best way to organize a review of the literature

Literature Review Guide: How to organise the review

• What is a Literature Review?
• How to start?
• Search strategies and Databases
• Examples of Literature Reviews
• How to organise the review
• Library summary
• Emerald Infographic

How to structure your literature review (ignore the monotone voice as advice is good)

How to structure and write your literature review

• Chronological, ie. by date of publication or trend
• Methodological
• Use Cooper's taxonomy to explore and determine what elements and categories to incorporate into your review
• Revise and proofread your review to ensure your arguments, supporting evidence and writing is clear and precise

Cronin, P., Ryan, F. & Coughlan, M. (2008). Undertaking a literature review: A step-by-step approach . British Journal of Nursing, 17 (1), pp.38-43.

Different ways to organise a Literature Review

CHRONOLOGICAL (by date): This is one of the most common ways, especially for topics that have been talked about for a long time and have changed over their history. Organise it in stages of how the topic has changed: the first definitions of it, then major time periods of change as researchers talked about it, then how it is thought about today.

BROAD-TO-SPECIFIC : Another approach is to start with a section on the general type of issue you're reviewing, then narrow down to increasingly specific issues in the literature until you reach the articles that are most specifically similar to your research question, thesis statement, hypothesis, or proposal. This can be a good way to introduce a lot of background and related facets of your topic when there is not much directly on your topic but you are tying together many related, broader articles.

MAJOR MODELS or MAJOR THEORIES : When there are multiple models or prominent theories, it is a good idea to outline the theories or models that are applied the most in your articles. That way you can group the articles you read by the theoretical framework that each prefers, to get a good overview of the prominent approaches to your concept.

PROMINENT AUTHORS : If a certain researcher started a field, and there are several famous people who developed it more, a good approach can be grouping the famous author/researchers and what each is known to have said about the topic. You can then organise other authors into groups by which famous authors' ideas they are following. With this organisation it can help to look at the citations your articles list in them, to see if there is one author that appears over and over.

CONTRASTING SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT : If you find a dominant argument comes up in your research, with researchers taking two sides and talking about how the other is wrong, you may want to group your literature review by those schools of thought and contrast the differences in their approaches and ideas.

Ways to structure your Literature Review

Different ways to organise your literature review include:

• Topical order (by main topics or issues, showing relationship to the main problem or topic)
• Chronological order (simplest of all, organise by dates of published literature)
• Problem-cause-solution order
• General to specific order
• Known to unknown order
• Comparison and contrast order
• Specific to general order
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Literature Reviews

• "How To" Books
• Examples of Literature Reviews
• Collecting Resources for a Literature Review
• Organizing the Literature Review
• Writing the Literature Review
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Organization

Organization of your Literature Review

What is the most effective way of presenting the information? What are the most important topics, subtopics, etc., that your review needs to include? What order should you present them?

Just like most academic papers, literature reviews must contain at least three basic elements: an introduction or background information section; the body of the review containing the discussion of sources; and, finally, a conclusion and/or recommendations section to end the paper.

Introduction: Gives a quick idea of the topic of the literature review, such as the central theme or organizational pattern.

Body: Contains your discussion of sources and is organized either chronologically, thematically, or methodologically (see below for more information on each).

Conclusions/Recommendations: Discuss what you have drawn from reviewing the literature so far. Where might the discussion proceed?

Once you have the basic categories in place, then you must consider how you will present the sources themselves within the body of your paper. Create an organizational method to focus this section even further.

To help you come up with an overall organizational framework for your review, consider the following scenario and then three typical ways of organizing the sources into a review:

You've decided to focus your literature review on materials dealing with sperm whales. This is because you've just finished reading Moby Dick, and you wonder if that whale's portrayal is really real. You start with some articles about the physiology of sperm whales in biology journals written in the 1980's. But these articles refer to some British biological studies performed on whales in the early 18th century. So you check those out. Then you look up a book written in 1968 with information on how sperm whales have been portrayed in other forms of art, such as in Alaskan poetry, in French painting, or on whale bone, as the whale hunters in the late 19th century used to do. This makes you wonder about American whaling methods during the time portrayed in Moby Dick, so you find some academic articles published in the last five years on how accurately Herman Melville portrayed the whaling scene in his novel.

Chronological

If your review follows the chronological method, you could write about the materials above according to when they were published. For instance, first you would talk about the British biological studies of the 18th century, then about Moby Dick, published in 1851, then the book on sperm whales in other art (1968), and finally the biology articles (1980s) and the recent articles on American whaling of the 19th century. But there is relatively no continuity among subjects here. And notice that even though the sources on sperm whales in other art and on American whaling are written recently, they are about other subjects/objects that were created much earlier. Thus, the review loses its chronological focus.

By publication

Order your sources chronologically by publication if the order demonstrates a more important trend. For instance, you could order a review of literature on biological studies of sperm whales if the progression revealed a change in dissection practices of the researchers who wrote and/or conducted the studies.

Another way to organize sources chronologically is to examine the sources under a trend, such as the history of whaling. Then your review would have subsections according to eras within this period. For instance, the review might examine whaling from pre-1600-1699, 1700-1799, and 1800-1899. Using this method, you would combine the recent studies on American whaling in the 19th century with Moby Dick itself in the 1800-1899 category, even though the authors wrote a century apart.

Thematic reviews of literature are organized around a topic or issue, rather than the progression of time. However, progression of time may still be an important factor in a thematic review. For instance, the sperm whale review could focus on the development of the harpoon for whale hunting. While the study focuses on one topic, harpoon technology, it will still be organized chronologically. The only difference here between a "chronological" and a "thematic" approach is what is emphasized the most: the development of the harpoon or the harpoon technology.

More authentic thematic reviews tend to break away from chronological order. For instance, a thematic review of material on sperm whales might examine how they are portrayed as "evil" in cultural documents. The subsections might include how they are personified, how their proportions are exaggerated, and their behaviors misunderstood. A review organized in this manner would shift between time periods within each section according to the point made.

Methodological

A methodological approach differs from the two above in that the focusing factor usually does not have to do with the content of the material. Instead, it focuses on the "methods" of the researcher or writer. For the sperm whale project, one methodological approach would be to look at cultural differences between the portrayal of whales in American, British, and French art work. Or the review might focus on the economic impact of whaling on a community. A methodological scope will influence either the types of documents in the review or the way in which these documents are discussed.

Once you've decided on the organizational method for the body of the review, the sections you need to include in the paper should be easy to figure out. They should arise out of your organizational strategy. In other words, a chronological review would have subsections for each vital time period. A thematic review would have subtopics based upon factors that relate to the theme or issue.

Sometimes, though, you might need to add additional sections that are necessary for your study, but do not fit in the organizational strategy of the body. What other sections you include in the body is up to you. Put in only what is necessary. Here are a few other sections you might want to consider:

Current Situation: Information necessary to understand the topic or focus of the literature review.

History: The chronological progression of the field, the literature, or an idea that is necessary to understand the literature review, if the body of the literature review is not already a chronology.

Methods and/or Standards: The criteria you used to select the sources in your literature review or the way in which you present your information. For instance, you might explain that your review includes only peer-reviewed articles and journals.

Questions for Further Research: What questions about the field has the review sparked? How will you further your research as a result of the review?

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

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

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

What is a literature review? A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources on a specific topic. It provides an overview of current knowledge, allowing you to identify relevant theories, methods, and gaps in the existing research that you can later apply to your paper, thesis, or dissertation topic .

There are five key steps to writing a literature review:

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

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

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Table of contents

What is the purpose of a literature review, examples of literature reviews, step 1 – search for relevant literature, step 2 – evaluate and select sources, step 3 – identify themes, debates, and gaps, step 4 – outline your literature review’s structure, step 5 – write your literature review, free lecture slides, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions, introduction.

• Quick Run-through
• Step 1 & 2

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

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

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

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See an example

Writing literature reviews can be quite challenging! A good starting point could be to look at some examples, depending on what kind of literature review you’d like to write.

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

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

Download Word doc Download Google doc

Before you begin searching for literature, you need a clearly defined topic .

If you are writing the literature review section of a dissertation or research paper, you will search for literature related to your research problem and questions .

Make a list of keywords

Start by creating a list of keywords related to your research question. Include each of the key concepts or variables you’re interested in, and list any synonyms and related terms. You can add to this list as you discover new keywords in the process of your literature search.

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

Search for relevant sources

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

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

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

Make sure to read the abstract to find out whether an article is relevant to your question. When you find a useful book or article, you can check the bibliography to find other relevant sources.

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

For each publication, ask yourself:

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

Make sure the sources you use are credible , and make sure you read any landmark studies and major theories in your field of research.

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

Take notes and cite your sources

As you read, you should also begin the writing process. Take notes that you can later incorporate into the text of your literature review.

It is important to keep track of your sources with citations to avoid plagiarism . It can be helpful to make an annotated bibliography , where you compile full citation information and write a paragraph of summary and analysis for each source. This helps you remember what you read and saves time later in the process.

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

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

This step will help you work out the structure of your literature review and (if applicable) show how your own research will contribute to existing knowledge.

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

There are various approaches to organizing the body of a literature review. Depending on the length of your literature review, you can combine several of these strategies (for example, your overall structure might be thematic, but each theme is discussed chronologically).

Chronological

The simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time. However, if you choose this strategy, be careful to avoid simply listing and summarizing sources in order.

Try to analyze patterns, turning points and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred.

If you have found some recurring central themes, you can organize your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic.

For example, if you are reviewing literature about inequalities in migrant health outcomes, key themes might include healthcare policy, language barriers, cultural attitudes, legal status, and economic access.

Methodological

If you draw your sources from different disciplines or fields that use a variety of research methods , you might want to compare the results and conclusions that emerge from different approaches. For example:

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

Theoretical

A literature review is often the foundation for a theoretical framework . You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts.

You might argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach, or combine various theoretical concepts to create a framework for your research.

Like any other academic text , your literature review should have an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion . What you include in each depends on the objective of your literature review.

The introduction should clearly establish the focus and purpose of the literature review.

Depending on the length of your literature review, you might want to divide the body into subsections. You can use a subheading for each theme, time period, or methodological approach.

As you write, you can follow these tips:

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

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

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

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

Scribbr slides are free to use, customize, and distribute for educational purposes.

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

• Sampling methods
• Simple random sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
• Likert scales
• Reproducibility

 Statistics

• Null hypothesis
• Statistical power
• Probability distribution
• Effect size
• Poisson distribution

Research bias

• Optimism bias
• Cognitive bias
• Implicit bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Anchoring bias
• Explicit bias

A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources (such as books, journal articles, and theses) related to a specific topic or research question .

It is often written as part of a thesis, dissertation , or research paper , in order to situate your work in relation to existing knowledge.

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

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

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

The literature review usually comes near the beginning of your thesis or dissertation . After the introduction , it grounds your research in a scholarly field and leads directly to your theoretical framework or methodology .

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

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

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Organizing and Creating Information

• Citation and Attribution

What Is a Literature Review?

Review the literature, write the literature review, further reading, learning objectives, attribution.

This guide is designed to:

• Identify the sections and purpose of a literature review in academic writing
• Review practical strategies and organizational methods for preparing a literature review

A literature review is a summary and synthesis of scholarly research on a specific topic. It should answer questions such as:

• What research has been done on the topic?
• Who are the key researchers and experts in the field?
• What are the common theories and methodologies?
• Are there challenges, controversies, and contradictions?
• Are there gaps in the research that your approach addresses?

The process of reviewing existing research allows you to fine-tune your research question and contextualize your own work. Preparing a literature review is a cyclical process. You may find that the research question you begin with evolves as you learn more about the topic.

Once you have defined your research question , focus on learning what other scholars have written on the topic.

In order to  do a thorough search of the literature  on the topic, define the basic criteria:

• Databases and journals: Look at the  subject guide  related to your topic for recommended databases. Review the  tutorial on finding articles  for tips. 
• Books: Search BruKnow, the Library's catalog. Steps to searching ebooks are covered in the  Finding Ebooks tutorial .
• What time period should it cover? Is currency important?
• Do I know of primary and secondary sources that I can use as a way to find other information?
• What should I be aware of when looking at popular, trade, and scholarly resources ? 

One strategy is to review bibliographies for sources that relate to your interest. For more on this technique, look at the tutorial on finding articles when you have a citation .

Tip: Use a Synthesis Matrix

As you read sources, themes will emerge that will help you to organize the review. You can use a simple Synthesis Matrix to track your notes as you read. From this work, a concept map emerges that provides an overview of the literature and ways in which it connects. Working with Zotero to capture the citations, you build the structure for writing your literature review.

How do I know when I am done?

A key indicator for knowing when you are done is running into the same articles and materials. With no new information being uncovered, you are likely exhausting your current search and should modify search terms or search different catalogs or databases. It is also possible that you have reached a point when you can start writing the literature review.

Tip: Manage Your Citations

These citation management tools also create citations, footnotes, and bibliographies with just a few clicks:

Zotero Tutorial

Endnote Tutorial

Your literature review should be focused on the topic defined in your research question. It should be written in a logical, structured way and maintain an objective perspective and use a formal voice.

Review the Summary Table you created for themes and connecting ideas. Use the following guidelines to prepare an outline of the main points you want to make. 

• Synthesize previous research on the topic.
• Aim to include both summary and synthesis.
• Include literature that supports your research question as well as that which offers a different perspective.
• Avoid relying on one author or publication too heavily.
• Select an organizational structure, such as chronological, methodological, and thematic.

The three elements of a literature review are introduction, body, and conclusion.

Introduction

• Define the topic of the literature review, including any terminology.
• Introduce the central theme and organization of the literature review.
• Summarize the state of research on the topic.
• Frame the literature review with your research question.
• Focus on ways to have the body of literature tell its own story. Do not add your own interpretations at this point.
• Look for patterns and find ways to tie the pieces together.
• Summarize instead of quote.
• Weave the points together rather than list summaries of each source.
• Include the most important sources, not everything you have read.
• Summarize the review of the literature.
• Identify areas of further research on the topic.
• Connect the review with your research.
• DeCarlo, M. (2018). 4.1 What is a literature review? In Scientific Inquiry in Social Work. Open Social Work Education. https://scientificinquiryinsocialwork.pressbooks.com/chapter/4-1-what-is-a-literature-review/
• Literature Reviews (n.d.) https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/literature-reviews/ Accessed Nov. 10, 2021

This guide was designed to: 

• Identify the sections and purpose of a literature review in academic writing 
• Review practical strategies and organizational methods for preparing a literature review​

Content on this page adapted from: 

Frederiksen, L. and Phelps, S. (2017).   Literature Reviews for Education and Nursing Graduate Students.  Licensed CC BY 4.0

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How To Structure Your Literature Review

3 options to help structure your chapter.

By: Amy Rommelspacher (PhD) | Reviewer: Dr Eunice Rautenbach | November 2020 (Updated May 2023)

Writing the literature review chapter can seem pretty daunting when you’re piecing together your dissertation or thesis. As  we’ve discussed before , a good literature review needs to achieve a few very important objectives – it should:

• Demonstrate your knowledge of the research topic
• Identify the gaps in the literature and show how your research links to these
• Provide the foundation for your conceptual framework (if you have one)
• Inform your own  methodology and research design

To achieve this, your literature review needs a well-thought-out structure . Get the structure of your literature review chapter wrong and you’ll struggle to achieve these objectives. Don’t worry though – in this post, we’ll look at how to structure your literature review for maximum impact (and marks!).

But wait – is this the right time?

Deciding on the structure of your literature review should come towards the end of the literature review process – after you have collected and digested the literature, but before you start writing the chapter. 

In other words, you need to first develop a rich understanding of the literature before you even attempt to map out a structure. There’s no use trying to develop a structure before you’ve fully wrapped your head around the existing research.

Equally importantly, you need to have a structure in place before you start writing , or your literature review will most likely end up a rambling, disjointed mess. 

Importantly, don’t feel that once you’ve defined a structure you can’t iterate on it. It’s perfectly natural to adjust as you engage in the writing process. As we’ve discussed before , writing is a way of developing your thinking, so it’s quite common for your thinking to change – and therefore, for your chapter structure to change – as you write. 

Need a helping hand?

Like any other chapter in your thesis or dissertation, your literature review needs to have a clear, logical structure. At a minimum, it should have three essential components – an  introduction , a  body   and a  conclusion . 

Let’s take a closer look at each of these.

1: The Introduction Section

Just like any good introduction, the introduction section of your literature review should introduce the purpose and layout (organisation) of the chapter. In other words, your introduction needs to give the reader a taste of what’s to come, and how you’re going to lay that out. Essentially, you should provide the reader with a high-level roadmap of your chapter to give them a taste of the journey that lies ahead.

Here’s an example of the layout visualised in a literature review introduction:

Your introduction should also outline your topic (including any tricky terminology or jargon) and provide an explanation of the scope of your literature review – in other words, what you  will   and  won’t   be covering (the delimitations ). This helps ringfence your review and achieve a clear focus . The clearer and narrower your focus, the deeper you can dive into the topic (which is typically where the magic lies). 

Depending on the nature of your project, you could also present your stance or point of view at this stage. In other words, after grappling with the literature you’ll have an opinion about what the trends and concerns are in the field as well as what’s lacking. The introduction section can then present these ideas so that it is clear to examiners that you’re aware of how your research connects with existing knowledge .

2: The Body Section

The body of your literature review is the centre of your work. This is where you’ll present, analyse, evaluate and synthesise the existing research. In other words, this is where you’re going to earn (or lose) the most marks. Therefore, it’s important to carefully think about how you will organise your discussion to present it in a clear way. 

The body of your literature review should do just as the description of this chapter suggests. It should “review” the literature – in other words, identify, analyse, and synthesise it. So, when thinking about structuring your literature review, you need to think about which structural approach will provide the best “review” for your specific type of research and objectives (we’ll get to this shortly).

There are (broadly speaking)  three options  for organising your literature review.

Option 1: Chronological (according to date)

Organising the literature chronologically is one of the simplest ways to structure your literature review. You start with what was published first and work your way through the literature until you reach the work published most recently. Pretty straightforward.

The benefit of this option is that it makes it easy to discuss the developments and debates in the field as they emerged over time. Organising your literature chronologically also allows you to highlight how specific articles or pieces of work might have changed the course of the field – in other words, which research has had the most impact . Therefore, this approach is very useful when your research is aimed at understanding how the topic has unfolded over time and is often used by scholars in the field of history. That said, this approach can be utilised by anyone that wants to explore change over time .

For example , if a student of politics is investigating how the understanding of democracy has evolved over time, they could use the chronological approach to provide a narrative that demonstrates how this understanding has changed through the ages.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself to help you structure your literature review chronologically.

• What is the earliest literature published relating to this topic?
• How has the field changed over time? Why?
• What are the most recent discoveries/theories?

In some ways, chronology plays a part whichever way you decide to structure your literature review, because you will always, to a certain extent, be analysing how the literature has developed. However, with the chronological approach, the emphasis is very firmly on how the discussion has evolved over time , as opposed to how all the literature links together (which we’ll discuss next ).

Option 2: Thematic (grouped by theme)

The thematic approach to structuring a literature review means organising your literature by theme or category – for example, by independent variables (i.e. factors that have an impact on a specific outcome).

As you’ve been collecting and synthesising literature , you’ll likely have started seeing some themes or patterns emerging. You can then use these themes or patterns as a structure for your body discussion. The thematic approach is the most common approach and is useful for structuring literature reviews in most fields.

For example, if you were researching which factors contributed towards people trusting an organisation, you might find themes such as consumers’ perceptions of an organisation’s competence, benevolence and integrity. Structuring your literature review thematically would mean structuring your literature review’s body section to discuss each of these themes, one section at a time.

Here are some questions to ask yourself when structuring your literature review by themes:

• Are there any patterns that have come to light in the literature?
• What are the central themes and categories used by the researchers?
• Do I have enough evidence of these themes?

PS – you can see an example of a thematically structured literature review in our literature review sample walkthrough video here.

Option 3: Methodological

The methodological option is a way of structuring your literature review by the research methodologies used . In other words, organising your discussion based on the angle from which each piece of research was approached – for example, qualitative , quantitative or mixed  methodologies.

Structuring your literature review by methodology can be useful if you are drawing research from a variety of disciplines and are critiquing different methodologies. The point of this approach is to question  how  existing research has been conducted, as opposed to  what  the conclusions and/or findings the research were.

For example, a sociologist might centre their research around critiquing specific fieldwork practices. Their literature review will then be a summary of the fieldwork methodologies used by different studies.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself when structuring your literature review according to methodology:

• Which methodologies have been utilised in this field?
• Which methodology is the most popular (and why)?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the various methodologies?
• How can the existing methodologies inform my own methodology?

3: The Conclusion Section

Once you’ve completed the body section of your literature review using one of the structural approaches we discussed above, you’ll need to “wrap up” your literature review and pull all the pieces together to set the direction for the rest of your dissertation or thesis.

The conclusion is where you’ll present the key findings of your literature review. In this section, you should emphasise the research that is especially important to your research questions and highlight the gaps that exist in the literature. Based on this, you need to make it clear what you will add to the literature – in other words, justify your own research by showing how it will help fill one or more of the gaps you just identified.

Last but not least, if it’s your intention to develop a conceptual framework for your dissertation or thesis, the conclusion section is a good place to present this.

Example: Thematically Structured Review

In the video below, we unpack a literature review chapter so that you can see an example of a thematically structure review in practice.

Let’s Recap

In this article, we’ve  discussed how to structure your literature review for maximum impact. Here’s a quick recap of what  you need to keep in mind when deciding on your literature review structure:

• Just like other chapters, your literature review needs a clear introduction , body and conclusion .
• The introduction section should provide an overview of what you will discuss in your literature review.
• The body section of your literature review can be organised by chronology , theme or methodology . The right structural approach depends on what you’re trying to achieve with your research.
• The conclusion section should draw together the key findings of your literature review and link them to your research questions.

If you’re ready to get started, be sure to download our free literature review template to fast-track your chapter outline.

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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27 Comments

Great work. This is exactly what I was looking for and helps a lot together with your previous post on literature review. One last thing is missing: a link to a great literature chapter of an journal article (maybe with comments of the different sections in this review chapter). Do you know any great literature review chapters?

I agree with you Marin… A great piece

I agree with Marin. This would be quite helpful if you annotate a nicely structured literature from previously published research articles.

Awesome article for my research.

I thank you immensely for this wonderful guide

It is indeed thought and supportive work for the futurist researcher and students

Very educative and good time to get guide. Thank you

Great work, very insightful. Thank you.

Thanks for this wonderful presentation. My question is that do I put all the variables into a single conceptual framework or each hypothesis will have it own conceptual framework?

Thank you very much, very helpful

This is very educative and precise . Thank you very much for dropping this kind of write up .

Pheeww, so damn helpful, thank you for this informative piece.

I’m doing a research project topic ; stool analysis for parasitic worm (enteric) worm, how do I structure it, thanks.

comprehensive explanation. Help us by pasting the URL of some good “literature review” for better understanding.

great piece. thanks for the awesome explanation. it is really worth sharing. I have a little question, if anyone can help me out, which of the options in the body of literature can be best fit if you are writing an architectural thesis that deals with design?

I am doing a research on nanofluids how can l structure it?

Beautifully clear.nThank you!

Lucid! Thankyou!

Brilliant work, well understood, many thanks

I like how this was so clear with simple language 😊😊 thank you so much 😊 for these information 😊

Insightful. I was struggling to come up with a sensible literature review but this has been really helpful. Thank you!

You have given thought-provoking information about the review of the literature.

Thank you. It has made my own research better and to impart your work to students I teach

I learnt a lot from this teaching. It’s a great piece.

I am doing research on EFL teacher motivation for his/her job. How Can I structure it? Is there any detailed template, additional to this?

You are so cool! I do not think I’ve read through something like this before. So nice to find somebody with some genuine thoughts on this issue. Seriously.. thank you for starting this up. This site is one thing that is required on the internet, someone with a little originality!

I’m asked to do conceptual, theoretical and empirical literature, and i just don’t know how to structure it

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There are different methods to organize and present the materials collected for the literature review.

The list below goes over different organizational frameworks that can be used to present the research conducted. If you are not sure what method to use, check with your professor.​

• Chronological:  The chronological framework organizes the literature in the order in which they are published. For example, if you were writing about a specific teaching method, you would begin with the materials that first introduced the method. You would then follow with case studies applying that method. You would conclude your review with contemporary papers that may even give a historical perspective on the method from when it was first conceived and how it is applied today.
• by publication:  This framework is useful if you notice a series of articles that are written in response to one another that are all within one publication. You still follow chronological order, but you break it so that the articles responding to one another are grouped together.
• by trend:  This framework looks at specific trends and organizes them chronologically. For example, if you were looking at the history of assistive technology in helping students with disabilities, you may organize the reviews by what disability was being treated, and then present the history of using assistive technology to treat that particular disability in chronological order.
• Thematic:  The thematic framework is similar to organizing by trend, except that you are not organizing the reviews in the order that they were published. This does not mean that you do not consider the timeline for how a topic or issue developed, but that you will not focus on organizing your reviews chronologically. Rather, the emphasis will be on the themes you find within the topic or issue — such as commonalities — and from there you fit your reviews into the separate ideas in which they fit. For example, if the review topic was arts-based research, your review may focus on different ways artistic inquiry was used to understand the creative process, focusing then on the concepts rather than the development.
• Methodological:  The method or practice applied in a case study can be the basis for organizing a literature review. This framework focuses on how the author(s) or the person(s) administering a study applied similar methods as another study. As a result, the types of literature in a literature review that applies the methodological framework tends to review similar materials. For example, if you reviewed methods used to treat post traumatic stress syndrome, the review would organize the studies by the methods used to treat the patients and not the order that the studies were published.

Note: After choosing the organizational framework for the literature review, it should be easier to write because you should have a clear idea of what sections you need to include in the paper. For example, a chronological review will have subsections for each vital time period. A thematic review will have subtopics based upon factors that relate to the theme or issue.

In some cases the literature does not quite fit the framework you have chosen. In this case, you should determine where it makes sense to place the literature and confirm this choice with your professor.

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How to Write a Literature Review

• What is a Literature Review?
• Starting Your Resesarch
• Searching Techniques
• Finding the Literature
• Organizing and Writing
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Organizing Your Literature

CHRONOLOGICAL (by date):  This is one of the most common ways, especially for topics that have been talked about for a long time and have changed over their history. Organise it in stages of how the topic has changed: the first definitions of it, then major time periods of change as researchers talked about it, then how it is thought about today.

BROAD-TO-SPECIFIC : Another approach is to start with a section on the general type of issue you're reviewing, then narrow down to increasingly specific issues in the literature until you reach the articles that are most specifically similar to your research question, thesis statement, hypothesis, or proposal. This can be a good way to introduce a lot of background and related facets of your topic when there is not much directly on your topic but you are tying together many related, broader articles.

MAJOR MODELS or MAJOR THEORIES : When there are multiple models or prominent theories, it is a good idea to outline the theories or models that are applied the most in your articles. That way you can group the articles you read by the theoretical framework that each prefers, to get a good overview of the prominent approaches to your concept.

PROMINENT AUTHORS : If a certain researcher started a field, and there are several famous people who developed it more, a good approach can be grouping the famous author/researchers and what each is known to have said about the topic. You can then organise other authors into groups by which famous authors' ideas they are following. With this organisation it can help to look at the citations your articles list in them, to see if there is one author that appears over and over.

CONTRASTING SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT : If you find a dominant argument comes up in your research, with researchers taking two sides and talking about how the other is wrong, you may want to group your literature review by those schools of thought and contrast the differences in their approaches and ideas.

Ways to Structure Your lLiterature Review

Different ways to organize your literature review include:

• Topical order (by main topics or issues, showing relationship to the main problem or topic)
• Chronological order (simplest of all, organize by dates of published literature)
• Problem-cause-solution order
• General to specific order
• Known to unknown order
• Comparison and contrast order
• Specific to general order
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Literature reviews.

• What is a Literature Review?
• Planning the Review
• The Research Question
• Choosing Where to Search

Concept Maps

Using bibliographic software, annotate your articles, group literature into categories.

• Writing the Review

Techniques like concept maps can be useful in organizing your thoughts in preparation for constructing and writing your review. It can provide visual cues for how different concepts connect to each other. 

It is important to manage and organize your research in one place because it will make it much easier when it comes time to start putting together and writing your literature review. There is software available that can make this task easier. See the links below for software supported by Northwestern Libraries. These software let you:

• Download and store citations all in one place, creating your own mini-database of your research.
• Attach full-text documents to the citations
• Use the software in conjunction with Microsoft Word, and in the case of Zotero, Google Docs, to insert citations into the document directly from your library. 
• Tag, add notes, and customize the information in the records.
• EndNote Support by Jason Kruse Last Updated May 3, 2024 2796 views this year
• Zotero Support by Geoff Morse Last Updated Apr 5, 2024 28480 views this year
• Mendeley Support by Steven Adams Last Updated Aug 8, 2022 30019 views this year
• How to Choose: EndNote, Mendeley, or Zotero by Becca Greenstein Last Updated Apr 5, 2024 17978 views this year

Creating an annotated bibliography can be helpful for organizing your thoughts prior to writing the final review. Seeing summaries of the literature in one place allows you to visually group concepts and citations together. 

Using bibliographic software also allows you keep your citations together, add research notes, and create summaries. 

There are different ways to group your literature into categories that will help in creating the flow and layout of the review. The review may be organized chronologically, by theme, by method, or theory. Bibliographic software allows you to easily create folders in your library to group your citations into different categories.

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Conducting a Literature Review

• Getting Started
• Define your Research Question
• Finding Sources
• Evaluating Sources

Organizing the Review

• Cite and Manage your Sources

Introduction

Organizing your literature review involves examining the sources you have and determining how they best fit together to form a coherent and complete narrative. However you choose to do this, the goal should be to organize your literature in a way that naturally flows and makes sense to your reader.

Additional Resources

• Literature Review: Conducting & Writing by the University of West Florida Libraries
• Literature Reviews: Organizing Your Research by the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Hunt Library

A literature review is structured similarly to other research essays, opening with an introduction that explains the topic and summarizes how the review will be conducted, several body paragraphs organized to share your findings, and a concluding paragraph.

There are many different ways to organize the body of your review. Some possible approaches are listed below.

Subtopic/Theme

While they all share the same overarching topic, each source approaches it in a slightly different way, valuing certain aspects or methods more than others. For example, with a literature review about the impacts of the Affordable Care Act, some literature might focus on the demographic changes in access to healthcare, or the actions taken by private health insurance companies, or even the way healthcare is discussed in politics. By combining sources that discuss the same subtopics, you can organize your review to show how the articles overlap and complement one another to create a more complete view of the existing research.

For a thematic literature review, each body paragraph would consist of one of these themes, or subtopics, and the literature associated with it.

Alternatively, you can group your resources by their relevance to your research question. Again using the ACA as an example, it might be a good idea to begin with the sources that most broadly address the impacts of the Affordable Care Act and then order the literature by increasing specificity. 

Methodology

It may be the case that your literature can be neatly defined into different types of research, such as different methods to treat an illness or ways to test a hypothesis. Examining the literature by the ways in which the authors tried to answer questions associated with the topic is a useful way to compare and contrast research results, as well as identify potential strengths or weaknesses in the methodologies used.

Varying Opinions/Problem & Solution(s)

Your various sources might not all come to the same conclusions about the topic; in fact, especially with controversial subject matter, there may be widely differing opinions on the issues and how best to approach them. Related to the thematic review, this type of literature review structure uses the first body paragraph to pose a question, then each of the body paragraphs illustrating the differing answers found in the literature. It is an excellent way to address arguments and counter-arguments if your topic is hotly contested in academic and popular works.

If you find yourself struggling to differentiate your sources by topic or relevance because they are all about equal in these regards, it might be a good idea to organize them chronologically.

There are two major types of chronology literature reviews tend to be grouped by:

• Publication date : Start with the earliest-published research and finish with the most current
• By trend : Organize sources into eras based on the time period and relative events associated with the topic. For example, regarding the Affordable Care Act, it could be split into the time before the ACA was passed, the immediate aftermath (2010-2011), Obama's second term (2012-2016), etc.

Using a Synthesis Matrix

A literature review doesn't merely summarize the current research on a topic: part of your responsibility is to take this information and make something new out of it that can be used by future researchers. This process of combining other sources of information and making an original argument out of them is called  synthesis , which literally means "the combination of ideas to form a theory or system." You will synthesize the literature you've selected for review to form an argument about where more research needs to be done on your topic.

One of the most important elements of synthesis in a literature review is analysis: rather than simply repeating the results of each source you've found, you are going to analyze it for similarities to your other resources, limitations and strengths of the methodology, and an examination of the conclusions drawn by the author(s) compared to the rest of the research on the topic. This is why proper organization of the literature is so important; it will allow you to group your sources by theme so that they can be more easily compared and contrasted.

In addition to the recommendations elsewhere on this page, a common method for preparing to organize your literature is by using a synthesis matrix. This is a tool to help pick out the most important aspects of each source and see where the most common themes lie. 

With the major information organized like this, it is easy to see which resources used similar methods of research, which had similar or differing results, and when chronologically the research was conducted. Grouping the literature by any of these similarities could be a useful way to organize your review.

• How to Synthesize Your Literature Review by Britt McGowan & UWF Libraries
• Synthesizing Sources by Purdue Online Writing Lab

Questions the Literature Review Should Answer

The University of the West Indies (linked below) provides a useful checklist of questions that a good literature review should address. When outlining your review, pay attention to how you will answer the following:

These will likely be answered throughout your body paragraphs, but it might be worthwhile to address some of these in the conclusion instead or in addition.

• Organizing the Literature Review by the University of the West Indies

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Literature Review: Conducting & Writing

• Organizing/Writing
• Steps for Conducting a Lit Review
• Finding "The Literature"

Consider Organization

Literature review synthesis matrix, composing your literature review, managing citations / zotero.

• APA Style This link opens in a new window
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• Sample Literature Reviews

Presentation on Synthesizing a Literature Review

You've got a focus, and you've narrowed it down to a thesis statement. Now what is the most effective way of presenting the information? What are the most important topics, subtopics, etc., that your review needs to include? And in what order should you present them? Develop an organization for your review at both a global and local level:

First, cover the basic categories Just like most academic papers, literature reviews also must contain at least three basic elements: an introduction or background information section; the body of the review containing the discussion of sources; and, finally, a conclusion and/or recommendations section to end the paper. Introduction:  Gives a quick idea of the topic of the literature review, such as the central theme or organizational pattern. Body:  Contains your discussion of sources and is organized either chronologically, thematically, or methodologically (see below for more information on each). Conclusions/Recommendations:  Discuss what you have drawn from reviewing literature so far. Where might the discussion proceed? Organizing the body Once you have the basic categories in place, then you must consider how you will present the sources themselves within the body of your paper. Create an organizational method to focus this section even further. To help you come up with an overall organizational framework for your review, consider the following scenario and then three typical ways of organizing the sources into a review: You've decided to focus your literature review on materials dealing with sperm whales. This is because you've just finished reading  Moby Dick , and you wonder if that whale's portrayal is really real. You start with some articles about the physiology of sperm whales in biology journals written in the 2020's. But these articles refer to some British biological studies performed on whales in the early 18th century. So you check those out. Then you look up a book written in 2021 with information on how sperm whales have been portrayed in other forms of art, such as in Alaskan poetry, in French painting, or on whale bone, as the whale hunters in the late 19th century used to do. This makes you wonder about American whaling methods during the time portrayed in  Moby Dick , so you find some academic articles published in the last five years on how accurately Herman Melville portrayed the whaling scene in his novel. Chronological If your review follows the chronological method, you could write about the materials above according to when they were published. For instance, first you would talk about the British biological studies of the 18th century, then about Moby Dick, published in 1851, then the book on sperm whales in other art (2021), and finally the biology articles (2000s) and the recent articles (last five years) on American whaling of the 19th century. But there is relatively no continuity among subjects here. And notice that even though the sources on sperm whales in other art and on American whaling are written recently, they are about other subjects/objects that were created much earlier. Thus, the review loses its chronological focus. By publication Order your sources by publication chronology, then, only if the order demonstrates a more important trend. For instance, you could order a review of literature on biological studies of sperm whales if the progression revealed a change in dissection practices of the researchers who wrote and/or conducted the studies. By trend A better way to organize the above sources chronologically is to examine the sources under another trend, such as the history of whaling. Then your review would have subsections according to eras within this period. For instance, the review might examine whaling from pre-1600-1699, 1700-1799, and 1800-1899. Under this method, you would combine the recent studies on American whaling in the 19th century with Moby Dick itself in the 1800-1899 category, even though the authors wrote more than a century apart.

Thematic reviews of literature are organized around a topic or issue, rather than the progression of time. However, progression of time may still be an important factor in a thematic review. For instance, the sperm whale review could focus on the development of the harpoon for whale hunting. While the study focuses on one topic, harpoon technology, it will still be organized chronologically. The only difference here between a "chronological" and a "thematic" approach is what is emphasized the most: the development of the harpoon or the harpoon technology.

But more authentic thematic reviews tend to break away from chronological order. For instance, a thematic review of material on sperm whales might examine how they are portrayed as "evil" in cultural documents. The subsections might include how they are personified, how their proportions are exaggerated, and their behaviors misunderstood. A review organized in this manner would shift between time periods within each section according to the point made.

Methodological

A methodological approach differs from the two above in that the focusing factor usually does not have to do with the content of the material. Instead, it focuses on the "methods" of the researcher or writer. For the sperm whale project, one methodological approach would be to look at cultural differences between the portrayal of whales in American, British, and French art work. Or the review might focus on the economic impact of whaling on a community. A methodological scope will influence either the types of documents in the review or the way in which these documents are discussed.

Once you've decided on the organizational method for the body of the review, the sections you need to include in the paper should be easy to figure out. They should arise out of your organizational strategy. In other words, a chronological review would have subsections for each vital time period. A thematic review would have subtopics based upon factors that relate to the theme or issue.

Sometimes, though, you might need to add additional sections that are necessary for your study, but do not fit in the organizational strategy of the body. What other sections you include in the body is up to you. Put in only what is necessary. Here are a few other sections you might want to consider:

Current Situation : Information necessary to understand the topic or focus of the literature review.

History : The chronological progression of the field, the literature, or an idea that is necessary to understand the literature review, if the body of the literature review is not already a chronology.

Methods and/or Standards : The criteria you used to select the sources in your literature review or the way in which you present your information. For instance, you might explain that your review includes only peer-reviewed articles and journals.

Questions for Further Research : What questions about the field has the review sparked? How will you further your research as a result of the review?

(Adapted from  "Literature Reviews" from The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill )

This synthesis matrix in Excel can help you get a jumpstart on finding ways in which the literature differs and is the same.

• Synthesis Matrix

O nce you've settled on a general pattern of organization, you're ready to write each section. There are a few guidelines you should follow during the writing stage. Here is a sample paragraph from a literature review about sexism and language to illuminate the following discussion:

  However, other studies have shown that even gender-neutral antecedents are more likely to produce masculine images than feminine ones (Gastil, 1990). Hamilton (1988) asked students to complete sentences that required them to fill in pronouns that agreed with gender-neutral antecedents such as "writer," "pedestrian," and "persons." The students were asked to describe any image they had when writing the sentence. Hamilton found that people imagined 3.3 men to each woman in the masculine "generic" condition and 1.5 men per woman in the unbiased condition. Thus, while ambient sexism accounted for some of the masculine bias, sexist language amplified the effect. (Source: Erika Falk and Jordan Mills, "Why Sexist Language Affects Persuasion: The Role of Homophily, Intended Audience, and Offense," Women and Language19:2.

Use evidence

In the example above, the writers refer to several other sources when making their point. A literature review in this sense is just like any other academic research paper. Your interpretation of the available sources must be backed up with evidence to show that what you are saying is valid.

Be selective

Select only the most important points in each source to highlight in the review. The type of information you choose to mention should relate directly to the review's focus, whether it is thematic, methodological, or chronological.

Use quotes sparingly

Falk and Mills do not use any direct quotes. That is because the survey nature of the literature review does not allow for in-depth discussion or detailed quotes from the text. Some short quotes here and there are okay, though if you want to emphasize a point, or if what the author said just cannot be rewritten in your own words. Notice that Falk and Mills do quote certain terms that were coined by the author, not common knowledge, or taken directly from the study. But if you find yourself wanting to put in more quotes, check with your instructor.

Summarize and synthesize

Remember to summarize and synthesize your sources within each paragraph as well as throughout the review. The authors here recapitulate important features of Hamilton's study, but then synthesize it by rephrasing the study's significance and relating it to their own work.

Keep your own voice

While the literature review presents others' ideas, your voice (the writer's) should remain front and center. Notice that Falk and Mills weave references to other sources into their own text, but they still maintain their own voice by starting and ending the paragraph with their own ideas and their own words. The sources support what Falk and Mills are saying.

Use caution when paraphrasing

When paraphrasing a source that is not your own, be sure to represent the author's information or opinions accurately and in your own words. In the preceding example, Falk and Mills either directly refer in the text to the author of their source, such as Hamilton, or they provide ample notation in the text when the ideas they are mentioning are not their own, for example, Gastil's. For more information, please see our handout on plagiarism .

Use a citation manager to manage citations from journals, books, documents, and internet sites.

A good one to use is Zotero. Instructions on using it can be found in the following guide:

• Zotero Guide

Content for this section of the guide was taken from  Literature Reviews from The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , under the guidelines of their Creative Commons License.

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

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

Importance of a Good Literature Review

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

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

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

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

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

Types of Literature Reviews

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Structure and Writing Style

I.  Thinking About Your Literature Review

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

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

The critical evaluation of each work should consider :

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

II.  Development of the Literature Review

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

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

III.  Ways to Organize Your Literature Review

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

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

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

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

IV.  Writing Your Literature Review

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

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

V.  Common Mistakes to Avoid

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

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

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

Writing Tip

Break Out of Your Disciplinary Box!

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

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

Another Writing Tip

Don't Just Review for Content!

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

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

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

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

Yet Another Writing Tip

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

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

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

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

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How to Write a Literature Review: Six Steps to Get You from Start to Finish

Writing-a-literature-review-six-steps-to-get-you-from-start-to-finish.

Tanya Golash-Boza, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of California

February 03, 2022

Writing a literature review is often the most daunting part of writing an article, book, thesis, or dissertation. “The literature” seems (and often is) massive. I have found it helpful to be as systematic as possible when completing this gargantuan task.

Sonja Foss and William Walters* describe an efficient and effective way of writing a literature review. Their system provides an excellent guide for getting through the massive amounts of literature for any purpose: in a dissertation, an M.A. thesis, or preparing a research article for publication  in any field of study. Below is a  summary of the steps they outline as well as a step-by-step method for writing a literature review.

How to Write a Literature Review

Step One: Decide on your areas of research:

Before you begin to search for articles or books, decide beforehand what areas you are going to research. Make sure that you only get articles and books in those areas, even if you come across fascinating books in other areas. A literature review I am currently working on, for example, explores barriers to higher education for undocumented students.

Step Two: Search for the literature:

Conduct a comprehensive bibliographic search of books and articles in your area. Read the abstracts online and download and/or print those articles that pertain to your area of research. Find books in the library that are relevant and check them out. Set a specific time frame for how long you will search. It should not take more than two or three dedicated sessions.

Step Three: Find relevant excerpts in your books and articles:

Skim the contents of each book and article and look specifically for these five things:

1. Claims, conclusions, and findings about the constructs you are investigating

2. Definitions of terms

3. Calls for follow-up studies relevant to your project

4. Gaps you notice in the literature

5. Disagreement about the constructs you are investigating

When you find any of these five things, type the relevant excerpt directly into a Word document. Don’t summarize, as summarizing takes longer than simply typing the excerpt. Make sure to note the name of the author and the page number following each excerpt. Do this for each article and book that you have in your stack of literature. When you are done, print out your excerpts.

Step Four: Code the literature:

Get out a pair of scissors and cut each excerpt out. Now, sort the pieces of paper into similar topics. Figure out what the main themes are. Place each excerpt into a themed pile. Make sure each note goes into a pile. If there are excerpts that you can’t figure out where they belong, separate those and go over them again at the end to see if you need new categories. When you finish, place each stack of notes into an envelope labeled with the name of the theme.

Step Five: Create Your Conceptual Schema:

Type, in large font, the name of each of your coded themes. Print this out, and cut the titles into individual slips of paper. Take the slips of paper to a table or large workspace and figure out the best way to organize them. Are there ideas that go together or that are in dialogue with each other? Are there ideas that contradict each other? Move around the slips of paper until you come up with a way of organizing the codes that makes sense. Write the conceptual schema down before you forget or someone cleans up your slips of paper.

Step Six: Begin to Write Your Literature Review:

Choose any section of your conceptual schema to begin with. You can begin anywhere, because you already know the order. Find the envelope with the excerpts in them and lay them on the table in front of you. Figure out a mini-conceptual schema based on that theme by grouping together those excerpts that say the same thing. Use that mini-conceptual schema to write up your literature review based on the excerpts that you have in front of you. Don’t forget to include the citations as you write, so as not to lose track of who said what. Repeat this for each section of your literature review.

Once you complete these six steps, you will have a complete draft of your literature review. The great thing about this process is that it breaks down into manageable steps something that seems enormous: writing a literature review.

I think that Foss and Walter’s system for writing the literature review is ideal for a dissertation, because a Ph.D. candidate has already read widely in his or her field through graduate seminars and comprehensive exams.

It may be more challenging for M.A. students, unless you are already familiar with the literature. It is always hard to figure out how much you need to read for deep meaning, and how much you just need to know what others have said. That balance will depend on how much you already know.

For people writing literature reviews for articles or books, this system also could work, especially when you are writing in a field with which you are already familiar. The mere fact of having a system can make the literature review seem much less daunting, so I recommend this system for anyone who feels overwhelmed by the prospect of writing a literature review.

*Destination Dissertation: A Traveler's Guide to a Done Dissertation

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• Research guides

Writing a Literature Review

Phase 5: organizing the review, categorizing the literature.

When categorizing the writings in the review, the researcher might consider

• the methodology employed;
• the quality of the findings or conclusions;
• the document’s major strengths and weaknesses;
• any other pivotal information.

She might consider such questions as:

• what beliefs are expressed?
• Is there an ideological stance?
• What is being described? Is it comprehensive or narrow?
• Are the results generalizable?

Remember that you are relating other studies to your study. How do the studies in your lit. review relate to your thesis? How are the other studies related to each other?

Many Similar Studies?

If there are many similar studies, a strategy might be to discuss the most important ones and say that the results were confirmed in many other studies. Still, to include only germane studies, the reviewer must usually examine many.

How to Organize the Lit. Review

There are numerous ways to organize the material in a lit. review. For example, one might organize the selected readings by

• different theoretical approaches
• specific concepts or issues
• different methodologies employed
• level of support or otherwise that they lend to one’s own hypothesis/theory.

Such methods are generally better than organizing chronologically or by author. The latter often result in a boring review or one lacking clarity or direction.

It is common to organize one’s lit. review thematically. For example, one might organize a review on standardized testing in schools according to the following themes or issues: Background

• History of standardized tests
• Different types of standardized tests
• Rationale of standardized tests
• Role of high stakes tests
• Standardized tests and the law

Standardized Tests in Practice

• Testing at elementary school
• Testing at secondary school

Critics and Proponents of Standardized Tests

• Testing of students with disabilities
• Testing of minority students
• Testing of students from different social backgrounds
• Gender differences in testing
• Case for bias
• Case against bias
• Teachers’ perspectives
• School administrators’ perspectives
• Students’ perspectives
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• Tags: literature_review , literature_review_in_education

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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.

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How to Conduct a Literature Review (Health Sciences and Beyond)

• What is a Literature Review?
• Developing a Research Question
• Selection Criteria
• Database Search
• Documenting Your Search

Review Matrix

• Reference Management

Using a spreadsheet or table to organize the key elements (e.g. subjects, methodologies, results) of articles/books you plan to use in your literature review can be helpful. This is called a review matrix.

When you create a review matrix, the first few columns should include (1) the authors, title, journal, (2) publication year, and (3) purpose of the paper. The remaining columns should identify important aspects of each study such as methodology and findings.

Click on the image below to view a sample review matrix.

You can also download this template as a Microsoft Excel file .

The information on this page is from the book below. The 5th edition is available online through VCU Libraries.

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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.

• Library databases
• Library website

Library Guide to Capstone Literature Reviews: Get & Stay Organized

Organize your research.

Organization is essential as you work from start to finish of your capstone project. Good organization will allow you to see where you have been and help you to see how to proceed.

• Staying organized throughout your research will help you to avoid repeating ineffective searches.
• When it comes to writing your literature review, staying organized will provide you a concise overview of the research you have located, and help you group thoughts and ideas.
• This explanation does not need to be lengthy but you will need to share with your readers the databases and keywords that you used to find your research articles. This information can help future researchers pick up where your research left off.

To get an idea of how you might approach your literature review, look at the literature reviews of award-winning dissertations.

• Walden University Award Winning Dissertations

One method of organizing is to create an Excel spreadsheet to track your research, which will allow you to sort your information also. You can customize your spreadsheet to track the information you need. This is a list of some commonly used areas that you may want to track:

• NOTE:  EBSCO and ProQuest are companies that provide access to many individual databases. Be sure to look for the specific database name rather than listing the company name.
• Search Terms : What keywords did you use? Keeping track of this information can help you avoid using ineffective keywords and help you to build on previous searches.
• Results : How many results did you find with this search?
• Notes: Make note of anything that may help you later on. This could be a note regarding ineffective or effective keywords, future searches to try, prolific authors, etc.

• Search Log Example Sample search log in Excel

The Writing Center   offers a similar method in the form of a literature review matrix. You can see sample matrices and download templates on their page:

There is no right or wrong way to organize. The best way is the way that makes sense to you.

• Literature Review Matrix Templates: learn how to keep a record of what you have read

Organize your resources

As you conduct your research you will read numerous sources on  your topic. To keep track of all these resources, you will want to use some kind of organization system.

• You may choose to print all of the resources and organize them in files.
• You may save them on your computer in files.
• You may also want to consider using citation management or reference management software to help store all of your resources electronically.

Citation management software

Citation management software will not only allow you to track all of your resources in one place, it will also provide a way of adding your reference list and in-text citations to your literature review. Most citation management software will allow you to add notes, create your own system for filing and organizing documents, and attach full text articles to citations for easy access.

There are many different citation management software programs available and they can range from free to rather expensive. You'll want to keep some things in mind when selecting the software that works best for you.

• All programs will have a learning curve. There is no right or best program. The right or best program to use will be the one that makes the most sense to you.
• All of them will import the information as it exists. If there are errors in an article title, those errors will be imported by any of the programs no matter what the program costs.
• Different programs may or may not work with some computer operating systems or Internet browsers. For example, if you are using Safari on a Mac, you will want to make sure the program will work with these systems.

Wikipedia has a very handy list that compares the different citation management programs. You can quickly see the cost, what operating systems programs work with, and features of the programs.

• Guide: Citation Management Software
• Citation management software comparison

Database vs. publishing company

EBSCO and ProQuest are often confused as databases.  They are actually two popular publishing companies that provide the Library with numerous academic database packages.  Walden contracts with them to provide you with access to a large assortment of resources, including journals, books and tests.

In any EBSCO database, from the Advanced Search page, you will find the name of the specific database listed right above the search boxes after Searching . For example, if you see Searching: Education Source , you are using the Education Source database.

You can change databases or add additional databases to your search.

• Above the search boxes, to the right of the name of the specific database you are searching, click on Choose Databases .
• This opens a box with a list of other EBSCO company databases. You can choose additional databases to add to your search by checking the box in front of the database name, and then clicking OK when you are finished.

In ProQuest, from the Advance Search page, you will see the name of the specific database you are using at the top of the page, under the ProQuest banner. For example, you might see Nursing & Allied Health Database listed if that is the database you were using.

To change databases, click on the Change databases link found under the name of the database at the top of the page.

This opens the Select Databases page, where you will see a list of options. Many of the options will already be checked. You may need to uncheck databases you do not want to include in a search, and possibly check others that you do.

Once you have made your choices, click the Use selected databases button toward the top of the page.

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Library & Learning Commons

• Search for sources
• APA style guide

Literature Reviews

How do i organize a literature review.

• What is a literature review?
• How do I find sources for a literature review?
• How do I format a literature review?
• Other resources

A literature review consists of three main parts: an introduction paragraph, the body paragraphs, and a conclusion paragraph.

The introduction

The introduction should give a quick summary of what the literature review is going to be about. It should tell the reader what the topic of the review will be and define the scope of the literature that will be discussed. The introduction should also indicate how the review is going to be organized. There will be more information on how to organize the body paragraphs of the literature review in the next section. One way to say how the review will be organized is to list what each body paragraph will be about and briefly say why they are in that order.

There are a few different ways to organize the body paragraphs of a literature review.

•  Chronological:  This is when the literature review discusses the sources in the order they were published, from the oldest to the newest. This can be useful if your focus is on the historical development of a subject.

• Trend:  A literature review organized by trend will divide the review's subject into different categories and discuss the literature as it relates to each category. For example, a literature review about a nursing theorist might have one section talking about sources related to the theorist's life and another section for discussing the impact of their theory on modern nursing.

•  Thematic:  A thematic literature review will focus on a specific topic related to the literature. For example, in a literature review about a disease, the author may choose to focus on a single form of treatment for the disease.

•  Methodological:  A methodological literature review does not focus on the content of the sources. Instead it focuses on how the research was done. In other words, a methodological literature review is about the methods the original researchers used in putting together the data.

The conclusion

The conclusion of a literature review should begin with a summary of what the literature review is about. It should also comment on what the literature says about the topic as a whole and how research in the topic might advance in the future.

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Conducting a Literature Review

• Literature Review
• Developing a Topic
• Planning Your Literature Review
• Developing a Search Strategy
• Managing Citations
• Critical Appraisal Tools
• Writing a Literature Review

Before You Begin to Write.....

Do you have enough information? If you are not sure,

Ask yourself these questions:

• Has my search been wide enough to insure I've found all the relevant material?
• Has it been narrow enough to exclude irrelevant material?
• Is the number of sources I've used appropriate for the length of my paper?

You may have enough information for your literature review when:

• You've used multiple databases and other resources (web portals, repositories, etc.) to get a variety of perspectives on the research topic.
• The same citations are showing up in a variety of databases.
• Your advisor and other trusted experts say you have enough!

You have to stop somewhere and get on with the writing process!

Writing Tips

A literature review is not a list describing or summarizing one piece of literature after another. It’s usually a bad sign to see every paragraph beginning with the name of a researcher. Instead, organize the literature review into sections that present themes or identify trends, including relevant theory. You are not trying to list all the material published, but to synthesize and evaluate it according to the guiding concept of your thesis or research question

If you are writing an  annotated bibliography , you may need to summarize each item briefly, but should still follow through themes and concepts and do some critical assessment of material. Use an overall introduction and conclusion to state the scope of your coverage and to formulate the question, problem, or concept your chosen material illuminates. Usually you will have the option of grouping items into sections—this helps you indicate comparisons and relationships. You may be able to write a paragraph or so to introduce the focus of each section

Layout of Writing a Literature Review

Generally, the purpose of a review is to analyze critically a segment of a published body of knowledge through summary, classification, and comparison of prior research studies, reviews of literature, and theoretical articles.

Writing the introduction:

In the introduction, you should:

• Define or identify the general topic, issue, or area of concern, thus providing an appropriate context for reviewing the literature.
• Point out overall trends in what has been published about the topic; or conflicts in theory, methodology, evidence, and conclusions; or gaps in research and scholarship; or a single problem or new perspective of immediate interest.
• Establish the writer’s reason (point of view) for reviewing the literature; explain the criteria to be used in analyzing and comparing literature and the organization of the review (sequence); and, when necessary, state why certain literature is or is not included (scope).

Writing the body:

In the body, you should:

• Group research studies and other types of literature (reviews, theoretical articles, case studies, etc.) according to common denominators such as qualitative versus quantitative approaches, conclusions of authors, specific purpose or objective, chronology, etc.
• Summarize individual studies or articles with as much or as little detail as each merits according to its comparative importance in the literature, remembering that space (length) denotes significance.
• Provide the reader with strong “umbrella” sentences at beginnings of paragraphs, “signposts” throughout, and brief “so what” summary sentences at intermediate points in the review to aid in understanding comparisons and analyses.

WRITING TIP:  As you are writing the literature review you will mention the author names and the publication years in your text, but you will still need to compile comprehensive list citations for each entry at the end of your review. Follow  APA, MLA, or Chicago style guidelines , as your course requires.

Writing the conclusion:

In the conclusion, you should:

• Summarize major contributions of significant studies and articles to the body of knowledge under review, maintaining the focus established in the introduction.
• Evaluate the current “state of the art” for the body of knowledge reviewed, pointing out major methodological flaws or gaps in research, inconsistencies in theory and findings, and areas or issues pertinent to future study.
• Conclude by providing some insight into the relationship between the central topic of the literature review and a larger area of study such as a discipline, a scientific endeavor, or a profession.
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How to Organize Your review

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Four Ways to Structure Your Literature Review

• February 2, 2023

The literature review is a critical part of any research project. It provides a comprehensive overview of the existing body of knowledge on a topic, and how that knowledge has been developed over time. A literature review can be structured in a number of ways, depending on the purpose and scope of the work. In general, a literature review should be organized around a central question or theme and use a logical approach to synthesizing and evaluating the existing body of work.

In determining the structure of your literature review, it is important to consider the approach you will take. There are four common approaches to organizing a literature review: theoretical, thematic, methodological, and chronological.

🚀 Pro Tip: Use our literature review AI tool to get help structuring your literature review.

What is a Literature Review?

A literature review is a written overview of the existing research on a topic. A literature review is a critical component of a dissertation, thesis, or journal article. It can be used to:

– Assess the current state of knowledge on a topic

– Identify gaps in the existing research

– Inform future research directions

The best structure for a literature review depends on the purpose of the review and the audience. Ultimately, it is up to the researcher to decide which type of literature review is best suited for their needs.

Four Common Literature Review Structures

Theoretical

A theoretical literature review is a comprehensive survey of all the theories that relate to a particular area of research. It includes both published and unpublished works and covers both classic and contemporary theory.

Theoretical literature reviews can be divided into two main types: those that focus on a specific theory, and those that adopt a more general approach. In the former case, the review will critically assess the chosen theory and evaluate its strengths and weaknesses. In the latter case, the review will survey all the major theories in the field and identify common themes and areas of disagreement.

Theoretical literature reviews can be conducted at any stage in a research project, but they are usually most helpful when developing your research question and methodology. A good theoretical literature review will help to situate your research within the wider field, and to identify the gaps in current knowledge that your research aims to fill.

Example of a Theoretical Literature Review: Burnout in nursing: A theoretical review .

A thematic literature review is an evaluation of existing research on a particular topic, with a focus on themes or patterns that emerge from the work as a whole. This type of review can be helpful in identifying gaps in the current body of knowledge, or in pointing out areas where future research may be needed. In order to write a successful thematic literature review, it is important to select a manageable topic and to carefully read and analyze the existing body of work on that topic. It is also crucial to identify and articulate the main theme or pattern that emerges from the literature; this will be the focus of your review.

Example of a Thematic Literature Review: The ethics of digital well-being: A thematic review .

Methodological

A methodological literature review is a detailed and comprehensive assessment of all the research methods used in a particular area of study. It involves critically evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of different research methods, and determining which method is best suited to answering a specific research question. A methodological literature review is an important tool for any researcher, as it helps to identify the most appropriate research methods for their particular area of inquiry.

Research methods can be broadly classified into two categories: qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative methods are those that aim to gather an in-depth understanding of a phenomenon, often through interviews, observations, or case studies. Quantitative methods, on the other hand, focus on collecting large amounts of data that can be analyzed statistically. A methodological literature review might compare the findings of a single approach or compare the results that have emerged in both approaches.

Example of a Methodological Review: Social media data for conservation science: A methodological overview .

Chronological

A chronological literature review is a type of review that looks at the development of a particular topic or idea over time. This can be helpful in understanding how an issue has evolved or changed over time and provide insights into current debates on the topic. In order to write a chronological literature review, you will need to identify and locate relevant sources that cover the topic in question. Once you have gathered your sources, you will need to read and analyze them in order to identify key trends and developments. Finally, you will need to synthesize this information in a way that tells a coherent story about the evolution of the topic.

Example of a Chronological Review: Historical development of definitions of information literacy: A literature review of selected resources .

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Literature Review Structure

When choosing a literature review structure, there are several factors to consider.

1.     Purpose of the literature review. Is it to provide an overview of the field, or is it to evaluate a specific theory or research methodology?

2.     Audience for the literature review. Will it be read by scholars in the field, or is it intended for a general audience?

3.     Scope of the literature review. What time period should the sources cover? What types of sources do you need to identify? Are you focusing on a specific research method or theory?

4.     Resources available. What sources will be used, and how will they be accessed? Will you include gray literature? Will you evaluate the quality of the sources?

With these considerations in mind, you can choose a literature review structure that best suits your needs.

Literature reviews are an essential part of any research project. Understanding the different types of structures and how to select the best structure for your specific project is key to ensuring that you create the most effective review possible. We hope this guide has given you a better understanding of what literature reviews are, how they can be used, and which type is right for your needs.

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• Closet and laundry

Closet Organizing Ideas

By Jackie Reeve , Katie Okamoto and Alex Arpaia

Bringing order to a disorganized, cluttered closet can make daily life feel a little smoother—helping you find what you need, use what you own, and save time getting ready.

To help you get closets of any size under control, we asked eight experts for their best tips and tricks , and we spent over 60 hours researching and testing closet gear.

We have recommendations for everything from space-saving hangers to full closet systems , to help you find your tidy bliss.

The research

Why you should trust us, how to organize a closet, small-closet organizers, closet systems, bins and seasonal-storage options.

For this guide, we spoke with eight home-organizing experts: Naeemah Ford Goldson , professional organizer and founder of  the National Association of Black Professional Organizers (NABPO); Katrina Green , professional organizer and board member of NABPO; Rebekah Bashorun , professional organizer and founder of Organize for Love; Julie Morgenstern , organizer and author of Organizing From the Inside Out ; Sharon Lowenheim , professional organizer and founder of Organizing Goddess; Debbie Harwin, professional organizer and owner/president of I Need My Space ; Beth Penn, founder of Bneato Bar ; and Toni Hammersley from A Bowl Full of Lemons .

Everyone we spoke with stressed that the first step to creating an efficient, organized closet is to take stock of what’s inside, and to get rid of anything you don’t love or use regularly. You don’t need to dramatically pare down your wardrobe, but try not to let items you never use take up valuable closet space. Naeemah Ford Goldson, founder of the National Association of Black Professional Organizers, suggests a quick rule of thumb for bidding farewell to items that might have outlived their welcome: If you haven’t worn it in a year, donate it. And if something doesn’t fit or reflect who you are today, donate it. Our experts also offered the following tips for organizing closets of any size:

• Consider your goals: Ask why you’re taking this on, whether it’s decluttering, saving time, or aesthetics. “Once you know the reason why you want to become organized, it's easier to find a method that will work best for your needs,” says Goldson.
• Take stock before you buy: Once you’ve gotten rid of what you don’t want, take a hard look at what remains, and make a plan for the best way to store it. Organizer Beth Penn told us that until you’ve taken inventory, you won’t know what kind of storage you’ll need, and you may end up buying bins and boxes that don’t actually work for you.
• Choose streamlined organizing tools: Especially for a small area, invest in the most space-efficient storage tools you can find. Look for items like slim hangers and shelf dividers, rather than bulky wooden hangers or bins with drawers that take up more space.
• Keep things visible and accessible: Debbie Harwin told us she recommends choosing organizers that make it simple to see and access everything in your closet. For example, it’s easier to see sweaters when they’re separated by shelf dividers, as opposed to stacked away in boxes. Try to give everything a place to live, especially items like shoes, which can get overlooked.
• Take advantage of “found storage”: Julie Morgenstern suggested using hooks inside doors, to gain more hanging space, and grouping long-hanging and short-hanging clothing together, to free up a chunk of floor below the shorter pieces.
• Utilize vertical space: Not everything that you’ve been hanging must be hung, says Katrina Green. Sometimes folding and storing in shelving will free up valuable space for what does truly need to live on a hanger.
• Dress rehearse: Green suggests testing out new methods of storing for at least a couple weeks before buying products for a new organizing system. That might mean folding shirts away into cardboard boxes before investing in new bins, for instance. “If you find that it is causing you more stress than relieving you of it, then it’s time to look for another system,” she says.
• Be patient: Getting organized is a process, and it takes time, says Goldson. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. The clutter didn't accumulate in a day, so it will take more than a day to get it under control.”
• Be loving: Organizing can be stressful, and it can bring up a lot of emotions. Rebekah Bashorun, founder of Organize for Love , says to be compassionate with yourself and where you are in your organizing process, and to “give yourself grace.”

Last but not least, Bashorun says not to delay organizing just because you feel like your current living situation is temporary. She says she’s lived in her share of less-than-ideal situations, and it taught her to treat every space she’s in with the same care. She advises getting started, no matter how short-term your situation may seem, since the habits you form now can carry over—and disorganized habits rarely flip as soon as you move to your dream home.

The streamlined accessories in this section are designed to squeeze more space out of closet rods, shelves, drawers, and floors. For most people to get a small closet in order, all it should take is a couple of these recommendations and a few hours.

Hanging closet organizers

The Container Store 6-Compartment Canvas Hanging Sweater Organizer

Best hanging organizer.

Meant to help you store bulky items and take advantage of vertical space, these sturdy hanging cubbies had the most stable hooks we found.

Buying Options

Most of our experts warned against fabric hanging organizers suspended from closet bars, noting that they tend to become saggy and gather dust. But Katrina Green, a professional organizer and interior designer (licensed in the Philippines), believes there is a place for them in very small spaces, since they allow you to make more efficient use of your vertical space than if you rely solely on clothes hangers. Because they are a common, quick, and affordable way to add storage to a tight closet, we researched 14 and tested three promising options. And we think The Container Store’s 6-Compartment Canvas Hanging Sweater Organizer could be useful for storing linens or keeping folded clothes in order. It’s well made, with deep, wide cubbies that can even accommodate shoe boxes.

The six-shelf version of this Container Store organizer is 50 inches long, so it may almost reach your floor, depending on the height of your closet rod. We like this organizer’s size and shelving, whose compartments should easily accommodate sweaters, folded sheets, or towels. The off-white cotton canvas is a bit on the thin side, but we’re confident it’s durable. As of May 2023, our editor of home-goods coverage has been testing the hanging organizer for a little over four years, “packing it to the brim,” and it’s as sturdy as ever: “I’m legit impressed.” The Container Store also sells a smaller, three-compartment option if you don’t need as much space.

A common annoyance with hanging organizers is their tendency to tilt forward when you grab items. The Container Store organizer’s hooks are more stable than those of competitors we’ve tested: The triangular hooks’ wide base helps prevent the shelves from tilting forward or backward if the weight inside is unevenly distributed. But tilting still occurs, although it seems to vary depending on how you fill the organizer’s shelves. Our long-term tester has noticed little if any tilting. But another tester, who filled it with sweaters and shoes, found that grabbing one item sometimes caused the organizer to tip forward, causing items from other shelves to slide out—particularly heavier items, like shoes. For the category, however, we think this is a good-quality, functional choice that will help solve a problem for under $25.

We also tested StorageWorks and Simple Houseware organizers, both popular on Amazon, but each had flimsy shelves that too easily folded in half during testing, rendering them useless. Both organizers were made of a cheap-feeling microfiber-type fabric that was rough and scratchy. In a future round, we may test organizers from Sonyabecca and Moninxs , two options that Green suggested.

Closet-rod extender

ClosetMaid Double Hang Closet Rod

Best closet-rod extender.

This extender is the only one we considered that successfully gave us more usable space. It was also the easiest to adjust, so it’ll accommodate any closet.

Closet-rod extenders are a useful addition to any closet in which you want to maximize vertical hanging space: A second closet rod hangs below your built-in rod to double the number of items you can hang. In theory, they should be easy to set up and to use. In reality, most rod extenders are junk. We considered eight rods and tested three: the ClosetMaid Double Hang Closet Rod , the DecoBros Adjustable Hanging Closet Rod , and the Umbra Dublet Adjustable Closet Rod Expander . Of the three we tested, the ClosetMaid rod was the only one we wouldn’t immediately regret buying. It’s easy to adjust in a variety of ways, and, unlike most others we saw, it comes preassembled.

The ClosetMaid rod, which is made of powder-coated steel, beat the rest largely because of its durable and easily adjustable nylon straps, which attach to your existing closet rod, whatever diameter it may be. You can adjust the suspended rod to any height—from around 20 inches to 37 inches below the top rod—by sliding the clip up or down, so it’s useful for everything from kids clothes to adult shirts.

Like other organizers designed to hang from a closet rod, the rod will swing, which can make it annoying to use, especially for folks who tend to grab outfits in a hurry. The rod is most stable when it’s full of clothes; otherwise, we found it to be extremely swingy with even the lightest touch. Depending on the style of hangers you use, you may find your clothes on the floor more often than you’d like. And this extender works best if you’re hanging it from a rod that’s at least 5 and a half feet above the floor; otherwise, your clothes may drag on the bottom of the closet, even with the strap adjusted to its shortest length.

The ClosetMaid’s construction is far more versatile than that of the extender we tested from DecoBros , which has a set number of slotted holes that limit adjustments in both length and width. The DecoBros model was also difficult to put together and too small—it didn’t extend far enough below a row of men’s shirts to allow them to hang freely. Finally, we tried a double-hang rod from Umbra but were unable to test it at all because the two-piece rod kept falling apart, as several of its negative reviews noted.

Budget pick

Amazon Basics Slim Velvet Hangers

Cheap and effective nonslip hangers.

Available in different quantities and colors, these space-saving, ultra-slim flocked hangers keep garments in place and don’t cost much. But, like all velvet flocked hangers, they can shed.

Upgrade pick

Mawa Euro Space-Saving Hangers

Durable, nonslip space-savers.

These PVC-coated steel hangers aren’t cheap, but they’re elegant, they come in a few forms and colors, and they’ll last for years.

Our experts unanimously agreed that the most efficient way to maximize space in any closet is to use slim hangers for clothes, like the Amazon Basics Slim Velvet Hangers that we recommend in our hangers guide . By allowing everything to have more space, slim hangers also help keep clothes from wrinkling and rumpling in storage. MAWA’s Space-Saving Hangers , our upgrade pick , have an elegant, continuous-steel-rod design that will last for years. Their anti-slip PVC coating (available in several colors) keeps even the slinkiest clothes from falling to the floor. We like the variety of hanger styles, too, including the Euro , whose downturned-arc shape prevents shoulder denting in knit fabrics; the Silhouette , which has the more well-known shoulder-shaped profile; a pant hanger ; and a hanger for draping scarves, belts, or ties . The standard Euro style comes to about $35 for a set of 10, or a bit less than $3.50 per hanger—but these hangers’ steel material, sleek design, and long-term durability make them a worthwhile investment.

The Container Store Chrome Metal Pant Hangers

A sleek option for pants.

These hangers are slim, for maximizing space. Yet they have a simple, open design, for slipping pants on and off easily.

If you prefer pants-specific hangers that make hanging and removing garments easy, we like The Container Store’s Chrome Metal Pant Hangers . (Hanging pants in your closet can free up space in a dresser, and clothes will have significantly fewer wrinkles.) Similar in design to the MAWA pant hanger , these have a PVC nonslip coating that keeps your pants in place, but slipping garments on and off is still simple. The slim profile and minimalist design should fit in perfectly with other shirt or suit hangers, giving your closet a clean look. Keep in mind, however, that the thinner bar may cause some creasing, unlike bigger, bulkier hanger-bar designs. Unlike other hangers we’ve tested, these don’t leave residue behind on clothing.

Shelf dividers

Lynk Tall Shelf Dividers

Best shelf dividers.

Stable and slim, these dividers are the best we tested to keep your stacked linens, sweaters, or bags in order without a hassle. They fit shelves up to ¾ inch thick.

Shelf dividers are great for making piles of clothes or linens tidy and keeping bags separated and upright. They take up less space than storage bins and keep everything visible, something our experts highly encouraged. After considering 12 and testing five, we love the Lynk Tall Shelf Dividers because they have the best design, are made of a heavy gauge coated steel, and are the sturdiest we found. And because of their slim profile, these shelf dividers won’t take up any extra space.

When we clipped the Lynk dividers onto our shelves, they easily stood up straight, with no adjustment necessary. Many of the other options we tried proved unstable and weak. But the Lynk dividers felt far more secure on the shelf, and the metal was much stronger than acrylic versions. One staff member who has owned the Lynk dividers for several years reports that the dividers have held up well and kept their closet “calm and organized.” Another tester has been using them to organize bulky sweaters and sweatshirts for about a year and says they’ve managed to keep formerly unruly piles in place. If you have painted shelves, our testers suggested taking extra care while removing the dividers from shelves, to prevent paint from chipping from the friction. These dividers will work for shelves up to ¾ inch thick; if you have thicker shelves, go with The Container Store’s Clear Shelf Divider, below.

The Container Store Clear Shelf Divider

A plastic divider for thicker shelves.

This was the best of the solid dividers we tried. It fits shelves from ¾ inch to 1½ inches thick and has a hook for hanging items in front of your shelves.

For thicker shelves, we recommend The Container Store’s Clear Shelf Divider . It easily slipped onto 1-inch-thick shelves in our tests, and though it didn’t feel as stable as the Lynk divider, it was far better than competing acrylic dividers. It’s compatible with Elfa shelves, also available at The Container Store. A valet hook on the front of the organizer provides a nice place to hang a handbag, tomorrow’s outfit, or something else you want to have readily on hand in your closet.

We also tested clear acrylic dividers from Cq acrylic and StorageAid , but both felt flimsy, and we think our other picks (particularly the Lynk dividers) will last longer.

Drawer organizers

Dial Dream Drawer Organizers

The best drawer dividers.

More than any others we tried, these dividers are simple to use and better at keeping socks and underwear organized while maximizing drawer space.

Dividing your drawer with organizers can help keep folded clothing organized or socks and underwear from getting jumbled. After researching 16 and testing five sets of drawer organizers, we recommend Dial’s Dream Drawer Organizers . They took up less room, stayed more firmly in place, and were easier to adjust than the competition. These were the only drawer organizers we saw that included pieces to subdivide drawers both vertically and horizontally, a feature we loved.

The plastic Dream Drawer Organizers use a spring-loaded mechanism that adjusts to fit drawers from 12 to 18 inches deep and at least 4 inches high. (You can also buy smaller dividers that attach perpendicularly, to further subdivide the space.) Wide supporting T-shaped panels at either end help the Dream Drawer dividers stay in place, without taking up too much drawer space, making them easy to slip in and out if you need to rearrange. (In long-term testing, we’ve found that this design will occasionally snag fabric while arranging our clothes.) They also used space more efficiently than the box organizers we tried, giving us multiple ways to take advantage of every inch of our drawers.

Open Spaces Drawer Dividers

A sturdy, wooden option.

A mostly plastic-free option, these solid ash wood dividers are attractive, grippy, and easy to use, but they’re significantly more expensive than our top pick.

At less than an inch thick, the Open Spaces Drawer Dividers are not as space-efficient as our top pick, but there’s a reason: They’re made of solid ash. The dividers work in drawers at least 3½ inches high and adjust to between 11 and 17 inches in depth—an inch shorter than the Dream Drawer Organizers. In testing, the spring-loaded mechanism worked smoothly, without forcing, but with enough resistance to stay firmly in place once inserted in the drawer. Silicone end caps help the divider grip and stay in place without wobbling. The real upgrade is aesthetic—the attractive ash wood—but also functional: Since all edges are sanded to a curve, even delicate fabrics won’t snag in the drawer.

These dividers might not be practical if you really need to save space, due to their thickness. Sold in a set of two, Open Spaces Drawer Dividers come to about $25 each, so they may also be cost-prohibitive, especially if you need them for multiple drawers. But if you’re able to spend more and want to avoid plastic, these are solid wood, attractive, and durable. We’ve been testing them for more than two years, and they’ve shown no wear and remain springy and grippy, needing only an occasional nudge back into place. If you’re not sure you want to commit, Open Spaces offers free, no-questions-asked returns for 30 days.

iDesign Axis 8-Hook Wall-Mounted Rack

A great rack for accessories.

This eight-hook rack is one of the best compact options we found for keeping ties, necklaces, or other small accessories neatly arranged.

We considered a range of racks for keeping ties, belts, scarves, and necklaces organized in a tight space, and the iDesign Axis 8-Hook Wall-Mounted Rack was the best. It’s well constructed, with hooks that are each deep enough to hold multiple items but spaced far enough apart that smaller accessories shouldn’t be crowded. At only 18¼ inches wide, this hook rack is a nice option if you’re looking for an efficient way to deal with odds and ends inside or outside the closet. One owner mentions in a review on The Container Store’s site that the anchors that come with this rack aren’t the best; if you find the prepackaged option unsatisfactory or don’t have a stud in your closet, we recommend these drywall anchors .

Spectrum Duchess Over the Door 5-Hook Rack

A great over-the-door rack.

This hook rack takes advantage of lost space on the back of a closet door and is great for bulkier items like robes or towels.

For storing towels, robes, and other items on the back of a door, we like the Spectrum Duchess Over the Door 5-Hook Rack . This rack is solidly built, with large oval nubs at the end of each hook to keep clothing firmly in place. The smooth metal won’t damage delicate fabrics. When we tested this rack for our guide to gear for small apartments , we found that it hung easily over our tester’s 1½-inch-thick door with ¼ inch of overhang; it wiggled a little, although not so much as to annoy her. Some online commenters complain that the bracket makes it hard to shut the door, but, depending on the clearance between the door and the frame, this could happen with any over-the-door rack. We’ve also been long-term testing this rack since 2015, and it has held up well.

Yamazaki Home Over-the-Door Hanger

A minimalist over-the-door rack.

This sleek, low-profile hanger works best for smaller items like baseball hats, masks, and totes.

The high-quality, steel Yamazaki Home Over-the-Door Hanger makes efficient use of space and will blend with most decor, thanks to its simple design. A powder coating of white or black keeps edges smooth, protecting delicate items like scarves. Its five hooks hang just over 2 inches from the top of the door, keeping items up and out of the way. In our testing, it fit securely over bedroom, bathroom, and closet doors, without wiggling, but its 1⅜-inch width means it may not fit thicker doors. As with our other over-the-door rack pick , the Spectrum Duchess, with this one not every door will be able to shut, depending on clearance between the door and its frame; this is true for any rack of this type. With just over 2 inches in between each hook, this rack is best for smaller items like baseball hats, face masks, and tote bags.

What to look forward to: Soon we will test the Yamazaki Over the Door Hook and the Estique Over the Door Organizer from Umbra.

Our experts told us that shoes were one of the biggest culprits of clutter in the closet—people often own too many pairs and don’t allocate enough storage for them. Visibility is key, as Naeemah Ford Goldson urges—so you know what shoes you own and can better access them.

Seville Classics 3-Tier Resin Slatted Shoe Rack

A sturdy, space-efficient shoe rack.

This rack succeeds where most fail: It assembles in minutes, has ample space, and remains wobble-free. And it is easier to customize than any other we found.

After 30 hours of researching shoe racks and testing 18, we think the Seville Classics 3-Tier Resin Slat Utility Shoe Rack is the best for small closets where you need to maximize floor space. It’s the most stable freestanding rack we tried, yet it assembled quickly and without tools. Simply fold open the steel frame and snap the shelves into place.

The Seville holds more pairs than many racks we considered, and it is more customizable. You can easily stack two or more racks vertically or connect them horizontally, and the removable shelves mean it can fit taller boots that other racks can’t manage. No other model we tested made it as simple to store so many different shoe sizes and styles together. For more ideas about organizing shoes, see our full guide to shoe racks .

Yamazaki Home Tower Shoe Rack

An attractive, high-quality rack for shoes—or anything else.

This investment-worthy rack is slim enough to fit in a closet and sleek enough for an entryway, and it can house up to 24 shoes.

Durable and minimalist, compact yet capacious, the Yamazaki Home Tower Shoe Rack looks more like a piece of furniture than your average shoe rack, due to its powder-coated steel design and ash veneer top. The price tag reflects this: At $125, this is far from a budget solution. But if you’re able to make the investment, this is a shoe rack that won’t end up as a curbside donation, and it is versatile, simple, and durable enough that it should last years. Its five shelves, plus space on the floor beneath, will comfortably hold 18 to 24 shoes, depending on their size and style, and the wood top makes an attractive shelf for belts, wallets, and other items.

The rack assembles quickly but will require a screwdriver. We’ve been testing this rack since 2020, and it never feels rickety or unstable, despite the steel’s slenderness. The open design is space-efficient—your shoes straddle two lateral steel bars for each “shelf”—which means that the rack can also double as a hanger. In our tests, we have used it for more than shoes, draping jeans and bulky sweaters for easy access. But the design does mean that you won’t be able to use this in a child’s closet, since tiny shoes will tumble down.

Yamazaki Home Tower Shoe Rack–Tall

A mini shoe rack for the smallest spaces.

This elegant little rack has the footprint of just one pair of shoes—but it holds five.

For the smallest spaces, we like the “tall” version of the Yamazaki Home Tower Shoe Rack , which houses five pairs of shoes but will take up the floor space of just one. The thin, powder-coated steel frame ensures that the rack won’t take up more space than it needs to in tight corners, and it comes to just 2½ feet tall. In testing, the rectangular-shaped base gives the rack a sturdy footing, and the U-shape structure doubles as a handle, should you need one. The rack assembles quickly but requires a screwdriver to attach the two halves.

In a closet that needs structure, adding a system—whether installed or modular—is a game-changing way to utilize vertical space, eliminate clutter, and fit more of your stuff. Naeemah Ford Goldson says customizing with a system is the best way to make sure your closet works for you, “instead of you having to work around what you inherited with your closet.” Renters can consider this, too, thanks to freestanding products. Professional organizer Toni Hammersley told us that any type of storage would be better than none, and that there’s no need to overspend if you don’t have the budget. “There are inexpensive systems on the market,” she says, and if you don’t want to permanently attach a system to a wall, even a bookshelf will help to hold bins and containers.

Although we didn’t bring closet systems in for testing, we did spend about 11 hours researching them online and in stores. We paid attention to the quality of the materials, the construction (up close), how they were installed, the availability, any extra accessories, and the price. All of our picks (with the exception of IKEA’s new Boaxel system) are also used by Wirecutter staffers, so we were able to get feedback about how well they’ve worked and held up over time.

Bang-for-your-buck closet system

IKEA Boaxel

Best affordable closet system.

If you’re on a budget, this system lets you start small and build over time. It’s better made than wire systems we’ve seen at other big-box stores, and there are plenty of components to mix and match.

Of the closet systems we’ve considered, IKEA’s wall-mounted Boaxel closet system has the best combination of easy customization, low price, and availability. It’s IKEA’s replacement for its well-liked Algot system, our former pick, which was discontinued in 2020.

We visited an IKEA store to look at the new system up close, and it appears to be just as functional and customizable as the Algot system. Plenty of similar add-ons are available, including pants hangers, drying racks, and shoe storage, although there is only one shelf depth available for the Boaxel system, whereas the Algot system had two. The systems are very similar, but they are not compatible with each other, if you’re hoping to expand your existing Algot setup. Unlike the Algot system, which was popular with several of our staff members, we don’t have a lot of reviews and feedback for the Boaxel system yet, although this Reddit thread was helpful. We still think the Boaxel system will meet a lot of the same needs that the Algot system did. The Boaxel system has its own baskets , but it’s also meant to be combined with the new Jonaxel line of mesh baskets and frames , to add more modular storage options. You can use it in a closet as a drawer/rod system, or around your home for wall-shelf storage. If you have a closet that’s dark, one of our senior editors recommends adding an LED light strip for extra illumination.

The Boaxel system is slightly more expensive than the Algot system—about $20 more for this basic 4-foot-wide kit , which is similar to the Algot system we used to recommend. But we also considered wire closet systems, such as this Rubbermaid Fast Track kit , from big-box stores such as Lowe’s and Home Depot, and for roughly the same price, the Boaxel system comes with baskets, a rod, and shelves, instead of shelves alone. The construction and materials are better, too. We’ve also had several wire systems from brands like ClosetMaid and Rubbermaid, and the metal edges are not as smoothly finished; senior staff writer Jackie Reeve has cut herself on them more than once during installation.

In our initial testing for this guide, we wanted to find an affordable option that was also widely available, and we found that IKEA was the best brand for a DIY closet system, if you think you’ll want to expand on it down the line. ClosetMaid and Rubbermaid systems can be really confusing to buy; each brand offers several different systems that seem interchangeable but aren’t necessarily compatible. Some are sold only in-store, some only online, and it can be hard to tell whether they’ll work together until you get them home. Unless you note your exact purchase location and model name (and it’s still available), you may find that the components you want to add just don’t fit. IKEA’s Boaxel and Jonaxel lines are available in-store and online, and they will always work together. One of our senior staff writers bought a ClosetMaid system to organize his pantry and also said it was confusing to install. We haven’t heard the same complaints about IKEA’s systems.

If the IKEA Boaxel system doesn’t work for you, the next best we’ve found is the ClosetMaid ShelfTrack system . The ShelfTrack line is somewhat more available than other systems we saw, the white wire shelves look a bit more uniform, and owner reviews suggest that extra components are easier to find. After examining several models in stores, we liked ClosetMaid systems more overall than Rubbermaid systems—they looked better constructed and seemed to have more options. Still, we found that ClosetMaid systems lacked both the quality and configurability of an IKEA system.

Investment closet system

The Container Store Elfa

A closet system to invest in long-term.

This is the sturdiest and most attractive closet system we looked at, with beautiful finishes and lots of add-on options. But it’s very expensive.

We love The Container Store’s Elfa closet system for its quality materials, its high-end look, its versatility, and the ease of The Container Store’s online design tools. The shelves feel sturdier than those of our other picks, the brackets and rails appear more finished around the edges, and the drawers have a smoother glide. Also, the wood components we looked at had no visible dings or scratches, something we noticed on almost every big-box-store closet system we saw. And the Elfa system will last: We have staffers who have used the Elfa for years (more than 15 years, in one case), and it still looks almost new.

Consultants in-store can help you design your closet, but The Container Store’s online design tool is so much fun—it’s more intuitive and easier to use than IKEA’s online designer, and it offers more customization choices. You can buy the components and install them yourself, or pay an additional installation fee (which starts at $180).

As much as we like Elfa, it’s expensive. A basic, 3-foot-wide wire-shelf system typically costs more than $550 and really pulls ahead of our other closet-system picks with its wood components, which start closer to $1,000. In our research we found that the Elfa was still more straightforward and probably less expensive than custom closet systems, which are like buying a car—the true prices are hard to find without talking to a salesperson, and they change depending on where you live and what’s available. The Elfa system is easier to price and buy. However, for you to get the most value for your money, we think it makes sense to invest in an Elfa system only if you plan to live in your space for at least five years.

Modular closet system

ClosetMaid Stackable Storage Organizers

Best modular system.

This system of stackable shelves and cubbies is the best way to add lots of storage to your closet without putting holes in your walls.

If you want a modular system of cubbies and shelves that don’t require drilling into your walls, we like ClosetMaid’s Stackable Storage Organizers because they’re of better quality and have more pieces available than other modular systems we considered. They’re typically easier to find in stores, and the pieces are solid (although not as polished as those of the other systems we recommend). They are easy to confuse with ClosetMaid’s Cubeicals, though, and we haven’t tested that system to know whether the two are compatible with each other. The system includes shoe cubbies , drawers , and shelves , plus various cubby units that you can mix and match to get the setup you need. It doesn’t include a closet rod, though, so you may want to keep the one you have and use these freestanding pieces to maximize the floor space.

ClosetMaid’s stackable system is usually available at the company’s own website , Home Depot, Lowe’s, Staples, and Target. We think this stackable system is easy to expand if you need to add components, especially since the line has been around for several years and hasn’t changed. What’s available now will probably still be available in a year or two.

Jackie used an older version of this same system for 11 years in her own closet and sewing studio. And though the laminate particle board isn’t as solid as Elfa shelves and drawers, this system does last, and it gets the job done.

What about IKEA Pax?

If you’re willing to DIY it, IKEA’s Pax wardrobe offers some interesting opportunities for creating built-ins for your closet. The Pax is technically a wardrobe meant to stand alone outside a closet, but we’ve seen great examples of people hacking units to create more-functional closets. Some of our readers recommended this option as an alternative to an installed system. It takes a little extra work to set up the wardrobe in a closet, but when done well, a Pax hack can look very clean and streamlined. Owner reviews are generally strong; people say they like the wardrobe’s tall height and the number of options available to configure the inside. We also talked to Wirecutter staffers who use and like the Pax.

Before buying bins, take stock of what you want to put in them, Katrina Green says. If you skip this step, “you defeat the purpose of allowing yourself to create a system that you can stick to,” she says, and you might end up adding to your clutter. Once you’ve taken inventory and figured out what you need, these bins and bags will keep your winter bedding or your summer clothes organized and packed neatly away until you need them.

Under-bed bins

Iris WeatherPro Storage Box 41-Qt

Best under-bed bins.

Sturdy construction and better materials give this small yet versatile bin an edge over the competition.

Affordable and airtight, a trusty, under-bed bin is shallow enough to stow under a bed to maximize storage space. Of the 12 under-bed bins we researched and the five we tested, we think Iris WeatherPro 41-Qt Storage Box is the best. It’s made of thicker plastic and has a sturdier lid. Six latches located around the entire bin (not just at the ends, as on other bins) keep the lid securely fastened. It was the only bin we tested that gave us confidence it would protect against moths or water sneaking in (although we didn’t specifically test for those conditions). One of our editors used Iris WeatherPro boxes for a cross-country move to protect items she didn’t trust hauling in a cardboard box, and the bins worked perfectly.

We tested the 8-inch tall 41-quart size, the biggest Iris WeatherPro box that would fit under most beds (at 8 inches tall, it will require at least 8 ½ inches of clearance for smooth access). But smaller, 19-quart and 30-quart sizes (both the same 8-inch height) are also available. The 41-quart tote is small for an under-bed box, but the size made it easy to carry when filled and to slide out from under a bed with a 9-inch clearance. At 8 inches tall, these bins were taller than others we tried, but the extra height allowed more room for bulkier blankets and outerwear. Larger under-bed bins can be unruly to use in a tight bedroom—the largest we tested was wider than a twin bed by about 5 inches, leaving exposed sides to trip over. We thought the bigger boxes weren’t as easy to use as the smaller WeatherPro boxes. We also recommend a few other airtight options in our guide to storage containers .

Storage bins

Open Spaces The Bin Trio

Bins you can leave out.

If you don’t need something with airtight sealing, try these storage bins, which come in multiple sizes. They offer roomy, stackable storage, and they look nice enough to keep in plain sight.

If you don’t need airtight storage containers , or you’re seeking bins to access items more frequently, we like the Open Spaces bins , made of durable hard plastic and available with plastic or wooden lids (or without lids). The bins are available in three sizes— small , medium , and large —with the largest coming to a surprisingly generous 17½ inches by about 11½ inches, and 8½ inches high. The medium and large sizes have cut-outs for hand-holds on each short end, providing a good grip for toting from place to place, even when filled with heavy items. The cream-colored, opaque heavy-duty plastic conceals the contents, keeping clutter out of sight, but you can label the bins on the hand-holds to ensure nothing is out-of-sight, out-of-mind.

We haven’t tested the bins with plastic lids, but the wooden lids feel solid and of high quality. They fit neatly on top without sliding, and are easy to wipe clean, thanks to their smoothly sanded texture. We’ve been testing these wood-topped bins in multiple sizes for about a year, using the smallest ones for little bedside items, the largest to hold exercise bands and weights, and the medium one to store a clothing iron and steamer. We haven’t noticed much dust accumulation inside, perhaps due to frequent use or to the small cutout openings. Still, these are by no means airtight, and we wouldn’t recommend storing anything you want to keep dust-free, especially for those with dust mite allergies. We think they’re ideal for bulky, odd-shaped things that you might not want to see and are hard to stow in traditional shelving.

HAY Colour Storage Box

Colorful storage boxes.

These vibrantly hued boxes are perfect for holding keepsake items, love letters, scarves, hats, and old mix tapes. They come in multiple sizes, are sturdy, and stay shut with a magnetic lid.

Sometimes it’s the little, random things that contribute the most to a sense of disorder: the sunglasses, sentimental postcards, winter gloves, and scarves that litter the floor of a closet or the top of a dresser. In those cases, it’s nice to have catch-all containers that still feel special and make it easy to access what’s inside. With their glossy, high-saturation colors, the HAY Colour Storage Boxes are like the Trojan horse of storage: They offer plenty of room to stash smaller items, all under the guise of decor. This is a plus for small spaces, where you may not always have the extra closet space to tuck bins and boxes out of sight. The boxes are made from heavyweight recycled cardboard, finished with a high-gloss color, and come in multiple sizes, the largest being 16½ inches by 13.5 inches, and 5 inches high.

We like that these deliver flat. To assemble, you remove the 3M sticker backing at four corners and fold the cardboard up along pre-scored lines, like origami, holding the sticky corners in place for a couple of seconds until secure. In our testing, the boxes are sturdy, even when stacked, thanks to the rigidity of folded cardboard in the corners. But we recommend holding the bottom of the boxes when transporting them from place to place if they’re filled with anything heavy (years of writing journals, for instance). They’re available in rectangular or circular versions (the latter reminiscent of hat boxes), and they snap shut with a satisfying magnetic lid.

Blanket bags

Misslo Folding Breathable Jumbo Storage Bag

Best bedding storage.

We found these blanket bags to be the easiest and sturdiest way to hold bulky bedding. They’re also great for keeping a legion of stuffed toys dust-free.

Blanket bags protect your bedding from dust and damage while it’s stored away. These bags are less of a hassle to open and close than a vacuum-sealing space bag, and they’re more generously sized than many hard storage bins we’ve looked at, so they hold bulkier bedding with ease. We researched 12 bags and tested two, and our favorite is the Misslo Folding Breathable Jumbo Storage Bag .

The Misslo bag was the most hassle-free to get a king-size comforter into, thanks to a top that zipped open on three sides. The bags are made with a thick material, which allows them to stand up on their own, and they have a sturdy zipper. In our testing we were able to unfold, unzip, and fill the Misslo bags in less time than we did The Container Store’s Natural Cotton/PEVA Storage Bags . Jackie’s been testing the Misslo bags for three summers to store her winter bedding off-season, and they still look new. It’s a breeze to access their contents when she suddenly needs to grab a blanket on a chilly night.

The set of two Misslo bags includes two sizes. We tested the larger bag (28 by 20½ by 15¾ inches) with our bulkiest bedding and still had room to throw in the duvet cover and some sheets. We think the smaller bag (24½ by 18 by 12½ inches) would work well for seasonal kids bedding and guest bedding.

Compression storage bags

SpaceSaver Vacuum Storage Bags

Best vacuum-sealed storage bag.

These bags are quick to compress, and they reduced more volume than others we tested.

Although we generally prefer plastic bins or blanket bags for storing clothes and bedding, vacuum bags can be a decent option if your storage is tight. After researching 18 vacuum bags and testing three, we recommend SpaceSaver Vacuum Storage Bags . They shrank more and faster, looked better, and held their seal better than the rest.

We tested the jumbo-size bags, which are 30 by 40 inches and could hold a queen-size comforter or several pillows. They shrank down significantly faster and looked flatter than the Vacwel Jumbo Vacuum Storage Bags we tested in a similar size (30 by 43 inches). We filled both bags to the same height with fluffy bedding, pillows, and clothes, and the SpaceSaver bags compressed by a little over 60%; the Vacwel bags compressed by only about 50% (in our testing neither achieved the 75% to 80% reduction they advertised). We reused all the bags we tested, and they compressed back down to roughly the same size. Since our original testing, we’ve used the SpaceSaver bags in a cross-country move and to pack several boxes for shipping, and they’ve held their seal through four or five repeated uses.

Jackie has used these bags since 2018 to ship test bedding around the country for photography, donations, or returns to companies, and she’s never received a complaint that products arrived dirty, wet, or otherwise damaged. She also used them for a cross-country move and reported that although they were fine overall, after a few months in storage, some bags lost their vacuum seal. She’d stored the bags—compressed and sealed—in plastic bins, and we recommend that you do the same because almost all vacuum bags eventually lose their seal.

Acrodo Space Saver Compression Bags

A roll-up compression bag.

These smaller bags don’t need a vacuum, so they are easier to use in tight storage areas, for travel, or in moving boxes.

May be out of stock

Of the three compression bags we tested, Acrodo’s Space Saver Compression Bags were the easiest to use—rather than dragging out the vacuum, you simply roll the air out and seal. They compressed by about 50% and held that compression for our 24-hour test. They shrank enough to be helpful in the short term for creating extra space in a storage box and protecting clothes from the elements, and we had no problem reusing and resealing them.

We tested the smaller size, which was easier to compress—the fuller the bag, the harder it is to roll them. So, unlike the SpaceSaver bags, these aren’t a great choice for storing big bedding.

This article was edited by Daniela Gorny and Christine Ryan.

Beth Penn, home organizer and founder of Bneato Bar , phone interview , November 16, 2017

Toni Hammersley, author of The Complete Book of Home Organization and blogger at A Bowl Full of Lemons , email interview , November 17, 2017

Julie Morgenstern, home organizer and author of several books including Organizing From the Inside Out , phone interview , November 20, 2017

Sharon Lowenheim, professional organizer and founder of Organizing Goddess , phone interview , November 21, 2017

Debbie Harwin, professional organizer and owner/president of I Need My Space , phone interview , November 21, 2017

Meet your guides

Jackie Reeve

Jackie Reeve is a senior staff writer covering bedding, organization, and home goods at Wirecutter since 2015. Previously she was a school librarian, and she’s been a quilter for about 15 years. Her quilt patterns and her other written work have appeared in various publications. She moderates Wirecutter’s staff book club and makes her bed every morning.

Katie Okamoto

Katie Okamoto is an editor on the discovery team and leads Wirecutter’s sustainability coverage. She has been covering products—from food to furniture—and their intersections with environmental impact and environmental health for more than a decade. Previously, Katie was an editor at Metropolis Magazine.

Alex Arpaia

Mentioned above

• After testing dozens of hangers, we think the Proman Kascade Hanger is the most versatile and quality hanger for most closets. The Best Hangers  
• We consulted four small-space experts to help you decide what to buy (and not buy) to optimize your small apartment. The Best Gear for Small Apartments  
• We spent more than 30 hours researching shoe racks and assembling 18 racks by hand to find the best options. Here's what we recommend. The Best Shoe Rack  
• After extensive testing, we found seven storage bins, boxes, and totes are our favorites for keeping stuff clean and dry. Here's what we recommend. The Best Storage Containers  

Further reading

5 Cheap(ish) Things to Radically Make Over Your Closet

by Jennifer Hunter

These things will help give you the upper hand against closet clutter and streamline your overstuffed space.

Make the Most of Any Closet

by Tim Heffernan

Got cluttered closets? These clever storage options (and, before that, a purge) will make them feel bigger and work better.

Ask Wirecutter: How Do I Deal With My Partner’s Bedroom Laundry Pile?

by Annemarie Conte

These simple solutions will help reduce the giant mountain of clothes hanging out in your bedroom.

The Best Basic Home Toolkit

by Doug Mahoney

The Anvil Homeowner’s Tool Set from Home Depot is the best basic pre-assembled home toolkit we’ve found.