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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.

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:

• 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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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.

• 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.

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.

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 .

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A literature review surveys prior research published in 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 used in researching a particular topic and to demonstrate to your readers how your research fits within existing scholarship about the topic.

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:

• Give a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations,
• Trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates,
• Depending on the situation, evaluate the sources and advise the reader on the most pertinent or relevant research, or
• Usually in the conclusion of a literature review, identify where gaps exist in how a problem has been researched to date.

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

• Place each work in the context of its contribution to understanding the research problem being studied.
• Describe the relationship of each work to the others under consideration.
• Identify new ways to interpret prior research.
• Reveal any gaps that exist in the literature.
• Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies.
• Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of effort.
• Point the way in fulfilling a need for additional research.
• Locate your own research within the context of existing literature [very important].

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 :

• An overview of the subject, issue, or theory under consideration, along with the objectives of the literature review,
• Division of works under review into themes or categories [e.g. works that support a particular position, those against, and those offering alternative approaches entirely],
• An explanation of how each work is similar to and how it varies from the others,
• Conclusions as to which pieces are best considered in their argument, are most convincing of their opinions, and make the greatest contribution to the understanding and development of their area of research.

The critical evaluation of each work should consider :

• Provenance -- what are the author's credentials? Are the author's arguments supported by evidence [e.g. primary historical material, case studies, narratives, statistics, recent scientific findings]?
• Methodology -- were the techniques used to identify, gather, and analyze the data appropriate to addressing the research problem? Was the sample size appropriate? Were the results effectively interpreted and reported?
• Objectivity -- is the author's perspective even-handed or prejudicial? Is contrary data considered or is certain pertinent information ignored to prove the author's point?
• Persuasiveness -- which of the author's theses are most convincing or least convincing?
• Validity -- are the author's arguments and conclusions convincing? Does the work ultimately contribute in any significant way to an understanding of the subject?

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”] A thematic literature review is the most common approach to summarizing prior research in the social and behavioral sciences. Thematic reviews are organized around a topic or issue, rather than the progression of time, although the progression of time may still be incorporated into 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 would still be organized chronologically reflecting technological developments in media. The difference in this example between a "chronological" and a "thematic" approach is what is emphasized the most: themes related to the role of the Internet in presidential politics. Note 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 being made. 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:

• Current Situation : Information necessary to understand the current topic or focus of the literature review.
• Sources Used : Describes the methods and resources [e.g., databases] you used to identify the literature you reviewed.
• History : The chronological progression of the field, the research literature, or an idea that is necessary to understand the literature review, if the body of the literature review is not already a chronology.
• Selection Methods : Criteria you used to select (and perhaps exclude) sources in your literature review. For instance, you might explain that your review includes only peer-reviewed [i.e., scholarly] sources.
• Standards : Description of the way in which you present your information.
• Questions for Further Research : What questions about the field has the review sparked? How will you further your research as a result of the review?

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.

• Sources in your literature review do not clearly relate to the research problem;
• You do not take sufficient time to define and identify the most relevant sources to use in the literature review related to the research problem;
• Relies exclusively on secondary analytical sources rather than including relevant primary research studies or data;
• Uncritically accepts another researcher's findings and interpretations as valid, rather than examining critically all aspects of the research design and analysis;
• Does not describe the search procedures that were used in identifying the literature to review;
• Reports isolated statistical results rather than synthesizing them in chi-squared or meta-analytic methods; and,
• Only includes research that validates assumptions and does not consider contrary findings and alternative interpretations found in the 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:

• How are they organizing their ideas?
• What methods have they used to study the problem?
• What theories have been used to explain, predict, or understand their research problem?
• What sources have they cited to support their conclusions?
• How have they used non-textual elements [e.g., charts, graphs, figures, etc.] to illustrate key points?

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:

• Look for repeating patterns in the research findings . If the same thing is being said, just by different people, then this likely demonstrates that the research problem has hit a conceptual dead end. At this point consider: Does your study extend current research?  Does it forge a new path? Or, does is merely add more of the same thing being said?
• Look at sources the authors cite to in their work . If you begin to see the same researchers cited again and again, then this is often an indication that no new ideas have been generated to address the research problem.
• Search Google Scholar to identify who has subsequently cited leading scholars already identified in your literature review [see next sub-tab]. This is called citation tracking and there are a number of sources that can help you identify who has cited whom, particularly scholars from outside of your discipline. Here again, if the same authors are being cited again and again, this may indicate no new literature has been written on the topic.

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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• Next: Citation Tracking >>
• Last Updated: Mar 21, 2024 9:59 AM
• URL: https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide

How To Write An A-Grade Literature Review

3 straightforward steps (with examples) + free template.

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) | Expert Reviewed By: Dr. Eunice Rautenbach | October 2019

Quality research is about building onto the existing work of others , “standing on the shoulders of giants”, as Newton put it. The literature review chapter of your dissertation, thesis or research project is where you synthesise this prior work and lay the theoretical foundation for your own research.

Long story short, this chapter is a pretty big deal, which is why you want to make sure you get it right . In this post, I’ll show you exactly how to write a literature review in three straightforward steps, so you can conquer this vital chapter (the smart way).

Overview: The Literature Review Process

• Understanding the “ why “
• Finding the relevant literature
• Cataloguing and synthesising the information
• Outlining & writing up your literature review
• Example of a literature review

But first, the “why”…

Before we unpack how to write the literature review chapter, we’ve got to look at the why . To put it bluntly, if you don’t understand the function and purpose of the literature review process, there’s no way you can pull it off well. So, what exactly is the purpose of the literature review?

Well, there are (at least) four core functions:

• For you to gain an understanding (and demonstrate this understanding) of where the research is at currently, what the key arguments and disagreements are.
• For you to identify the gap(s) in the literature and then use this as justification for your own research topic.
• To help you build a conceptual framework for empirical testing (if applicable to your research topic).
• To inform your methodological choices and help you source tried and tested questionnaires (for interviews ) and measurement instruments (for surveys ).

Most students understand the first point but don’t give any thought to the rest. To get the most from the literature review process, you must keep all four points front of mind as you review the literature (more on this shortly), or you’ll land up with a wonky foundation.

Okay – with the why out the way, let’s move on to the how . As mentioned above, writing your literature review is a process, which I’ll break down into three steps:

• Finding the most suitable literature
• Understanding , distilling and organising the literature
• Planning and writing up your literature review chapter

Importantly, you must complete steps one and two before you start writing up your chapter. I know it’s very tempting, but don’t try to kill two birds with one stone and write as you read. You’ll invariably end up wasting huge amounts of time re-writing and re-shaping, or you’ll just land up with a disjointed, hard-to-digest mess . Instead, you need to read first and distil the information, then plan and execute the writing.

Step 1: Find the relevant literature

Naturally, the first step in the literature review journey is to hunt down the existing research that’s relevant to your topic. While you probably already have a decent base of this from your research proposal , you need to expand on this substantially in the dissertation or thesis itself.

Essentially, you need to be looking for any existing literature that potentially helps you answer your research question (or develop it, if that’s not yet pinned down). There are numerous ways to find relevant literature, but I’ll cover my top four tactics here. I’d suggest combining all four methods to ensure that nothing slips past you:

Method 1 – Google Scholar Scrubbing

Google’s academic search engine, Google Scholar , is a great starting point as it provides a good high-level view of the relevant journal articles for whatever keyword you throw at it. Most valuably, it tells you how many times each article has been cited, which gives you an idea of how credible (or at least, popular) it is. Some articles will be free to access, while others will require an account, which brings us to the next method.

Method 2 – University Database Scrounging

Generally, universities provide students with access to an online library, which provides access to many (but not all) of the major journals.

So, if you find an article using Google Scholar that requires paid access (which is quite likely), search for that article in your university’s database – if it’s listed there, you’ll have access. Note that, generally, the search engine capabilities of these databases are poor, so make sure you search for the exact article name, or you might not find it.

Method 3 – Journal Article Snowballing

At the end of every academic journal article, you’ll find a list of references. As with any academic writing, these references are the building blocks of the article, so if the article is relevant to your topic, there’s a good chance a portion of the referenced works will be too. Do a quick scan of the titles and see what seems relevant, then search for the relevant ones in your university’s database.

Method 4 – Dissertation Scavenging

Similar to Method 3 above, you can leverage other students’ dissertations. All you have to do is skim through literature review chapters of existing dissertations related to your topic and you’ll find a gold mine of potential literature. Usually, your university will provide you with access to previous students’ dissertations, but you can also find a much larger selection in the following databases:

• Open Access Theses & Dissertations
• Stanford SearchWorks

Keep in mind that dissertations and theses are not as academically sound as published, peer-reviewed journal articles (because they’re written by students, not professionals), so be sure to check the credibility of any sources you find using this method. You can do this by assessing the citation count of any given article in Google Scholar. If you need help with assessing the credibility of any article, or with finding relevant research in general, you can chat with one of our Research Specialists .

Alright – with a good base of literature firmly under your belt, it’s time to move onto the next step.

Need a helping hand?

Step 2: Log, catalogue and synthesise

Once you’ve built a little treasure trove of articles, it’s time to get reading and start digesting the information – what does it all mean?

While I present steps one and two (hunting and digesting) as sequential, in reality, it’s more of a back-and-forth tango – you’ll read a little , then have an idea, spot a new citation, or a new potential variable, and then go back to searching for articles. This is perfectly natural – through the reading process, your thoughts will develop , new avenues might crop up, and directional adjustments might arise. This is, after all, one of the main purposes of the literature review process (i.e. to familiarise yourself with the current state of research in your field).

As you’re working through your treasure chest, it’s essential that you simultaneously start organising the information. There are three aspects to this:

• Logging reference information
• Building an organised catalogue
• Distilling and synthesising the information

I’ll discuss each of these below:

2.1 – Log the reference information

As you read each article, you should add it to your reference management software. I usually recommend Mendeley for this purpose (see the Mendeley 101 video below), but you can use whichever software you’re comfortable with. Most importantly, make sure you load EVERY article you read into your reference manager, even if it doesn’t seem very relevant at the time.

2.2 – Build an organised catalogue

In the beginning, you might feel confident that you can remember who said what, where, and what their main arguments were. Trust me, you won’t. If you do a thorough review of the relevant literature (as you must!), you’re going to read many, many articles, and it’s simply impossible to remember who said what, when, and in what context . Also, without the bird’s eye view that a catalogue provides, you’ll miss connections between various articles, and have no view of how the research developed over time. Simply put, it’s essential to build your own catalogue of the literature.

I would suggest using Excel to build your catalogue, as it allows you to run filters, colour code and sort – all very useful when your list grows large (which it will). How you lay your spreadsheet out is up to you, but I’d suggest you have the following columns (at minimum):

• Author, date, title – Start with three columns containing this core information. This will make it easy for you to search for titles with certain words, order research by date, or group by author.
• Categories or keywords – You can either create multiple columns, one for each category/theme and then tick the relevant categories, or you can have one column with keywords.
• Key arguments/points – Use this column to succinctly convey the essence of the article, the key arguments and implications thereof for your research.
• Context – Note the socioeconomic context in which the research was undertaken. For example, US-based, respondents aged 25-35, lower- income, etc. This will be useful for making an argument about gaps in the research.
• Methodology – Note which methodology was used and why. Also, note any issues you feel arise due to the methodology. Again, you can use this to make an argument about gaps in the research.
• Quotations – Note down any quoteworthy lines you feel might be useful later.
• Notes – Make notes about anything not already covered. For example, linkages to or disagreements with other theories, questions raised but unanswered, shortcomings or limitations, and so forth.

If you’d like, you can try out our free catalog template here (see screenshot below).

2.3 – Digest and synthesise

Most importantly, as you work through the literature and build your catalogue, you need to synthesise all the information in your own mind – how does it all fit together? Look for links between the various articles and try to develop a bigger picture view of the state of the research. Some important questions to ask yourself are:

• What answers does the existing research provide to my own research questions ?
• Which points do the researchers agree (and disagree) on?
• How has the research developed over time?
• Where do the gaps in the current research lie?

To help you develop a big-picture view and synthesise all the information, you might find mind mapping software such as Freemind useful. Alternatively, if you’re a fan of physical note-taking, investing in a large whiteboard might work for you.

Step 3: Outline and write it up!

Once you’re satisfied that you have digested and distilled all the relevant literature in your mind, it’s time to put pen to paper (or rather, fingers to keyboard). There are two steps here – outlining and writing:

3.1 – Draw up your outline

Having spent so much time reading, it might be tempting to just start writing up without a clear structure in mind. However, it’s critically important to decide on your structure and develop a detailed outline before you write anything. Your literature review chapter needs to present a clear, logical and an easy to follow narrative – and that requires some planning. Don’t try to wing it!

Naturally, you won’t always follow the plan to the letter, but without a detailed outline, you’re more than likely going to end up with a disjointed pile of waffle , and then you’re going to spend a far greater amount of time re-writing, hacking and patching. The adage, “measure twice, cut once” is very suitable here.

In terms of structure, the first decision you’ll have to make is whether you’ll lay out your review thematically (into themes) or chronologically (by date/period). The right choice depends on your topic, research objectives and research questions, which we discuss in this article .

Once that’s decided, you need to draw up an outline of your entire chapter in bullet point format. Try to get as detailed as possible, so that you know exactly what you’ll cover where, how each section will connect to the next, and how your entire argument will develop throughout the chapter. Also, at this stage, it’s a good idea to allocate rough word count limits for each section, so that you can identify word count problems before you’ve spent weeks or months writing!

PS – check out our free literature review chapter template…

3.2 – Get writing

With a detailed outline at your side, it’s time to start writing up (finally!). At this stage, it’s common to feel a bit of writer’s block and find yourself procrastinating under the pressure of finally having to put something on paper. To help with this, remember that the objective of the first draft is not perfection – it’s simply to get your thoughts out of your head and onto paper, after which you can refine them. The structure might change a little, the word count allocations might shift and shuffle, and you might add or remove a section – that’s all okay. Don’t worry about all this on your first draft – just get your thoughts down on paper.

Once you’ve got a full first draft (however rough it may be), step away from it for a day or two (longer if you can) and then come back at it with fresh eyes. Pay particular attention to the flow and narrative – does it fall fit together and flow from one section to another smoothly? Now’s the time to try to improve the linkage from each section to the next, tighten up the writing to be more concise, trim down word count and sand it down into a more digestible read.

Once you’ve done that, give your writing to a friend or colleague who is not a subject matter expert and ask them if they understand the overall discussion. The best way to assess this is to ask them to explain the chapter back to you. This technique will give you a strong indication of which points were clearly communicated and which weren’t. If you’re working with Grad Coach, this is a good time to have your Research Specialist review your chapter.

Finally, tighten it up and send it off to your supervisor for comment. Some might argue that you should be sending your work to your supervisor sooner than this (indeed your university might formally require this), but in my experience, supervisors are extremely short on time (and often patience), so, the more refined your chapter is, the less time they’ll waste on addressing basic issues (which you know about already) and the more time they’ll spend on valuable feedback that will increase your mark-earning potential.

Literature Review Example

In the video below, we unpack an actual literature review so that you can see how all the core components come together in reality.

Let’s Recap

In this post, we’ve covered how to research and write up a high-quality literature review chapter. Let’s do a quick recap of the key takeaways:

• It is essential to understand the WHY of the literature review before you read or write anything. Make sure you understand the 4 core functions of the process.
• The first step is to hunt down the relevant literature . You can do this using Google Scholar, your university database, the snowballing technique and by reviewing other dissertations and theses.
• Next, you need to log all the articles in your reference manager , build your own catalogue of literature and synthesise all the research.
• Following that, you need to develop a detailed outline of your entire chapter – the more detail the better. Don’t start writing without a clear outline (on paper, not in your head!)
• Write up your first draft in rough form – don’t aim for perfection. Remember, done beats perfect.
• Refine your second draft and get a layman’s perspective on it . Then tighten it up and submit it to your supervisor.

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 .

You Might Also Like:

38 Comments

Thank you very much. This page is an eye opener and easy to comprehend.

This is awesome!

I wish I come across GradCoach earlier enough.

But all the same I’ll make use of this opportunity to the fullest.

Thank you for this good job.

Keep it up!

You’re welcome, Yinka. Thank you for the kind words. All the best writing your literature review.

Thank you for a very useful literature review session. Although I am doing most of the steps…it being my first masters an Mphil is a self study and one not sure you are on the right track. I have an amazing supervisor but one also knows they are super busy. So not wanting to bother on the minutae. Thank you.

You’re most welcome, Renee. Good luck with your literature review 🙂

This has been really helpful. Will make full use of it. 🙂

Thank you Gradcoach.

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thank you for this beautiful well explained recap.

Thank you so much for your guide of video and other instructions for the dissertation writing.

It is instrumental. It encouraged me to write a dissertation now.

Thank you the video was great – from someone that knows nothing thankyou

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It is timely

It is very good video of guidance for writing a research proposal and a dissertation. Since I have been watching and reading instructions, I have started my research proposal to write. I appreciate to Mr Jansen hugely.

I learn a lot from your videos. Very comprehensive and detailed.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge. As a research student, you learn better with your learning tips in research

I was really stuck in reading and gathering information but after watching these things are cleared thanks, it is so helpful.

Really helpful, Thank you for the effort in showing such information

This is super helpful thank you very much.

Thank you for this whole literature writing review.You have simplified the process.

I’m so glad I found GradCoach. Excellent information, Clear explanation, and Easy to follow, Many thanks Derek!

You’re welcome, Maithe. Good luck writing your literature review 🙂

Thank you Coach, you have greatly enriched and improved my knowledge

Great piece, so enriching and it is going to help me a great lot in my project and thesis, thanks so much

This is THE BEST site for ANYONE doing a masters or doctorate! Thank you for the sound advice and templates. You rock!

Thanks, Stephanie 🙂

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I am doing two papers on my final year thesis, and I must stay I feel very confident to face both headlong after reading this article.

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if anyone is to get a paper done on time and in the best way possible, GRADCOACH is certainly the go to area!

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Good morning scholar. I’m delighted coming to know you even before the commencement of my dissertation which hopefully is expected in not more than six months from now. I would love to engage my study under your guidance from the beginning to the end. I love to know how to do good job

Thank you so much Derek for such useful information on writing up a good literature review. I am at a stage where I need to start writing my one. My proposal was accepted late last year but I honestly did not know where to start

Like the name of your YouTube implies you are GRAD (great,resource person, about dissertation). In short you are smart enough in coaching research work.

This is a very well thought out webpage. Very informative and a great read.

Very timely.

I appreciate.

Very comprehensive and eye opener for me as beginner in postgraduate study. Well explained and easy to understand. Appreciate and good reference in guiding me in my research journey. Thank you

Thank you. I requested to download the free literature review template, however, your website wouldn’t allow me to complete the request or complete a download. May I request that you email me the free template? Thank you.

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Research Methods

• Getting Started
• Literature Review Research
• Research Design
• Research Design By Discipline
• SAGE Research Methods
• Teaching with SAGE Research Methods

Literature Review

• What is a Literature Review?
• What is NOT a Literature Review?
• Purposes of a Literature Review
• Types of Literature Reviews
• Literature Reviews vs. Systematic Reviews
• Systematic vs. Meta-Analysis

Literature Review  is a comprehensive survey of the works published in a particular field of study or line of research, usually over a specific period of time, in the form of an in-depth, critical bibliographic essay or annotated list in which attention is drawn to the most significant works.

Also, we can define a literature review as the collected body of scholarly works related to a topic:

• Summarizes and analyzes previous research relevant to a topic
• Includes scholarly books and articles published in academic journals
• Can be an specific scholarly paper or a section in a research paper

The objective of a Literature Review is to find previous published scholarly works relevant to an specific topic

• Help gather ideas or information
• Keep up to date in current trends and findings
• Help develop new questions

A literature review is important because it:

• Explains the background of research on a topic.
• Demonstrates why a topic is significant to a subject area.
• Helps focus your own research questions or problems
• Discovers relationships between research studies/ideas.
• Suggests unexplored ideas or populations
• Identifies major themes, concepts, and researchers on a topic.
• Tests assumptions; may help counter preconceived ideas and remove unconscious bias.
• Identifies critical gaps, points of disagreement, or potentially flawed methodology or theoretical approaches.
• Indicates potential directions for future research.

All content in this section is from Literature Review Research from Old Dominion University 

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

Not an essay 

Not an annotated bibliography  in which you summarize each article that you have reviewed.  A literature review goes beyond basic summarizing to focus on the critical analysis of 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 in order to avoid bias, and areas of agreement and disagreement should be highlighted.

A literature review serves several purposes. For example, it

• provides thorough knowledge of previous studies; introduces seminal works.
• helps focus one’s own research topic.
• identifies a conceptual framework for one’s own research questions or problems; indicates potential directions for future research.
• suggests previously unused or underused methodologies, designs, quantitative and qualitative strategies.
• identifies gaps in previous studies; identifies flawed methodologies and/or theoretical approaches; avoids replication of mistakes.
• helps the researcher avoid repetition of earlier research.
• suggests unexplored populations.
• determines whether past studies agree or disagree; identifies controversy in the literature.
• tests assumptions; may help counter preconceived ideas and remove unconscious bias.

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

Robinson, P. and Lowe, J. (2015),  Literature reviews vs systematic reviews.  Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 39: 103-103. doi: 10.1111/1753-6405.12393

What's in the name? The difference between a Systematic Review and a Literature Review, and why it matters . By Lynn Kysh from University of Southern California

Systematic review or meta-analysis?

A  systematic review  answers a defined research question by collecting and summarizing all empirical evidence that fits pre-specified eligibility criteria.

A  meta-analysis  is the use of statistical methods to summarize the results of these studies.

Systematic reviews, just like other research articles, can be of varying quality. They are a significant piece of work (the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination at York estimates that a team will take 9-24 months), and to be useful to other researchers and practitioners they should have:

• clearly stated objectives with pre-defined eligibility criteria for studies
• explicit, reproducible methodology
• a systematic search that attempts to identify all studies
• assessment of the validity of the findings of the included studies (e.g. risk of bias)
• systematic presentation, and synthesis, of the characteristics and findings of the included studies

Not all systematic reviews contain meta-analysis. 

Meta-analysis is the use of statistical methods to summarize the results of independent studies. By combining information from all relevant studies, meta-analysis can provide more precise estimates of the effects of health care than those derived from the individual studies included within a review.  More information on meta-analyses can be found in  Cochrane Handbook, Chapter 9 .

A meta-analysis goes beyond critique and integration and conducts secondary statistical analysis on the outcomes of similar studies.  It is a systematic review that uses quantitative methods to synthesize and summarize the results.

An advantage of a meta-analysis is the ability to be completely objective in evaluating research findings.  Not all topics, however, have sufficient research evidence to allow a meta-analysis to be conducted.  In that case, an integrative review is an appropriate strategy. 

Some of the content in this section is from Systematic reviews and meta-analyses: step by step guide created by Kate McAllister.

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• Next: Research Design >>
• Last Updated: Aug 21, 2023 4:07 PM
• URL: https://guides.lib.udel.edu/researchmethods

University Libraries

Literature review.

• What is a Literature Review?
• What is Its Purpose?
• 1. Select a Topic
• 2. Set the Topic in Context
• 3. Types of Information Sources
• 4. Use Information Sources
• 5. Get the Information
• 6. Organize / Manage the Information
• 7. Position the Literature Review
• 8. Write the Literature Review

A literature review is a comprehensive summary of previous research on a topic. The literature review surveys scholarly articles, books, and other sources relevant to a particular area of research.  The review should enumerate, describe, summarize, objectively evaluate and clarify this previous research.  It should give a theoretical base for the research and help you (the author) determine the nature of your research.  The literature review acknowledges the work of previous researchers, and in so doing, assures the reader that your work has been well conceived.  It is assumed that by mentioning a previous work in the field of study, that the author has read, evaluated, and assimiliated that work into the work at hand.

A literature review creates a "landscape" for the reader, giving her or him a full understanding of the developments in the field.  This landscape informs the reader that the author has indeed assimilated all (or the vast majority of) previous, significant works in the field into her or his research. 

 "In writing the literature review, the purpose is to convey to the reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. The literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (eg. your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries.( http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/specific-types-of-writing/literature-review )

Recommended Reading

• Next: What is Its Purpose? >>
• Last Updated: Oct 2, 2023 12:34 PM

Conduct a literature review

What is a literature review.

A literature review is a summary of the published work in a field of study. This can be a section of a larger paper or article, or can be the focus of an entire paper. Literature reviews show that you have examined the breadth of knowledge and can justify your thesis or research questions. They are also valuable tools for other researchers who need to find a summary of that field of knowledge.

Unlike an annotated bibliography, which is a list of sources with short descriptions, a literature review synthesizes sources into a summary that has a thesis or statement of purpose—stated or implied—at its core.

How do I write a literature review?

Step 1: define your research scope.

• What is the specific research question that your literature review helps to define?
• Are there a maximum or minimum number of sources that your review should include?

Ask us if you have questions about refining your topic, search methods, writing tips, or citation management.

Step 2: Identify the literature

Start by searching broadly. Literature for your review will typically be acquired through scholarly books, journal articles, and/or dissertations. Develop an understanding of what is out there, what terms are accurate and helpful, etc., and keep track of all of it with citation management tools . If you need help figuring out key terms and where to search, ask us .

Use citation searching to track how scholars interact with, and build upon, previous research:

• Mine the references cited section of each relevant source for additional key sources
• Use Google Scholar or Scopus to find other sources that have cited a particular work

Step 3: Critically analyze the literature

Key to your literature review is a critical analysis of the literature collected around your topic. The analysis will explore relationships, major themes, and any critical gaps in the research expressed in the work. Read and summarize each source with an eye toward analyzing authority, currency, coverage, methodology, and relationship to other works. The University of Toronto's Writing Center provides a comprehensive list of questions you can use to analyze your sources.

Step 4: Categorize your resources

Divide the available resources that pertain to your research into categories reflecting their roles in addressing your research question. Possible ways to categorize resources include organization by:

• methodology
• theoretical/philosophical approach

Regardless of the division, each category should be accompanied by thorough discussions and explanations of strengths and weaknesses, value to the overall survey, and comparisons with similar sources. You may have enough resources when:

• You've used multiple databases and other resources (web portals, repositories, etc.) to get a variety of perspectives on the research topic.
• The same citations are showing up in a variety of databases.

Additional resources

Undergraduate student resources.

• Literature Review Handout (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
• Learn how to write a review of literature (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Graduate student and faculty resources

• Information Research Strategies (University of Arizona)
• Literature Reviews: An Overview for Graduate Students (NC State University)
• Oliver, P. (2012). Succeeding with Your Literature Review: A Handbook for Students [ebook]
• Machi, L. A. & McEvoy, B. T. (2016). The Literature Review: Six Steps to Success

Graustein, J. S. (2012). How to Write an Exceptional Thesis or Dissertation: A Step-by-Step Guide from Proposal to Successful Defense [ebook]

Thomas, R. M. & Brubaker, D. L. (2008). Theses and Dissertations: A Guide to Planning, Research, and Writing

How to write the literature review of your research paper

Study Background & Introduction

Dr. Rishibha Sachdev

Many researchers struggle when it comes to writing literature review for their research paper. A literature review is a comprehensive overview of all the knowledge available on a specific topic till date. When you decide on a research topic, usually the first step you take in the direction of conducting research is learn more about the previous research published on the topic, and this eventually translates into literature review when you write your research paper. Literature review is one of the pillars on which your research idea stands since it provides context, relevance, and background to the research problem you are exploring.  

Types of literature review

Theoretical literature review essentially involves two steps: 

• Surveying and critically reading the existing literature: this step is commonly referred to as experimental literature review.
• Summarizing and actually penning down the gist of your review in an organized manner: this is known as theoretical review.

Literature review could be a part of a dissertation or research article and a stand-alone literature review. Let us look at this in more detail.

Literature reviews for dissertation/research article

Every research report/ thesis/research article begins with an introduction to the topic of research. This forms the literature review for the article. The main purpose of the review is to introduce the readers to the need for conducting the said research. A literature review should begin with a thorough literature search using the main keywords in relevant online databases such as Google Scholar , PubMed , etc. Once all the relevant literature has been gathered, it should be organized as follows:

• Background literature about the broad research topic to introduce the readers to the field of study.
• Recent progress on the study topic which can be organized thematically or chronologically. Ideally, separate themes should be discussed in a chronological manner to describe how research in the field has evolved over time and to highlight the progress in the field.
• The review should include a comparison and contrast of different studies. Discussing the controversial aspects helps to identify the main gaps that need to be worked upon. This is essential for defining the problem statement of the study and highlighting the significance of the research under question.
• Once a problem statement has been defined, the strengths and pitfalls of other studies that have tackled the problem statement should be discussed. This is important for outlining the need and novelty of the research.

A literature review should not be a mere recounting of all the available information. It should be a critical and analytical summary of the selected literature that guides the readers through the central theme of the research.

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Stand-alone literature reviews

Literature reviews can also be written as stand-alone articles. These are not different from the literature review sections described above; however, they are not followed by experimental data.

They basically fall into 2 broad categories: narrative reviews and systematic reviews.

1. Narrative reviews

These are theoretical discussions of relevant information on a particular topic and its critical analysis. These are mostly qualitative in nature similar to the review sections of larger articles.

Narrative reviews are usually organized as follows:

Introduction that establishes the context of the field of research and the topic of the review

Body is normally used for describing the different themes under the main topic by dividing them into different subheadings. This section compares and contrasts published studies and identifies gaps that have not been addressed or have been unsuccessfully addressed.

Conclusions. This section differs slightly between reviews which are part of research articles and narrative reviews. The section describes the main conclusions from analysis of all the current studies and puts forth further avenues for research. This section requires critical interpretation by the author such that the review adds value to existing literature. It should bring out ideas/hypotheses that can explain any discrepancies and provide solutions to existing problems.

2. Systematic reviews

On the other hand, systematic reviews follow a well-planned methodology to qualitatively or quantitatively analyze a defined number of studies. They usually focus on a single question and have clear study objectives that are worked upon in a systematic manner. These studies are based on a well-defined strategy unlike narrative reviews. Systematic reviews and narrative reviews are organized slightly differently. The details are described below:

Introduction: Systematic reviews begin with specific research questions that are defined in terms of the samples and research outcomes to be studied.

Methods (only for systematic reviews):  These studies have a comprehensive methodology that starts by narrowing down the literature for the review. Usually, specific inclusion/exclusion criteria are set based on the research questions and databases are searched based on these criteria. Once the sample studies have been shortlisted, they are analyzed in detail.

Results: The results section for these studies involves comprehensive data analysis to determine the significance of the study outcomes. Systematic reviews can be accompanied with Meta-analysis which involves statistical analysis of the included studies to increase the power of the results.

Discussion: This section usually interprets the study data based on their weighted significance and the power of the results. The study therefore provides strengthened results that are validated by the scientific rigor of the analytical method.

Before starting to write a review, it is important to determine what kind of review you want to write and follow the appropriate style and guidelines. An effective literature review is important for the complete life cycle of a research from defining the right research goals to correctly interpreting and presenting the research results.

If you wish to learn in more depth how to conduct literature search, check out this course designed exclusively for researchers:  How to conduct an effective literature search and review .

Bonus takeaway exclusively for community members

Writing a literature review requires you to read through and collate several research articles and literature sources. This can get very confusing considering the large amount of publications that need to be organized. There is no set way to do this as it will depend on your preference for reading printed articles or online resources. If you are old school and read printed articles better, then you should create a folder with all articles organized in this way:

1. Alphabetically with the last name of the first author, or

2. Chronologically with the date of publication, or

3. Thematically with different themes organized chronologically

For the more tech-savy users, organization of literature either by year of publication or themes would be more ideal. Citing and creating a reference list in your manuscript can be done either manually or by using reference management tools like Endnote from Clarivate analytics. Endnote is an excellent way to store your research library and import it into the manuscript in the format required by the journal.

The tips and guidelines in this post should help you write your literature review with ease.

Related reading: 

• A young researcher's guide to writing a literature review
• 5 Tips to write a great literature review

References:

• Tips for effective literature searching and keeping up with new publications
• Writing a Literature Review
• Systematic literature review X narrative review
• Systematic Reviews: What is a systematic review?

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• Survey Research | Definition, Examples & Methods

Survey Research | Definition, Examples & Methods

Published on August 20, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on June 22, 2023.

Survey research means collecting information about a group of people by asking them questions and analyzing the results. To conduct an effective survey, follow these six steps:

• Determine who will participate in the survey
• Decide the type of survey (mail, online, or in-person)
• Design the survey questions and layout
• Distribute the survey
• Analyze the responses
• Write up the results

Surveys are a flexible method of data collection that can be used in many different types of research .

Table of contents

What are surveys used for, step 1: define the population and sample, step 2: decide on the type of survey, step 3: design the survey questions, step 4: distribute the survey and collect responses, step 5: analyze the survey results, step 6: write up the survey results, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about surveys.

Surveys are used as a method of gathering data in many different fields. They are a good choice when you want to find out about the characteristics, preferences, opinions, or beliefs of a group of people.

Common uses of survey research include:

• Social research : investigating the experiences and characteristics of different social groups
• Market research : finding out what customers think about products, services, and companies
• Health research : collecting data from patients about symptoms and treatments
• Politics : measuring public opinion about parties and policies
• Psychology : researching personality traits, preferences and behaviours

Surveys can be used in both cross-sectional studies , where you collect data just once, and in longitudinal studies , where you survey the same sample several times over an extended period.

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Before you start conducting survey research, you should already have a clear research question that defines what you want to find out. Based on this question, you need to determine exactly who you will target to participate in the survey.

Populations

The target population is the specific group of people that you want to find out about. This group can be very broad or relatively narrow. For example:

• The population of Brazil
• US college students
• Second-generation immigrants in the Netherlands
• Customers of a specific company aged 18-24
• British transgender women over the age of 50

Your survey should aim to produce results that can be generalized to the whole population. That means you need to carefully define exactly who you want to draw conclusions about.

Several common research biases can arise if your survey is not generalizable, particularly sampling bias and selection bias . The presence of these biases have serious repercussions for the validity of your results.

It’s rarely possible to survey the entire population of your research – it would be very difficult to get a response from every person in Brazil or every college student in the US. Instead, you will usually survey a sample from the population.

The sample size depends on how big the population is. You can use an online sample calculator to work out how many responses you need.

There are many sampling methods that allow you to generalize to broad populations. In general, though, the sample should aim to be representative of the population as a whole. The larger and more representative your sample, the more valid your conclusions. Again, beware of various types of sampling bias as you design your sample, particularly self-selection bias , nonresponse bias , undercoverage bias , and survivorship bias .

There are two main types of survey:

• A questionnaire , where a list of questions is distributed by mail, online or in person, and respondents fill it out themselves.
• An interview , where the researcher asks a set of questions by phone or in person and records the responses.

Which type you choose depends on the sample size and location, as well as the focus of the research.

Questionnaires

Sending out a paper survey by mail is a common method of gathering demographic information (for example, in a government census of the population).

• You can easily access a large sample.
• You have some control over who is included in the sample (e.g. residents of a specific region).
• The response rate is often low, and at risk for biases like self-selection bias .

Online surveys are a popular choice for students doing dissertation research , due to the low cost and flexibility of this method. There are many online tools available for constructing surveys, such as SurveyMonkey and Google Forms .

• You can quickly access a large sample without constraints on time or location.
• The data is easy to process and analyze.
• The anonymity and accessibility of online surveys mean you have less control over who responds, which can lead to biases like self-selection bias .

If your research focuses on a specific location, you can distribute a written questionnaire to be completed by respondents on the spot. For example, you could approach the customers of a shopping mall or ask all students to complete a questionnaire at the end of a class.

• You can screen respondents to make sure only people in the target population are included in the sample.
• You can collect time- and location-specific data (e.g. the opinions of a store’s weekday customers).
• The sample size will be smaller, so this method is less suitable for collecting data on broad populations and is at risk for sampling bias .

Oral interviews are a useful method for smaller sample sizes. They allow you to gather more in-depth information on people’s opinions and preferences. You can conduct interviews by phone or in person.

• You have personal contact with respondents, so you know exactly who will be included in the sample in advance.
• You can clarify questions and ask for follow-up information when necessary.
• The lack of anonymity may cause respondents to answer less honestly, and there is more risk of researcher bias.

Like questionnaires, interviews can be used to collect quantitative data: the researcher records each response as a category or rating and statistically analyzes the results. But they are more commonly used to collect qualitative data : the interviewees’ full responses are transcribed and analyzed individually to gain a richer understanding of their opinions and feelings.

Next, you need to decide which questions you will ask and how you will ask them. It’s important to consider:

• The type of questions
• The content of the questions
• The phrasing of the questions
• The ordering and layout of the survey

Open-ended vs closed-ended questions

There are two main forms of survey questions: open-ended and closed-ended. Many surveys use a combination of both.

Closed-ended questions give the respondent a predetermined set of answers to choose from. A closed-ended question can include:

• A binary answer (e.g. yes/no or agree/disagree )
• A scale (e.g. a Likert scale with five points ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree )
• A list of options with a single answer possible (e.g. age categories)
• A list of options with multiple answers possible (e.g. leisure interests)

Closed-ended questions are best for quantitative research . They provide you with numerical data that can be statistically analyzed to find patterns, trends, and correlations .

Open-ended questions are best for qualitative research. This type of question has no predetermined answers to choose from. Instead, the respondent answers in their own words.

Open questions are most common in interviews, but you can also use them in questionnaires. They are often useful as follow-up questions to ask for more detailed explanations of responses to the closed questions.

The content of the survey questions

To ensure the validity and reliability of your results, you need to carefully consider each question in the survey. All questions should be narrowly focused with enough context for the respondent to answer accurately. Avoid questions that are not directly relevant to the survey’s purpose.

When constructing closed-ended questions, ensure that the options cover all possibilities. If you include a list of options that isn’t exhaustive, you can add an “other” field.

Phrasing the survey questions

In terms of language, the survey questions should be as clear and precise as possible. Tailor the questions to your target population, keeping in mind their level of knowledge of the topic. Avoid jargon or industry-specific terminology.

Survey questions are at risk for biases like social desirability bias , the Hawthorne effect , or demand characteristics . It’s critical to use language that respondents will easily understand, and avoid words with vague or ambiguous meanings. Make sure your questions are phrased neutrally, with no indication that you’d prefer a particular answer or emotion.

Ordering the survey questions

The questions should be arranged in a logical order. Start with easy, non-sensitive, closed-ended questions that will encourage the respondent to continue.

If the survey covers several different topics or themes, group together related questions. You can divide a questionnaire into sections to help respondents understand what is being asked in each part.

If a question refers back to or depends on the answer to a previous question, they should be placed directly next to one another.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Before you start, create a clear plan for where, when, how, and with whom you will conduct the survey. Determine in advance how many responses you require and how you will gain access to the sample.

When you are satisfied that you have created a strong research design suitable for answering your research questions, you can conduct the survey through your method of choice – by mail, online, or in person.

There are many methods of analyzing the results of your survey. First you have to process the data, usually with the help of a computer program to sort all the responses. You should also clean the data by removing incomplete or incorrectly completed responses.

If you asked open-ended questions, you will have to code the responses by assigning labels to each response and organizing them into categories or themes. You can also use more qualitative methods, such as thematic analysis , which is especially suitable for analyzing interviews.

Statistical analysis is usually conducted using programs like SPSS or Stata. The same set of survey data can be subject to many analyses.

Finally, when you have collected and analyzed all the necessary data, you will write it up as part of your thesis, dissertation , or research paper .

In the methodology section, you describe exactly how you conducted the survey. You should explain the types of questions you used, the sampling method, when and where the survey took place, and the response rate. You can include the full questionnaire as an appendix and refer to it in the text if relevant.

Then introduce the analysis by describing how you prepared the data and the statistical methods you used to analyze it. In the results section, you summarize the key results from your analysis.

In the discussion and conclusion , you give your explanations and interpretations of these results, answer your research question, and reflect on the implications and limitations of the research.

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

• Student’s  t -distribution
• Normal distribution
• Null and Alternative Hypotheses
• Chi square tests
• Confidence interval
• Quartiles & Quantiles
• Cluster sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Data cleansing
• Reproducibility vs Replicability
• Peer review
• Prospective cohort study

Research bias

• Implicit bias
• Cognitive bias
• Placebo effect
• Hawthorne effect
• Hindsight bias
• Affect heuristic
• Social desirability bias

A questionnaire is a data collection tool or instrument, while a survey is an overarching research method that involves collecting and analyzing data from people using questionnaires.

A Likert scale is a rating scale that quantitatively assesses opinions, attitudes, or behaviors. It is made up of 4 or more questions that measure a single attitude or trait when response scores are combined.

To use a Likert scale in a survey , you present participants with Likert-type questions or statements, and a continuum of items, usually with 5 or 7 possible responses, to capture their degree of agreement.

Individual Likert-type questions are generally considered ordinal data , because the items have clear rank order, but don’t have an even distribution.

Overall Likert scale scores are sometimes treated as interval data. These scores are considered to have directionality and even spacing between them.

The type of data determines what statistical tests you should use to analyze your data.

The priorities of a research design can vary depending on the field, but you usually have to specify:

• Your research questions and/or hypotheses
• Your overall approach (e.g., qualitative or quantitative )
• The type of design you’re using (e.g., a survey , experiment , or case study )
• Your sampling methods or criteria for selecting subjects
• Your data collection methods (e.g., questionnaires , observations)
• Your data collection procedures (e.g., operationalization , timing and data management)
• Your data analysis methods (e.g., statistical tests  or thematic analysis )

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Literature Survey in Project Reports: The Key to Successful Research

• backlinkworks
• Writing Articles & Reviews
• September 29, 2023

A literature survey is an integral part of any project report, whether IT be for academic research or a business initiative. IT involves gathering and analyzing existing research, reviews, and theories relevant to the chosen topic. Conducting a thorough literature survey provides invaluable insights and acts as a foundation for your own project, ensuring its value and originality. In this article, we will delve into the importance of literature surveys, their benefits, and how to conduct an effective one.

Why is a literature survey important?

1. Identifying the research gap: By conducting a literature survey, you gain an understanding of what has already been explored in your field, which helps in identifying any gaps in existing knowledge. This insight can guide the direction of your project and set you apart from previous studies.

2. Building on existing knowledge: Literature surveys allow you to build upon existing research by analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, and limitations of previous studies. This enables you to design a study that addresses these gaps and contributes new insights to the field.

3. Providing theoretical frameworks: A literature survey helps you gain knowledge and theoretical frameworks that are relevant to your project. By citing established theories, you provide a solid foundation for your work and demonstrate your understanding of the subject matter.

4. Enhancing credibility: Referencing and citing previous research enhances the credibility and reliability of your project. IT shows that you have taken the time to study relevant literature and positions your work within the wider context of the field.

5. Avoiding plagiarism: By conducting a literature survey and properly referencing the sources you use, you can avoid accidental plagiarism. This is essential for maintaining your own integrity as a researcher and to ensure that your work is not questioned or discredited.

How to conduct an effective literature survey

1. Define your research question: Clearly define the research question or problem you will address in your project. This will help you narrow down your search and ensure that you find relevant literature.

2. Identify keywords and search terms: Identify the keywords and search terms that relate to your research question. These terms will guide your search in academic databases, search engines, and libraries.

3. Search through academic databases: Utilize academic databases such as PubMed, JSTOR, or IEEE Xplore to find scholarly articles, journals, and conference proceedings relevant to your research topic. Narrow down your search by applying filters, considering the publication date, and reviewing abstracts to assess relevance.

4. Review citations and reference lists: While reading relevant articles, pay attention to the citations and reference lists. This can lead you to additional sources that are key to your research topic, as well as help you track the development of ideas over time.

5. Stay up to date: Literature is constantly evolving, so IT ‘s essential to stay up to date with the latest research in your field. Set up alerts for keywords or authors to receive notifications when new publications are available.

6. Take thorough notes: When reading articles, take detailed notes that summarize the key findings, methodologies, and conclusions. This will make IT easier to reference and synthesize the information later on.

7. Analyze and synthesize: Once you have gathered sufficient literature, analyze and synthesize the information to identify common themes, trends, and conflicting ideas. This analysis will help you develop a comprehensive understanding of the existing knowledge in your field.

A literature survey is a crucial aspect of any research project. IT helps identify research gaps, build on existing knowledge, provide theoretical frameworks, enhance credibility, and avoid plagiarism. By following a systematic approach to conducting a literature survey, researchers can obtain valuable insights and ensure the success of their project. Remember to always properly reference and cite the sources used to avoid plagiarism and maintain academic integrity.

Q: How many sources should I include in my literature survey?

A: There is no fixed number of sources that should be included in a literature survey. The focus should be on quality rather than quantity. Include sources that are relevant, credible, and provide valuable insights to your research topic.

Q: Can I include sources that are not peer-reviewed?

A: While peer-reviewed sources are generally preferred, non-peer-reviewed sources such as industry reports, government publications, or reputable websites can also be included if they contribute relevant and reliable information to your project.

Q: How do I organize the information gathered from my literature survey?

A: Organize the information in a way that best suits your project. You can use thematic headings, chronological order, or any other logical structure that allows for easy reference and understanding of the literature.

Q: What if I cannot access certain articles or papers?

A: If certain articles are behind paywalls or inaccessible, try reaching out to the authors directly for access. Alternatively, you can utilize interlibrary loan services offered by your academic institution or consult with a librarian for assistance in accessing the required literature.

Q: Is IT necessary to update my literature survey during the project?

A: Yes, IT is recommended to periodically update your literature survey throughout your project. New research and publications may emerge that are directly relevant to your topic. Keeping your survey up to date ensures that your project remains current and informed.

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Reporting Survey Based Studies – a Primer for Authors

Prithvi sanjeevkumar gaur.

1 Smt. Kashibai Navale Medical College and General Hospital, Pune, India.

Olena Zimba

2 Department of Internal Medicine No. 2, Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University, Lviv, Ukraine.

Vikas Agarwal

3 Department Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India.

Latika Gupta

Associated data.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to a massive rise in survey-based research. The paucity of perspicuous guidelines for conducting surveys may pose a challenge to the conduct of ethical, valid and meticulous research. The aim of this paper is to guide authors aiming to publish in scholarly journals regarding the methods and means to carry out surveys for valid outcomes. The paper outlines the various aspects, from planning, execution and dissemination of surveys followed by the data analysis and choosing target journals. While providing a comprehensive understanding of the scenarios most conducive to carrying out a survey, the role of ethical approval, survey validation and pilot testing, this brief delves deeper into the survey designs, methods of dissemination, the ways to secure and maintain data anonymity, the various analytical approaches, the reporting techniques and the process of choosing the appropriate journal. Further, the authors analyze retracted survey-based studies and the reasons for the same. This review article intends to guide authors to improve the quality of survey-based research by describing the essential tools and means to do the same with the hope to improve the utility of such studies.

Graphical Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Surveys are the principal method used to address topics that require individual self-report about beliefs, knowledge, attitudes, opinions or satisfaction, which cannot be assessed using other approaches. 1 This research method allows information to be collected by asking a set of questions on a specific topic to a subset of people and generalizing the results to a larger population. Assessment of opinions in a valid and reliable way require clear, structured and precise reporting of results. This is possible with a survey based out of a meticulous design, followed by validation and pilot testing. 2 The aim of this opinion piece is to provide practical advice to conduct survey-based research. It details the ethical and methodological aspects to be undertaken while performing a survey, the online platforms available for distributing survey, and the implications of survey-based research.

Survey-based research is a means to obtain quick data, and such studies are relatively easy to conduct and analyse, and are cost-effective (under a majority of the circumstances). 3 These are also one of the most convenient methods of obtaining data about rare diseases. 4 With major technological advancements and improved global interconnectivity, especially during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, surveys have surpassed other means of research due to their distinctive advantage of a wider reach, including respondents from various parts of the world having diverse cultures and geographically disparate locations. Moreover, survey-based research allows flexibility to the investigator and respondent alike. 5 While the investigator(s) may tailor the survey dates and duration as per their availability, the respondents are allowed the convenience of responding to the survey at ease, in the comfort of their homes, and at a time when they can answer the questions with greater focus and to the best of their abilities. 6 Respondent biases inherent to environmental stressors can be significantly reduced by this approach. 5 It also allows responses across time-zones, which may be a major impediment to other forms of research or data-collection. This allows distant placement of the investigator from the respondents.

Various digital tools are now available for designing surveys ( Table 1 ). 7 Most of these are free with separate premium paid options. The analysis of data can be made simpler and cleaning process almost obsolete by minimising open-ended answer choices. 8 Close-ended answers makes data collection and analysis efficient, by generating an excel which can be directly accessed and analysed. 9 Minimizing the number of questions and making all questions mandatory can further aid this process by bringing uniformity to the responses and analysis simpler. Surveys are arguably also the most engaging form of research, conditional to the skill of the investigator.

Q/t = questions per typeform, A/m = answers per month, Q/s = questions per survey, A/s = answers per survey, NA = not applicable, NPS = net promoter score.

Data protection laws now mandate anonymity while collecting data for most surveys, particularly when they are exempt from ethical review. 10 , 11 Anonymization has the potential to reduce (or at times even eliminate) social desirability bias which gains particular relevance when targeting responses from socially isolated or vulnerable communities (e.g. LGBTQ and low socio-economic strata communities) or minority groups (religious, ethnic and medical) or controversial topics (drug abuse, using language editing software).

Moreover, surveys could be the primary methodology to explore a hypothesis until it evolves into a more sophisticated and partly validated idea after which it can be probed further in a systematic and structured manner using other research methods.

The aim of this paper is to reduce the incorrect reporting of surveys. The paper also intends to inform researchers of the various aspects of survey-based studies and the multiple points that need to be taken under consideration while conducting survey-based research.

SURVEYS IN THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The COVID-19 has led to a distinctive rise in survey-based research. 12 The need to socially distance amid widespread lockdowns reduced patient visits to the hospital and brought most other forms of research to a standstill in the early pandemic period. A large number of level-3 bio-safety laboratories are being engaged for research pertaining to COVID-19, thereby limiting the options to conduct laboratory-based research. 13 , 14 Therefore, surveys appear to be the most viable option for researchers to explore hypotheses related to the situation and its impact in such times. 15

LIMITATIONS WHILE CONDUCTING SURVEY-BASED RESEARCH

Designing a fine survey is an arduous task and requires skill even though clear guidelines are available in regard to the same. Survey design requires extensive thoughtfulness on the core questions (based on the hypothesis or the primary research question), with consideration of all possible answers, and the inclusion of open-ended options to allow recording other possibilities. A survey should be robust, in regard to the questions gathered and the answer choices available, it must be validated, and pilot tested. 16 The survey design may be supplanted with answer choices tailored for the convenience of the responder, to reduce the effort while making it more engaging. Survey dissemination and engagement of respondents also requires experience and skill. 17

Furthermore, the absence of an interviewer prevents us from gaining clarification on responses of open-ended questions if any. Internet surveys are also prone to survey fraud by erroneous reporting. Hence, anonymity of surveys is a boon and a bane. The sample sizes are skewed as it lacks representation of population absent on the Internet like the senile or the underprivileged. The illiterate population also lacks representation in survey-based research.

The “Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research” network (EQUATOR) provides two separate guidelines replete with checklists to ensure valid reporting of e-survey methodology. These include “The Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E-Surveys” (CHERRIES) statement and “ The Journal of Medical Internet Research ” (JMIR) checklist.

COMMON TYPES OF SURVEY-BASED RESEARCH

From a clinician's standpoint, the common survey types include those centered around problems faced by the patients or physicians. 18 Surveys collecting the opinions of various clinicians on a debated clinical topic or feedback forms typically served after attending medical conferences or prescribing a new drug or trying a new method for a given procedure are also surveys. The formulation of clinical practice guidelines entails Delphi exercises using paper surveys, which are yet another form of survey-mediated research.

Size of the survey depends on its intent. They could be large or small surveys. Therefore, identification of the intent behind the survey is essential to allow the investigator to form a hypothesis and then explore it further. Large population-based or provider-based surveys are often done and generate mammoth data over the years. E.g. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, The National Health Interview Survey and the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.

SCENARIOS FOR CONDUCTING SURVEY-BASED RESEARCH

Despite all said and done about the convenience of conducting survey-based research, it is prudent to conduct a feasibility check before embarking on one. Certain scenarios may be the key determinants in determining the fate of survey-based research ( Table 2 ).

ETHICS APPROVAL FOR SURVEY-BASED RESEARCH

Approval from the Institutional Review Board should be taken as per requirement according to the CHERRIES checklist. However, rules for approval are different as per the country or nation and therefore, local rules must be checked and followed. For instance, in India, the Indian Council of Medical Research released an article in 2017, stating that the concept of broad consent has been updated which is defined “consent for an unspecified range of future research subject to a few contents and/or process restrictions.” It talks about “the flexibility of Indian ethics committees to review a multicentric study proposal for research involving low or minimal risk, survey or studies using anonymized samples or data or low or minimal risk public health research.” The reporting of approvals received and applied for and the procedure of written, informed consent followed must be clear and transparent. 10 , 19

The use of incentives in surveys is also an ethical concern. 20 The different of incentives that can be used are monetary or non-monetary. Monetary incentives are usually discouraged as these may attract the wrong population due to the temptation of the monetary benefit. However, monetary incentives have been seen to make survey receive greater traction even though this is yet to proven. Monetary incentives are not only provided in terms of cash or cheque but also in the form of free articles, discount coupons, phone cards, e-money or cashback value. 21 These methods though tempting must be seldom used. If used, their use must be disclosed and justified in the report. The use of non-monetary incentives like a meeting with a famous personality or access to restricted and authorized areas. These can also help pique the interest of the respondents.

DESIGNING A SURVEY

As mentioned earlier, the design of a survey is reflective of the skill of the investigator curating it. 22 Survey builders can be used to design an efficient survey. These offer majority of the basic features needed to construct a survey, free of charge. Therefore, surveys can be designed from scratch, using pre-designed templates or by using previous survey designs as inspiration. Taking surveys could be made convenient by using the various aids available ( Table 1 ). Moreover, even the investigator should be mindful of the unintended response effects of ordering and context of survey questions. 23

Surveys using clear, unambiguous, simple and well-articulated language record precise answers. 24 A well-designed survey accounts for the culture, language and convenience of the target demographic. The age, region, country and occupation of the target population is also considered before constructing a survey. Consistency is maintained in the terms used in the survey and abbreviations are avoided to allow the respondents to have a clear understanding of the question being answered. Universal abbreviations or previously indexed abbreviations maintain the unambiguity of the survey.

Surveys beginning with broad, easy and non-specific questions as compared to sensitive, tedious and non-specific ones receive more accurate and complete answers. 25 Questionnaires designed such that the relatively tedious and long questions requiring the respondent to do some nit-picking are placed at the end improves the response rate of the survey. This prevents the respondent to be discouraged to answer the survey at the beginning itself and motivates the respondent to finish the survey at the end. All questions must provide a non-response option and all questions should be made mandatory to increase completeness of the survey. Questions can be framed in close-ended or open-ended fashion. However, close-ended questions are easier to analyze and are less tedious to answer by the respondent and therefore must be the main component in a survey. Open-ended questions have minimal use as they are tedious, take time to answer and require fine articulation of one's thoughts. Also, their minimal use is advocated because the interpretation of such answers requires dedication in terms of time and energy due to the diverse nature of the responses which is difficult to promise owing to the large sample sizes. 26 However, whenever the closed choices do not cover all probabilities, an open answer choice must be added. 27 , 28

Screening questions to meet certain criteria to gain access to the survey in cases where inclusion criteria need to be established to maintain authenticity of target demographic. Similarly, logic function can be used to apply an exclusion. This allows clean and clear record of responses and makes the job of an investigator easier. The respondents can or cannot have the option to return to the previous page or question to alter their answer as per the investigator's preference.

The range of responses received can be reduced in case of questions directed towards the feelings or opinions of people by using slider scales, or a Likert scale. 29 , 30 In questions having multiple answers, check boxes are efficient. When a large number of answers are possible, dropdown menus reduce the arduousness. 31 Matrix scales can be used to answer questions requiring grading or having a similar range of answers for multiple conditions. Maximum respondent participation and complete survey responses can be ensured by reducing the survey time. Quiz mode or weighted modes allow the respondent to shuffle between questions and allows scoring of quizzes and can be used to complement other weighted scoring systems. 32 A flowchart depicting a survey construct is presented as Fig. 1 .

Survey validation

Validation testing though tedious and meticulous, is worthy effort as the accuracy of a survey is determined by its validity. It is indicative of the of the sample of the survey and the specificity of the questions such that the data acquired is streamlined to answer the questions being posed or to determine a hypothesis. 33 , 34 Face validation determines the mannerism of construction of questions such that necessary data is collected. Content validation determines the relation of the topic being addressed and its related areas with the questions being asked. Internal validation makes sure that the questions being posed are directed towards the outcome of the survey. Finally, Test – retest validation determines the stability of questions over a period of time by testing the questionnaire twice and maintaining a time interval between the two tests. For surveys determining knowledge of respondents pertaining to a certain subject, it is advised to have a panel of experts for undertaking the validation process. 2 , 35

Reliability testing

If the questions in the survey are posed in a manner so as to elicit the same or similar response from the respondents irrespective of the language or construction of the question, the survey is said to be reliable. It is thereby, a marker of the consistency of the survey. This stands to be of considerable importance in knowledge-based researches where recall ability is tested by making the survey available for answering by the same participants at regular intervals. It can also be used to maintain authenticity of the survey, by varying the construction of the questions.

Designing a cover letter

A cover letter is the primary means of communication with the respondent, with the intent to introduce the respondent to the survey. A cover letter should include the purpose of the survey, details of those who are conducting it, including contact details in case clarifications are desired. It should also clearly depict the action required by the respondent. Data anonymization may be crucial to many respondents and is their right. This should be respected in a clear description of the data handling process while disseminating the survey. A good cover letter is the key to building trust with the respondent population and can be the forerunner to better response rates. Imparting a sense of purpose is vital to ideationally incentivize the respondent population. 36 , 37 Adding the credentials of the team conducting the survey may further aid the process. It is seen that an advance intimation of the survey prepares the respondents while improving their compliance.

The design of a cover letter needs much attention. It should be captivating, clear, precise and use a vocabulary and language specific to the target population for the survey. Active voice should be used to make a greater impact. Crowding of the details must be avoided. Using italics, bold fonts or underlining may be used to highlight critical information. the tone ought to be polite, respectful, and grateful in advance. The use of capital letters is at best avoided, as it is surrogate for shouting in verbal speech and may impart a bad taste.

The dates of the survey may be intimated, so the respondents may prepare themselves for taking it at a time conducive to them. While, emailing a closed group in a convenience sampled survey, using the name of the addressee may impart a customized experience and enhance trust building and possibly compliance. Appropriate use of salutations like Mr./Ms./Mrs. may be considered. Various portals such as SurveyMonkey allow the researchers to save an address list on the website. These may then be reached out using an embedded survey link from a verified email address to minimize bouncing back of emails.

The body of the cover letter must be short, crisp and not exceed 2–3 paragraphs under idea circumstances. Ernest efforts to protect confidentiality may go a long way in enhancing response rates. 38 While it is enticing to provide incentives to enhance response, these are best avoided. 38 , 39 In cases when indirect incentives are offered, such as provision of results of the survey, these may be clearly stated in the cover letter. Lastly, a formal closing note with the signatures of the lead investigator are welcome. 38 , 40

Designing questions

Well-constructed questionnaires are essentially the backbone of successful survey-based studies. With this type of research, the primary concern is the adequate promotion and dissemination of the questionnaire to the target population. The careful of selection of sample population, therefore, needs to be with minimal flaws. The method of conducting survey is an essential determinant of the response rate observed. 41 Broadly, surveys are of two types: closed and open. Depending on the sample population the method of conducting the survey must be determined.

Various doctors use their own patients as the target demographic, as it improves compliance. However, this is effective in surveys aiming towards a geographically specific, fairly common disease as the sample size needs to be adequate. Response bias can be identified by the data collected from respondent and non-respondent groups. 42 , 43 Therefore, to choose a target population whose database of baseline characteristics is already known is more efficacious. In cases of surveys focused on patients having a rare group of diseases, online surveys or e-surveys can be conducted. Data can also be gathered from the multiple national organizations and societies all over the world. 44 , 45 Computer generated random selection can be done from this data to choose participants and they can be reached out to using emails or social media platforms like WhatsApp and LinkedIn. In both these scenarios, closed questionnaires can be conducted. These have restricted access either through a URL link or through e-mail.

In surveys targeting an issue faced by a larger demographic (e.g. pandemics like the COVID-19, flu vaccines and socio-political scenarios), open surveys seem like the more viable option as they can be easily accessed by majority of the public and ensures large number of responses, thereby increasing the accuracy of the study. Survey length should be optimal to avoid poor response rates. 25 , 46

SURVEY DISSEMINATION

Uniform distribution of the survey ensures equitable opportunity to the entire target population to access the questionnaire and participate in it. While deciding the target demographic communities should be studied and the process of “lurking” is sometimes practiced. Multiple sampling methods are available ( Fig. 1 ). 47

Distribution of survey to the target demographic could be done using emails. Even though e-mails reach a large proportion of the target population, an unknown sender could be blocked, making the use of personal or a previously used email preferable for correspondence. Adding a cover letter along with the invite adds a personal touch and is hence, advisable. Some platforms allow the sender to link the survey portal with the sender's email after verifying it. Noteworthily, despite repeated email reminders, personal communication over the phone or instant messaging improved responses in the authors' experience. 48 , 49

Distribution of the survey over other social media platforms (SMPs, namely WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn etc.) is also practiced. 50 , 51 , 52 Surveys distributed on every available platform ensures maximal outreach. 53 Other smartphone apps can also be used for wider survey dissemination. 50 , 54 It is important to be mindful of the target population while choosing the platform for dissemination of the survey as some SMPs such as WhatsApp are more popular in India, while others like WeChat are used more widely in China, and similarly Facebook among the European population. Professional accounts or popular social accounts can be used to promote and increase the outreach for a survey. 55 Incentives such as internet giveaways or meet and greets with their favorite social media influencer have been used to motivate people to participate.

However, social-media platforms do not allow calculation of the denominator of the target population, resulting in inability to gather the accurate response rate. Moreover, this method of collecting data may result in a respondent bias inherent to a community that has a greater online presence. 43 The inability to gather the demographics of the non-respondents (in a bid to identify and prove that they were no different from respondents) can be another challenge in convenience sampling, unlike in cohort-based studies.

Lastly, manually filling of surveys, over the telephone, by narrating the questions and answer choices to the respondents is used as the last-ditch resort to achieve a high desired response rate. 56 Studies reveal that surveys released on Mondays, Fridays, and Sundays receive more traction. Also, reminders set at regular intervals of time help receive more responses. Data collection can be improved in collaborative research by syncing surveys to fill out electronic case record forms. 57 , 58 , 59

Data anonymity refers to the protection of data received as a part of the survey. This data must be stored and handled in accordance with the patient privacy rights/privacy protection laws in reference to surveys. Ethically, the data must be received on a single source file handled by one individual. Sharing or publishing this data on any public platform is considered a breach of the patient's privacy. 11 In convenience sampled surveys conducted by e-mailing a predesignated group, the emails shall remain confidential, as inadvertent sharing of these as supplementary data in the manuscript may amount to a violation of the ethical standards. 60 A completely anonymized e-survey discourages collection of Internet protocol addresses in addition to other patient details such as names and emails.

Data anonymity gives the respondent the confidence to be candid and answer the survey without inhibitions. This is especially apparent in minority groups or communities facing societal bias (sex workers, transgenders, lower caste communities, women). Data anonymity aids in giving the respondents/participants respite regarding their privacy. As the respondents play a primary role in data collection, data anonymity plays a vital role in survey-based research.

DATA HANDLING OF SURVEYS

The data collected from the survey responses are compiled in a .xls, .csv or .xlxs format by the survey tool itself. The data can be viewed during the survey duration or after its completion. To ensure data anonymity, minimal number of people should have access to these results. The data should then be sifted through to invalidate false, incorrect or incomplete data. The relevant and complete data should then be analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively, as per the aim of the study. Statistical aids like pie charts, graphs and data tables can be used to report relative data.

ANALYSIS OF SURVEY DATA

Analysis of the responses recorded is done after the time made available to answer the survey is complete. This ensures that statistical and hypothetical conclusions are established after careful study of the entire database. Incomplete and complete answers can be used to make analysis conditional on the study. Survey-based studies require careful consideration of various aspects of the survey such as the time required to complete the survey. 61 Cut-off points in the time frame allow authentic answers to be recorded and analyzed as compared to disingenuous completed questionnaires. Methods of handling incomplete questionnaires and atypical timestamps must be pre-decided to maintain consistency. Since, surveys are the only way to reach people especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, disingenuous survey practices must not be followed as these will later be used to form a preliminary hypothesis.

REPORTING SURVEY-BASED RESEARCH

Reporting the survey-based research is by far the most challenging part of this method. A well-reported survey-based study is a comprehensive report covering all the aspects of conducting a survey-based research.

The design of the survey mentioning the target demographic, sample size, language, type, methodology of the survey and the inclusion-exclusion criteria followed comprises a descriptive report of a survey-based study. Details regarding the conduction of pilot-testing, validation testing, reliability testing and user-interface testing add value to the report and supports the data and analysis. Measures taken to prevent bias and ensure consistency and precision are key inclusions in a report. The report usually mentions approvals received, if any, along with the written, informed, consent taken from the participants to use the data received for research purposes. It also gives detailed accounts of the different distribution and promotional methods followed.

A detailed account of the data input and collection methods along with tools used to maintain the anonymity of the participants and the steps taken to ensure singular participation from individual respondents indicate a well-structured report. Descriptive information of the website used, visitors received and the externally influencing factors of the survey is included. Detailed reporting of the post-survey analysis including the number of analysts involved, data cleaning required, if any, statistical analysis done and the probable hypothesis concluded is a key feature of a well-reported survey-based research. Methods used to do statistical corrections, if used, should be included in the report. The EQUATOR network has two checklists, “The Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E-Surveys” (CHERRIES) statement and “ The Journal of Medical Internet Research ” (JMIR) checklist, that can be utilized to construct a well-framed report. 62 , 63 Importantly, self-reporting of biases and errors avoids the carrying forward of false hypothesis as a basis of more advanced research. References should be cited using standard recommendations, and guided by the journal specifications. 64

CHOOSING A TARGET JOURNAL FOR SURVEY-BASED RESEARCH

Surveys can be published as original articles, brief reports or as a letter to the editor. Interestingly, most modern journals do not actively make mention of surveys in the instructions to the author. Thus, depending on the study design, the authors may choose the article category, cohort or case-control interview or survey-based study. It is prudent to mention the type of study in the title. Titles albeit not too long, should not exceed 10–12 words, and may feature the type of study design for clarity after a semicolon for greater citation potential.

While the choice of journal is largely based on the study subject and left to the authors discretion, it may be worthwhile exploring trends in a journal archive before proceeding with submission. 65 Although the article format is similar across most journals, specific rules relevant to the target journal may be followed for drafting the article structure before submission.

RETRACTION OF ARTICLES

Articles that are removed from the publication after being released are retracted articles. These are usually retracted when new discrepancies come to light regarding, the methodology followed, plagiarism, incorrect statistical analysis, inappropriate authorship, fake peer review, fake reporting and such. 66 A sufficient increase in such papers has been noticed. 67

We carried out a search of “surveys” on Retraction Watch on 31st August 2020 and received 81 search results published between November 2006 to June 2020, out of which 3 were repeated. Out of the 78 results, 37 (47.4%) articles were surveys, 23 (29.4%) showed as unknown types and 18 (23.2%) reported other types of research. ( Supplementary Table 1 ). Fig. 2 gives a detailed description of the causes of retraction of the surveys we found and its geographic distribution.

A good survey ought to be designed with a clear objective, the design being precise and focused with close-ended questions and all probabilities included. Use of rating scales, multiple choice questions and checkboxes and maintaining a logical question sequence engages the respondent while simplifying data entry and analysis for the investigator. Conducting pilot-testing is vital to identify and rectify deficiencies in the survey design and answer choices. The target demographic should be defined well, and invitations sent accordingly, with periodic reminders as appropriate. While reporting the survey, maintaining transparency in the methods employed and clearly stating the shortcomings and biases to prevent advocating an invalid hypothesis.

Disclosure: The authors have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose.

Author Contributions:

• Conceptualization: Gaur PS, Zimba O, Agarwal V, Gupta L.
• Visualization: Gaur PS, Zimba O, Agarwal V, Gupta L.
• Writing - original draft: Gaur PS, Gupta L.

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL

Reporting survey based research

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• Published: 25 March 2024

Positive affect and heart rate variability: a dynamic analysis

• Tony Beatton 1 , 2 , 7 ,
• Ho Fai Chan 1 , 2 , 7 ,
• Uwe Dulleck 1 , 3 , 4 , 8 ,
• Andrea Ristl 5 ,
• Markus Schaffner 2 &
• Benno Torgler 1 , 2 , 6 , 7  

Scientific Reports volume  14 , Article number:  7004 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

Metrics details

• Human behaviour

Traditional survey methods can provide noisy data arising from recall, memory and other biases. Technological advances (particularly in neuroscience) are opening new ways of monitoring physiological processes through non-intrusive means. Such dense continuous data provide new and fruitful avenues for complementing self-reported data with a better understanding of human dynamics and human interactions. In this study, we use a survey to collect positive affect (feelings) data from more than 300 individuals over a period of 24 h, and at the same time, map their core activities (5000 recorded activities in total) with measurements of their heart rate variability (HRV). Our results indicate a robust correlation between the HRV measurements and self-reported affect. By drawing on the neuroscience and wellbeing literature we show that dynamic HRV results are what we expect for positive affect, particularly when performing activities like sleep, travel, work, exercise and eating. This research provides new insights into how to collect HRV data, model and interpret it.

Introduction

Surveys are a key tool for almost all fields that explore human nature, with self-reporting as the most common means of measuring emotional experience. Thus, analyzing data on individuals’ subjective judgment is a dominant empirical strategy in social science; often, there is simply no other method available to collect such data. Herein lies a key problem with the key tool: good science depends on unbiased knowledge from which to derive conclusions, yet subjective self-reports are subject to a number of confounding factors, particularly social desirability effects. Hence, recent questions in the subjective well-being literature about the reliability of survey answers around measures of experience, mood, and feelings are well justified 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , especially as policymakers are becoming increasingly interested in the value of subjective well-being as a policy tool 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 . Subjective measures in general are difficult to quantify, interpret, and categorize 10 .

However, new research opportunities have evolved thanks to significant technological advances, including the use of non-intrusive wearable sensors that allow mapping the behaviors and interactions of individuals in the real world. Such technologies can provide a dynamic digital footprint or digital breadcrumbs of our society. Some scholars have even referred to such technologies as “social fMRI’s” 11 . Medical research, for example, also refers to such real-time analysis as adaptive or interactive monitoring 12 . It is therefore a natural avenue to explore whether results obtained from these ‘reality mining’ instruments correlate with important societal measures such as subjective well-being. In this study, we attempt to identify such a correlation to determine whether high-frequency data can complement the use of survey data, thereby opening up access to continuous behavioral data. Confirming this complementarity also offers the opportunity to deal with inherent problems of survey data such as reporting biases, memory errors, and other potential biases 13 , 14 , 15 ; although, the literature on subjective well-being has tried to overcome such biases by applying approaches such as the day reconstruction method (DRM) 16 rather than relying on annually collected data.

Review of related literature

Using high frequency data also offers the opportunity for more detailed exploration of environmental and situational aspects. One advantage of non-intrusive instruments is that individuals forget they are being measured 17 , which means that they are also able to wear the instruments throughout an entire day while doing all their daily activities. This offers a valuable opportunity to shed more light on how daily single major activities matter. Thus, in our study we follow 300 individuals over a period of 24 h, mapping a total of 5000 core daily activities and combining those activities with the measurements of their heart rate variability (HRV) and their assessment of how they feel (positive affect). As such, we measure the momentary aspect of feelings closer to the activity or daily life experience than does the DRM approach, which relies on respondents to revive their memories of the previous day 16 . This means that we rely more heavily on ecological momentary assessment, which reduces errors and biases associated with retrospection such as recall biases or heuristic biases or strategies in general 18 . However, both measures tend to cover hedonic happiness (more momentary feeling of pleasure sensation) rather than eudaemonic happiness, which focuses more on the lasting element or feeling. We will therefore refer to positive affect during our empirical analysis.

Linking physiological and emotional responses to our daily activities provides more insights into experienced utility rather than just the decision utility that has been the core focus of economists 19 . Fields such as clinical psychology, health psychology, or behavioral medicine, for example, have focused on the study of daily life as a way of identifying the bright and the dark side of human behavior, emotions, and experiences in the form of pain or pleasure during their activities 20 , 21 ; for example, by using daily diaries to explore how specific factors (such as food consumption) affect well-being 22 .

Activities, routines, and rituals across the day can affect how we feel. For example, closeness to our family and friends is associated with feeling happier 23 , especially in children 24 , and enjoyable daily activities can boost happiness in older persons 25 . Predictability in family routine and daily activities improves the happiness of children 26 , and adolescents 27 , especially if they have a disability such as autism 28 . Using a survey questionnaire, Darviri et al. 29 showed that personal choices like how and when we sleep, dietary choices, physical exercise, and the social and mental balance in our daily routine can affect the stress in our lives and our health and happiness. Daily activities like commuting 30 , working 31 , when we eat 32 , religious participation, and exercise affect our happiness 33 . Using two subjective data sources, socio-economic survey, and DRM data, Möwisch et al. 34 showed that daily activities affect our happiness. In our study we try to go one step further by also employing objective heart rate monitoring data to gauge how we feel. While survey-based research has studied how the flow of our daily experiences 35 and the situational context 36 of our daily activities affects our feelings, we are not aware of research that has compared and contrasted subjective survey data, DRM comparable data, as well as objective heart rate monitoring data into examining the importance of daily activities (including the order of daily activities) to better understand happiness, or more particularly how we feel why going about our daily activities. Like happiness, affect is dynamic and relative; for a discussion on happiness/well-being see 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 7 , 37 , 38 .

Materials and methods

Activity log and mood assessment.

Upon signing up for the study, participants were asked to fill in an activity protocol ( Appendix , Fig. S1 ), in which they report the type of the current activity conducted (e.g., communication, eating, transport, sleeping) and their current mood during the activity, over the 24-h period ( Appendix , Fig. S2 ). The start time and end times (in hour-minute) of each activity were also reported at the beginning and termination of the activity and were then used to align with the measurement from the heart rate monitor. The protocol required participants to make a choice between either positive or negative feelings, with three values on each valency ranging from very poor to excellent ( Appendix , Fig. S1 ), enabling us to measure the intensity of emotional affect during each daily activity. Since the distribution of the self-reported measurement of mood is heavily skewed towards the positive, we merged the lowest two categories into one to create our measure of positive affect ( Appendix , Fig. S3 ). The distribution of positive affect during different activities is summarized in the supplementary online material ( Appendix , Fig. S4 ).

Given the continuity of the protocol, the data allows direct access to the individuals’ self-reported well-being without major time delays, thereby providing a proxy for experiential knowledge. Eliminating the delay between experience and its report lessens information loss from retrieving such information at a later stage, which would be subject to a retrospective bias 39 . The simplicity of the protocol in collecting minimal information reduces the burden and facilitates prompt recording of their emotions. Sampling methods that attempt to measure experience and feelings in real time have been criticized for being impractical for large samples 16 , especially given the cost, which is often prohibitive 40 , 41 .

Another major advantage of the protocol is that, rather than simply posing a single question in repeated settings 42 , it assesses momentary experience for each single episode of an activity throughout the day. As discussed beforehand, such measurement is closely related to the concept of happiness, which manifests in physiology and is linked to both positive and negative affect and current mood state 2 . As these 24-h measurements were taken during normal daily conditions, the current design is well suited to exploring human nature as the normal day-to-day activities captured are likely representative of real-life environments 42 .

Heart rate variability (HRV) measure

At the beginning of the observation period, each participant was fitted with a noninvasive pocket-sized heart rate monitor ( Appendix , Fig. S5 ) that records an electrocardiogram (ECG), thereby allowing nonintrusive exploration of the relations between natural variations in the participants’ physiological activity and psychological states. Specifically, by examining the HRV, the excitatory sympathetic (fight and flight) and parasympathetic (rest and relax) activity in the autonomic nervous system can be identified and analysed 43 . The sympathetic system (SNS) affects the heart rate through the sympathetic nerves by releasing cell-stimulating hormones (e.g., epinephrine and norepinephrine) into the bloodstream, with the efferent sympathetic nerves innervate the heart, causing a slower but longer lasting (than the vagal system) influence on heart rate. The parasympathetic system (PNS) is responsible for rest and relaxation, like SNS, it influences heart rate by interacting with the heart’s intrinsic cardiac nervous system (ICNS). The vagus nerve, a key component of the parasympathetic system, connects to the ICNS, which then modulates the activity of the sinoatrial (SA) node, the heart’s primary pacemaker, to decrease heart rate (mediated by the neurotransmitter acetylcholine) 44 . The extent of sympathetic and parasympathetic activity can be identified based on heart rate variations, which occur at different speeds or frequencies 45 . Those reflecting activity by the sympathetic system are considerably longer (maximum effect after more than 5 s = low frequency changes) than those reflecting activity by the parasympathetic system (maximum effect after less than 5 s = high frequency changes) 46 .

Because either an increase in sympathetic cardiac control, a decrease in parasympathetic control, or both 47 tends to be associated with stressors, HRV analysis with ECG data is often used to identify psychological, emotional, and mental activities 45 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 . We employ the standard Fast Fourier transformation (FFT) to calculate the ratio of activity in the low frequency band to activity in the high frequency band (i.e., the LF/HF ratio). This ratio (mean = 2.14, SD = 0.364) offers a more specific and efficient measure for autonomic regulation (to differentiate between the activity of the SNS and PNS) than other time-domain methods (e.g., Mean HR, RMSSD, PNN50, or SDNN) 44 and provides an index of sympathovagal balance 45 , which serves as a useful indicator of psychological strain 54 (for the value distribution, see Appendix , Fig. S6 ). The LF/HF ratio tends to increase in response to heightened stress, which is typically linked to elevated SNS activity, and characterized by a rise in the low-frequency (LF) band and a decrease in overall HRV 44 . By using repeated observations over an active day, we can control for the variation of biological indicators over time.

However, it is crucial to clarify that a higher LF/HF ratio does not necessarily indicate change overall HRV. In fact, it could have various relationships with HRV, particularly when accompanied by an increase in heart rate due to cycle length dependence effects 55 . Moreover, it is recognized that the relative sympathovagal balance continually adjusts to meet regulatory system demands 56 . For example, in ambulatory recordings like those used in our study, LF power can be augmented by short-term sympathetic activations, which may cause lower frequency rhythms to overlap into the LF band. Additionally, in situations where there is prolonged sympathetic activity (often due to physical activity), shifts in the sympathetic and parasympathetic balance are more accurately indicated by increases in HR. Thus, to provide a more robust understanding of these dynamics, we employed two key analytical approaches (also see Extended Validation section in the Online Supplementary Material ).

Firstly, we control for heart rate (HR) in the regression analysis. This approach allows us to account for the potential cycle length dependence effect of changes in HR on the HRV through shift in the balance of autonomic nervous system activity, especially during physical activity or periods of prolonged sympathetic activation. By adjusting for HR, we can provide a more accurate interpretation of the LF/HF ratio, considering the dynamic nature of the autonomic nervous system regulation.

Secondly, we explored the relationship between the LF/HF ratio and HR and RMSSD (Fig. S12 c and S12 d), a metric that more directly reflects HRV (primarily influenced by parasympathetic activity). Additionally, we extended our analysis to investigate the impact of changes in HRV (as measured by RMSSD) on positive affect (see Table S6 ). The results from these analyses reinforce our main findings involving the LF/HF ratio.

Finally, to further discern whether changes in the LF/HF ratio are the result of either increased sympathetic activity (reflected in higher LF power), reduced parasympathetic activity (lower HF power), or combination of both, we conducted a systematic regression analysis to understand the influences of LF and HF on the LF/HF ratio (Fig. S12 a). Our findings indicated that, while both HF and LF influence LF/HF ratio, HF has a relatively larger impact than LF. Further, individual-specific analyses further confirmed that the magnitude of HF’s influence exceeds that of LF (Fig. S12 b).

Ethics statement

This research project has been conducted in accordance with the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (QUT Institutional Review Board Project ID 5699). Participants have been fully informed about the nature and purpose of the research, and their voluntary participation has been obtained through informed consent.

The data collection took place between January 9, 2006, and August 21, 2008. The participants were recruited through medical practitioners (GPs and gynaecologists) and firm-specific contacts who took part in a 24-h heart rate variability measurement program as part of a lifestyle appraisal. In total 344 Austrian residents (mostly Viennese) were asked to fill out the mood/well-being assessment part of the activity protocol. Information obtained from the activity protocol was manually coded and entered into machine-readable format. Customized MATLAB scripts were developed to extract and calculate related HRV measures from individual’s ECG records and combine with activity logs and mood assessment. Before the analysis, we proceeded with the following data cleaning procedure (sanity checks) to minimize data errors due to measurement and coding entry in the final dataset. First, the data being cubically interpolated to a 5 Hz signal to obtain a continuous measure from the consecutive QRS data points (see 57 ). To address abnormalities of ECG data (noise of the recording and misreadings), we dropped observations with the top 1 percentile of noise as well as those with HR in the top and bottom 1 percentile. Then, we removed observations from participants who self-reported their age as younger than 18 or older than 80 (57 participants). Next, to ensure the data have sufficient variation in the types of activities, we removed observations from participants who reported less than 9 h of activity time (the total study duration is on average 21.5 h (SD = 3.9)) (28 participants) and observations where duration was not appropriately recorded (18 participants). Furthermore, when analyzing HRV, we excluded sleeping ( n  = 2269) and other activities with duration less than five minutes ( n  = 145) or longer than 10 h without intermission ( n  = 1143). This leaves the final sample of 1152 participants with 18,693 activities in which 321 participants (5575 activities) completed the mood assessment. Overall, 89% of the participants took part in the 24-h study during weekdays, and 84% began the observation period between 8 am to 6 pm. Participants are, on average, 43.2 years old (± 12.3 SD) (for the age distribution, see Appendix , Fig. S7 ) with female-to-male ratio of 1:1.49. Participants’ data are anonymized in accordance with ethical requirements. The data were collected by Autonom Talent, an Austrian HR and coaching consultancy using HRV measurements to inform training programs. Participants gave informed consent to participate in the study and agreed to their data been used for further analysis by Autonom Talent and its research partners. Additionally, Autonom Talent published its engagement with the host university on its webpage. Participants were provided with invitations that communicated the research collaboration as well as the intent and results of the study. In addition, participants were informed (in written form and in conversations) that they could withdraw their data from further analysis. The study has been conducted in accordance with the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research. The experimental protocol and methods were approved by the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Review Board (Project ID 5699).

We use fixed-effects ordered logit models 58 , 59 to explore within-subject covariation between psychological state (positive affect) and mental stress (log of LF/HF ratio); see Appendix for the analytical models. We find a negative correlation between mental stress and psychological state. Subjects experiencing higher LF/HF ratio during an activity reported lower positive affect scores (Fig.  1 A). For example, a 10 percent increase in LF/HF ratio reduces the odds of reporting of more positive affect (categories above 1) by 1.92% ( p  = 0.024). More specifically, experiencing a 10% raise in LF/HF ratio increases the probability of reporting the lowest 3 affect categories by 0.056 percentage points (pp), 0.1 pp, and 0.31 pp, respectively, and decreases the probability of reporting the 4th and 5th positive affect categories by 0.058 pp and 0.41 pp, correspondingly (Fig.  1 B). Such association is highly consistent across various model specifications controlling for different factors; for example, the type of activities conducted, time of the day, and duration of the activities ( Appendix , Table S1 ); employing the BUC-τ estimator 60 assuming constant thresholds ( Appendix , Table S2 ); or a linear panel fixed-effects model ( Appendix , Table S3 ). The positive-feeling– LF/HF ratio relationship is also consistent for most activities (except for eating, χ 2 (8) = 16.62, p  = 0.0343) and across the day (χ 2 (4) = 7.78, p  = 0.0998) (see interaction effects shown in Fig.  1 C).

Correlation between positive affect and mental stress. ( A ) Odds ratios (OR) obtained from fixed-effects ordered logit models of positive affect (specification (3) Appendix , Table S1 ). The reference category for activity and part of day is mental activity and afternoon , respectively. ( B ) Marginal effects at the sample average of LF/HF ratio on all positive affect outcomes. ( C ) shows the estimated OR for LF/HF ratio for each activity and part of the day, based on models including their interaction terms. N  = 5414 with 310 participants. Error bars represent 95% CI. *, **, and *** indicate 10%, 5%, and 1% level of significance, respectively.

In terms of activities, participants reported more positive feelings during exercise, meals, and relaxing (Fig.  1 A), compared to conducting mental activity (work), with odds ratios increasing by about 50%, 100%, and 70%, respectively. Other non-work activities also tend to have a positive effect (without being statistically significant). Interestingly, the meta-analysis by Biskup et al. 31 found no significant differences in positive affect between work versus non-work domains, pointing out that work is a positive for some people. Overall, we find that the joint effect of non-mental activities is statistically significant (χ 2 (1) = 6.01, p = 0.0142, with an average OR of 1.35). Additionally, a separate regression with non-mental activities grouped together reports a similar result, indicating lower self-reported positive effect during mental activities (OR = 1.29, p = 0.004). Feelings improve throughout the day as participants felt more positive at later times of the day (5 pm–12 am) and more negative during early morning (12 am–6 am), compared to afternoon (12–5 pm) (Fig.  1 A, part of the day). We also find that the level of mental stress varies across types of activities conducted and when they are conducted ( Appendix , Fig. S8 ) as we examine their effects on LF/HF ratio using a panel fixed-effects model ( Appendix , Table S4 ).

Our results indicate that the level of physiological stress is lowest during physical activities, followed by transport, hygiene, and hobby/housework ( Appendix , Fig. S8 ). In contrast to the results on positive affect, we did not find that eating and relaxing have a significant effect on lowering LF/HF ratio (compared to mental activities). In addition, LF/HF ratio is lowest during activities conducted in early morning and highest in the afternoon. A closer look at how different activities conducted during various parts of the day influences affect reveals that individuals feel more positive as the day progresses (Fig.  2 , square markers), especially for activities such as communication , eating , hobby/housework , hygiene , and relaxing . In contrast, positive feeling during transport , mental activity , and physical activity do not seem to vary significantly throughout the day. Interestingly, we observe similar patterns in terms of physiological stress levels for most activities; LF/HF ratio increases as the day progresses and peaks in the afternoon.

Positive affect and physiological stress level during different activities at various times of day. Predicted levels of positive affect and physiological stress are obtained from fixed-effects models with full interaction terms between activity type and part of day ( Appendix , specification 7 Table S3 and specification 6 Table S4 , respectively). Error bars represent 95% CI.

We also observe that the positive feeling experienced may depend on duration of the activities (Fig.  3 , solid lines). To avoid extrapolation, we show the prediction for duration ranges within the 5th and 95th percentile values of each type of activity. For some activities, such as eating , hygiene , communication , and hobby/housework , higher values of positive feeling were reported when the duration of the activity is longer. In contrast, we find no change in positive feeling for long periods of mental activity and relaxing and a decrease in positive feeling for spending longer time on transport . A likely explanation is that participants who enjoy leisure activities chose to increase its duration, while the length of work and travel time are less controllable. In fact, we find that prolonged transport and hygiene lead to increased physiological stress (elevated LF/HF ratio levels, see Fig.  3 , dashed lines).

Activity duration on positive feeling and physiological stress level. Predicted levels of positive affect (solid lines) and physiological stress (dashed lines) are obtained from fixed-effects models with interaction terms between activity type and activity duration ( Appendix , specification 9 Table S3 and specification 8 Table S4 , respectively). Shaded areas represent 95% CI.

A core advantage of our data is the ability to explore how previous activities affect subsequent activities, while also exploring how prospection impacts positive affect. As Railton 61 (p. 6–7) points out, “[a] prospecting mind must do the “seeing” and “feeling” that simulate what a future will be like, and thereby place future possibilities on all fours with what is actually seen and felt at present”. Such an exploration is difficult when using the DRM approach due to systemic data collection biases. In addition, combining prospection with HRV data can provide further insights; therefore, we examine whether the contemporaneous positive feeling is correlated with previous or future activities. To do so, we include a set of indicators of the preceding (Table S5 specification (1)) and proceeding (Table S5 specification (2)) activity in our regression models, whilst controlling for the type of current activity conducted as well as the current LF/HF ratio. We find that individuals reported higher positive feelings during tasks following physical activities , eating , or relaxing by 1.6, 2.1, and 1.7 times, respectively, compared to the baseline ( mental activity , Fig.  4 A). Self-reported positive feeling is also higher when the individual’s next task was physical activities (1.34 times higher) (Fig.  4 B). On the other hand, we did not find a significant change in positive feelings before or after communication, transport , hobby/housework , hygiene , or sleep , compared to the baseline. The effect of past activities is limited only to the preceding one as we do not find such lagged effect extended to the second last activity ( Appendix , Fig. S9 ).

Effect of previous and next activities on positive feeling. ORs obtained from fixed-effects ordered logit models of positive affect including indicators of past ( Appendix , A , specification (1) Table S5 ) and next ( B , specification (2) Table S5 ) activities. The reference category for activities is mental activity . Error bars represent 95% CI. *, **, and *** indicate 10%, 5%, and 1% level of significance, respectively.

Whilst the effect of LF/HF ratio during the current activity is robust to controlling for the duration of previous event (Table S5 specification (3)), the experienced physiological stress level of the previous event has no residual effect on the current positive feeling reported (specification (4)), despite the OR remaining below 1. The reported feeling from the last activity strongly correlates (positively) with current positive feeling (specification (5)) and can explain a significant proportion of its variation. Nevertheless, controlling for past positive feelings renders the effect of current LF/HF ratio insignificant (with p -value just below 10% level).

When we interrogate the effect of prolonged exposure to the last activity ( Appendix , Fig. S10 ), we find that, apart from relaxing , activity duration does not moderate the effect of most of the activities on positive feelings reported for the next activity. Specifically, we find that an individual tends to feel less positive after an extended period of relaxation ( p  = 0.029), maybe due to the enjoyable positive feelings of relaxation that are relatively high and quite stable (Fig.  3 ) which may make a switch to another activity harder.

Next, we further examine how the preceding activities affect positive feelings reported for each type of activity conducted; for example, we can ask questions such as: do people feel more positive at work followed by a meal or some sleep? To assess these variations, we re-run the regression from specification (1) in Table S5 including the interaction terms between current and past activities. Naturally, certain sequences of activities are more common (e.g., eating preceding or followed by mental activity ) while others are less common (e.g., hobby/housework and physical activity) ( Appendix , Fig. S11 ). In Fig.  5 , we show the predicted level of (current) positive feeling for each activity pair (e.g., mental activity following eating ), with the solid red line indicating the predicted mean level of positive feeling about the current activity. Self-reported positive feelings for communication, mental activity, and hygiene do not seem to vary significantly due to prior activity. Individuals feel more positive during hobby/housework if past activities were transport , physical activity , and hygiene , while they are more negative after sleeping. For physical activity , past hobby/housework promotes positive feelings. For eating , past hygiene activity reduces positive feelings, while past communication or relaxing enhances positive feelings. Lastly, past physical activity , eating , and hygiene enhance the self-reported positive feeling during current relaxation .

Effect of last activity on positive feeling. Each panel shows the predicted positive feeling of each activity combination. Red lines indicate the mean predicted positive feeling of each current activity. Error bars represent 95% CI of the predicted outcome. *, **, and *** indicate 10%, 5%, and 1% level of significance, respectively.

The first goal of this analysis was to explore the association between subjective (self-reported) survey data and objective physiological measures. Such an analysis is interesting as technological innovations such as wearable biosensors that track those conditions throughout the day provide new ways of measuring physiological conditions. By using a large sample of repeated observations within a 24-h time frame (around 300 individuals with a total of 5000 activities), the study not only adds nuances to past research but allows a within-subject analysis that avoids the pitfalls and confounding factors that result from individual heterogeneity. We conclude that there is a robust positive association between self-reported psychological and objective physiological states as measured by HRV. Using a unique data set, the study corroborates previous claims that self-reported positive affect or hedonic well-being data are a reliable measure, which is good news for the social sciences in general given their reliance on survey-generated subjective data. As discussed, such self-reported data are frequently used in assessing the impacts of different types of health, psychological, or even educational interventions designed to affect individual well-being or positive affect. Perhaps more importantly for social scientists, it has even been suggested that public policy should be informed not only by GDP but also by bottom-up measures of self-reported well-being 40 , 41 . From such a policy perspective, our results imply that attempts by the OECD 8 and other countries to measure positive affect (particularly, self-reported subjective well-being) as an indicator of a society’s progress or achievement and as a policy-making tool 62 can meaningfully rely on self-reported data. At the same time, it is important to conduct more research that complements survey results with detailed high frequency data from biosensors, as these instruments can be worn constantly and offer the opportunity for truly longitudinal measurements.

With respect to activities, our results indicate that exercising, enjoying meals, or relaxing are associated with the strongest positive feelings. In terms of physiological stress, physical activities have the strongest positive effects. Beyond that we also find a positive spillover effect, namely that individuals report higher positive feelings during activities that follow a physical activity (relative to the baseline of mental activities). Such positive effects are also found for other activities such as eating and relaxing, as one would expect. We also find that individuals are more positive as the day progresses, perhaps due to feelings of achievement; although this effect may also be linked to biological adjustments throughout the day (e.g., drop in cortisol levels over the course of the day). However, when linking HRV directly to activities, it is clear that LF/HF ratio is lowest during activities in the early morning and highest in the afternoon. In fact, for most activities, LF/HF ratio increases as the day progresses and reaches its peak in the afternoon. For various activities such as eating, hygiene, communication, and hobby or housework, spending more time doing those activities is correlated with higher values of positive feelings. Yet, for less controllable activities such as travelling, the duration actually increases physiological stress. Such a result is consistent with the well-being literature, that does not use HRV methods, and shows more time spent commuting increases stress and lowers life satisfaction 63 , which raises the question of whether individuals are fully aware of the costs of travelling. In addition, other than our major finding that work does have an effect on positive feelings, most positive feeling results are consistent with the literature (for a comprehensive comparison see 64 ). Communicating and sharing of emotional experiences are hedonically positive and contribute to the regulation of our emotions 65 ; communicating with others makes us feel better; longer commute (transport) times increase stress and reduce positive feelings; commute times over 22 min have been found to reduce life satisfaction by as much as 0.103 points 63 . The mental activity result is stable, possibly because positive thinking makes us feel better while thinking negatively increases stress, anxiety, and depression 66 . Physical activity fosters normal growth and development and can make us feel better 67 ; even housework in small amounts or engaging in a hobby helps 68 . Eating is associated with positive feelings 69 . Relaxing can make us feel better but laying around inactive for too long can induce negative feelings 64 . Duration itself may be linked to avoidance, procrastination, or even depression. Engaging in hygiene activities such as taking a long bath improves positive affect, especially in cultures like Japan 68 .

In general, use of the HRV data helped us to better understand what happens as the duration of a single activity increases. Longer meetings and communication sessions increase our stress, as do longer commutes, too much mental activity, and too much exercise or physical activity. It is easy to understand why relaxing and taking longer over meals would induce little change in our stress levels (LF/HF ratio), as both are pleasurable activities, often shared with others and requiring little physical or mental effort. The duration of an activity can change how we feel, and affect our HRV, but in different directions.

Our results also provided insights into how prospection impacts positive affect. Emotions are not just about the past and the present. Emotions are intrinsically involved in extrapolating to the future and are not only in reaction to what happened before 70 . Activity protocols potentially provide a way of reducing conceptual and methodological errors when exploring the future by increasing, controllability, although we cannot identify what the individuals were thinking while doing those activities (e.g., whether or not and how they were mapping their possible futures). Nevertheless, our analyses show some consistent results; for example, individuals report higher positive feelings when their next task was to engage in physical activities, and it is better to relax after exercising, taking a bath, or enjoying a meal.

Recommendations

We have provided evidence that the use of real time data collection provides a reliable real-time method for measuring feelings (positive affect). High cost medical heart rate monitors and the medical protocols used in this project may not be available to all researchers. However, the emergence of wearable devices that measure pulse and heart, HRV, stress, etc., open new research frontiers to all, and these primary source real-time data would be less likely to suffer from the biases inherent in survey data. The wearable devices like watches from Apple, Fitbit, Garmin, among others, dynamically collect pulse, heart rate and heart rate variability and other data that are accessible from their website (e.g. 71 ). One could use the data from these inexpensive devices together with the data preparation and analysis methods offered in this paper to dynamically map in more detail individuals’ thinking process in relation to well-being and stress levels. In addition, the real-time intertemporal data provided by these devices allows us to pursue wellbeing-related questions that were previously constrained by data availability or survey recall and other biases; like how anticipation and adaption affects current mood, stress, or response to life event shocks, which can occur months or year(s) prior to well-being survey completion.

Data availability

The datasets generated and analysed during the current study are available in the Open Science Framework repository, https://osf.io/uq96m .

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC), Linkage Grants LP0884074 and LP110100616 and Future Fellowship FT110100463. For helpful comments and suggestions, thanks are due to participants of the 6th Workshop on the Economics of Health and Well-being, Australia and to anonymous reviewers. For excellent research assistance, thanks are due to Adrian Preston and Naomi Moy.

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U.D., A.R., M.S., and B.T. conceived the project. A.R. collected the data. T.B., H.F.C., and M.S. performed the analysis. T.B., H.F.C., M.S., and B.T. interpreted the results. T.B., H.F.C., M.S., and B.T. wrote the manuscript.

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Beatton, T., Chan, H.F., Dulleck, U. et al. Positive affect and heart rate variability: a dynamic analysis. Sci Rep 14 , 7004 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-57279-5

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World Happiness Report offers most comprehensive picture yet of happiness across generations

Fresh insights from the World Happiness Report 2024 paint the richest picture yet of happiness trends across different ages and generations.

The findings, announced today to mark the UN’s International Day of Happiness, are powered by data from the Gallup World Poll and analysed by some of the world’s leading wellbeing scientists.

Experts use responses from people in more than 140 nations to rank the world’s ‘happiest’ countries. Finland tops the overall list for the seventh successive year, though there is considerable movement elsewhere:

• Serbia (37th) and Bulgaria (81st) have had the biggest increases in average life evaluation scores since they were first measured by the Gallup World Poll in 2013, and this is reflected in climbs up the rankings between World Happiness Report 2013 and this 2024 edition of 69 places for Serbia and 63 places for Bulgaria. • The next two countries showing the largest increases in life evaluations are Latvia (46th) and Congo (Brazzaville) (89th), with rank increases of 44 and 40 places, respectively, between 2013 and 2024.

Significantly, the United States of America (23rd) has fallen out of the top 20 for the first time since the World Happiness Report was first published in 2012, driven by a large drop in the wellbeing of Americans under 30. Afghanistan remains bottom of the overall rankings as the world’s ‘unhappiest’ nation.

For the first time, the report gives separate rankings by age group, in many cases varying widely from the overall rankings. Lithuania tops the list for children and young people under 30, while Denmark is the world’s happiest nation for those 60 and older.

In comparing generations, those born before 1965 are, on average, happier than those born since 1980. Among Millennials, evaluation of one’s own life drops with each year of age, while among Boomers life satisfaction increases with age.

Rankings are based on a three-year average of each population’s average assessment of their quality of life1. Interdisciplinary experts from the fields of economics, psychology, sociology and beyond then attempt to explain the variations across countries and over time using factors such as GDP, life expectancy, having someone to count on, a sense of freedom, generosity and perceptions of corruption.

These factors help to explain the differences across nations, while the rankings themselves are based only on the answers people give when asked to rate their own lives.

The World Happiness Report is a partnership of Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and the WHR’s Editorial Board. The  Wellbeing Research Centre  at the University of Oxford is an interdisciplinary research group focussed on the empirical study of wellbeing.  From 2024, the Wellbeing Research Centre is the publisher of the annual World Happiness Report, the world’s foremost publication on global happiness.

Professor Jan-Emmanuel De Neve , Director of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre, Professor of Economics and Behavioural Science at the Saïd Business School, and an Editor of the World Happiness Report, said: 'Once again the World Happiness Report uncovers some special empirical insights at the cutting edge of the wellbeing research frontier. Piecing together the available data on the wellbeing of children and adolescents around the world, we documented disconcerting drops especially in North America and Western Europe. To think that, in some parts of the world, children are already experiencing the equivalent of a mid-life crisis demands immediate policy action.

'It is a great privilege and responsibility for our Centre at Oxford to become the next custodian of the World Happiness Report and we’re committed to continuing to give the world the best evidence on the state of global happiness in collaboration with our partners.'

Professor John F. Helliwell, Emeritus Professor of Economics at the Vancouver School of Economics, University of British Columbia, and a founding Editor of the World Happiness Report, said: 'The broad country coverage and annual surveys of the Gallup World Poll provide an unmatched source of data about the quality of lives all over the globe. There are now enough years of data, going back to 2006, to enable us this year to plausibly separate age and generational patterns for happiness.

'We found some pretty striking results. There is a great variety among countries in the relative happiness of the younger, older, and in-between populations. Hence the global happiness rankings are quite different for the young and the old, to an extent that has changed a lot over the last dozen years.'

Jon Clifton, CEO of Gallup, said: 'Effective policymaking relies on solid data, yet there remains a significant lack of it in various parts of the world. Today’s World Happiness Report attempts to bridge some of these gaps by offering insights into people’s perceptions of life on Earth. It offers more than just national rankings; it provides analytics and advice for evidence-based planning and policymaking. Our role in research on World Happiness is a natural fit with our longstanding mission: providing leaders with the right information about what people say makes life worthwhile.'

The World Happiness Report 2024 also features curated submissions on the theme of happiness across different age groups from experts at the forefront of wellbeing science.

Observing the state of happiness among the world’s children and adolescent population, researchers found that, globally, young people aged 15 to 24 report higher life satisfaction than older adults, but this gap is narrowing in Europe and recently reversed in North America.

Findings also suggest that the wellbeing of 15- to 24-year-olds has fallen in North America, Western Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and South Asia since 2019 – but in the rest of world it has risen. Overall, though, there is a notable global scarcity of wellbeing data available for children below the age of 15.

Further work examines the relationship between wellbeing and dementia, identified as a significant area of research in a globally aging population.

Researchers highlight not only the impact of dementia on the wellbeing of individuals but also the reverse association: the demonstrable predictive power of higher wellbeing to reduce the risk of developing the disease in later life.

Finally, a team of researchers used a large survey of life satisfaction of older adults in what is now the world’s most populous nation: India. They found that within this older Indian population, increasing age is associated with higher life satisfaction, matching the findings of the global analyses.

These researchers also analysed the complex impact of India’s caste system on wellbeing among older adults, though satisfaction with living arrangements, perceived discrimination and self-rated health emerged as the top three predictors of life satisfaction in this study.

The report is produced under the editorial control of the WHR Editorial Board, formed of John F. Helliwell, Lord Richard Layard, Jeffrey D. Sachs, Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, Lara B. Aknin, and Shun Wang.

Read the report in full at worldhappiness.report .

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Abstract: In scientific research and its application, scientific literature analysis is crucial as it allows researchers to build on the work of others. However, the fast growth of scientific knowledge has led to a massive increase in scholarly articles, making in-depth literature analysis increasingly challenging and time-consuming. The emergence of Large Language Models (LLMs) has offered a new way to address this challenge. Known for their strong abilities in summarizing texts, LLMs are seen as a potential tool to improve the analysis of scientific literature. However, existing LLMs have their own limits. Scientific literature often includes a wide range of multimodal elements, such as molecular structure, tables, and charts, which are hard for text-focused LLMs to understand and analyze. This issue points to the urgent need for new solutions that can fully understand and analyze multimodal content in scientific literature. To answer this demand, we present Uni-SMART (Universal Science Multimodal Analysis and Research Transformer), an innovative model designed for in-depth understanding of multimodal scientific literature. Through rigorous quantitative evaluation across several domains, Uni-SMART demonstrates superior performance over leading text-focused LLMs. Furthermore, our exploration extends to practical applications, including patent infringement detection and nuanced analysis of charts. These applications not only highlight Uni-SMART's adaptability but also its potential to revolutionize how we interact with scientific literature.

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Whatsapp and facebook dominate the social media landscape in middle-income nations.

In just a few decades, social media has changed how people around the world interact and communicate. And in eight middle-income countries surveyed by Pew Research Center in 2023, two particular platforms – WhatsApp and Facebook – dominate the social media scene.

Across these eight countries in Latin America, Africa and South Asia, a median of 73% of adults say they use WhatsApp and 62% say they use Facebook. Considerably fewer people say they use TikTok (median of 36%), Instagram (29%), Twitter (20%) or Telegram (15%). The surveys were conducted in Argentina, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria and South Africa in 2023, before Twitter was renamed X.

This analysis explores use of various social media sites in eight middle-income countries, as well as in the United States. It relies on data from multiple Pew Research Center surveys:

• International data comes from our 2023 Global Attitudes Survey , which includes surveys in eight emerging and developing economies (Argentina, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria and South Africa). These surveys were conducted face-to-face from Feb. 25 to May 22, 2023, with 10,235 adults. Country classifications by income level reflect 2022 World Bank income groupings . Due to questionnaire space and survey mode, we asked these questions only in these eight middle-income countries. 
• Our 2023 National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS) was fielded from May 19 to Sept. 5, 2023, through a combination of web and mail surveys of 5,733 U.S. adults.

For more on technology use in the United States, including use of specific social media sites, read  “Americans’ Social Media Use”  and  “Q&A: How – and why – we’re changing the way we study tech adoption.”

Here are the questions used for this analysis , along with responses, and the survey  methodology .

WhatsApp, in particular, stands out for its broad reach in middle-income countries. In all eight surveyed countries, at least half of adults use WhatsApp, with shares ranging from a low of 50% in India to a high of 90% in Brazil. In the United States, by comparison, only 29% of adults use WhatsApp.

But Facebook is more popular in the U.S. than it is in some of these middle-income nations. Around two-thirds of U.S. adults (68%) use Facebook, compared with smaller shares in Kenya (62%), South Africa (61%), Nigeria (56%), Indonesia (53%) and India (39%).

Use of TikTok and Twitter is generally similar in the U.S. and in the middle-income countries we surveyed. For example, a third of U.S. adults use TikTok, similar to the median of 36% across the eight middle-income countries. Even in India – where TikTok is officially banned – 13% of adults say they use the platform.

We did not ask about Telegram use in the U.S. and, conversely, we did not ask about YouTube – the most popular social media site in the U.S. – in the middle-income countries surveyed.

Social media use is more common among young people, higher-income people in emerging economies

Younger people are far more likely than older people to use social media , including specific social media sites. For example, in India, three-quarters of 18- to 29-year-olds use WhatsApp, compared with only 17% of those ages 50 and older. This pattern is consistent across nearly all social media platforms we asked about, although the differences are not always as large.

People with more income are more likely to use most of the specific social media sites we asked about in each of the countries surveyed. For example, 63% of Nigerians with incomes above the national median use Facebook, compared with 41% of Nigerians who earn less than the national median.

There are similar differences by education too, with higher use of these social media sites among people with more education.

Note: Here are the questions used for this analysis , along with responses, and the survey  methodology .

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• Lack of robust data, inadequate understanding of what ESG due diligence means, and difficulty in selecting a meaningful scope cited as top challenges in conducting due diligence
• Majority say deal cancellation was the most common consequence of a material finding during ESG due diligence

New York, July 27, 2023 — With a heightened focus on sustainability reporting from investors and regulators alike, a majority of corporate investors want a dedicated ESG due diligence product that can analyze risks and opportunities, according to KPMG’s recent ESG Due Diligence Survey.

“The data speaks loud and clear: Companies and investors are increasingly integrating ESG considerations into their M&A strategies, not only because it’s the right and responsible thing to do but also because of the value implications of ESG,” said KPMG U.S. ESG and Climate Services Leader Mark Golovcsenko. “At KPMG, we stand committed to empowering organizations to navigate this paradigm shift, as sustainability is not just an aspiration but inextricably linked to value creation.”

The survey features insights from over 200 M&A practitioners — corporate investors, financial investors and M&A debt providers — in the U.S. and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMA) on how ESG due diligence affects their M&A transactions.

Key findings:

• 74% have ESG considerations as part of their M&A agenda, but only 51% possess a proper understanding of ESG in their area of investment.
• Most investors (74% of U.S. and 82% of EMA) are now including ESG in their M&A agenda including 72% of financial investors and 76% of corporate investors in the U.S. compared to 94% and 77% of EMA investors respectively.  
• Investors will be conducting ESG diligence more frequently in the future, with 48% of EMA and 27% of U.S. investors now saying they will do it frequently (on more than 80% of deals), up from 25% for EMA and 16% for the U.S. for the previous two years.
• 68% of EMA investors and 62% in the U.S. said they would pay a premium for a target that demonstrates a high level of ESG maturity that is in line with their ESG priorities.  

Impacting Deals

• 53% of U.S. and 66% of EMA investors said deal cancellation was the top consequence of a material finding.
• Conversely, 76% of debt providers to M&A said they went ahead with financing or underwriting, but with more conservative conditions, as a consequence of material findings.
• 54% of EMA and 56% of U.S. investors reported that selecting a meaningful yet manageable scope was one of the main challenges for ESG due diligence.
• In addition, 49% of EMA and 59% of U.S. investors named the “lack of robust data or written policies of allegedly followed practices at the target” as a challenge.

“As the world continues to evolve, so do the expectations of businesses,” said KPMG U.S. Partner, ESG  Clare Lunn . “Our latest ESG Due Diligence Survey reveals an undeniable truth: Sustainable practices are no longer just a choice but a prerequisite for resilience and growth.”

Jackie Hyland

Associate Director, Corporate Affairs

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