What is a literature review?

when you've finished this page you will be able to...

spot the vital ingredients of a good literature review, so you can include them in your review

Not relishing the prospect of writing a literature review? Thinking it'll be hard work and difficult? You're right, it will be - but don't be let this put you off. Reviewing the literature is worth the effort: it will give you a fascinating, in-depth insight into your topic (we're assuming you're interested in your topic!), and, even better, a great literature review will vastly improve your chances of getting a great mark. Take a look at some of the criteria for a great dissertation or report:

Criteria for an excellent dissertation or report - according to a university marking scheme - include:

excellent knowledge and understanding of the research area
extensive evidence of critical thinking
integration of material and clear awareness of conceptual background and broader relevance
clear evidence of independent study

Top tip...

Wondering what 'literature' you should be reviewing? In this context, literature is published work in your area of interest; this could be studies published in journals, reports, conference proceedings or sources on the Internet.

Top tip...

The length of your literature review will depend on why you're writing it: journal articles often include literature reviews of a few hundred words; whereas a thesis can include a review that is many chapters long. Check the details of your assignment to see how long your literature review should be.

So why do you need to review the literature? Is it for a stand-alone assignment, or will it form part of an introduction to a longer piece of work - perhaps a dissertation or a project? Whatever your situation, the aim of your literature review will remain the same. So why do you think you need to review the literature? Spend a few moments pondering this question, and then take a look at the reasons for writing a literature review in the list below. By thinking about why you need to review the literature, you'll start to see what should be aiming to achieve in your review. Literature reviews are written to...

identify gaps in current knowledge and show that you're building on work already done in this area
show that your research is important, relevant and up-to-date
show you've a good knowledge of your research area, and you're aware of key themes, topics and debates
give your research context - show where your work fits into the bigger picture
identify different view points
identify ideas and resources you can use in your research
identify areas for future research
show you can scan the published research and spot valid and important studies
show you can make judgements and think critically about published research

We re-visit these reason for writing a literature review at the end of the course; they're included in a checklist to help you make sure your review ticks all the right boxes.

Top tip...

In a nutshell, you need to show your readers (probably a tutor or examiner) that you've located, read, understood and thought critically about the important published work on your topic.

To know what your literature review should achieve, it's really important to understand why a literature review is written. In the next activity we'll think some more about what a literature review should do - and shouldn't do.

Activity: What should a literature review do - and not do? - 10 minutes

1. Read the list of statements in the table below about what a literature review should and should not do.

2. For each statement, decide whether this is something a literature review should do, or should not do.

3. Place a tick next to the 'should do' statements, and place a cross next to the 'shouldn't do' statements.

4. When you're happy with your choices, take a look at our choices and our explanations for why we made these choices (you'll find them in the box below).

A literature review should/should not...
only include well-conducted, robust and unbiased research
simply list the important literature
include work disagreeing with the research hypothesis
provide a comprehensive review of all the literature on your topic
identify areas for future research
only include research published in journals
assume that all published research is of a high standard
show that you are aware of the important issues in your research area
provide an exhaustive analysis of every aspect of each piece of research
highlight the best and most influential research
include every paper or resource you read, even if not strictly relevant
discuss work that is not relevant, but is interesting
highlight gaps in the existing research
be a critical discussion of other work
summarise or paraphrase important parts of the literature

How did you do?

When you're happy with your choices, click here for the answers.

A literature review should/should not...
only include well-conducted, robust and unbiased research - research published in peer-reviewed journals is usually the best quality research
simply list the important literature - use the literature to tell a story about your research project: why it's important, what's already known, what's left to find out...
include work disagreeing with the research hypothesis - it's important to show you're aware and have taken account of opposing views
provide a comprehensive review of all the literature on your topic - you won't have room for everything, so be discerning and only include the best, most relevant studies
identify areas for future research - where are the gaps in the research and where is there work still to be done?
only include research published in journals - it's fine to include government reports, info from the internet, conference proceeding etc., as long as your sources are reliable
assume that all published research is of a high standard - judge the quality of studies you include, and leave out anything that's not of a high standard
show that you are aware of the important issues in your research area - a literature review is your chance to show you've a good knowledge of the research in your area
provide an exhaustive analysis of every aspect of each piece of research - you don't need to talk about everything; just hit the high points
highlight the best and most influential research - show you know what the 'landmark' studies are
include every paper or resource you read, even if not strictly relevant - only include work that is directly relevant to your study
discuss work that is not relevant, but is interesting - again, it can be tempting to stick something in because it's fascinating, but if it's not relevant don't include it
highlight gaps in the existing research - if there aren't any gaps is your study necessary? Use the literature to make the case for why your work matters
be a critical discussion of other work - don't simply list the research; you need to comment critically on it
summarise or paraphrase important parts of the literature - use direct quotations sparingly, or better still, don't use them at all

How to write your literature review