , 40 , 51 , 61 , 66 , 79 , 84 , 91 ]. Immunotechniques [ 33 , 40 , 79 ], genetic techniques [ 51 ], conventional histology [ 91 ], and brain weight measurement [ 61 ] were used to uncover underlying mechanisms and identify brain tissue markers in these cases. Moreover, one study suggested an optimal neuropathologic examination protocol for these deaths in a medico-legal setting [ 66 ].

Other research themes were rarely addressed (< 5% each). Neurodegenerative diseases in medico-legal settings were approached using immunotechniques [ 128 , 143 , 144 ], image analysis [ 129 ], or a combination of several methods [ 104 , 112 ]. As for suicide, immunotechniques [ 32 , 89 ], genetic techniques [ 62 , 88 ], and brain weight measurement [ 146 ] were applied to identify factors that differentiate suicide victims from controls. Brain tissue markers of hypothermia and hyperthermia were studied by means of immunotechniques [ 78 , 140 , 145 ] and genetic techniques [ 60 ]. Studies that aimed to improve the estimation of postmortem interval were mainly based on immunotechniques [ 42 , 92 ] and genetic techniques [ 134 ]. Asphyxia and brain hypoxia [ 35 , 77 , 108 ], brain edema [ 36 , 37 , 96 ], brain tissue identification [ 95 , 121 , 122 ], drowning [ 34 , 71 ], and sudden unexpected death in epilepsy [ 63 , 149 ] were addressed in two to three individual studies each.

One article studied the markers of traumatic brain injury and mechanical asphyxiation using genetic techniques [ 49 ], while another focused on the potential markers of hypothermia, hyperthermia, and intoxication using immunotechniques and genetic techniques [ 59 ]. Finally, the following entities had one study each: sudden unexplained nocturnal death syndrome [ 46 ], pediatric subdural hemosiderin deposits [ 56 ], iron in fetal and infant leptomeninges [ 80 ], DNA identification based on brain tissue swab [ 76 ], zinc in brain tissue [ 90 ], intracranial aneurysms and dissections [ 101 ], age estimation [ 103 ], electrocution [ 124 ], insulin homicide [ 131 ], fire fatalities [ 137 ], phosphine poisoning [ 93 ], and carbon monoxide poisoning [ 142 ].

Main findings

This scoping review identified 122 original articles on forensic neuropathology from the years 2010–2022. Only 3–17 articles were published per year globally. Most articles originated from the Europe and Asia and were published in forensic journals. A median sample included 57 subjects aged between 16 and 80 years. The most common research theme was traumatic intracranial injury, followed by anatomy and substance abuse. Main methods included immunotechniques and macroscopic observation. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first scoping review to systematically explore literature on forensic neuropathology over the past decade.

Meta-level considerations

The annual volume of research output was relatively low, which may indicate rather mild research activity in the field globally. It is obvious that breakthroughs will require consistent scientific effort and active involvement of forensic pathologists in research projects. Clinical neuropathology may have outpowered the forensic branch, possibly due to stronger translational potential and active interplay with clinicians [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. Neuropathology is an interdisciplinary field, touching upon neighboring fields such as neurology, neurosurgery, psychiatry, legal medicine, and general pathology. Forensic neuropathology is aligned in the midway between clinical and forensic pathology, often requiring particular expertise from a general forensic pathologist [ 22 ]. Interdisciplinary cooperation may thus be the key to increasing research activity in the field.

Articles were widely distributed between journals of various disciplines, which underlines the intersectoral nature of the field. In general, articles were published in international, field-specific journals with a median impact factor of 2.3. However, it is noteworthy that over a tenth of the articles were published in journals with no impact factor whatsoever; anatomic reports appeared to be overrepresented in this subgroup. As for geographical distribution, the vast majority of articles were from European and Asian researchers. Notably, articles from American groups were less common, and only two African articles were published over the entire review period. In order to expedite the development and implementation of forensic neuropathology globally, research input is needed from medico-legal units across the world. Unfortunately, achieving this objective may prove difficult due to resource- and policy-related barriers. It would be important to ensure sufficient personnel resources, methodological expertise, access to research funding, and comprehensible research permit policies for medico-legal data.

Sample-related considerations

Sample sizes were moderate, with a median of 57 subjects; this included both cases and potential controls. Two articles appeared to lack a clear indication of sample size. Despite the relatively small sample sizes, statistical power calculations were rarely presented. In quantitative studies, power calculations guide sample collection and corroborate the statistical approach [ 152 ]. Of note is also the fact that over a half of the studies did not have a control group, which implies that most articles were descriptive in nature. A comparative design is a prerequisite for many scientifically relevant conclusions [ 153 ].

Age ranges were generally wide, which increased the generalizability of findings across age groups. However, taking into account the moderate sample sizes, the level of heterogeneity within samples may significantly increase with widening age spans. Over a quarter of studies appeared to lack a clear statement of the minimum and maximum ages of the sample; some reported standard deviations and interquartile ranges instead.

Research themes, methods, and future directions

Traumatic intracranial injury was the most common research theme. Research activity around the topic is easy to comprehend as traumatic brain injury and intracranial hemorrhages are complex and deadly entities that often present themselves to a forensic pathologist [ 2 , 21 ]. As neuropathology may have a pivotal role in a cause-of-death investigation [ 3 ] or legal proceedings [ 25 , 26 ], novel tools are needed to identify traumatic changes and estimate the age of injury. However, significant breakthroughs are yet to come.

Alongside traumatic intracranial injury, the top-three research themes included anatomy and substance abuse. Somewhat surprisingly, macroscopic and microscopic anatomy of intracranial structures were among the most popular research themes. Many of these studies reported important findings for neurosurgeons, for example, but appeared to make a minor contribution to the field of forensic neuropathology. Substance abuse, which indeed is a central medico-legal entity [ 154 ], was approached from a variety of perspectives method- and substance-wise. However, more research input will be needed to identify substance-specific markers in brain tissue and differentiate substance abuse and intoxication from other causes of death.

Neurodegenerative diseases were addressed in a handful of studies. In spite of the vast research activity in clinical neuropathology, studies in medico-legal samples are also important, as neurodegenerative diseases appear to increase the risk of unnatural deaths [ 155 ]. Providing medico-legal units with diagnostic methods that have been validated in medico-legal samples will be of utmost importance. As for sudden unexplained deaths among infants and children, studies have kept chasing potential mechanisms and biomarkers, but again, significant breakthroughs are yet to come.

Although suicide is a major and diverse entity in forensic pathology [ 156 ], only a few studies addressed the topic. Considering the obscurity behind predisposing and underlying factors, there should be a lot to achieve mechanism- and prevention-wise. Medico-legal samples may have significant translational potential in this regard. Moreover, only a few studies addressed asphyxia, drowning, hypothermia, hyperthermia, sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, and estimation of postmortem interval. Higher research activity should be directed toward these themes in order to improve postmortem diagnostics.

Immunotechniques, i.e., immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting, were commonly applied to detect potential changes in brain tissue. Genetic techniques were exploited in various approaches such as brain tissue identification and gene expression analysis. A minority of studies used conventional histology as the main method. Although a number of novel findings were reported, most were of preliminary nature and will require further validation. Macroscopic observation of intracranial structures was a common method, but the studies often merely described injury patterns or anatomic variations. The crude measurement of brain weight was also used in some studies, but these often had null findings.

Limitations of the review

This scoping review had several limitations that should be considered. First, the scope of the literature search was notably broad, and conventional search terms were covered. However, articles that used specific or uncommon terminology may have been omitted. A large number of initial hits were obtained and manually evaluated, which may have reduced the risk of omitting in-scope articles. Second, as the review focused on original articles, emerging research themes may not have been fully covered. Moreover, there is a large body of research that may not be captured in this review even though it is relevant to forensic neuropathologists (e.g., CNS infections and emerging concepts in neurodegenerative diseases). Future reviews are expected to cover these aspects. Finally, as the aim was to explore and summarize original research in the field, there were no particular restrictions on scientific rigor, and no formal bias assessment was performed.

This scoping literature review explored original research on forensic neuropathology over the years 2010–2022. A total of 122 original articles were eventually included in the synthesis. Traumatic intracranial injury was the most common research theme, immunotechniques being the most commonly applied method. Only 3–17 articles were published per year globally. Although a number of novel findings were reported, most were of preliminary nature and will require further validation. In order to reach breakthroughs and validate novel tools for routine use, more research input is urged in forensic neuropathology from researchers across the world. Interdisciplinary cooperation may be the key to increasing research activity in the field. Researchers should ensure appropriate sample sizes and make use of comparative designs whenever possible.

Knowledge of diseases and trauma related to the central nervous system has high value in forensic pathology

This scoping review explored literature on forensic neuropathology from 2010 to 2022

A total of 122 original articles were included, corresponding to 3–17 publications per year globally

4.The most common research theme was traumatic intracranial injury (24.6%), followed by anatomy (12.3%) and substance abuse (11.5%). Key methods included immunotechniques (31.1%) and macroscopic observation (21.3%)

To reach breakthroughs and validate tools for routine practice, more research input is needed from researchers across the world

Availability of data and material

This is a review of published literature. The dataset generated and analysed during the study is presented in Supplementary Table 1 .

Code availability

Not applicable.

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Oura, P., Hakkarainen, A. & Sajantila, A. Forensic neuropathology in the past decade: a scoping literature review. Forensic Sci Med Pathol (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-023-00672-9

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Chronological

Methodological

Theoretical

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Shona McCombes

Literature Review: Conducting & Writing

Sample Lit Reviews from Communication Arts

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

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Table of contents

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Make a list of keywords

Search for relevant sources

Take notes and cite your sources

Chronological

Methodological

Theoretical

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Shona McCombes

MBA Program Library Remote Research Support: Literature Review

Conducting a Literature Review

Literature Reviews

MBA: Masters of Business Administration

What is a Literature Review?

Writing the Literature Review: Step-by-Step Tutorial for Graduate Students - David Taylor, University of Maryland, Collage Park

The Literature Review Part Two - David Taylor, University of Maryland, College Park

MBA 650: Leading Competitive Organizations and Teams

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Formatting a Literature Review in APA Style (7th edition)

Literature Review Guide: Examples of Literature Reviews

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Standalone Literature Reviews

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What Is A Literature Review?

Literature Review 101

What is a literature review?

Reviewing the literature

The literature review chapter

What’s the purpose of a literature review?

Purpose #1 – Demonstrate your topic knowledge

Purpose #2 – Reveal the research gap that you’ll fill

Purpose #3 – Lay the foundation for your conceptual framework

Purpose #4 – To inform your methodology

How do I find articles for my literature review?

Need a helping hand?

How should I structure my literature review?

Example of a literature review

Wrapping Up

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Business Research Methods

What is a literature review

How is it different?

How to carry out a review

1. Devise a search strategy

2. Search systematically

3. Read critically - i.e. deconstruct your results

4. Put it all back together – reconstruct

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