literature review bachelorarbeit

Wie schreibe ich ein Literature Review als Bachelorarbeit oder Masterarbeit?

Ein Literature Review ist eine wissenschaftliche Arbeit, im Rahmen einer Bachelorarbeit oder Masterarbeit, in der eigenständig bestimmte Informationen und Daten aus wissenschaftlichen Studien gesammelt werden, um eine bestimmte Frage zu beantworten.

Die Studien stammen aus wissenschaftlichen Zeitschriften (Journals). Die Hauptmethoden sind logisches Schließen, Analogien, Vergleiche, Simulieren, kritische Betrachtungen und weitere logische Operationen.

Was sind die Vorteile bei einem Literature Review?

• Keine Abhängigkeit von anderen,
• Quellen gibt es genug und vor allem digital,
• klare Methodik,
• enge Orientierung an Literatur möglich,
• gut planbar,
• schnell schreiben ist möglich,
• relativ wenig Aufwand,
• keine Wartezeiten,
• weniger Risiken und weniger Überraschungen,
• Bestnote ist möglich.

Was sind die Nachteile eines Literature Reviews?

• Schwierige Themenfindung,
• Dein Englisch muss recht gut sein,
• anspruchsvolle Quellen,
• Forschungsfrage schwer zu formulieren,
• die Eigenleistung ist nicht einfach, da muss man überlegen,
• Risiko, sich in der Literatur zu verlieren,
• Plagiatsgefahr.

Wie sieht ein Thema für ein Literature Review aus?

Wie das von anderen Arten der Arbeit auch. Der Unterschied liegt in den Datenquellen und Methoden.

Was sind die Herausforderungen bei einem Literature Review und wie meistere ich sie?

Deine Eigenleistung bei einem Literature Review sind neue Erkenntnisse mittels Auswertung von wissenschaftlichen Studien. Dabei gibt es diese Schwierigkeiten.

1. Du musst neue Erkenntnisse gewinnen, auf Studienbasis!

Die größte Herausforderung ist die Eigenleistung. Wenn alles schon in den Studien steht, wie soll ICH denn dann noch etwas NEUES daraus erkennen? Das geht doch gar nicht... Doch, das geht. Du musst die vorhandenen Studien nach einem Schema auswerten und dann die Studien nach deren Fokus clustern. Hier ist ein Schema dazu. Versuche, in Deinen Studien die Variablen A bis D zu finden.

2. Du musst Textanalyse-Methoden benutzen!

Du hast nur Studien. Keine Experten, keine Leute, die Du befragen kannst. Die Zeit ist knapp. Viele Texte scheinen gut. Aber immer wieder findest Du bessere Texte... Und wie kannst Du all diese Inhalte beim Lesen behalten? Nicht einfach!!

Mit der Formulierung der Leitfrage am Anfang der Arbeit hast Du schon den Roten Faden für das Auswerten der Studien und damit die Arbeit.

Wie  gehe ich mit der Plagiatsgefahr beim Literature Review um!

In einem Literature Review ist die Gefahr des Abschreibens hoch und damit das Plagiatsrisiko. Auf das Plagiatsrisiko kannst Du schon beim Schreiben achten, indem Du ein paar Regeln befolgst .

Tipp: Eine neue Technik, um schnell guten wissenschaftlichen Text ohne Plagiate zu schreiben, findest Du im Buch "Schreib-ABC – Fünf Seiten pro Tag". Hier ist ein Probeauszug .

Womit fange ich mein Literature Review am besten an?

Fange mit der Forschungsfrage und dem Thema und den passenden Quellen an! Was willst Du für Antworten für welche Fragen gewinnen?

Folge diesem standardisierten Ablauf.

• Exposé schreiben (kläre Leitfrage, Erwartungen des Betreuers und Methoden etc.)
• gezielt Bücher filtern und Theorie-Kapitel füllen,
• Forschungsstand mittels Studienauswertung erheben und Kapitel schreiben,
• Analyse-Methoden überlegen (Forschungsmethoden) und beschreiben,
• Infos, Daten und Argumente aus Quellen beschaffen und auswerten,
• neue Erkenntnisse mittels Analysen gewinnen
• Schlussfolgerungen ziehen, Ergebniskapitel schreiben und Arbeit abschließen.

PS: Der Thesis-Guide von Aristolo kann dir beim Schreiben deiner Arbeit helfen.

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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.

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Wie führt man einen Literatur-Review durch?

Veröffentlicht am 9. November 2015 von Annelien Krul . Aktualisiert am 15. August 2023.

Wenn du eine Abschlussarbeit schreibst, ist es unbedingt nötig, dass du einen Literatur-Review durchführst. Aber was genau bedeutet das? Wie strukturierst du in erster Linie diesen Review und wie integrierst du anschließend die Informationen, die du findest, in deine Arbeit?

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Inhaltsverzeichnis

Was ist ein literatur-review, literatur-wegweiser, wie verweist du auf deine quellen, standardsätze die sie verwenden können, häufig gestellte fragen.

Bei einem Literatur-Review handelt es sich um eine Methode, die angewandt wird, um Wissen, das bereits in Bezug auf ein bestimmtes Thema oder Problem besteht, zu sammeln. Diese Informationen können in verschiedenen Quellen, wie Zeitschriftenartikel, Bücher, Papers, Abschlussarbeiten und Archivmaterial, gefunden werden.

Durch die Durchführung eines Literatur-Reviews kannst du dir einen Einblick in bereits bestehende Kenntnisse und Theorien in Bezug auf dein Thema verschaffen. Dies stellt außerdem sicher, dass deine Abschlussarbeit über eine starke wissenschaftliche Fundierung verfügt.

Wenn er richtig durchgeführt wird, entsteht aus einem Literatur-Review nicht nur eine einfache Liste oder Zusammenfassung der verfügbaren Daten. Dein Ziel ist es stattdessen, die relevantesten Ideen und Informationen, die du herausgefunden hast, im Rahmen deines theoretischen Rahmens kritisch zu diskutieren.

Was ist der Unterschied zwischen einem Literatur-Review und einem systematic Review?

Ein systematic Review ist systematischer und formaler als ein Litertur-Review.

Bei einem Literatur-Review werden existierende Arbeiten qualitativ zusammenfasst und evaluiert, ohne dass eine formale, explizite Methode verwendet wird.

Was ist der Unterschied zwischen einem Literatur-Review und einem theoretischen Rahmen?

Der Literatur-Review dient als echter Grundstein für die Analyse des Problems, das du untersuchst. Abhängig vom Aufbau deiner Abschlussarbeit kann er auch als Grundlage verwendet werden, um einen umfassenden theoretischen Rahmen zu entwickeln.

Beispiel theoretische Rahmen

Vorbereitende Erforschung des Problems

Sobald du einen allgemeinen Überblick über das Problem und die Forschungsfragen, die du in deiner Abschlussarbeit ansprechen möchtest, hast, ist der erste Schritt oft, mit einem Literatur-Review zu beginnen. Dies ist eine wertvolle Möglichkeit, um dich selbst innerhalb des Forschungsfeldes besser zu orientieren und dich auf das Problem, das du untersuchen willst, genauer auszurichten.

Diese Einblicke in die bestehenden Kenntnisse und Theorien, die du durch den Literatur-Review gewinnst, werden dir auch dabei helfen, einen starken wissenschaftlichen Ausgangspunkt für den Rest deiner Forschung zu schaffen.

Nachdem du eine klare Problemstellung und Forschungsfrage(n) bestimmt hast, ist der nächste Schritt, dass du dich eingehender in dein Thema und die einschlägige Literatur vertiefst.

Dies kann eine echte Herausforderung sein, angesichts der Menge der verfügbaren Literatur und der begrenzten Zeit, die dir unter Umständen für das Schreiben deiner Abschlussarbeit zur Verfügung steht. Deshalb ist es wichtig, dass du an diesen Prozess so effizient und systematisch wie möglich herangehst.

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Hältst du dich an diesen Vier-Stufen-Wegweiser, wird dir das dabei helfen, deinen Literatur-Review effektiv durchzuführen.

• Vorbereitung
• Literatur sammeln
• Literatur bewerten und auswählen
• Literatur verarbeiten

1. Vorbereitung

Der erste Schritt umfasst, dass du dich selbst auf dein Thema ausrichtest, damit du ein umfassenderes Bild des Untersuchungsgebietes erlangst. Dazu gehört auch die Erstellung einer Liste von Schlüsselbegriffen, die als Grundlage für den nächsten Schritt dient.

• Lies eine aktuelle Publikation zu deinem Thema. Wähle eine Publikation von einem renommierten Autor, in der alle (oder möglichst viele) Facetten deines Themas erörtert werden. Dadurch erhältst du einen allgemeinen Überblick über dein Forschungsfeld. Frage deinen Betreuer, falls Fragen auftauchen.
• Notiere während des Lesens die Begriffe, die dir am wichtigsten/relevantesten erscheinen.
• Identifiziere auch die wichtigsten/relevantesten Begriffe deines (Ausgangs-) Problems und deiner Forschungsfrage(n).
• Nonverbale Kommunikation
• Nonverbale Signale
• Nonverbale Gesten
• Körpersprache

2. Literatur sammeln

Diese Vorbereitungsarbeit macht es nun viel einfacher, nach spezifischer Literatur und nach anderen Quellen zu suchen. Diese Suche beginnt oftmals online. Dabei ist es sehr wichtig, dass die richtigen Schlüsselbegriffe verwendet werden, weshalb der erste Schritt dieses Wegweisers die Zusammenstellung einer Liste umfasst.

Suche nach diesen Begriffen sowohl in deutscher Sprache als auch in allen anderen Sprachen, in denen du über Lesekompetenzen verfügst. Es ist auch hilfreich zu versuchen, Synonyme und verschiedene Kombinationen von Begriffen zu verwenden.

Es gibt viele verschiedene Arten von Datenbanken, die du vielleicht durchforsten möchtest:

• Der Online-Katalog deiner Schule oder der Universitätbibliothek. Die meisten wissenschaftlichen Bibliotheken haben einen großen Bestand an physischen Ressourcen, einschließlich Büchern, Papers, Zeitschriften und Magazinen. Die meisten haben jedoch ihre Angebote exponentiell durch das Abonnieren wissenschaftlicher Ressourcen, einschließlich Fachzeitschriften sowie wissenschaftlicher Datenbanken (siehe unten), erweitert.
• Google Scholar. Über www.scholar.google.de gelangst du zu der speziellen Suchmaschine von Google für wissenschaftliche Literatur. Wenn du auf einen Artikel, an dem du interessiert bist, nicht kostenlos zugreifen kannst, versuche stattdessen über die Bibliothek deines Instituts darauf zuzugreifen.
• Länderspezifische Datenbanken. Manche Datenbanken werden auf nationaler Ebene betrieben. Beispielsweise kann auf die Datenbank PiCarta fast immer über Bibliotheken niederländischer Institute zugegriffen werden. Sie enthält Daten zu allen verfügbaren Publikationen in den Niederlanden, einschließlich Büchern und Magazinen, die nicht in deiner eigenen Bibliothek verfügbar sind.
• Fachübergreifende Datenbanken. Datenbanken wie JSTOR und EBSCO sind digitale Bibliotheken, die Fachzeitschriften, Bücher und Primärliteratur zu einer Vielzahl von Themen beinhalten. Die meisten Institutsbibliotheken abonnieren mehrere davon.
• Fachspezifische Datenbanken. Mehrere Datenbanken konzentrieren sich auf bestimmte Disziplinen (oder Gruppen von verwandten Disziplinen). Ein Beispiel hierfür ist die AGRIS-Datenbank, die ein breites Spektrum an Themen in Bezug auf Landwirtschaft und Umwelt abdeckt.

Wenn du eine nützliche Quelle gefunden hast, prüfe die Biografie dieser Publikation auf andere relevante Quellen (dies wird als „Schneeball“-Forschungsmethode bezeichnet). Taucht ein Autorname immer wieder auf? Dann bedeutet das normalerweise, dass diese Person eine umfangreiche Forschung zu diesem Thema geleistet hat.

Ein Blick auf seine/ihre Webseite oder die Suche nach seinem/ihrem Namen direkt in einem (Online-) Katalog wird wahrscheinlich zu weiteren Ergebnissen führen.

3. Literatur bewerten und auswählen

Es ist wahrscheinlich, dass du eine überwältigende Menge an Literatur entdeckst. Da dir nur ein begrenztes Ausmaß an Zeit zur Verfügung steht, ist es wichtig, dass du dich auf die wichtigsten Quellen konzentrierst. Wir schlagen vor, die Literatur, die du gefunden hast, zuerst in Hinblick auf ihre Relevanz und anschließend auf ihre wissenschaftliche Qualität zu bewerten.

Relevanz Eine relevante Publikation ist eine, die gut zu deinem Thema oder deinem Problem passt. Um die Relevanz eines Buches oder Artikels, ohne es/ihn in seiner Gesamtheit zu lesen, zu bestimmen, beginne nur mit der Einleitung und dem Fazit . Dies wird dir häufig genügend Informationen liefern, um zu beurteilen, ob die Publikation für deine Arbeit relevant ist.

Qualität Die Qualität einer Publikation wird durch eine Reihe von Faktoren bestimmt. Als allgemeine Regel gilt: Versuche nur die Artikel, die in renommierten Fachzeitschriften veröffentlicht wurden, zu verwenden. Rankings wie die Journal Quality List helfen dir dabei herauszufinden, welche Zeitschriften qualitativ sind.

Ein Blick auf die Fachkenntnisse mitwirkender Autoren kann ebenfalls hilfreich sein. Fachkundige Autoren sind normalerweise einem akademischen Institut zugehörig, publizieren umfangreich und werden häufig von anderen zitiert.

Bedenke, dass Informationen von Webseiten, mit Ausnahme von Webseiten, die von wissenschaftlichen, staatlichen oder zwischenstaatlichen Institutionen betrieben werden, häufig nicht zuverlässig sind. Es ist auch wichtig, wenn möglich die neueste Literatur zu nutzen; wenn du das nicht machst, läufst du Gefahr, deine Arbeit auf veralteten Informationen aufzubauen.

4. Literatur verarbeiten

Sobald du die Literatur, auf die du dich konzentrieren willst, bestimmt hast, findet im nächsten Schritt die Verarbeitung der Informationen, die du herausgefunden hast, statt (zum Beispiel durch eine Problemanalyse oder einen theoretischen Rahmen). Es ist natürlich wichtig, damit zu beginnen, die ausgewählten Publikationen gründlich zu studieren. Stell dir dabei die folgenden Fragen:

• Was ist das zu untersuchende Problem und wie nimmt es die Forschung in Angriff?
• Was sind die Schlüsselkonzepte und wie werden diese definiert?
• Welche Theorien und Modelle verwendet der Autor?
• Was sind die Ergebnisse und Schlossfolgerungen der Studie?
• Wie steht diese Publikation verwandten Publikationen innerhalb dieses Forschungsfeldes gegenüber?
• Wie kann ich diese Forschung auf meine eigene anwenden?

Die Analyse all deiner Quellen auf diese Art und Weise wird dir ein klares Bild des Forschungsfeldes und wie deine Forschung dazu passt, vermitteln. Danach bist du dazu in der Lage, die Literatur auf eine kritische und gut fundierte Weise zu diskutieren.

Die Art und Weise, wie du die Ergebnisse deines Literatur-Reviews präsentieren sollst, variiert je nach Programm. Die entsprechenden Leitlinien deines Fachgebiets sollten dir zur Verfügung gestellt werden. Wenn du den Literatur-Review verwendest, um beispielweise einen theoretischen Rahmen vorzubereiten, würde der Schwerpunkt auf der Definition und Analyse von Theorien und Modellen liegen.

Die Zitate in deinem Literatur-Review sollten sehr genau sein. Viele Schulen und Universitäten nutzen die Zitierweise der American Pscyhological Association ( APA ). Nutze den kostenlosen Scribbr-Zitiergenerator , der dir dabei hilft, Zitate schnell und korrekt zu erstellen.

Wenn du deine Quellen nicht richtig zitierst, werden deine verwendeten Informationen als Plagiate gewertet. Plagiarismus ist eine schwere Form des Betrugs, der schwerwiegende Folgen hat. Hast du dabei Zweifel oder brauchst du Hilfe? Führe eine Plagiatsprüfung durch – Vorsicht ist immer besser als Nachsicht.

• Aus vorgehenden Untersuchungen wurde ersichtlich, dass…
• In mehreren Studien (Smith, 1988; Driessen, 2007) wurde aufgezeigt, dass…
• Durch Studien (Smith, 1988; Driessen, 2007) zu X wird die Wichtigkeit von…hervorgehoben
• Frühere Untersuchungen (Smith, 1988) zum Vergleich von X und Y zeigen, dass…
• Studien, wie jene von Smith (1988), zeigen, dass…

Mehr standardsätze »

• Previous studies have shown that…
• Several studies (Smith, 1988; Driessen, 2007) have looked at…
• Studies (Smith, 1988; Driessen, 2007) of X shows the importance of…
• Previous research (Smith, 1988) comparing X and Y has found…
• Research carried out by Smith (1988) indicated that …

Beachte diese vier Schritte, um einen Literatur-Review zu schreiben:

Für Inhalte von Theorien, Definitionen und Fakten benutzt du im Literatur-Review den Indikativ Präsens. Abgeschlossene Studien und Ergebnisse von anderen Untersuchern werden im Indikativ Perfekt geschrieben.

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Krul, A. (2023, 15. August). Wie führt man einen Literatur-Review durch?. Scribbr. Abgerufen am 21. Oktober 2024, von https://www.scribbr.de/aufbau-und-gliederung/wie-fuehrt-man-einen-literatur-review-durch/

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

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

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

What is a literature review? A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources on a specific topic. It provides an overview of current knowledge, allowing you to identify relevant theories, methods, and gaps in the existing research.

There are five key steps to writing a literature review:

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

A good literature review doesn’t just summarise sources – it analyses, synthesises, and critically evaluates to give a clear picture of the state of knowledge on the subject.

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Table of contents

Why write a literature review, examples of literature reviews, step 1: search for relevant literature, step 2: evaluate and select sources, step 3: identify themes, debates and gaps, step 4: outline your literature review’s structure, step 5: write your literature review, frequently asked questions about literature reviews, introduction.

• Quick Run-through
• Step 1 & 2

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

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

You might also have to write a literature review as a stand-alone assignment. In this case, the purpose is to evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your knowledge of scholarly debates around a topic.

The content will look slightly different in each case, but the process of conducting a literature review follows the same steps. We’ve written a step-by-step guide that you can follow below.

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

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

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

Download Word doc Download Google doc

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

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

If you are writing a literature review as a stand-alone assignment, you will have to choose a focus and develop a central question to direct your search. Unlike a dissertation research question, this question has to be answerable without collecting original data. You should be able to answer it based only on a review of existing publications.

Make a list of keywords

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

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

Search for relevant sources

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

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

You can use boolean operators to help narrow down your search:

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

To identify the most important publications on your topic, take note of recurring citations. If the same authors, books or articles keep appearing in your reading, make sure to seek them out.

You probably won’t be able to read absolutely everything that has been written on the topic – you’ll have to evaluate which sources are most relevant to your questions.

For each publication, ask yourself:

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

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

You can find out how many times an article has been cited on Google Scholar – a high citation count means the article has been influential in the field, and should certainly be included in your literature review.

The scope of your review will depend on your topic and discipline: in the sciences you usually only review recent literature, but in the humanities you might take a long historical perspective (for example, to trace how a concept has changed in meaning over time).

Remember that you can use our template to summarise and evaluate sources you’re thinking about using!

Take notes and cite your sources

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

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

You can use our free APA Reference Generator for quick, correct, consistent citations.

Prevent plagiarism, run a free check.

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

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

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

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

There are various approaches to organising the body of a literature review. You should have a rough idea of your strategy before you start writing.

Depending on the length of your literature review, you can combine several of these strategies (for example, your overall structure might be thematic, but each theme is discussed chronologically).

Chronological

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

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

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

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

Methodological

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

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

Theoretical

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

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

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

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

If you are writing the literature review as part of your dissertation or thesis, reiterate your central problem or research question and give a brief summary of the scholarly context. You can emphasise the timeliness of the topic (“many recent studies have focused on the problem of x”) or highlight a gap in the literature (“while there has been much research on x, few researchers have taken y into consideration”).

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

As you write, make sure to follow these tips:

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

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

If the literature review is part of your dissertation or thesis, reiterate how your research addresses gaps and contributes new knowledge, or discuss how you have drawn on existing theories and methods to build a framework for your research. This can lead directly into your methodology section.

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

It is often written as part of a dissertation , thesis, research paper , or proposal .

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

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

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

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

Cite this Scribbr article

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

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

Table of Contents

What is the purpose of literature review , a. habitat loss and species extinction: , b. range shifts and phenological changes: , c. ocean acidification and coral reefs: , d. adaptive strategies and conservation efforts: .

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

Frequently asked questions 

What is a literature review .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Literature review example 

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

Literature Review on Climate Change Impacts on Biodiversity:  

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

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

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

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

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

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How to write a good literature review 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Conducting a literature review 

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

Choose a Topic and Define the Research Question:  

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

Decide on the Scope of Your Review:  

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

Select Databases for Searches:  

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

Conduct Searches and Keep Track:  

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

Review the Literature:  

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

Organize and Write Your Literature Review:  

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

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

How to write a literature review faster with Paperpal?  

Paperpal, an AI writing assistant, integrates powerful academic search capabilities within its writing platform. With the Research | Cite feature, you get 100% factual insights, with citations backed by 250M+ verified research articles, directly within your writing interface. It also allows you auto-cite references in 10,000+ styles and save relevant references in your Citation Library. By eliminating the need to switch tabs to find answers to all your research questions, Paperpal saves time and helps you stay focused on your writing.   

Here’s how to use the Research feature:  

• Ask a question: Get started with a new document on paperpal.com. Click on the “Research | Cite” feature and type your question in plain English. Paperpal will scour over 250 million research articles, including conference papers and preprints, to provide you with accurate insights and citations. 

• Review and Save: Paperpal summarizes the information, while citing sources and listing relevant reads. You can quickly scan the results to identify relevant references and save these directly to your built-in citations library for later access. 
• Cite with Confidence: Paperpal makes it easy to incorporate relevant citations and references in 10,000+ styles into your writing, ensuring your arguments are well-supported by credible sources. This translates to a polished, well-researched literature review. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

References 

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

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Literature Review Example/Sample

In this video, we walk you through an A-grade literature review from a dissertation that earned full distinction . We start off by discussing the five core sections of a literature review chapter by unpacking our free literature review template . This includes:

• The literature review opening/ introduction section
• The theoretical framework (or foundation of theory)
• The empirical research
• The research gap
• The closing section

PS – If you’re working on a dissertation, be sure to also check out our collection of dissertation and thesis examples here .

FAQ: Literature Review Example

Literature review example: frequently asked questions, is the sample literature review real.

Yes. The literature review example is an extract from a Master’s-level dissertation for an MBA program. It has not been edited in any way.

Can I replicate this literature review for my dissertation?

As we discuss in the video, every literature review will be slightly different, depending on the university’s unique requirements, as well as the nature of the research itself. Therefore, you’ll need to tailor your literature review to suit your specific context.

You can learn more about the basics of writing a literature review here .

Where can I find more examples of literature reviews?

The best place to find more examples of literature review chapters would be within dissertation/thesis databases. These databases include dissertations, theses and research projects that have successfully passed the assessment criteria for the respective university, meaning that you have at least some sort of quality assurance. 

The Open Access Thesis Database (OATD) is a good starting point. 

How do I get the literature review template?

You can access our free literature review chapter template here .

Is the template really free?

Yes. There is no cost for the template and you are free to use it as you wish. 

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Thank you so much for all this information. I am unable to download the literature review template and the excel worksheet. When I click the button it takes me to the top of the page. I would really love to use this template, thank you again!

Thanks alot, I really got benefit from your instructions and recommendations

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Literature review

How to write a literature review in 6 steps

How do you write a good literature review? This step-by-step guide on how to write an excellent literature review covers all aspects of planning and writing literature reviews for academic papers and theses.

How to write a systematic literature review [9 steps]

How do you write a systematic literature review? What types of systematic literature reviews exist and where do you use them? Learn everything you need to know about a systematic literature review in this guide

What is a literature review? [with examples]

Not sure what a literature review is? This guide covers the definition, purpose, and format of a literature review.