apa itu review of literature

Literature Review: Format, Contoh, dan Cara Membuatnya

• 1.1 1.1: Definisi Literature Review
• 1.2 1.2: Tujuan dan Manfaat Melakukan Literature Review
• 1.3 1.3: Perbedaan Antara Literature Review dengan Review Jurnal
• 2.1 2.1: Memilih Topik Penelitian
• 2.2 2.2: Mencari dan Mengumpulkan Sumber Literatur
• 2.3 2.3: Evaluasi dan Seleksi Sumber Literatur
• 2.4 2.4: Menyusun Kerangka Kerja Literature Review
• 2.5 2.5: Menulis Literature Review
• 3.1 3.1: Struktur Umum Literature Review
• 3.2 3.2: Penulisan Kutipan dan Referensi
• 3.3 3.3: Format Literature Review untuk Jurnal
• 4.1 4.1: Contoh Literature Review dari Berbagai Bidang Studi
• 4.2 4.2: Contoh Literature Review dalam Jurnal
• 4.3 4.3: Contoh Review Literatur dalam Konteks Penelitian

Pengenalan Literature Review

1.1: definisi literature review.

Literature review, atau yang dikenal juga dengan review literatur, adalah suatu proses sistematis dalam mengkaji literatur yang telah ada terkait dengan topik atau masalah penelitian tertentu. Ini bukan hanya sekedar ringkasan dari sumber-sumber literatur, melainkan analisis kritis yang menunjukkan hubungan antara literatur yang satu dengan yang lainnya serta posisi penelitian Anda dalam konteks literatur yang ada.

1.2: Tujuan dan Manfaat Melakukan Literature Review

Melakukan literature review memiliki beberapa tujuan dan manfaat, di antaranya:

• Mengidentifikasi Gap : Dengan memahami literatur yang telah ada, peneliti dapat mengidentifikasi celah atau gap yang belum diteliti sebelumnya.
• Membangun Dasar Teoritis : Literature review membantu dalam membangun dasar teoritis untuk penelitian, dengan merujuk pada teori-teori yang telah ada.
• Menghindari Duplikasi : Dengan mengetahui penelitian-penelitian sebelumnya, peneliti dapat menghindari duplikasi dan fokus pada aspek-aspek baru.
• Menentukan Metodologi : Memahami metodologi yang digunakan dalam literatur sebelumnya dapat membantu peneliti dalam menentukan metodologi yang tepat untuk penelitiannya.

1.3: Perbedaan Antara Literature Review dengan Review Jurnal

Meskipun keduanya melibatkan proses review, literature review dan review jurnal memiliki perbedaan mendasar:

• Fokus : Literature review fokus pada analisis kritis dari berbagai sumber literatur terkait topik penelitian, sedangkan review jurnal lebih fokus pada evaluasi satu artikel jurnal tertentu.
• Tujuan : Literature review bertujuan untuk memberikan gambaran umum tentang apa yang telah diteliti sebelumnya mengenai suatu topik, sementara review jurnal bertujuan untuk menilai kualitas dan relevansi sebuah artikel jurnal.
• Sumber : Literature review mengkaji berbagai sumber literatur seperti buku, artikel jurnal, laporan penelitian, dan lain-lain. Sementara review jurnal hanya mengkaji satu artikel jurnal.

Cara Membuat Literature Review

2.1: memilih topik penelitian.

Sebelum memulai literature review, tentukan terlebih dahulu topik penelitian Anda. Topik harus spesifik dan relevan dengan bidang studi Anda. Pertimbangkan pertanyaan-pertanyaan berikut saat memilih topik:

• Apakah topik tersebut memiliki relevansi dengan bidang studi Anda?
• Apakah ada literatur yang cukup untuk mendukung penelitian Anda?
• Apakah topik tersebut menarik bagi komunitas akademik atau industri tertentu?

2.2: Mencari dan Mengumpulkan Sumber Literatur

Setelah menentukan topik, langkah selanjutnya adalah mencari sumber literatur yang relevan. Beberapa metode pencarian literatur meliputi:

• Pustaka Digital : Gunakan basis data seperti Google Scholar, JSTOR, atau PubMed untuk mencari jurnal, artikel, dan publikasi lainnya.
• Perpustakaan Universitas : Kunjungi perpustakaan universitas Anda untuk mencari buku dan jurnal fisik yang relevan.
• Rujukan dari Artikel : Artikel yang Anda temukan mungkin memiliki daftar pustaka yang bisa Anda gunakan sebagai sumber tambahan.

2.3: Evaluasi dan Seleksi Sumber Literatur

Tidak semua sumber literatur yang Anda temukan akan relevan atau berkualitas. Oleh karena itu, Anda perlu mengevaluasi dan memilih sumber-sumber yang paling sesuai. Beberapa kriteria evaluasi meliputi:

• Relevansi : Apakah sumber tersebut relevan dengan topik penelitian Anda?
• Kredibilitas : Siapa penulisnya? Apakah mereka ahli di bidang tersebut? Apakah sumber tersebut diterbitkan oleh penerbit terpercaya?
• Ketepatan Waktu : Apakah informasi tersebut masih relevan dan up-to-date?

2.4: Menyusun Kerangka Kerja Literature Review

Sebelum mulai menulis, buatlah kerangka kerja untuk literature review Anda. Kerangka kerja ini akan membantu Anda mengorganisir ide dan informasi dari sumber-sumber yang telah Anda kumpulkan. Beberapa langkah dalam menyusun kerangka kerja meliputi:

• Identifikasi Tema Utama : Apa tema-tema utama yang muncul dari literatur yang Anda kumpulkan?
• Susun Tema Secara Logis : Urutkan tema-tema tersebut sesuai dengan logika atau kronologi tertentu.
• Identifikasi Hubungan : Bagaimana hubungan antara satu tema dengan tema lainnya? Apakah ada kontradiksi atau kesepakatan antar sumber?

2.5: Menulis Literature Review

Dengan kerangka kerja yang telah Anda susun, Anda siap untuk mulai menulis. Beberapa tips dalam menulis literature review meliputi:

• Mulai dengan Pengenalan : Jelaskan latar belakang topik dan tujuan literature review Anda.
• Bahasa yang Objektif : Gunakan bahasa yang netral dan objektif saat menyajikan informasi dari sumber literatur.
• Kutip dengan Tepat : Pastikan Anda mengutip sumber literatur dengan benar sesuai dengan format yang diinginkan (misalnya APA, MLA, atau Chicago).
• Kesimpulan : Ringkas temuan utama dari literature review Anda dan jelaskan bagaimana temuan tersebut relevan dengan penelitian Anda.

Baca Juga: Statistik Deskriptif dan Inferensial

Format Literature Review

3.1: struktur umum literature review.

Literature review memiliki struktur tertentu yang memudahkan pembaca untuk mengikuti alur pemikiran penulis. Struktur umum literature review meliputi:

• Pendahuluan : Jelaskan latar belakang topik, tujuan literature review, dan pertanyaan penelitian yang ingin dijawab.
• Tema-tema Utama : Bagilah literatur yang Anda review ke dalam tema-tema atau kategori tertentu. Ini membantu mengorganisir informasi dan memberikan struktur pada review Anda.
• Diskusi : Analisis kritis terhadap literatur yang Anda review. Apakah ada kesepakatan atau kontradiksi antara sumber-sumber literatur? Apa implikasinya bagi penelitian Anda?
• Kesimpulan : Ringkasan dari temuan utama literature review dan bagaimana temuan tersebut relevan dengan penelitian Anda.
• Daftar Pustaka : Daftar semua sumber literatur yang Anda kutip dalam review Anda.

3.2: Penulisan Kutipan dan Referensi

Mengutip sumber literatur dengan benar adalah aspek penting dalam literature review. Hal ini tidak hanya menunjukkan integritas akademik tetapi juga memungkinkan pembaca untuk merujuk kembali ke sumber asli. Beberapa hal yang perlu diperhatikan dalam penulisan kutipan dan referensi:

• Pilih Gaya Sitasi : Ada beberapa gaya sitasi yang umum digunakan, seperti APA, MLA, Chicago, dan lainnya. Pilih salah satu yang sesuai dengan bidang studi Anda atau sesuai dengan instruksi jurnal/lembaga Anda.
• Konsistensi : Pastikan Anda konsisten dalam menggunakan gaya sitasi yang Anda pilih.
• Gunakan Alat Bantu : Ada banyak alat bantu sitasi online yang dapat membantu Anda dalam mengutip sumber literatur dengan benar.

3.3: Format Literature Review untuk Jurnal

Jika Anda berencana untuk menerbitkan literature review Anda di sebuah jurnal, ada beberapa format khusus yang perlu Anda perhatikan:

• Panduan Penulisan Jurnal : Setiap jurnal biasanya memiliki panduan penulisan tersendiri yang mencakup format, gaya sitasi, panjang artikel, dan lainnya.
• Abstrak : Sebagian besar jurnal meminta penulis untuk menyertakan abstrak atau ringkasan singkat dari literature review.
• Kata Kunci : Sertakan kata kunci yang relevan dengan topik Anda. Ini membantu dalam proses indeksasi dan memudahkan pembaca menemukan artikel Anda.
• Format Tabel dan Gambar : Jika Anda menyertakan tabel atau gambar dalam literature review, pastikan Anda mengikuti format yang ditentukan oleh jurnal.

Contoh-Contoh Literature Review

4.1: contoh literature review dari berbagai bidang studi.

Literature review dapat ditemukan di berbagai bidang studi, mulai dari ilmu sosial hingga ilmu alam. Berikut adalah beberapa contoh literature review berdasarkan bidang studi:

• Ilmu Kesehatan : “Pengaruh Diet Mediterania terhadap Penurunan Risiko Penyakit Jantung Koroner: Sebuah Review Literatur.”
• Psikologi : “Dampak Mindfulness Meditation terhadap Kesejahteraan Psikologis: Sebuah Tinjauan Literatur.”
• Teknologi Informasi : “Penerapan Teknologi Blockchain dalam Manajemen Rantai Pasokan: Sebuah Review Literatur.”

4.2: Contoh Literature Review dalam Jurnal

Banyak jurnal yang mempublikasikan literature review sebagai salah satu jenis artikelnya. Berikut adalah contoh-contoh literature review yang diterbitkan dalam jurnal:

• “Tinjauan Literatur tentang Strategi Pemasaran Digital dan Dampaknya terhadap Loyalitas Pelanggan.”
• “Penggunaan Energi Terbarukan di Asia Tenggara: Sebuah Review Literatur.”
• “Pengaruh Budaya Organisasi terhadap Kinerja Karyawan: Sebuah Tinjauan Literatur.”

4.3: Contoh Review Literatur dalam Konteks Penelitian

Dalam konteks penelitian, literature review seringkali menjadi bagian dari proposal atau laporan penelitian. Berikut adalah contoh bagaimana literature review disajikan dalam konteks penelitian:

• Pendahuluan : “Penelitian sebelumnya telah menunjukkan bahwa pola tidur mempengaruhi kinerja akademik siswa. Namun, sedikit penelitian yang mengeksplorasi hubungan antara kualitas tidur dengan konsentrasi siswa.”
• Tema Utama : “Beberapa studi menunjukkan bahwa durasi tidur yang kurang dari 7 jam per malam dapat mengurangi kemampuan kognitif (Smith & Jones, 2010). Sementara itu, studi lain menemukan bahwa kualitas tidur, bukan durasi, yang memiliki dampak lebih besar terhadap konsentrasi (Lee & Kim, 2015).”
• Diskusi : “Meskipun ada bukti yang mendukung hubungan antara tidur dan konsentrasi, masih ada ketidaksepakatan mengenai faktor-faktor apa yang paling berpengaruh.”

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Writing a Literature Review

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

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

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

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

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

What are the parts of a lit review?

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

Introduction:

• An introductory paragraph that explains what your working topic and thesis is
• A forecast of key topics or texts that will appear in the review
• Potentially, a description of how you found sources and how you analyzed them for inclusion and discussion in the review (more often found in published, standalone literature reviews than in lit review sections in an article or research paper)
• Summarize and synthesize: Give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole
• Analyze and interpret: Don’t just paraphrase other researchers – add your own interpretations where possible, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole
• Critically Evaluate: Mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources
• Write in well-structured paragraphs: Use transition words and topic sentence to draw connections, comparisons, and contrasts.

Conclusion:

• Summarize the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasize their significance
• Connect it back to your primary research question

How should I organize my lit review?

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

• Chronological : The simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time, which helps familiarize the audience with the topic (for instance if you are introducing something that is not commonly known in your field). If you choose this strategy, be careful to avoid simply listing and summarizing sources in order. Try to analyze the patterns, turning points, and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred (as mentioned previously, this may not be appropriate in your discipline — check with a teacher or mentor if you’re unsure).
• Thematic : If you have found some recurring central themes that you will continue working with throughout your piece, you can organize your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic. For example, if you are reviewing literature about women and religion, key themes can include the role of women in churches and the religious attitude towards women.
• Qualitative versus quantitative research
• Empirical versus theoretical scholarship
• Divide the research by sociological, historical, or cultural sources
• Theoretical : In many humanities articles, the literature review is the foundation for the theoretical framework. You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts. You can argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach or combine various theorical concepts to create a framework for your research.

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

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

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

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

• It often helps to remember that the point of these kinds of syntheses is to show your readers how you understand your research, to help them read the rest of your paper.
• Writing teachers often say synthesis is like hosting a dinner party: imagine all your sources are together in a room, discussing your topic. What are they saying to each other?
• Look at the in-text citations in each paragraph. Are you citing just one source for each paragraph? This usually indicates summary only. When you have multiple sources cited in a paragraph, you are more likely to be synthesizing them (not always, but often
• Read more about synthesis here.

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

Literature Review: Pengertian, Metode dan Cara Membuat

Penting gak sing yang namanya Literature Review? Nah, berikut akan kita bahas tentang pengertian literature review, metode, cara membuat dan perbedaan literature review dan systematic review.

Jika sibuk mengerjakan tugas akhir baik itu skripsi, tesis, maupun disertasi maka untuk memudahkan prosesnya bisa memahami dulu tema kali ini. Menyusun karya tulis ilmiah memang tidak mudah, biasanya masalah utama yang dihadapi adalah pada data. 

Data yang terlalu sedikit membuat hasil penyusunan karya tulis ilmiah kurang maksimal. Sebaliknya, jika data cukup banyak maka bisa memaksimalkan penulisan isi yang berbobot dari karya ilmiah tersebut. Memperoleh data sebanyak mungkin ternyata tidak cukup hanya bermain dengan kuantitas. Melainkan juga dengan kualitas. 

Jadi, percuma memiliki data banyak jika kualitas data ini buruk alias tidak dipercaya. Mengantisipasi adanya data-data yang tidak relevan, kurang berkualitas, dan kurang yang lainnya. Maka penulis karya tulis ilmiah perlu melakukan kegiatan penting, yaitu literature review. 

Pengertian Literature  

Istilah literature review pada dasarnya berasal dari dua kata dengan makna yang berbeda ketika dipisah. Pada kata literature akan dijumpai definisi semua karya tertulis yang dapat dijadikan rujukan atau acuan dalam berbagai kegiatan di bidang pendidikan dan bidang lainya karena dianggap memiliki keunggulan atau manfaat yang abadi. 

Jadi, karya tulis apapun termasuk ke dalam literature yang selama relevan dengan tema yang dicari maka bisa digunakan. Sekaligus terbukti kredibel, bisa mengecek kebenaran data dengan mencocokan data pada sebuah karya tulis dengan karya tulis lainnya. Kemudian bisa juga memperhatikan siapa penulisnya, siapa penerbitnya, siapa editornya, dan lain-lain. 

Literature yang merupakan seluruh karya tulis ilmiah yang layak dijadikan referensi kemudian terbagi menjadi tiga jenis jika dilihat dari ketajaman analisisnya. Yaitu: 

1. Literature Primer 

Literature primer adalah literature atau karya tulis ilmiah yang berisi hasil penelitian dan kemudian dipublikasikan. Contoh literature primer ini adalah skripsi, tesis, disertasi, jurnal, laporan penelitian, hasil wawancara, dan lain sebagainya. 

2. Literature Sekunder 

Literature sekunder adalah literature yang disusun dari literature primer, artinya literature primer dijadikan rujukan untuk menentukan isi dari literature sekunder tersebut. Contoh literature sekunder ini antara lain ensiklopedia, indeks, majalah, koran, buku pedoman atau panduan, dan lain sebagainya. 

3. Literature Tersier 

Literature tersier adalah literature yang berfungsi menunjukan bagaimana cara mendapatkan atau membaca literature sekunder. Misalnya almanak, pedoman literature, daftar indeks, dan lain sebagainya. 

Pengertian Review

Kata kedua di dalam literature review adalah kata “review”. Review merupakan sebuah ringkasan, ulasan dari beberapa sumber seperti buku, jurnal, film, berita, suatu produk dan lain-lain. Ulasan mengenai suatu karya maupun produk disebut dengan istilah review tadi. Sehingga isinya bisa berupa pujian, saran, dan juga kritik. 

Review atau ulasan semakin familiar di telinga masyarakat, apalagi sejak kegiatan belanja online mulai rutin dilakukan. Belanja online dibarengi dengan pemberian review setelah barang yang dibeli diterima. Review ini bisa dijumpai di marketplace, media sosial, dan media jualan lainnya. 

Sebagaimana pada produk, adanya review membantu mengetahui kualitas produk sebelum membelinya. Sehingga bermanfaat untuk pembeli selanjutnya agar pertimbangannya kuat sebelum membeli produk. Sebaliknya, bagi produsen atau penjual adanya review bisa menjadi bahan untuk terus meningkatkan kualitas produk. 

Review kemudian tidak hanya terjadi pada produk melainkan juga pada karya tulis, baik itu novel, buku, jurnal, dan lain sebagainya. Review membantu menilai kualitas sebuah karya tulis apakah layak dibaca atau layak dijadikan referensi. 

Sehingga bagi pembaca lain bisa dibantu menemukan bacaan terbaik. Sementara bagi penulis bisa menjadi sarana untuk perbaikan kualitas karyanya. Review kemudian memiliki beberapa jenis, yaitu: 

1. Review Buku 

Review buku tentu saja dilakukan dengan mengulas isi buku dan unsur intrinsik lain dalam sebuah buku. Sehingga bisa membantu orang lain untuk mengetahui apakah buku tersebut tepat untuk dibeli dan dibaca atau sebaliknya. 

2. Review Jurnal 

Review jurnal adalah ulasan mengenai isi jurnal untuk memahami apa inti dari tema atau topik yang tercantum di dalam jurnal tersebut. Pada jurnal ilmiah, maka review dilakukan untuk memahami proses dan hasil penelitian yang tercantum di dalamnya. 

3. Review Gadget 

Review gadget adalah ulasan tentang gadget biasanya gadget keluaran terbaru entah itu smartphone, tablet, atau jenis lainnya. Ulasan ini membantu mengetahui apa saja fiturnya, daya tahan baterai, dan lain sebagainya. 

4. Review Makanan 

Review makanan adalah review yang mengulas tentang makanan baik itu dari segi tampilan atau plating , rasa, kebersihan, komposisi bahan, harga, dan lain sebagainya. 

Pengertian Literature Review 

Lalu, kemudian apa yang dimaksud dengan literature review? Apakah literature review ini adalah ulasan mengenai sebuah literature? Jadi, literature review yang merupakan gabungan dua jenis kata antara “literature” dengan kata “review” tidak lantas memiliki arti sesuai penggabungan arti dua kata tersebut. 

Istilah literature review sering juga disebut dengan tinjauan pustaka. Sehingga literature review ini adalah analisis berupa kritik (membangun maupun menjatuhkan) dari penelitian yang sedang dilakukan terhadap topik khusus atau pertanyaan terhadap suatu bagian dari keilmuan.

Literature review kemudian berisi tentang uraian teori sebuah hasil penelitian, temuan, dan juga bahan dalam kegiatan penelitian. Semua ini kemudian bisa digunakan sebagai landasan teori pada saat melakukan penelitian maupun menyusun karya tulis ilmiah. Adapun penelitian yang dilakukan bisa merupakan pengembangan bisa juga baru. 

Kegiatan ini cakupannya mulai dari membaca sejumlah literature, memahami, mengkritik, dan memberikan ulasan terhadap literature tersebut. Bagi kalangan akademik kegiatan ini sering dilakukan karena memang dekat dengan perilaku satu ini. Terutama kalangan dosen dan juga mahasiswa. 

Kebanyakan mahasiswa menganggap jika kegiatan ini hanya dilakukan dengan membaca literatur jenis tertentu dan judul tertentu. Padahal prosesnya lebih kompleks karena tidak hanya membaca melainkan juga menilai dan memberikan ulasan. Adapun jenis literatur yang umum dikaji dalam literatur review antara lain: 

• Paper atau artikel ilmiah dari Jurnal Ilmiah. 
• Paper dari konferensi atau seminar yang kemudian dikenal dengan sebutan prosiding. 
• Tesis dan Disertasi. 
• Report (Laporan) dari Organisasi yang Terpercaya. 
• Buku Teks. 

Semua literature ilmiah kemudian bisa dijadikan sumber untuk dilakukan literature review. Tujuan dari kegiatan ini sangat banyak, misalnya untuk memperdalam pengetahuan terhadap suatu bidang khususnya setelah membaca dan mengulas buku teks.

Baca juga: Cara Membuat Artikel Ilmiah

Metode dalam Literature Review 

Dalam melakukan literature review, setiap peneliti bisa menggunakan salah satu dari tiga jenis metode. Metode tersebut adalah: 

A. Systematic Literature Review

Metode yang pertama adalah Systematic Literature Review (SLR). SLR sendiri merupakan cara sistematis untuk mengumpulkan, mengevaluasi secara kritis, mengintegrasikan dan menyajikan temuan dari berbagai studi penelitian pada pertanyaan penelitian atau topik yang menarik. 

Sesuai dengan namanya, literature review dengan metode ini dilakukan secara sistematis atau berurutan dari yang paling dasar ke yang paling kompleks. Misalnya dimulai dari mengumpulkan literature dulu baru kemudian membaca dan melakukan evaluasi. Memang tahapannya panjang dan memakan waktu yang lebih lama. 

Namun, dengan metode ini maka proses mengulas suatu karya ilmiah menjadi lebih akurat dan mendetail. Mengerjakan karya tulis ilmiah dengan metode ini membantu mendapatkan landasan teori yang mendalam dan beragam sekaligus berkualitas. Sifatnya yang berurutan membuatnya mudah dilakukan dan dipahami. 

B. Traditional Review

Metode yang kedua adalah Traditional Review, yaitu metode tinjauan pustaka yang selama ini umum dilakukan oleh para peneliti, dan hasilnya banyak kita temukan pada survey paper yang ada. Sehingga review terhadap karya ilmiah dilakukan khusus di satu topik saja dan memilih literature yang diketahui oleh pelakunya. 

Sebagai contoh ada seorang mahasiswa yang melakukan literature review dengan metode tradisional. Maka akan mencari literature dari jenis yang diketahuinya dan menyaringnya untuk menemukan literature dengan satu topik yang sama. Pada dasarnya tidak berbeda jauh dengan SLR namun lebih terbatas. 

Terbatas dari jenis dan tema literature yang dibaca, padahal data dan informasi tertentu bisa didapatkan dari literature jenis dan tema lainnya. Selain itu terbentur juga oleh tingkat pemahaman dan wawasan peneliti. Semakin luas wawasannya semakin banyak literature dibaca dan di review. Begitu juga sebaliknya. 

C. Systematic Mapping Study

Metode yang terakhir adalah Systematic Mapping Study. Systematic Mapping Study adalah metode penulisan studi literature yang sistematis dengan menggunakan tahapan-tahapan yang telah ditetapkan sebelumnya. Melali metode ini, pemilihan jenis literature tidak secara subjektif atau tidak sesuai keinginan dan pengetahuan pribadi. 

Melainkan menggunakan protokol atau filter tertentu, artinya peneliti menggunakan standar tertentu dalam menentukan jenis dan judul literature yang akan digunakan. Pada metode ini, tema literature lebih luas dibandingkan dengan metode Traditional Review dan kemudian dikelompokan. 

Jadi, semua literature baik berupa buku, jurnal, dan sebagainya disusun oleh peneliti berdasarkan kategori atau tema. Baru kemudian dibaca dan diulas satu per satu sebagaimana melakukan literature review pada umumnya. 

Metode dalam melakukan literature review cukup beragam, setiap peneliti bebas menentukan akan menggunakan metode yang mana. Bisa disesuaikan dengan kebutuhan dan bisa juga disesuaikan dengan keadaan.

Namun, jika ingin melakukan penelitian pengembangan maka lebih dianjurkan menggunakan metode Systematic Mapping Study . 

Manfaat Literature Review 

Proses dalam melakukan literature review memang bisa memakan waktu, dan hal ini penting karena bisa menentukan kualitas penelitian maupun karya tulis yang akan disusun. Selain itu, literature review juga memberi banyak manfaat bagi pelakunya. Manfaat tersebut antara lain: 

1. Memperdalam Pengetahuan 

Manfaat pertama dari kegiatan literature review adalah bisa memperdalam pengetahuan, khususnya dari bidang keilmuan yang dipelajari. Sebab membaca lebih banyak sumber referensi dan kemudian melakukan review. Setiap sumber referensi memberikan ilmu dan wawasan baru bagi pembacanya.

2. Mengetahui Hasil Penelitian yang Relevan 

Literature review juga bermanfaat untuk mengetahui penelitian sebelumnya yang relevan. Sehingga bisa tahu apakah topik penelitian atau topik karya tulis yang diambil sudah pernah diteliti sebelumnya atau tidak. Jika sudah, maka akan ada lebih banyak literature bisa dibaca.

3. Mengetahui Perkembangan Ilmu di Bidang Tertentu 

Melakukan literature review juga bermanfaat untuk mengetahui apa saja yang berkembang di sebuah bidang keilmuan. Misalnya saja di bidang kesehatan, pada tahun sekian mulai ditemukan mesin X-ray, di tahun sekian ada mesin CT-Scan, di tahun sekian ada mesin MRI, dan seterusnya.

4. Memperjelas Masalah yang Diteliti 

Saat menyusun karya tulis ilmiah maupun melakukan penelitian maka akan mengangkat topik. Topik ini pada dasarnya adalah masalah yang terjadi di lingkungan sekitar. Melakukan literature review bisa membantu memperjelas masalah yang diteliti, sehingga bisa memberi batasan agar tidak meluas.

5. Mengetahui Metode Terkini dalam Menyelesaikan Masalah 

Literature review membantu membaca banyak literature terkini dan hal ini bisa membantu mengetahui metode penyelesaian masalah terkini juga. Artinya, setiap masalah yang sudah diteliti ada penyelesaiannya. Penyelesaian ini sifatnya baru atau modern yang tentu belum semua orang mengetahui dan menerapkannya.

Cara Membuat Literature Review  

Tahap berikutnya yang wajib diketahui adalah bagaimana cara membuat literature review yang baik. Berikut beberapa tahap yang perlu dilakukan: 

1. Mencari Literature yang Relevan 

Tahapan yang pertama adalah mencari literature yang relevan atau sesuai dengan topik penelitian maupun karya tulis ilmiah yang diusung. Misalnya mencari buku, jurnal, dan literature jenis lainnya yang sekiranya relevan dengan topik. Setelah dirasa sumber ini cukup maka bisa beralih ke tahap selanjutnya.

2. Memilih Sumber Spesifik

Tahap selanjutnya adalah membaca semua literature yang sudah dikumpulkan atau didapatkan. Selama proses membaca, silahkan menentukan literature mana saja yang spesifik membahas topik yang relevan tadi. Jadi dalam proses ini dilakukan penyaringan terhadap semua literature yang berhasil dikumpulkan sebelumnya.

Tujuannya untuk menghapus literature yang ternyata isinya kurang sesuai, kurang lengkap, dan ada kekurangan jenis lainnya. Sehingga pada saat proses menulis literature review tidak perlu menggunakan terlalu banyak sumber. Sebab kadang kala semakin banyak sumbernya bukannya semakin paham malah semakin bingung.

Baca jenis-jenisnya pada jenis karya ilmiah yang wajib diketahui mahasiswa

3. Melakukan Identifikasi

Berikutnya adalah melakukan identifikasi, yakni mencatat semua data dan informasi yang diperoleh dari literature yang sudah dipilih secara spesifik. Daftar data inilah yang nantinya akan digunakan dalam menyusun isi literature review.

Sekaligus yang akan digunakan untuk menyusun karya tulis ilmiah atau menjadi dasar penelitian yang dilakukan. Bentuk identifikasi ini bisa berupa pandangan, daftar teori, mencari ketidaksamaan, meringkas, dan lain sebagainya.

4. Membuat Kerangka

Tahap selanjutnya dalam membuat literature review adalah membuat kerangka. Diketahui bahwa literature review memiliki beberapa bagian atau struktur. Dimulai dari pembuka, kemudian isi, dan ditutup dengan kesimpulan. Setiap bagian mengulas hasil pembacaan dan identifikasi semua literature yang berhasil dikumpulkan.

Adanya kerangka membantu menyusun literature review yang sistematis sehingga mudah dipahami dan tentunya enak dibaca. Sekaligus mencegah keluar dari topik karena membahas suatu hal yang ternyata tidak relevan dengan topik penelitian yang diusung.

5. Mulai Menyusun Literature Review

Tahap terakhir adalah mulai menyusun literature review itu sendiri. Isi literature review disesuaikan dengan semua data yang berhasil didapatkan dan dirangkut selama proses membaca dan melakukan analisa. Isi yang mendalam mungkin diperlukan jika memang perlu membahas kritik dan saran secara keseluruhan.

Kemudian, pastikan untuk menggunakan bahasa yang mudah dipahami dan tidak terlalu boros kata. Gunakan susunan kata yang sederhana, padat, singkat, dan jelas. Supaya pada saat membacanya tidak mengalami kebingungan dan harus membaca ulang sumber-sumber yang dijadikan referensi. Hal ini tentu memakan waktu lama.

Melalui penjelasan di atas maka bisa lebih mudah memahami dan melakukan literature review. Jika dilakukan dengan baik, maka bisa meningkatkan kualitas penelitian maupun laporan hasil penelitian. Bagi mahasiswa, bisa membantu meningkatkan kualitas karya tulis ilmiah yang disusun. Jadi, silahkan dipelajari dengan baik dan dipraktekan (Puji).

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FAQ Mengenai Literatur Review

Literatur review merupakan metode sistematis, eksplisit, dan dapat direproduksi untuk mengidentifikasi, mengevaluasi, dan menyintesis karya-karya hasil penelitian dan pemikiran praktisi yang telah ada.

Langkah awal dalam penulisan literatur review ini diawali dengan  pemilihan topik . Pemilihan topik ini menjadi kunci penting sebelum melakukan review terhadap literatur yang digunakan.

Literatur review berisi ulasan, rangkuman, dan pemikiran penulis tentang beberapa sumber pustaka (dapat berupa artikel, buku, slide, dsb).

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• v.9(7); 2013 Jul

Ten Simple Rules for Writing a Literature Review

Marco pautasso.

1 Centre for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology (CEFE), CNRS, Montpellier, France

2 Centre for Biodiversity Synthesis and Analysis (CESAB), FRB, Aix-en-Provence, France

Literature reviews are in great demand in most scientific fields. Their need stems from the ever-increasing output of scientific publications [1] . For example, compared to 1991, in 2008 three, eight, and forty times more papers were indexed in Web of Science on malaria, obesity, and biodiversity, respectively [2] . Given such mountains of papers, scientists cannot be expected to examine in detail every single new paper relevant to their interests [3] . Thus, it is both advantageous and necessary to rely on regular summaries of the recent literature. Although recognition for scientists mainly comes from primary research, timely literature reviews can lead to new synthetic insights and are often widely read [4] . For such summaries to be useful, however, they need to be compiled in a professional way [5] .

When starting from scratch, reviewing the literature can require a titanic amount of work. That is why researchers who have spent their career working on a certain research issue are in a perfect position to review that literature. Some graduate schools are now offering courses in reviewing the literature, given that most research students start their project by producing an overview of what has already been done on their research issue [6] . However, it is likely that most scientists have not thought in detail about how to approach and carry out a literature review.

Reviewing the literature requires the ability to juggle multiple tasks, from finding and evaluating relevant material to synthesising information from various sources, from critical thinking to paraphrasing, evaluating, and citation skills [7] . In this contribution, I share ten simple rules I learned working on about 25 literature reviews as a PhD and postdoctoral student. Ideas and insights also come from discussions with coauthors and colleagues, as well as feedback from reviewers and editors.

Rule 1: Define a Topic and Audience

How to choose which topic to review? There are so many issues in contemporary science that you could spend a lifetime of attending conferences and reading the literature just pondering what to review. On the one hand, if you take several years to choose, several other people may have had the same idea in the meantime. On the other hand, only a well-considered topic is likely to lead to a brilliant literature review [8] . The topic must at least be:

• interesting to you (ideally, you should have come across a series of recent papers related to your line of work that call for a critical summary),
• an important aspect of the field (so that many readers will be interested in the review and there will be enough material to write it), and
• a well-defined issue (otherwise you could potentially include thousands of publications, which would make the review unhelpful).

Ideas for potential reviews may come from papers providing lists of key research questions to be answered [9] , but also from serendipitous moments during desultory reading and discussions. In addition to choosing your topic, you should also select a target audience. In many cases, the topic (e.g., web services in computational biology) will automatically define an audience (e.g., computational biologists), but that same topic may also be of interest to neighbouring fields (e.g., computer science, biology, etc.).

Rule 2: Search and Re-search the Literature

After having chosen your topic and audience, start by checking the literature and downloading relevant papers. Five pieces of advice here:

• keep track of the search items you use (so that your search can be replicated [10] ),
• keep a list of papers whose pdfs you cannot access immediately (so as to retrieve them later with alternative strategies),
• use a paper management system (e.g., Mendeley, Papers, Qiqqa, Sente),
• define early in the process some criteria for exclusion of irrelevant papers (these criteria can then be described in the review to help define its scope), and
• do not just look for research papers in the area you wish to review, but also seek previous reviews.

The chances are high that someone will already have published a literature review ( Figure 1 ), if not exactly on the issue you are planning to tackle, at least on a related topic. If there are already a few or several reviews of the literature on your issue, my advice is not to give up, but to carry on with your own literature review,

The bottom-right situation (many literature reviews but few research papers) is not just a theoretical situation; it applies, for example, to the study of the impacts of climate change on plant diseases, where there appear to be more literature reviews than research studies [33] .

• discussing in your review the approaches, limitations, and conclusions of past reviews,
• trying to find a new angle that has not been covered adequately in the previous reviews, and
• incorporating new material that has inevitably accumulated since their appearance.

When searching the literature for pertinent papers and reviews, the usual rules apply:

• be thorough,
• use different keywords and database sources (e.g., DBLP, Google Scholar, ISI Proceedings, JSTOR Search, Medline, Scopus, Web of Science), and
• look at who has cited past relevant papers and book chapters.

Rule 3: Take Notes While Reading

If you read the papers first, and only afterwards start writing the review, you will need a very good memory to remember who wrote what, and what your impressions and associations were while reading each single paper. My advice is, while reading, to start writing down interesting pieces of information, insights about how to organize the review, and thoughts on what to write. This way, by the time you have read the literature you selected, you will already have a rough draft of the review.

Of course, this draft will still need much rewriting, restructuring, and rethinking to obtain a text with a coherent argument [11] , but you will have avoided the danger posed by staring at a blank document. Be careful when taking notes to use quotation marks if you are provisionally copying verbatim from the literature. It is advisable then to reformulate such quotes with your own words in the final draft. It is important to be careful in noting the references already at this stage, so as to avoid misattributions. Using referencing software from the very beginning of your endeavour will save you time.

Rule 4: Choose the Type of Review You Wish to Write

After having taken notes while reading the literature, you will have a rough idea of the amount of material available for the review. This is probably a good time to decide whether to go for a mini- or a full review. Some journals are now favouring the publication of rather short reviews focusing on the last few years, with a limit on the number of words and citations. A mini-review is not necessarily a minor review: it may well attract more attention from busy readers, although it will inevitably simplify some issues and leave out some relevant material due to space limitations. A full review will have the advantage of more freedom to cover in detail the complexities of a particular scientific development, but may then be left in the pile of the very important papers “to be read” by readers with little time to spare for major monographs.

There is probably a continuum between mini- and full reviews. The same point applies to the dichotomy of descriptive vs. integrative reviews. While descriptive reviews focus on the methodology, findings, and interpretation of each reviewed study, integrative reviews attempt to find common ideas and concepts from the reviewed material [12] . A similar distinction exists between narrative and systematic reviews: while narrative reviews are qualitative, systematic reviews attempt to test a hypothesis based on the published evidence, which is gathered using a predefined protocol to reduce bias [13] , [14] . When systematic reviews analyse quantitative results in a quantitative way, they become meta-analyses. The choice between different review types will have to be made on a case-by-case basis, depending not just on the nature of the material found and the preferences of the target journal(s), but also on the time available to write the review and the number of coauthors [15] .

Rule 5: Keep the Review Focused, but Make It of Broad Interest

Whether your plan is to write a mini- or a full review, it is good advice to keep it focused 16 , 17 . Including material just for the sake of it can easily lead to reviews that are trying to do too many things at once. The need to keep a review focused can be problematic for interdisciplinary reviews, where the aim is to bridge the gap between fields [18] . If you are writing a review on, for example, how epidemiological approaches are used in modelling the spread of ideas, you may be inclined to include material from both parent fields, epidemiology and the study of cultural diffusion. This may be necessary to some extent, but in this case a focused review would only deal in detail with those studies at the interface between epidemiology and the spread of ideas.

While focus is an important feature of a successful review, this requirement has to be balanced with the need to make the review relevant to a broad audience. This square may be circled by discussing the wider implications of the reviewed topic for other disciplines.

Rule 6: Be Critical and Consistent

Reviewing the literature is not stamp collecting. A good review does not just summarize the literature, but discusses it critically, identifies methodological problems, and points out research gaps [19] . After having read a review of the literature, a reader should have a rough idea of:

• the major achievements in the reviewed field,
• the main areas of debate, and
• the outstanding research questions.

It is challenging to achieve a successful review on all these fronts. A solution can be to involve a set of complementary coauthors: some people are excellent at mapping what has been achieved, some others are very good at identifying dark clouds on the horizon, and some have instead a knack at predicting where solutions are going to come from. If your journal club has exactly this sort of team, then you should definitely write a review of the literature! In addition to critical thinking, a literature review needs consistency, for example in the choice of passive vs. active voice and present vs. past tense.

Rule 7: Find a Logical Structure

Like a well-baked cake, a good review has a number of telling features: it is worth the reader's time, timely, systematic, well written, focused, and critical. It also needs a good structure. With reviews, the usual subdivision of research papers into introduction, methods, results, and discussion does not work or is rarely used. However, a general introduction of the context and, toward the end, a recapitulation of the main points covered and take-home messages make sense also in the case of reviews. For systematic reviews, there is a trend towards including information about how the literature was searched (database, keywords, time limits) [20] .

How can you organize the flow of the main body of the review so that the reader will be drawn into and guided through it? It is generally helpful to draw a conceptual scheme of the review, e.g., with mind-mapping techniques. Such diagrams can help recognize a logical way to order and link the various sections of a review [21] . This is the case not just at the writing stage, but also for readers if the diagram is included in the review as a figure. A careful selection of diagrams and figures relevant to the reviewed topic can be very helpful to structure the text too [22] .

Rule 8: Make Use of Feedback

Reviews of the literature are normally peer-reviewed in the same way as research papers, and rightly so [23] . As a rule, incorporating feedback from reviewers greatly helps improve a review draft. Having read the review with a fresh mind, reviewers may spot inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and ambiguities that had not been noticed by the writers due to rereading the typescript too many times. It is however advisable to reread the draft one more time before submission, as a last-minute correction of typos, leaps, and muddled sentences may enable the reviewers to focus on providing advice on the content rather than the form.

Feedback is vital to writing a good review, and should be sought from a variety of colleagues, so as to obtain a diversity of views on the draft. This may lead in some cases to conflicting views on the merits of the paper, and on how to improve it, but such a situation is better than the absence of feedback. A diversity of feedback perspectives on a literature review can help identify where the consensus view stands in the landscape of the current scientific understanding of an issue [24] .

Rule 9: Include Your Own Relevant Research, but Be Objective

In many cases, reviewers of the literature will have published studies relevant to the review they are writing. This could create a conflict of interest: how can reviewers report objectively on their own work [25] ? Some scientists may be overly enthusiastic about what they have published, and thus risk giving too much importance to their own findings in the review. However, bias could also occur in the other direction: some scientists may be unduly dismissive of their own achievements, so that they will tend to downplay their contribution (if any) to a field when reviewing it.

In general, a review of the literature should neither be a public relations brochure nor an exercise in competitive self-denial. If a reviewer is up to the job of producing a well-organized and methodical review, which flows well and provides a service to the readership, then it should be possible to be objective in reviewing one's own relevant findings. In reviews written by multiple authors, this may be achieved by assigning the review of the results of a coauthor to different coauthors.

Rule 10: Be Up-to-Date, but Do Not Forget Older Studies

Given the progressive acceleration in the publication of scientific papers, today's reviews of the literature need awareness not just of the overall direction and achievements of a field of inquiry, but also of the latest studies, so as not to become out-of-date before they have been published. Ideally, a literature review should not identify as a major research gap an issue that has just been addressed in a series of papers in press (the same applies, of course, to older, overlooked studies (“sleeping beauties” [26] )). This implies that literature reviewers would do well to keep an eye on electronic lists of papers in press, given that it can take months before these appear in scientific databases. Some reviews declare that they have scanned the literature up to a certain point in time, but given that peer review can be a rather lengthy process, a full search for newly appeared literature at the revision stage may be worthwhile. Assessing the contribution of papers that have just appeared is particularly challenging, because there is little perspective with which to gauge their significance and impact on further research and society.

Inevitably, new papers on the reviewed topic (including independently written literature reviews) will appear from all quarters after the review has been published, so that there may soon be the need for an updated review. But this is the nature of science [27] – [32] . I wish everybody good luck with writing a review of the literature.

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to M. Barbosa, K. Dehnen-Schmutz, T. Döring, D. Fontaneto, M. Garbelotto, O. Holdenrieder, M. Jeger, D. Lonsdale, A. MacLeod, P. Mills, M. Moslonka-Lefebvre, G. Stancanelli, P. Weisberg, and X. Xu for insights and discussions, and to P. Bourne, T. Matoni, and D. Smith for helpful comments on a previous draft.

Funding Statement

This work was funded by the French Foundation for Research on Biodiversity (FRB) through its Centre for Synthesis and Analysis of Biodiversity data (CESAB), as part of the NETSEED research project. The funders had no role in the preparation of the manuscript.

Dalam dunia akademik, Literature Review adalah sebuah konsep yang telah menjadi bagian integral dari proses penelitian. Dalam melakukan Literature Review, kita tidak hanya sekadar mengumpulkan informasi, namun juga melakukan analisis mendalam terhadap karya-karya terdahulu yang relevan dengan topik yang kita teliti. Sebagai peneliti, kita harus memahami bahwa Literature Review bukan hanya sekadar rangkuman dari karya-karya terdahulu. Tetapi juga merupakan landasan yang kuat bagi pengembangan pengetahuan baru. Pada intinya, Literature Review adalah sebuah kajian sistematis yang mengidentifikasi, mengevaluasi, dan mensintesis penelitian-penelitian terdahulu yang terkait dengan topik yang sedang diteliti.

Untuk melanjutkan pemahaman mengenai pentingnya Literature Review dalam dunia akademik. Mari kita jelajahi lebih lanjut konsep dan pandangan para ahli tentang hal ini. Dengan memahami perspektif-perspektif yang berbeda, kita akan dapat menggali lebih dalam mengenai relevansi dan manfaat Literature Review dalam proses penelitian.

Pengidentifikasi Tren dan Temuan Terbaru

Dalam proses Literature Review, kita membuka pintu untuk memahami perkembangan terbaru dalam bidang penelitian yang sedang kita eksplorasi. Melalui analisis mendalam terhadap karya-karya terdahulu. Kita dapat melihat secara jelas bagaimana tren-tren baru mulai muncul dan berkembang dalam dunia akademik. Misalnya, dalam studi tentang perubahan iklim, literature review adalah mungkin mengungkapkan tren baru dalam penelitian mitigasi atau adaptasi yang sedang diadopsi oleh para ilmuwan di seluruh dunia.

Pada tingkat metodologis, Literature Review juga memungkinkan kita untuk mengamati perubahan dalam pendekatan penelitian. Misalnya, kita mungkin menemukan bahwa teknologi baru telah memungkinkan para peneliti untuk menggunakan metode yang lebih canggih dalam pengumpulan dan analisis data. Dengan memahami kemajuan ini, kita dapat mengintegrasikan teknik-teknik inovatif ke dalam desain penelitian kita sendiri. Meningkatkan keakuratan dan ketepatan hasil-hasil yang kita peroleh.

Selain itu, Literature Review juga memungkinkan kita untuk menangkap temuan-temuan penting yang baru saja muncul dalam literatur. Contohnya, dalam penelitian medis, mungkin terdapat publikasi baru yang menyoroti terapi baru untuk suatu penyakit atau mungkin menemukan hubungan kausalitas yang belum pernah terungkap sebelumnya. Dengan memahami temuan-temuan ini, kita dapat menggali lebih dalam dan melihat bagaimana penelitian-penelitian tersebut dapat memengaruhi arah penelitian kita sendiri.

Dengan demikian, melalui Literature Review, kita dapat memperoleh wawasan yang berharga tentang tren-tren terbaru, perubahan metodologi, dan temuan-temuan penting dalam bidang penelitian kita. Hal ini tidak hanya memperkaya pemahaman kita tentang subjek yang kita teliti. Tetapi juga memungkinkan kita untuk tetap terdepan dalam mengikuti perkembangan terkini dalam disiplin ilmu kita.

Menyediakan Konteks dan Riset Sebelumnya

Salah satu aspek krusial dari Literature Review adalah kemampuannya untuk menyediakan konteks yang mendalam bagi penelitian yang sedang kita lakukan. Dengan memeriksa riset-riset sebelumnya, kita dapat memahami lanskap yang ada dan mengidentifikasi titik awal yang tepat untuk menyusun penelitian kita. Ini berarti kita dapat melihat bagaimana topik yang sedang kita teliti telah dieksplorasi sebelumnya. Dan di mana letak kesenjangan atau pertanyaan yang masih belum terjawab.

Dengan menempatkan penelitian kita dalam konteks yang lebih luas, kita dapat memperkuat landasan teoritis dari studi kita. Dengan memahami teori-teori yang relevan dan temuan-temuan sebelumnya, kita dapat membangun argumentasi yang lebih kuat untuk pendekatan kita. Misalnya, dalam penelitian psikologi tentang kecemasan remaja. Literature Review dapat membantu kita memahami berbagai teori yang telah diusulkan dalam bidang tersebut. Dan bagaimana temuan-temuan sebelumnya mendukung atau menantang teori-teori tersebut.

Selain itu, Literature Review membantu kita menghindari pengulangan yang tidak perlu dalam penelitian kita. Dengan mengetahui apa yang sudah diteliti sebelumnya dan apa yang telah diketahui. Kita dapat menghindari meneliti topik atau menjawab pertanyaan yang telah dijawab dengan baik oleh penelitian sebelumnya. Hal ini memungkinkan kita untuk fokus pada aspek-aspek baru atau lebih mendalam dari topik yang kita teliti. Sehingga memperkaya kontribusi kita terhadap literatur ilmiah.

Dengan demikian, menyediakan konteks dan riset sebelumnya melalui Literature Review sangat penting dalam memastikan relevansi, keakuratan, dan keberhasilan penelitian kita. Ini tidak hanya membantu memperkuat dasar teoritis penelitian kita. Tetapi juga memungkinkan kita untuk menjadi kontributor yang lebih efektif dalam pengembangan pengetahuan dalam disiplin ilmu kita.

Mendukung Pengambilan Keputusan yang Berbasis Bukti literature review adalah

Literature Review berfungsi sebagai landasan penting dalam proses pengambilan keputusan yang berbasis bukti dalam penelitian. Dengan menyelidiki temuan-temuan terdahulu, peneliti dapat membuat keputusan yang lebih terinformasi dan terarah dalam merancang metodologi penelitian mereka. Misalnya, dengan mengevaluasi metode-metode yang telah digunakan sebelumnya dalam literatur. Peneliti dapat memilih pendekatan yang paling sesuai dengan tujuan penelitian mereka. Serta menghindari kesalahan yang mungkin terjadi jika menggunakan pendekatan yang kurang efektif.

Selain itu, Literature Review memungkinkan peneliti untuk memilih instrumen pengukuran yang tepat untuk mengumpulkan data yang diperlukan. Dengan mengetahui instrumen-instrumen yang telah terbukti validitas dan reliabilitasnya dalam penelitian sebelumnya, peneliti dapat memilih instrumen yang paling sesuai dengan variabel yang ingin mereka ukur. Sehingga meningkatkan akurasi dan keandalan data yang dikumpulkan.

Selain itu, Literature Review membantu peneliti dalam menginterpretasikan hasil penelitian dengan benar. Dengan memahami temuan-temuan terdahulu yang relevan dengan topik penelitian, peneliti dapat menempatkan hasil penelitian mereka dalam konteks yang tepat dan mengidentifikasi implikasi praktis dari temuan-temuan tersebut. Hal ini penting untuk memastikan bahwa hasil penelitian tidak hanya akurat secara metodologis. Tetapi juga memiliki relevansi yang tinggi dalam konteks akademik dan praktis.

Dengan demikian, Literature Review berperan penting dalam memastikan bahwa penelitian memiliki keandalan dan validitas yang tinggi. Dengan menyediakan landasan yang kokoh untuk pengambilan keputusan yang berbasis bukti, Literature Review memungkinkan peneliti untuk merancang penelitian yang lebih baik. Mengumpulkan data yang lebih akurat, dan menginterpretasikan hasil penelitian dengan lebih tepat. Ini penting untuk memastikan bahwa penelitian memiliki dampak yang signifikan dalam pengembangan pengetahuan dan praktik dalam bidang yang bersangkutan.

Literatur Review adalah

Dengan meninjau metodologi-metodologi yang telah digunakan dalam penelitian terdahulu. Kita dapat memperoleh wawasan yang berharga dalam memilih pendekatan yang paling sesuai untuk penelitian kita sendiri. Melalui pemahaman yang mendalam tentang metodologi yang telah terbukti berhasil atau tidak berhasil dalam literatur. Kita dapat mengidentifikasi metode yang paling relevan dan efektif untuk tujuan penelitian kita.

Selain itu, memahami temuan-temuan terdahulu juga membantu kita dalam merumuskan hipotesis yang lebih terinformasi dan relevan. Dengan menganalisis penelitian-penelitian sebelumnya, kita dapat mengidentifikasi pola-pola atau tren-tren yang mungkin terjadi. Serta merumuskan hipotesis yang didukung oleh bukti-bukti yang ada. Hal ini tidak hanya meningkatkan keberhasilan penelitian kita, tetapi juga memastikan bahwa penelitian tersebut memiliki relevansi yang kuat dalam konteks ilmiah dan praktis.

Selanjutnya, Literature Review membantu kita untuk menghindari bias dan kesalahan dalam desain dan pelaksanaan penelitian kita sendiri. Dengan menyadari kelemahan-kelemahan yang mungkin terjadi dalam penelitian terdahulu, kita dapat mengambil langkah-langkah untuk mengatasi masalah-masalah yang serupa dalam penelitian kita sendiri. Hal ini membantu memastikan bahwa penelitian kita memiliki validitas dan reliabilitas yang tinggi, serta meningkatkan kepercayaan pada hasil-hasil yang diperoleh.

Selain itu, melakukan Literature Review yang komprehensif juga memberikan kontribusi yang signifikan pada pengembangan pengetahuan dalam bidang studi kita. Dengan mengidentifikasi kesenjangan-kesenjangan dalam literatur dan menyusun rencana penelitian yang efektif, kita dapat memberikan kontribusi yang berharga dalam pengembangan teori-teori baru atau pemahaman yang lebih mendalam tentang topik yang kita teliti. Ini tidak hanya bermanfaat bagi perkembangan disiplin ilmu kita, tetapi juga memberikan nilai tambah bagi komunitas ilmiah secara keseluruhan.

Mengenali Metodologi yang Tepat:

Dalam proses Literature Review, kita menghadapi kesempatan untuk memahami dan mengevaluasi berbagai metodologi yang telah digunakan dalam penelitian terdahulu. Dengan memeriksa metode-metode yang telah diterapkan oleh peneliti sebelumnya, kita dapat mengidentifikasi kelebihan dan kekurangan dari masing-masing pendekatan. Misalnya, kita dapat melihat apakah pendekatan kualitatif atau kuantitatif lebih cocok untuk mengungkapkan kompleksitas topik yang sedang diteliti.

Selanjutnya, pemilihan metodologi yang tepat melalui Literature Review juga membantu kita dalam meningkatkan kevalidan dan keandalan penelitian kita. Dengan memilih metodologi yang sesuai, kita dapat meminimalkan potensi bias dan meningkatkan akurasi interpretasi hasil penelitian. Sebagai contoh, dalam penelitian tentang preferensi konsumen, Literature Review dapat membantu kita menentukan apakah pendekatan survei atau wawancara lebih sesuai untuk mengumpulkan data yang representatif.

Membantu Merumuskan Hipotesis:

Melalui Literature Review, kita dapat mendapatkan pemahaman yang lebih dalam tentang penelitian-penelitian terdahulu yang relevan dengan topik yang sedang kita teliti. Dengan menganalisis temuan-temuan tersebut, kita dapat mengidentifikasi pola-pola, tren-tren, atau kesenjangan-kesenjangan yang mungkin belum terungkap sebelumnya. Dari pemahaman ini, kita dapat merumuskan hipotesis yang lebih terinformasi dan relevan untuk penelitian kita. Misalnya, jika Literature Review menunjukkan bahwa terdapat korelasi yang kuat antara faktor-faktor tertentu dalam lingkungan kerja dan produktivitas karyawan, kita dapat merumuskan hipotesis bahwa perubahan dalam faktor-faktor tersebut akan berdampak pada produktivitas karyawan.

Selain itu, pemahaman terhadap temuan-temuan terdahulu juga membantu kita dalam mengarahkan fokus penelitian kita dengan lebih jelas. Dengan mengetahui apa yang telah ditemukan sebelumnya, kita dapat mengidentifikasi pertanyaan-pertanyaan penelitian yang paling relevan dan signifikan untuk diteliti lebih lanjut. Hal ini membantu kita untuk mengarahkan upaya penelitian kita pada area-area yang memiliki potensi untuk memberikan kontribusi yang signifikan pada pengetahuan dalam bidang studi kita.

Menghindari Bias dan Kesalahan:

Melakukan Literature Review memungkinkan kita untuk mengidentifikasi dan memahami secara lebih mendalam kelemahan-kelemahan yang mungkin ada dalam penelitian terdahulu. Dengan mengungkapkan kelemahan-kelemahan ini, kita dapat belajar dari pengalaman para peneliti sebelumnya dan menghindari mengulangi kesalahan yang sama dalam desain dan pelaksanaan penelitian kita sendiri. Misalnya, jika penelitian terdahulu diidentifikasi memiliki bias pemilihan sampel yang signifikan, kita dapat mempertimbangkan untuk menggunakan metode sampling yang lebih representatif dalam penelitian kita sendiri.

Selain itu, dengan menyadari kelemahan-kelemahan dalam penelitian terdahulu, kita juga dapat mempertimbangkan pendekatan-pendekatan alternatif atau strategi-strategi untuk mengatasi masalah yang mungkin muncul. Melalui analisis Literature Review, kita dapat mengevaluasi berbagai metode dan teknik yang telah digunakan dalam penelitian sebelumnya, serta menentukan mana yang paling sesuai dengan kebutuhan penelitian kita sendiri. Hal ini membantu kita untuk merancang desain penelitian yang lebih kuat dan lebih andal, sehingga meningkatkan validitas dan reliabilitas hasil penelitian kita.

Memberikan Kontribusi pada Pengembangan Pengetahuan:

Melakukan Literature Review yang komprehensif adalah langkah penting dalam menjaga agar penelitian kita tetap relevan dan bermanfaat dalam konteks perkembangan pengetahuan yang terus berkembang. Dengan mengumpulkan, meninjau, dan mensintesis berbagai literatur yang ada, kita dapat mengidentifikasi kesenjangan-kesenjangan dalam pengetahuan dan area-area di mana penelitian lebih lanjut dibutuhkan. Melalui penemuan-penemuan baru, kita dapat menyumbangkan wawasan baru atau solusi untuk tantangan-tantangan yang ada dalam bidang studi kita.

Misalnya, sebuah Literature Review tentang teknologi energi terbarukan dapat mengungkapkan potensi baru dalam pengembangan teknologi baterai yang ramah lingkungan atau menyoroti kebutuhan akan penelitian lebih lanjut dalam integrasi sistem energi terbarukan ke dalam infrastruktur yang ada. Selain itu, Literature Review juga memungkinkan kita untuk melakukan penyelidikan ulang terhadap temuan-temuan yang sudah ada, sehingga memperkuat pemahaman kita tentang konsep-konsep yang telah diteliti sebelumnya.

Menyusun Rencana Penelitian yang Efektif:

Dari hasil Literature Review, kita dapat mengevaluasi berbagai pendekatan yang telah digunakan dalam penelitian terdahulu, baik yang berhasil maupun yang gagal. Hal ini memberikan wawasan berharga tentang faktor-faktor apa yang menyebabkan keberhasilan atau kegagalan penelitian sebelumnya. Misalnya, melalui Literature Review tentang intervensi kesehatan masyarakat, kita dapat belajar bahwa faktor-faktor seperti keterlibatan masyarakat, keberlanjutan program, dan adaptasi lokal merupakan elemen-elemen kunci dalam keberhasilan suatu intervensi.

Selain itu, Literature Review juga membantu kita untuk mengidentifikasi aspek-aspek penting dalam merancang sebuah penelitian, seperti pemilihan populasi sampel yang tepat. Identifikasi variabel-variabel yang relevan, dan merancang pengumpulan data yang baik. Melalui analisis literatur yang komprehensif, kita dapat mempelajari teknik-teknik yang telah terbukti berhasil dalam penelitian sebelumnya. Serta menyesuaikannya dengan kebutuhan dan konteks penelitian kita sendiri. Misalnya, melalui Literature Review tentang metode pengumpulan data kualitatif. Kita dapat mempelajari teknik-teknik wawancara atau observasi yang telah terbukti berhasil dalam mendapatkan pemahaman mendalam tentang pengalaman subjek penelitian.

Memahami Kesenjangan Penelitian

Dalam proses Literature Review, kita dihadapkan pada kesempatan untuk menggali dan memahami kesenjangan-kesenjangan yang ada dalam literatur yang telah ada. Melalui analisis mendalam terhadap karya-karya terdahulu. Kita dapat mengidentifikasi area-area di mana penelitian sebelumnya belum mencapai atau belum memberikan pemahaman yang memadai. Misalnya, dalam studi tentang pengaruh teknologi terhadap kehidupan sosial remaja, Literature Review dapat membantu kita menemukan apakah ada aspek-aspek tertentu dari interaksi sosial remaja yang masih kurang dipahami atau belum diteliti secara memadai.

Kesenjangan-kesenjangan ini merupakan peluang berharga bagi peneliti untuk menentukan arah dan fokus penelitian mereka. Dengan mengidentifikasi area-area di mana penelitian sebelumnya belum mencapai, peneliti dapat merumuskan pertanyaan penelitian yang relevan dan signifikan. Serta menjadikan kesenjangan tersebut sebagai landasan untuk merancang penelitian mereka. Misalnya, dengan mengetahui bahwa ada kurangnya penelitian tentang pengaruh media sosial terhadap pola tidur remaja, peneliti dapat memilih untuk mengeksplorasi topik tersebut lebih lanjut dalam penelitian mereka sendiri.

Selain itu, memahami kesenjangan-kesenjangan dalam literatur juga membantu peneliti untuk menghindari duplikasi yang tidak perlu dalam penelitian mereka. Dengan mengetahui apa yang telah diteliti sebelumnya dan di mana ada kekurangan informasi atau pemahaman yang memadai. Peneliti dapat memastikan bahwa penelitian mereka memberikan kontribusi yang berarti dan unik terhadap literatur ilmiah. Hal ini membantu memperkaya corpus pengetahuan dalam disiplin ilmu yang bersangkutan dan menghindari pemborosan sumber daya dalam melakukan penelitian yang tidak perlu.

Dengan demikian, memahami kesenjangan-kesenjangan dalam literatur merupakan langkah penting dalam proses Literature Review. Hal ini membantu peneliti untuk mengidentifikasi peluang-peluang baru untuk penelitian. Menjadikan fokus penelitian mereka lebih tepat, serta memastikan bahwa penelitian mereka memberikan kontribusi yang berarti terhadap pengembangan pengetahuan dalam bidang studi yang bersangkutan.

Dalam melakukan literature review adalah tentang pengertian dan peranannya menurut para ahli, kami menyoroti beragam manfaat yang ditawarkan oleh proses ini. Kami menemukan bahwa Literature Review bukan hanya sekadar tinjauan literatur. Tetapi juga merupakan fondasi penting bagi penelitian yang efektif dan berkualitas. Melalui penelitian terdahulu, kita dapat memperoleh wawasan yang mendalam tentang metodologi yang tepat, merumuskan hipotesis yang terinformasi, menghindari bias dan kesalahan, memberikan kontribusi pada pengembangan pengetahuan, serta menyusun rencana penelitian yang efektif. Dengan memanfaatkan Literature Review secara cermat, kita dapat meningkatkan kualitas dan relevansi penelitian kita, serta memberikan kontribusi yang berarti pada kemajuan dalam bidang studi kita. Oleh karena itu, dalam upaya mencapai kemajuan ilmiah yang berkelanjutan, Literature Review menjadi landasan yang tak tergantikan bagi para peneliti.

Apa itu Literature Review?

Literature Review adalah proses sistematis untuk mengumpulkan, meninjau, dan mensintesis literatur yang relevan tentang topik tertentu dalam bidang studi tertentu. Ini membantu kita memahami pemahaman yang sudah ada, menemukan kesenjangan dalam pengetahuan, dan merumuskan arah penelitian baru.

  Mengapa Literature Review penting dalam penelitian?

Literature Review penting karena membantu kita memahami konteks penelitian yang lebih luas, memperkuat dasar teoritis, mengidentifikasi metode yang tepat. Dan menghindari pengulangan yang tidak perlu. Ini juga memastikan bahwa penelitian kita memiliki relevansi yang kuat dalam literatur ilmiah.

  Bagaimana cara melakukan Literature Review?

Untuk melakukan Literature Review, kita perlu merencanakan pencarian literatur yang sistematis. Meninjau literatur yang relevan, mengevaluasi kualitas dan keandalan sumber-sumber yang ditemukan, serta mensintesis temuan-temuan menjadi analisis yang komprehensif.

  Bagaimana Literature Review membantu dalam merumuskan hipotesis?

Melalui Literature Review, kita dapat memahami temuan-temuan terdahulu yang relevan dengan topik penelitian kita. Ini memungkinkan kita untuk merumuskan hipotesis yang lebih terinformasi dan relevan, berdasarkan bukti-bukti empiris yang ada.

  Apa perbedaan antara Literature Review dan bibliografi?

Literature Review melibatkan analisis dan sintesis literatur yang relevan tentang topik tertentu. Sementara bibliografi hanyalah daftar sumber-sumber yang digunakan atau dirujuk dalam sebuah karya. Literature Review lebih menekankan pada pemahaman dan evaluasi terhadap literatur yang ada.

Ikuti artikel Ruang Jurnal lainnya untuk mengetahui lebih banyak artikel mengenai Jurnal Ilmiah. Dan bagi Anda yang membutuhkan jasa pelatihan dan pendampingan jurnal ilmiah hingga publikasi, Ruang Jurnal dapat menjadi pilihan terbaik bagi Anda untuk belajar jurnal ilmiah dari nol. Hubungi Admin Ruang Jurnal dan dapatkan layanan terbaik dari kami. 

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Libraries | Research Guides

Literature reviews, what is a literature review, learning more about how to do a literature review.

• Planning the Review
• The Research Question
• Choosing Where to Search
• Organizing the Review
• Writing the Review

A literature review is a review and synthesis of existing research on a topic or research question. A literature review is meant to analyze the scholarly literature, make connections across writings and identify strengths, weaknesses, trends, and missing conversations. A literature review should address different aspects of a topic as it relates to your research question. A literature review goes beyond a description or summary of the literature you have read. 

• Sage Research Methods Core Collection This link opens in a new window SAGE Research Methods supports research at all levels by providing material to guide users through every step of the research process. SAGE Research Methods is the ultimate methods library with more than 1000 books, reference works, journal articles, and instructional videos by world-leading academics from across the social sciences, including the largest collection of qualitative methods books available online from any scholarly publisher. – Publisher

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• Last Updated: May 2, 2024 10:39 AM
• URL: https://libguides.northwestern.edu/literaturereviews

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

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Literature Reviews

What is a literature review.

• Getting Started
• Searching the Literature
• How to Read Scholarly Studies
• Managing Your Results
• Assembling Your Review

Jump to Section

• Selecting a Topic & Scope
• Identify Keywords to Use in Searching
• Finding Articles
• Reading, Note-taking, and Organization
• Citation Management

Writing Assistance for Literature Reviews

Research help.

Set up a consultation with a librarian for help refining your topic and finding sources for your paper.

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A literature review is a very specific type of academic project. It is not an annotated bibliography. It isn't a research paper. It isn't a comprehensive list of everything ever published on a certain topic. 

Literature reviews are not created to produce new insights. They are written to explore and explain the literature on the topic or issue. 

One of the most important functions of a literature review is to lay the groundwork, provide background and context, for a larger research project such as a Masters thesis or PhD dissertation. Literature reviews often come at the start of scholarly journal articles. In the social sciences and natural sciences, a literature review comprises a section of a scholarly journal article.

Professors in research methods courses often assign standalone literature reviews so that students develop skills in searching, analyzing and organizing scholarly literature in a particular field. 

1. Selecting a Topic & Scope

The first step in any literature review is to identify a topic or subject area you wish to explore, and then setting some parameters to find the scope of your review.

You also need to make sure you select a subject area that has already been researched . It will not be possible to locate sufficient existing literature on a brand new discovery or current event that is being written about in the news right now. It needs to be a well-established research area with existing studies you can review, organize and analyze. Some professors require you to find a topic that has 'not been researched before'. In that case, they don't mean an entire broad topic that hasn't been researched; instead, you'll want to find a sliver of a broad topic that hasn't been researched before. This is where narrowing your topic and finding parameters becomes very important. You may need to do some background reading on several different topics to find one that works, if your professor is having you do a standalone literature review as part of a research methods course.

Ways of Narrowing a Broad topic

For example:

Broad topic: ADHD treatments

Narrowed question: How can neurofeedback be used in threating elementary school-aged children?

Publication Dates

The scope of your review will be a part of refining your topic area or research question. In some disciplines, medicine and health science for example, the publication date of your sources may be extremely important. So, to avoid including outdated clinical recommendations, you may want to limit your review to only the most recent research out there. For other topics, say history or literature, publication date may not be as important - and scholarly research from 20, 30, even 50 years ago may still be relevant and useful today. So it's good idea to consider setting some date ranges for your search, it that is important to your topic.

Whatever your topic area turns out to be, framing the boundaries of your research question ahead of time will make searching and selecting appropriate articles that much easier. 

2. Identify Keywords to Use in Searching

Once you have defined a suitable topic or research question for your review, you will need to create a list of keywords that you will use to search for appropriate studies to include in your review. You will be doing searches through several different databases, Google scholar, or publisher platforms and the terminology used in each may vary. It is especially important to have a good variety of search terms that you can combine in different ways. This will ensure you gather the most relevant sources that cover your topic thoroughly. 

Remember to continue to gather and change your keywords as you read more about your topic!

To start, list synonyms and phrases that have to do with the main words of a research topic:

Example: Is neurofeedback useful in the treatment of ADHD in children?

Now, let's consider the word "useful" in this example topic. What is meant by "useful"? The word itself will not be helpful while searching. Instead, think about what might be useful  in terms of treatment of a child with ADHD. Think about benefits and outcomes and brainstorm a list of words:

3. Finding Articles

Using research guides to find subject specific databases.

For more focused searching of the literature of just one discipline, head over to the Research Guides section of our website. We have  Subject Guides   for all disciplines represented at UTC. Find the subject guide that has most to do with your topic, for example, if you are writing about politics, you'd choose Political Science and Public Service guide. Writing about K-12 schools? Choose Education. Each Subject Guide was created by UTC Librarians and has links to a variety of resources that you have access to.

The databases listed are smaller, specialized search engines that mainly retrieve scholarly articles. You will usually find smaller sets of results for each search you do, but those results will be from a subset of very focused resources.

Subject specific databases are searchable by keywords just like Quick Search. An example is shown in the screenshot below of the APA PsycINFO database using the keywords "neurofeedback therapy" AND "ADHD in children":

APA PsycInfo Database Search:

Using the Quick Search

Quick Search is the main search box located in the center of the Library home page. It covers all formats within our collection (physical and electronic, books, films, articles and more).and all subject areas. It is an excellent tool for locating and accessing scholarly content using keyword searches. Below is an example of how to enter your keywords for an effective search, for our sample topic we typed the words "neurofeedback ADHD children behavior problems":

Quick Search has filters  to narrow to just peer reviewed if you'd like, or you can narrow to a specific format like articles, books, or ebooks. You can also narrow by date. Look for the filters on the left sidebar after you run a search. 

As you browse results. you will notice links below each article that allow you to read the full text on the publisher website. If you decide you would like to use the article in your lit review, download the entire PDF to your device for later use. 

Using Google Scholar

Click the  Databases button (just below the Quick Search box on library's homepage) and look for Google Scholar under Multisubject Databases. Using Google Scholar through the UTC Library links our library subscriptions to your Google Scholar search results- which allows you to see articles with no paywalls if we have access! 

4. Reading, Note-taking, and Organization

1. review the how to read a scholarly article guide.

• Learn about common sections in science and social science articles
• Strategies and tips for reading start by reading the entire Abstract, and feel free to jump down to Discussion to decide if an article should be included in your paper

2. Save yourself time with good note-taking

As you read each study, take notes about the most important findings, key concepts, debates or areas of controversy and common themes you see. These notes will inform how you approach organizing and writing your literature review.

To keep organized, UTC Librarians recommend using a literature review matrix, or spreadsheet, to keep track of the articles you find as you go.  Add columns for the citation (including the URL of the article), and once you read it, track the authors' research question, methods, findings and themes. Importantly, keep track of notes and quotes as you go, and the page numbers you got them from. You will see themes or facts emerge as you read more and more articles. 

Here's an example Literature Review Matrix for you to view. Download a sample matrix as an Excel file and edit with your own sources.

3. Some ideas on how to compile an outline for your review:

After reading and taking notes on the sources you are including in your literature review, you will probably be able to identify common themes or threads that appear throughout. These recurring threads or themes can be very useful in creating a narrative framework for your review to make it easier for your readers to understand what literature exists, what has been learned, and why it is significant. Using our example of Neurofeedback Therapy for Children with ADHD, we might decide to organize our results something like this:

Other questions you might ask yourself as you decide how to outline your literature review: 

• What are the major claims being made about the topic? (There may be several)
• What significant data exists to support / explain the claims?
• Are there connections between the claims / concepts / evidence?
• Are there controversies in the literature? 
• Are there knowledge gaps that have yet to be explored? 

5. Citation Management

For smaller literature review projects, simply keeping a list of your references in Word or Google Docs is probably fine. But for longer projects, or those that are going to form the basis for a thesis or dissertation, many students choose to use citation management software to keep track of, organize, and format their references. The UTC Library supports two main citation management options: Zotero and EndNote. 

Zotero is an open source tool provided by Google. It works well with Chrome and Google Docs and has a really nice, easy to use Chrome extension that allows you to seamlessly add references and full text PDFs to your reference "library" as you do your research. The Library has a guide page that walks you through the basics of downloading, configuring and using Zotero. Visit the link below to get started. 

Zotero Guide Page

EndNote is a very powerful software package with lots of advanced features. It is produced by a commercial publisher and the Library pays a subscription fee to offer it to our students and faculty. It comes in two versions: desktop and cloud-based. (The two versions work together to provide seamless access and redundancy no matter where you are). EndNote can be very labor intensive to configure and use at the beginning, but it offers hundreds of citation styles (most major journals, academic associations and scholarly publishers) and works very well for longer, more complex projects with many references and citations. It integrates really well with Microsoft Word but does not work as well with Google Docs. The Library has basic information on its website about how to download and set up EndNote, but in order to learn it effectively, a workshop or librarian consultation is usually required. Our EndNote information is found a the link below:

EndNote Help Page

The UTC Library is home to a full-service Writing and Communication Center with tutors available to assist you with writing projects at any stage - from outline, to draft, to final manuscript. The WCC has it's own section of the UTC Library website. Check out the link below to learn more about the services they offer and how to go about scheduling an appointment.

UTC Writing and Communication Center

• Next: Getting Started >>
• Last Updated: Sep 19, 2023 8:50 AM
• URL: https://guides.lib.utc.edu/literature-reviews

• UConn Library
• Literature Review: The What, Why and How-to Guide
• Introduction

Literature Review: The What, Why and How-to Guide — Introduction

• Getting Started
• How to Pick a Topic
• Strategies to Find Sources
• Evaluating Sources & Lit. Reviews
• Tips for Writing Literature Reviews
• Writing Literature Review: Useful Sites
• Citation Resources
• Other Academic Writings

What are Literature Reviews?

So, what is a literature review? "A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers. In writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. As a piece of writing, the literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g., 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." Taylor, D.  The literature review: A few tips on conducting it . University of Toronto Health Sciences Writing Centre.

Goals of Literature Reviews

What are the goals of creating a Literature Review?  A literature could be written to accomplish different aims:

• To develop a theory or evaluate an existing theory
• To summarize the historical or existing state of a research topic
• Identify a problem in a field of research 

Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1997). Writing narrative literature reviews .  Review of General Psychology , 1 (3), 311-320.

What kinds of sources require a Literature Review?

• A research paper assigned in a course
• A thesis or dissertation
• A grant proposal
• An article intended for publication in a journal

All these instances require you to collect what has been written about your research topic so that you can demonstrate how your own research sheds new light on the topic.

Types of Literature Reviews

What kinds of literature reviews are written?

Narrative review: The purpose of this type of review is to describe the current state of the research on a specific topic/research and to offer a critical analysis of the literature reviewed. Studies are grouped by research/theoretical categories, and themes and trends, strengths and weakness, and gaps are identified. The review ends with a conclusion section which summarizes the findings regarding the state of the research of the specific study, the gaps identify and if applicable, explains how the author's research will address gaps identify in the review and expand the knowledge on the topic reviewed.

• Example : Predictors and Outcomes of U.S. Quality Maternity Leave: A Review and Conceptual Framework:  10.1177/08948453211037398  

Systematic review : "The authors of a systematic review use a specific procedure to search the research literature, select the studies to include in their review, and critically evaluate the studies they find." (p. 139). Nelson, L. K. (2013). Research in Communication Sciences and Disorders . Plural Publishing.

• Example : The effect of leave policies on increasing fertility: a systematic review:  10.1057/s41599-022-01270-w

Meta-analysis : "Meta-analysis is a method of reviewing research findings in a quantitative fashion by transforming the data from individual studies into what is called an effect size and then pooling and analyzing this information. The basic goal in meta-analysis is to explain why different outcomes have occurred in different studies." (p. 197). Roberts, M. C., & Ilardi, S. S. (2003). Handbook of Research Methods in Clinical Psychology . Blackwell Publishing.

• Example : Employment Instability and Fertility in Europe: A Meta-Analysis:  10.1215/00703370-9164737

Meta-synthesis : "Qualitative meta-synthesis is a type of qualitative study that uses as data the findings from other qualitative studies linked by the same or related topic." (p.312). Zimmer, L. (2006). Qualitative meta-synthesis: A question of dialoguing with texts .  Journal of Advanced Nursing , 53 (3), 311-318.

• Example : Women’s perspectives on career successes and barriers: A qualitative meta-synthesis:  10.1177/05390184221113735

Literature Reviews in the Health Sciences

• UConn Health subject guide on systematic reviews Explanation of the different review types used in health sciences literature as well as tools to help you find the right review type
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• Last Updated: Sep 21, 2022 2:16 PM
• URL: https://guides.lib.uconn.edu/literaturereview

Writing Literature Reviews: What is a "Literature Review"?

• What is a "Literature Review"?
• 1. Brainstorm
• 3. Refine Search and Topic
• 4. Structure Your Lit Review
• Helpful Sites

Literature reviews:

• provide a summary of the published academic work on a topic
• help "make the case" for why someone is writing their paper or conducting their research
• can be the "background" section of a larger paper or it can be the focus of an entire paper

Goals of a Literature Review

• including the major theories, issues, works, and debates in the field
• synthesize all this information into an organized summary
• critique current knowledge of a topic
• identify aspects of the topic that need further investigation

Plagiarism and Citation

Citation is when you give credit to someone else's ideas, words, creative works, or contributions in your own paper.

Reasons to cite:

• Give credit the author(s) of the works that you used to write your paper.
• Avoid plagiarism (which means you are claiming someone else's work as your own. This will get you in big trouble. See the Purdue Online Writing Lab for more information.)
• Show that you know your topic well and have read and thought about what others have already said.
• Show your readers where to find the original sources of the information you present so they can read them fully.

When to cite? What to cite?

• Cite other people's words, ideas and other intellectual property that you use in your papers or that influence your ideas, including things such as books, articles, reports, data/statistics, speeches, academic articles, works of art, songs.
• Cite direct quotes, facts or statistics AND when you summarize or paraphrase others' ideas.

Helpful Sites on Literature Reviews

Much of the information in this guide and more information can be found on the websites listed on the  Helpful Sites tab .

Ask A Librarian

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• University of Colorado Boulder Libraries
• Research Guides
• Writing Literature Reviews
• Last Updated: Feb 29, 2024 3:43 PM
• URL: https://libguides.colorado.edu/litreview

• Library Homepage

Literature Review: The What, Why and How-to Guide: Literature Reviews?

• Literature Reviews?
• Strategies to Finding Sources
• Keeping up with Research!
• Evaluating Sources & Literature Reviews
• Organizing for Writing
• Writing Literature Review
• Other Academic Writings

What is a Literature Review?

So, what is a literature review .

"A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers. In writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. As a piece of writing, the literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g., 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." - Quote from Taylor, D. (n.d)."The Literature Review: A Few Tips on Conducting it".

• Citation: "The Literature Review: A Few Tips on Conducting it"

What kinds of literature reviews are written?

Each field has a particular way to do reviews for academic research literature. In the social sciences and humanities the most common are:

• Narrative Reviews: The purpose of this type of review is to describe the current state of the research on a specific research topic and to offer a critical analysis of the literature reviewed. Studies are grouped by research/theoretical categories, and themes and trends, strengths and weaknesses, and gaps are identified. The review ends with a conclusion section that summarizes the findings regarding the state of the research of the specific study, the gaps identify and if applicable, explains how the author's research will address gaps identify in the review and expand the knowledge on the topic reviewed.
• Book review essays/ Historiographical review essays : A type of literature review typical in History and related fields, e.g., Latin American studies. For example, the Latin American Research Review explains that the purpose of this type of review is to “(1) to familiarize readers with the subject, approach, arguments, and conclusions found in a group of books whose common focus is a historical period; a country or region within Latin America; or a practice, development, or issue of interest to specialists and others; (2) to locate these books within current scholarship, critical methodologies, and approaches; and (3) to probe the relation of these new books to previous work on the subject, especially canonical texts. Unlike individual book reviews, the cluster reviews found in LARR seek to address the state of the field or discipline and not solely the works at issue.” - LARR

What are the Goals of Creating a Literature Review?

• To develop a theory or evaluate an existing theory
• To summarize the historical or existing state of a research topic
• Identify a problem in a field of research 
• Baumeister, R.F. & Leary, M.R. (1997). "Writing narrative literature reviews," Review of General Psychology , 1(3), 311-320.

When do you need to write a Literature Review?

• When writing a prospectus or a thesis/dissertation
• When writing a research paper
• When writing a grant proposal

In all these cases you need to dedicate a chapter in these works to showcase what has been written about your research topic and to point out how your own research will shed new light into a body of scholarship.

Where I can find examples of Literature Reviews?

Note:  In the humanities, even if they don't use the term "literature review", they may have a dedicated  chapter that reviewed the "critical bibliography" or they incorporated that review in the introduction or first chapter of the dissertation, book, or article.

• UCSB electronic theses and dissertations In partnership with the Graduate Division, the UC Santa Barbara Library is making available theses and dissertations produced by UCSB students. Currently included in ADRL are theses and dissertations that were originally filed electronically, starting in 2011. In future phases of ADRL, all theses and dissertations created by UCSB students may be digitized and made available.

Where to Find Standalone Literature Reviews

Literature reviews are also written as standalone articles as a way to survey a particular research topic in-depth. This type of literature review looks at a topic from a historical perspective to see how the understanding of the topic has changed over time. 

• Find e-Journals for Standalone Literature Reviews The best way to get familiar with and to learn how to write literature reviews is by reading them. You can use our Journal Search option to find journals that specialize in publishing literature reviews from major disciplines like anthropology, sociology, etc. Usually these titles are called, "Annual Review of [discipline name] OR [Discipline name] Review. This option works best if you know the title of the publication you are looking for. Below are some examples of these journals! more... less... Journal Search can be found by hovering over the link for Research on the library website.

Social Sciences

• Annual Review of Anthropology
• Annual Review of Political Science
• Annual Review of Sociology
• Ethnic Studies Review

Hard science and health sciences:

• Annual Review of Biomedical Data Science
• Annual Review of Materials Science
• Systematic Review From journal site: "The journal Systematic Reviews encompasses all aspects of the design, conduct, and reporting of systematic reviews" in the health sciences.
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• Last Updated: Mar 5, 2024 11:44 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.ucsb.edu/litreview

How to Write a Literature Review

What is a literature review.

• What Is the Literature
• Writing the Review

A literature review is much more than an annotated bibliography or a list of separate reviews of articles and books. It is a critical, analytical summary and synthesis of the current knowledge of a topic. Thus it should compare and relate different theories, findings, etc, rather than just summarize them individually. In addition, it should have a particular focus or theme to organize the review. It does not have to be an exhaustive account of everything published on the topic, but it should discuss all the significant academic literature and other relevant sources important for that focus.

This is meant to be a general guide to writing a literature review: ways to structure one, what to include, how it supplements other research. For more specific help on writing a review, and especially for help on finding the literature to review, sign up for a Personal Research Session .

The specific organization of a literature review depends on the type and purpose of the review, as well as on the specific field or topic being reviewed. But in general, it is a relatively brief but thorough exploration of past and current work on a topic. Rather than a chronological listing of previous work, though, literature reviews are usually organized thematically, such as different theoretical approaches, methodologies, or specific issues or concepts involved in the topic. A thematic organization makes it much easier to examine contrasting perspectives, theoretical approaches, methodologies, findings, etc, and to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of, and point out any gaps in, previous research. And this is the heart of what a literature review is about. A literature review may offer new interpretations, theoretical approaches, or other ideas; if it is part of a research proposal or report it should demonstrate the relationship of the proposed or reported research to others' work; but whatever else it does, it must provide a critical overview of the current state of research efforts. 

Literature reviews are common and very important in the sciences and social sciences. They are less common and have a less important role in the humanities, but they do have a place, especially stand-alone reviews.

Types of Literature Reviews

There are different types of literature reviews, and different purposes for writing a review, but the most common are:

• Stand-alone literature review articles . These provide an overview and analysis of the current state of research on a topic or question. The goal is to evaluate and compare previous research on a topic to provide an analysis of what is currently known, and also to reveal controversies, weaknesses, and gaps in current work, thus pointing to directions for future research. You can find examples published in any number of academic journals, but there is a series of Annual Reviews of *Subject* which are specifically devoted to literature review articles. Writing a stand-alone review is often an effective way to get a good handle on a topic and to develop ideas for your own research program. For example, contrasting theoretical approaches or conflicting interpretations of findings can be the basis of your research project: can you find evidence supporting one interpretation against another, or can you propose an alternative interpretation that overcomes their limitations?
• Part of a research proposal . This could be a proposal for a PhD dissertation, a senior thesis, or a class project. It could also be a submission for a grant. The literature review, by pointing out the current issues and questions concerning a topic, is a crucial part of demonstrating how your proposed research will contribute to the field, and thus of convincing your thesis committee to allow you to pursue the topic of your interest or a funding agency to pay for your research efforts.
• Part of a research report . When you finish your research and write your thesis or paper to present your findings, it should include a literature review to provide the context to which your work is a contribution. Your report, in addition to detailing the methods, results, etc. of your research, should show how your work relates to others' work.

A literature review for a research report is often a revision of the review for a research proposal, which can be a revision of a stand-alone review. Each revision should be a fairly extensive revision. With the increased knowledge of and experience in the topic as you proceed, your understanding of the topic will increase. Thus, you will be in a better position to analyze and critique the literature. In addition, your focus will change as you proceed in your research. Some areas of the literature you initially reviewed will be marginal or irrelevant for your eventual research, and you will need to explore other areas more thoroughly. 

Examples of Literature Reviews

See the series of Annual Reviews of *Subject* which are specifically devoted to literature review articles to find many examples of stand-alone literature reviews in the biomedical, physical, and social sciences. 

Research report articles vary in how they are organized, but a common general structure is to have sections such as:

• Abstract - Brief summary of the contents of the article
• Introduction - A explanation of the purpose of the study, a statement of the research question(s) the study intends to address
• Literature review - A critical assessment of the work done so far on this topic, to show how the current study relates to what has already been done
• Methods - How the study was carried out (e.g. instruments or equipment, procedures, methods to gather and analyze data)
• Results - What was found in the course of the study
• Discussion - What do the results mean
• Conclusion - State the conclusions and implications of the results, and discuss how it relates to the work reviewed in the literature review; also, point to directions for further work in the area

Here are some articles that illustrate variations on this theme. There is no need to read the entire articles (unless the contents interest you); just quickly browse through to see the sections, and see how each section is introduced and what is contained in them.

The Determinants of Undergraduate Grade Point Average: The Relative Importance of Family Background, High School Resources, and Peer Group Effects , in The Journal of Human Resources , v. 34 no. 2 (Spring 1999), p. 268-293.

This article has a standard breakdown of sections:

• Introduction
• Literature Review
• Some discussion sections

First Encounters of the Bureaucratic Kind: Early Freshman Experiences with a Campus Bureaucracy , in The Journal of Higher Education , v. 67 no. 6 (Nov-Dec 1996), p. 660-691.

This one does not have a section specifically labeled as a "literature review" or "review of the literature," but the first few sections cite a long list of other sources discussing previous research in the area before the authors present their own study they are reporting.

• Next: What Is the Literature >>
• Last Updated: Jan 11, 2024 9:48 AM
• URL: https://libguides.wesleyan.edu/litreview

• University of Texas Libraries

Literature Reviews

• What is a literature review?
• Steps in the Literature Review Process
• Define your research question
• Determine inclusion and exclusion criteria
• Choose databases and search
• Review Results
• Synthesize Results
• Analyze Results
• Librarian Support

What is a Literature Review?

A literature or narrative review is a comprehensive review and analysis of the published literature on a specific topic or research question. The literature that is reviewed contains: books, articles, academic articles, conference proceedings, association papers, and dissertations. It contains the most pertinent studies and points to important past and current research and practices. It provides background and context, and shows how your research will contribute to the field. 

A literature review should: 

• Provide a comprehensive and updated review of the literature;
• Explain why this review has taken place;
• Articulate a position or hypothesis;
• Acknowledge and account for conflicting and corroborating points of view

From  S age Research Methods

Purpose of a Literature Review

A literature review can be written as an introduction to a study to:

• Demonstrate how a study fills a gap in research
• Compare a study with other research that's been done

Or it can be a separate work (a research article on its own) which:

• Organizes or describes a topic
• Describes variables within a particular issue/problem

Limitations of a Literature Review

Some of the limitations of a literature review are:

• It's a snapshot in time. Unlike other reviews, this one has beginning, a middle and an end. There may be future developments that could make your work less relevant.
• It may be too focused. Some niche studies may miss the bigger picture.
• It can be difficult to be comprehensive. There is no way to make sure all the literature on a topic was considered.
• It is easy to be biased if you stick to top tier journals. There may be other places where people are publishing exemplary research. Look to open access publications and conferences to reflect a more inclusive collection. Also, make sure to include opposing views (and not just supporting evidence).

Source: Grant, Maria J., and Andrew Booth. “A Typology of Reviews: An Analysis of 14 Review Types and Associated Methodologies.” Health Information & Libraries Journal, vol. 26, no. 2, June 2009, pp. 91–108. Wiley Online Library, doi:10.1111/j.1471-1842.2009.00848.x.

Meryl Brodsky : Communication and Information Studies

Hannah Chapman Tripp : Biology, Neuroscience

Carolyn Cunningham : Human Development & Family Sciences, Psychology, Sociology

Larayne Dallas : Engineering

Janelle Hedstrom : Special Education, Curriculum & Instruction, Ed Leadership & Policy ​

Susan Macicak : Linguistics

Imelda Vetter : Dell Medical School

For help in other subject areas, please see the guide to library specialists by subject .

Periodically, UT Libraries runs a workshop covering the basics and library support for literature reviews. While we try to offer these once per academic year, we find providing the recording to be helpful to community members who have missed the session. Following is the most recent recording of the workshop, Conducting a Literature Review. To view the recording, a UT login is required.

• October 26, 2022 recording
• Last Updated: Oct 26, 2022 2:49 PM
• URL: https://guides.lib.utexas.edu/literaturereviews

• University of Oregon Libraries
• Research Guides

How to Write a Literature Review

What's a literature review.

• Literature Reviews: A Recap
• Reading Journal Articles
• Does it Describe a Literature Review?
• 1. Identify the Question
• 2. Review Discipline Styles
• Searching Article Databases
• Finding Full-Text of an Article
• Citation Chaining
• When to Stop Searching
• 4. Manage Your References
• 5. Critically Analyze and Evaluate
• 6. Synthesize
• 7. Write a Literature Review

What's a Literature Review? 

A literature review (or "lit review," for short) is an in-depth critical analysis of published scholarly research related to a specific topic. Published scholarly research (aka, "the literature") may include journal articles, books, book chapters, dissertations and thesis, or conference proceedings. 

A solid lit review must:

• be organized around and related directly to the thesis or research question you're developing
• synthesize results into a summary of what is and is not known
• identify areas of controversy in the literature
• formulate questions that need further research

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What Is A Literature Review?

A plain-language explainer (with examples).

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

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

Literature Review 101

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

What is a literature review?

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

Reviewing the literature

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

The literature review chapter

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

What’s the purpose of a literature review?

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

Purpose #1 – Demonstrate your topic knowledge

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

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

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

Purpose #3 – Lay the foundation for your conceptual framework

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

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

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

Purpose #4 – To inform your methodology

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

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

How do I find articles for my literature review?

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

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

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

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

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

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How should I structure my literature review?

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

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

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

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

Example of a literature review

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

Wrapping Up

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

Psst… there’s more!

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

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16 Comments

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

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

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Timothy T. Chol [email protected]

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This was so useful. Thank you so much.

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

Well-presented overview of the literature!

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Literature Review: What is a Literature Review?

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A literature review is an in-depth critical analysis of published scholarly research related to a specific topic. Published scholarly research (the "literature") may include journal articles, books, book chapters, dissertations and thesis, or conference proceedings. 

A solid lit review must:

• be organized around and related directly to the thesis or research question you're developing
• synthesize results into a summary of what is and is not known
• identify areas of controversy in the literature
• formulate questions that need further research

Why Conduct a Literature Review?

• to distinguish what has been done from what needs to be done
• to discover important variables relevant to the topic
• to synthesize and gain new perspective
• to identify relationships between ideas and practices
• to establish the context of the topic
• to rationalize the significance of the problem
• to enhance and acquire subject vocabulary
• to understand the structure of the subject
• tp relate ideas and theory to applications
• to identify main methodologies and research techniques that have been used
• to place research in a historical context to show familiarity with state-of-art development

Questions to Consider

• What is the overarching question or problem your literature review seeks to address?
• How much familiarity do you already have with the field? Are you already familiar with common methodologies or professional vocabularies?
• What types of strategies or questions have others in your field pursued?
• How will you synthesize or summarize the information you gather?
• What do you or others perceive to be lacking in your field?
• Is your topic broad? How could it be narrowed?
• Can you articulate why your topic is important in your field?
• Next: Sample Searches >>
• Last Updated: Apr 25, 2024 3:34 PM
• URL: https://researchguides.ben.edu/lit-review

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What is a Literature Review? How to Write It (with Examples)

A literature review is a critical analysis and synthesis of existing research on a particular topic. It provides an overview of the current state of knowledge, identifies gaps, and highlights key findings in the literature. 1 The purpose of a literature review is to situate your own research within the context of existing scholarship, demonstrating your understanding of the topic and showing how your work contributes to the ongoing conversation in the field. Learning how to write a literature review is a critical tool for successful research. Your ability to summarize and synthesize prior research pertaining to a certain topic demonstrates your grasp on the topic of study, and assists in the learning process. 

Table of Contents

• What is the purpose of literature review? 
• a. Habitat Loss and Species Extinction: 
• b. Range Shifts and Phenological Changes: 
• c. Ocean Acidification and Coral Reefs: 
• d. Adaptive Strategies and Conservation Efforts: 

How to write a good literature review 

• Choose a Topic and Define the Research Question: 
• Decide on the Scope of Your Review: 
• Select Databases for Searches: 
• Conduct Searches and Keep Track: 
• Review the Literature: 
• Organize and Write Your Literature Review: 
• How to write a literature review faster with Paperpal? 
• Frequently asked questions 

What is a literature review?

A well-conducted literature review demonstrates the researcher’s familiarity with the existing literature, establishes the context for their own research, and contributes to scholarly conversations on the topic. One of the purposes of a literature review is also to help researchers avoid duplicating previous work and ensure that their research is informed by and builds upon the existing body of knowledge.

What is the purpose of literature review?

A literature review serves several important purposes within academic and research contexts. Here are some key objectives and functions of a literature review: 2  

1. Contextualizing the Research Problem: The literature review provides a background and context for the research problem under investigation. It helps to situate the study within the existing body of knowledge. 

2. Identifying Gaps in Knowledge: By identifying gaps, contradictions, or areas requiring further research, the researcher can shape the research question and justify the significance of the study. This is crucial for ensuring that the new research contributes something novel to the field. 

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3. Understanding Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks: Literature reviews help researchers gain an understanding of the theoretical and conceptual frameworks used in previous studies. This aids in the development of a theoretical framework for the current research. 

4. Providing Methodological Insights: Another purpose of literature reviews is that it allows researchers to learn about the methodologies employed in previous studies. This can help in choosing appropriate research methods for the current study and avoiding pitfalls that others may have encountered. 

5. Establishing Credibility: A well-conducted literature review demonstrates the researcher’s familiarity with existing scholarship, establishing their credibility and expertise in the field. It also helps in building a solid foundation for the new research. 

6. Informing Hypotheses or Research Questions: The literature review guides the formulation of hypotheses or research questions by highlighting relevant findings and areas of uncertainty in existing literature. 

Literature review example

Let’s delve deeper with a literature review example: Let’s say your literature review is about the impact of climate change on biodiversity. You might format your literature review into sections such as the effects of climate change on habitat loss and species extinction, phenological changes, and marine biodiversity. Each section would then summarize and analyze relevant studies in those areas, highlighting key findings and identifying gaps in the research. The review would conclude by emphasizing the need for further research on specific aspects of the relationship between climate change and biodiversity. The following literature review template provides a glimpse into the recommended literature review structure and content, demonstrating how research findings are organized around specific themes within a broader topic. 

Literature Review on Climate Change Impacts on Biodiversity:

Climate change is a global phenomenon with far-reaching consequences, including significant impacts on biodiversity. This literature review synthesizes key findings from various studies: 

a. Habitat Loss and Species Extinction:

Climate change-induced alterations in temperature and precipitation patterns contribute to habitat loss, affecting numerous species (Thomas et al., 2004). The review discusses how these changes increase the risk of extinction, particularly for species with specific habitat requirements. 

b. Range Shifts and Phenological Changes:

Observations of range shifts and changes in the timing of biological events (phenology) are documented in response to changing climatic conditions (Parmesan & Yohe, 2003). These shifts affect ecosystems and may lead to mismatches between species and their resources. 

c. Ocean Acidification and Coral Reefs:

The review explores the impact of climate change on marine biodiversity, emphasizing ocean acidification’s threat to coral reefs (Hoegh-Guldberg et al., 2007). Changes in pH levels negatively affect coral calcification, disrupting the delicate balance of marine ecosystems. 

d. Adaptive Strategies and Conservation Efforts:

Recognizing the urgency of the situation, the literature review discusses various adaptive strategies adopted by species and conservation efforts aimed at mitigating the impacts of climate change on biodiversity (Hannah et al., 2007). It emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary approaches for effective conservation planning. 

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Writing a literature review involves summarizing and synthesizing existing research on a particular topic. A good literature review format should include the following elements. 

Introduction: The introduction sets the stage for your literature review, providing context and introducing the main focus of your review. 

• Opening Statement: Begin with a general statement about the broader topic and its significance in the field. 
• Scope and Purpose: Clearly define the scope of your literature review. Explain the specific research question or objective you aim to address. 
• Organizational Framework: Briefly outline the structure of your literature review, indicating how you will categorize and discuss the existing research. 
• Significance of the Study: Highlight why your literature review is important and how it contributes to the understanding of the chosen topic. 
• Thesis Statement: Conclude the introduction with a concise thesis statement that outlines the main argument or perspective you will develop in the body of the literature review. 

Body: The body of the literature review is where you provide a comprehensive analysis of existing literature, grouping studies based on themes, methodologies, or other relevant criteria. 

• Organize by Theme or Concept: Group studies that share common themes, concepts, or methodologies. Discuss each theme or concept in detail, summarizing key findings and identifying gaps or areas of disagreement. 
• Critical Analysis: Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each study. Discuss the methodologies used, the quality of evidence, and the overall contribution of each work to the understanding of the topic. 
• Synthesis of Findings: Synthesize the information from different studies to highlight trends, patterns, or areas of consensus in the literature. 
• Identification of Gaps: Discuss any gaps or limitations in the existing research and explain how your review contributes to filling these gaps. 
• Transition between Sections: Provide smooth transitions between different themes or concepts to maintain the flow of your literature review. 

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Conclusion: The conclusion of your literature review should summarize the main findings, highlight the contributions of the review, and suggest avenues for future research. 

• Summary of Key Findings: Recap the main findings from the literature and restate how they contribute to your research question or objective. 
• Contributions to the Field: Discuss the overall contribution of your literature review to the existing knowledge in the field. 
• Implications and Applications: Explore the practical implications of the findings and suggest how they might impact future research or practice. 
• Recommendations for Future Research: Identify areas that require further investigation and propose potential directions for future research in the field. 
• Final Thoughts: Conclude with a final reflection on the importance of your literature review and its relevance to the broader academic community. 

Conducting a literature review

Conducting a literature review is an essential step in research that involves reviewing and analyzing existing literature on a specific topic. It’s important to know how to do a literature review effectively, so here are the steps to follow: 1  

Choose a Topic and Define the Research Question:

• Select a topic that is relevant to your field of study. 
• Clearly define your research question or objective. Determine what specific aspect of the topic do you want to explore? 

Decide on the Scope of Your Review:

• Determine the timeframe for your literature review. Are you focusing on recent developments, or do you want a historical overview? 
• Consider the geographical scope. Is your review global, or are you focusing on a specific region? 
• Define the inclusion and exclusion criteria. What types of sources will you include? Are there specific types of studies or publications you will exclude? 

Select Databases for Searches:

• Identify relevant databases for your field. Examples include PubMed, IEEE Xplore, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. 
• Consider searching in library catalogs, institutional repositories, and specialized databases related to your topic. 

Conduct Searches and Keep Track:

• Develop a systematic search strategy using keywords, Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT), and other search techniques. 
• Record and document your search strategy for transparency and replicability. 
• Keep track of the articles, including publication details, abstracts, and links. Use citation management tools like EndNote, Zotero, or Mendeley to organize your references. 

Review the Literature:

• Evaluate the relevance and quality of each source. Consider the methodology, sample size, and results of studies. 
• Organize the literature by themes or key concepts. Identify patterns, trends, and gaps in the existing research. 
• Summarize key findings and arguments from each source. Compare and contrast different perspectives. 
• Identify areas where there is a consensus in the literature and where there are conflicting opinions. 
• Provide critical analysis and synthesis of the literature. What are the strengths and weaknesses of existing research? 

Organize and Write Your Literature Review:

• Literature review outline should be based on themes, chronological order, or methodological approaches. 
• Write a clear and coherent narrative that synthesizes the information gathered. 
• Use proper citations for each source and ensure consistency in your citation style (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.). 
• Conclude your literature review by summarizing key findings, identifying gaps, and suggesting areas for future research. 

Whether you’re exploring a new research field or finding new angles to develop an existing topic, sifting through hundreds of papers can take more time than you have to spare. But what if you could find science-backed insights with verified citations in seconds? That’s the power of Paperpal’s new Research feature!  

How to write a literature review faster with Paperpal?

Paperpal, an AI writing assistant, integrates powerful academic search capabilities within its writing platform. With the Research feature, you get 100% factual insights, with citations backed by 250M+ verified research articles, directly within your writing interface with the option to save relevant references in your Citation Library. By eliminating the need to switch tabs to find answers to all your research questions, Paperpal saves time and helps you stay focused on your writing.   

Here’s how to use the Research feature:  

• Ask a question: Get started with a new document on paperpal.com. Click on the “Research” feature and type your question in plain English. Paperpal will scour over 250 million research articles, including conference papers and preprints, to provide you with accurate insights and citations. 
• Review and Save: Paperpal summarizes the information, while citing sources and listing relevant reads. You can quickly scan the results to identify relevant references and save these directly to your built-in citations library for later access. 
• Cite with Confidence: Paperpal makes it easy to incorporate relevant citations and references into your writing, ensuring your arguments are well-supported by credible sources. This translates to a polished, well-researched literature review. 

The literature review sample and detailed advice on writing and conducting a review will help you produce a well-structured report. But remember that a good literature review is an ongoing process, and it may be necessary to revisit and update it as your research progresses. By combining effortless research with an easy citation process, Paperpal Research streamlines the literature review process and empowers you to write faster and with more confidence. Try Paperpal Research now and see for yourself.  

Frequently asked questions

A literature review is a critical and comprehensive analysis of existing literature (published and unpublished works) on a specific topic or research question and provides a synthesis of the current state of knowledge in a particular field. A well-conducted literature review is crucial for researchers to build upon existing knowledge, avoid duplication of efforts, and contribute to the advancement of their field. It also helps researchers situate their work within a broader context and facilitates the development of a sound theoretical and conceptual framework for their studies.

Literature review is a crucial component of research writing, providing a solid background for a research paper’s investigation. The aim is to keep professionals up to date by providing an understanding of ongoing developments within a specific field, including research methods, and experimental techniques used in that field, and present that knowledge in the form of a written report. Also, the depth and breadth of the literature review emphasizes the credibility of the scholar in his or her field.  

Before writing a literature review, it’s essential to undertake several preparatory steps to ensure that your review is well-researched, organized, and focused. This includes choosing a topic of general interest to you and doing exploratory research on that topic, writing an annotated bibliography, and noting major points, especially those that relate to the position you have taken on the topic. 

Literature reviews and academic research papers are essential components of scholarly work but serve different purposes within the academic realm. 3 A literature review aims to provide a foundation for understanding the current state of research on a particular topic, identify gaps or controversies, and lay the groundwork for future research. Therefore, it draws heavily from existing academic sources, including books, journal articles, and other scholarly publications. In contrast, an academic research paper aims to present new knowledge, contribute to the academic discourse, and advance the understanding of a specific research question. Therefore, it involves a mix of existing literature (in the introduction and literature review sections) and original data or findings obtained through research methods. 

Literature reviews are essential components of academic and research papers, and various strategies can be employed to conduct them effectively. If you want to know how to write a literature review for a research paper, here are four common approaches that are often used by researchers.  Chronological Review: This strategy involves organizing the literature based on the chronological order of publication. It helps to trace the development of a topic over time, showing how ideas, theories, and research have evolved.  Thematic Review: Thematic reviews focus on identifying and analyzing themes or topics that cut across different studies. Instead of organizing the literature chronologically, it is grouped by key themes or concepts, allowing for a comprehensive exploration of various aspects of the topic.  Methodological Review: This strategy involves organizing the literature based on the research methods employed in different studies. It helps to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of various methodologies and allows the reader to evaluate the reliability and validity of the research findings.  Theoretical Review: A theoretical review examines the literature based on the theoretical frameworks used in different studies. This approach helps to identify the key theories that have been applied to the topic and assess their contributions to the understanding of the subject.  It’s important to note that these strategies are not mutually exclusive, and a literature review may combine elements of more than one approach. The choice of strategy depends on the research question, the nature of the literature available, and the goals of the review. Additionally, other strategies, such as integrative reviews or systematic reviews, may be employed depending on the specific requirements of the research.

The literature review format can vary depending on the specific publication guidelines. However, there are some common elements and structures that are often followed. Here is a general guideline for the format of a literature review:  Introduction:   Provide an overview of the topic.  Define the scope and purpose of the literature review.  State the research question or objective.  Body:   Organize the literature by themes, concepts, or chronology.  Critically analyze and evaluate each source.  Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the studies.  Highlight any methodological limitations or biases.  Identify patterns, connections, or contradictions in the existing research.  Conclusion:   Summarize the key points discussed in the literature review.  Highlight the research gap.  Address the research question or objective stated in the introduction.  Highlight the contributions of the review and suggest directions for future research.

Both annotated bibliographies and literature reviews involve the examination of scholarly sources. While annotated bibliographies focus on individual sources with brief annotations, literature reviews provide a more in-depth, integrated, and comprehensive analysis of existing literature on a specific topic. The key differences are as follows: 

References 

• Denney, A. S., & Tewksbury, R. (2013). How to write a literature review.  Journal of criminal justice education ,  24 (2), 218-234. 
• Pan, M. L. (2016).  Preparing literature reviews: Qualitative and quantitative approaches . Taylor & Francis. 
• Cantero, C. (2019). How to write a literature review.  San José State University Writing Center . 

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