literature review lincoln university

Office of Quality, Standards and Partnerships

• Launch university accessibility information

Literature Review

A literature review is a piece of academic writing demonstrating knowledge and understanding of the academic literature on a specific topic placed in context. A literature review also includes a critical evaluation of the material; this is why it is called a literature review rather than a literature report.

In a larger piece of written work, such as a dissertation, a literature review is usually one of the first tasks carried out after deciding on a topic. Reading combined with critical analysis can help to refine a topic and frame research questions. A literature review establishes familiarity with, and understanding of, current research in a particular field before carrying out a new investigation. Conducting a literature review should enable students to find out what research has already been done and identify what is unknown within chosen topics.

A well-written literature review will demonstrate a student’s ability to:

• summarise and analyse previous research and theories
• identify areas of controversy and contested claims
• highlight any gaps that may exist in research to date

We use cookies to understand how visitors use our website and to improve the user experience. To find out more, see our Cookies Policy .

Biology: How to Create A Literature Review

• Peer Reviewed Databases
• How to Use Inter Library Loan (ILL)
• Avoiding Plagiarism Tips
• How to Create A Literature Review
• Scientific Citation

Useful Links for Literature Review Creation

How to write a literature review (includes a psychology example paper)

http://library.ucsc.edu/help/howto/write-a-literature-review

Explains the parts of a literature review

http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/ReviewofLiterature.html

How to write a literature review outline to get started

http://wilderdom.com/OEcourses/PROFLIT/Class3LiteratureReview.htm

Explains the difference between a research paper and a literature review (and the parts of each)

http://gcuonline.georgian.edu/wootton_l/scientificwriting.htm

Subject Guide

• << Previous: Avoiding Plagiarism Tips
• Next: Scientific Citation >>
• Last Updated: Oct 5, 2022 2:03 PM
• URL: https://libguides.lincolnu.edu/c.php?g=789594

LINCOLN UNIVERSITY

OF MISSOURI

PROUD PAST, PROGRESSIVE FUTURE

Connect with us:

Sociology: Writing a Literature Review

• Research Methods & Reference Materials
• Sociology Databases
• Writing a Literature Review
• Citation/Reference Management Tools

What is a Literature Review?

The literature review surveys and evaluates the relevant and related scholarship on a particular area of research or issue. It summarizes and evaluates the discussions and debate surrounding the topic, noting limitations, interpretations and approaches that support and establish the significance of your argument, research or methodology.  

• Presents a justification for your paper/research: show how your work fills a gap, or fulfills a need that has been identified by other researchers in the field.
• Informs your methodology
• Provides data that can be used to test your theories or results.
• Helps generate a new theory.

• SAGE Research Methods Reviewing the Literature

Print Resources

Social Sciences Librarian

• << Previous: Sociology Databases
• Next: Citation/Reference Management Tools >>
• Last Updated: Apr 10, 2024 2:07 PM
• URL: https://unl.libguides.com/sociology

HNRS 305U: Power of Storytelling

• Library Resources for Research
• Literature Reviews
• Citing and Managing Your Resources

Concept Mapping Tools

• Coggle The clear way to share complex information
• Bubbl.us Mind mapping online
• MindMeister Create your mindmaps online
• Popplet Simple ways to visualize ideas

Can't Find the Full Text of an Article?

Login with your myWSU ID and password to request a copy of an article or book. WSU Libraries participates in RapidILL , so articles are emailed within 24 hours (and often come as soon as 1-2 hours after they're requested). Books are shipped within 24 hours of the request and are sent to Ablah Library for you to pick up. It's free!

• Interlibrary Loan

SAGE Research Methods

Learn how to evaluate the research methods of your reviewed literature with SAGE Research Methods.

Writing Center

• WSU Writing Center

What is a Literature Review?

A literature review is a systematic survey of the scholarly literature published on a given topic. It forms the framework for your research project by providing comprehensive and up-to-date overview of previous research.  Rather than being exhaustive, a literature review should cover past research that is most pertinent to your topic.  Reviewing the literature will also help you identify gaps in current research where you can contribute new knowledge.

What is a Literature Review? Lincoln University, Christchurch, New Zealand

• Writing a Literature Review Slides from the WSU Library Workshop, 10/7/2016
• Reasons to Write a Literature Review
• Types of Literature Reviews

You may also want to look at WSU Libraries' Writing a Literature Review Guide (click link below):

• Writing a Literature Review by Meghann Kuhlmann Last Updated Jan 2, 2024 202 views this year

Writing a Literature Review

A literature review should include:

• An introduction to the subject, issue or theory under consideration and to the objectives of the review.  
• A section that organizes works into themes or categories with an explanation of how each work is similar to and how it varies from the others.  
• A conclusion/synthesis that indicates which sources make the best arguments and greatest contribution to the understanding of the topic and how they relate to your research. '

Questions to address: What are the common themes of the reviewed literature? How did you develop these themes? Did you compare and contrast themes? How did the themes fit together? Which studies didn't fit into your argument or address your research? Are there gaps in the literature? Are your themes organized so they relate to each other and follow a logical order? Do the organized themes address your research question? How does your research address any gaps in previous research or literature?

Writing a Literature Review    Lincoln University, Christchurch, New Zealand

Literature Reviews    Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Examples of Literature Reviews
• Cell phones literature search example

Finding Subject-Specific Sources

The kinds of sources included in your literature review will vary depending on the field of study and your research topic, but they may include:

Scholarly Journal Articles Use journal databases found in the relevant Subject Guide or in the  A-Z Database List . If possible, find review articles that give detailed coverage and extensive bibliographies on your topic. Don't forget to check for databases in all subject areas that apply to your topic.

• Books and Ebooks To find books and ebooks held by WSU Libraries, use the Online Catalog . For books not held by WSU Libraries, search WorldCat and use Interlibrary Loan to borrow books from other libraries.  
• Reference Works To find academic encyclopedias and dictionaries for background information and terminology for your research, search the Online Catalog  or a specific database for reference works such as Gale Virtual Reference Library and Credo .  
• Book Chapters, Conference Proceedings, and Dissertations Many journal databases provide access to book chapters, encyclopedias, and dissertations. Find appropriate journal database in the   Subject Guides  or in the A-Z Database List . For dissertation databases, see the Theses and Dissertations library guide.  
• Government Publications To find government publications, use the Online Catalog  or a database specific for government documents such as  GPO Access for federal documents.. You can also access publications at specific agency websites.
• Some Helpful Hints in Finding Sources for Your Literature Review
• Tips on Search Strategy and Finding Full-Text
• << Previous: Library Resources for Research
• Next: Citing and Managing Your Resources >>
• Last Updated: Mar 27, 2024 2:37 PM
• URL: https://libraries.wichita.edu/HNRS305U

Languages & Literature Department

The study of language and literature goes beyond words: it's the study of humanity. How we think, how we act, and what drives us: it's all there the language we use to communicate and the stories we tell.

Lincoln University's Languages and Literature Department is devoted to the study of literature and culture from around the world. Studying these topics helps us understand our fellow people and ourselves. It can also help build a range of skills—including communication, critical thinking, reasoning, problem-solving, and empathy— that can help you to stand out in a wide range of careers, including law, business, advertising, writing and editing, international relations, and more.

We offer a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree and a minor in English Liberal Arts . The degree program prepares you for jobs that demand strong skills in critical thinking, written and oral communication, and textual analysis.

Within the English program, we offer two specialized tracks: Pre-Law and Creative Writing. The Creative Writing Track focuses on the study and creation of four major literary fields: fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and screenwriting, building interest in the literary arts while training you for professional positions that demand strong language skills. You can also work for or publish your writing in Simbaa , Lincoln’s literary magazine.

If you plan on attending law school, the Pre-Law track is for you. It offers a writing-intensive, research-focused program, and grants you access to courses within Lincoln's specially designed Pre-Law Undergraduate Scholars (PLUS) program. The track also provides room for a minor in an appropriate secondary field, such as History, Philosophy, or Political Science.

As an English department student, you will also be eligible for entry into Sigma Tau Delta , the International English Honor Society.

In addition to the English degree, we also offer a BA degree and minor in Foreign Languages , where you can choose between French and Spanish, as well as minors in Arabic, Japanese, and Chinese. These immersive language programs can help you become multi-lingual, an extremely valuable skill for many jobs in today's increasingly global society.

You can learn more about our programs and the classes we offer in the current academic year course catalog . All of our courses are taught by our dedicated and scholarly faculty, who will work closely with you and give you the support you need to succeed.

If you have questions about the study of literature and language at Lincoln University, please let us know!

William Donohue , Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Director of First Year Composition, and Chair, Languages and Literature Department Email: [email protected] Phone: 484-365-7522 University Hall, Room 307

Systematic Reviews

• Literature searching for systematic reviews
• Grey literature
• Planning template

Planning your search

Search tips, further help and support.

Systematic review training is available via the Graduate School

Contact your Subject Librarian for support with formulating your search strategy, searching the databases and documenting your search.

Bibliographic management

The Library provides access to Refworks and EndNote reference management tools.

Reference management software helps you to organise your references and generate citations and reference lists.

• << Previous: Overview
• Next: Grey literature >>
• Last Updated: Mar 19, 2024 3:10 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.lincoln.ac.uk/systematicreviews
• Admin login
• ICT Support Desk
• Policy Statement
• www.lincoln.ac.uk
• Accessibility
• Privacy & Disclaimer

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Writing a Literature Review

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

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.

• Harvard Library
• Research Guides
• Harvard Graduate School of Design - Frances Loeb Library

Write and Cite

• Literature Review
• Academic Integrity
• Citing Sources
• Fair Use, Permissions, and Copyright
• Writing Resources
• Grants and Fellowships
• Last Updated: Apr 26, 2024 10:28 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.harvard.edu/gsd/write

Harvard University Digital Accessibility Policy

Policing Network Literature Review

• 1st August 2023
• In Policies

023 - Policing Network Literature Review

The Policing Network is a partnership between the University of Lincoln and Lincolnshire Police. It was launched in September 2021, with this blog post concentrating on four literature reviews which were undertaken between January-May 2023.

Funding from the Lincoln Policy Hub was awarded to the Policing Network to undertake four literature reviews in areas that Lincolnshire Police had identified as priorities for themselves. The money enabled the Network to recruit four master’s students from the University to undertake this work. So not only did the Police get some valuable research, but the funding also provided our students with an opportunity to liaise with the Police and produce a report which had practical value.

The four areas as identified by Lincolnshire Police were:

• The Great Outdoors: A literature review into the positive impact being outdoors can have on our mental health.
• Going Coastal: A Literature Review of Crime Patterns and Prevention Associated with Seasonal Tourism
• What Makes People Feel Safe? A Literature Review of Public Perceptions of Street Based Safety.
• Seldom Heard or Seldom Asked: Exploring the Efficacy of New Community Engagement Methods.

Each student was provided with an academic supervisor from the University.

To find out more information about the review into the areas identified, please view the Policy Brief.

The Policing Network has the following strategic objectives:

• To work collaboratively across the University and with Lincolnshire Police to identify areas of policing which require challenge-led research
• To work collaboratively across the University and with Lincolnshire Police to make applications for funding
• To work collaboratively across the University and with Lincolnshire Police to carry out research with impact.

Find Out More:

If you are interested to hearing more about the Police Network contact Professor Todd Hogue – [email protected]

Principle Researcher(s):

Professor Karen Harrison

Dr Kay Ritchie

Dr Carina O’Reilly

Miss Rachael Mason

Dr Lauren Smith

We use cookies to understand how visitors use our website and to improve the user experience. To find out more, see our Cookies Policy .

Our website uses tracking technologies to learn how our visitors interact with our site so that we can improve our services and provide you with valuable content. Read More Information

Te Kete Wānaka

Learning, Teaching and Library

Nau mai ki Te Kete Wānaka

Te Kete Wānaka is a knowledge hub for all the information and tools you need for learning, teaching and library services at Lincoln University

We’re open from 10:30 am to 6:00 pm.

LibrarySearch

News and updates.

Library ANZAC Display

18 April 2024

Career Fair 2024

12 April 2024

All Day Writing Retreat

09 April 2024

Get advice or support on learning, careers, inclusive education or teaching

Useful Links

Upcoming events, developing coherence in writing (pg & advanced writers).

Expected audience: All postgraduate students or advanced writers Learn how to use sentence structure to create writing that has a smooth, logical flow.

More information

Introduction to Minitab

An Introduction to using the Minitab statistical software package

Writing the Results and Discussion chapters (PG)

Expected audience: Dissertation or thesis writers This workshop focuses on the different purposes and content of Results and Discussion sections and how they link with other sections in a thesis or article.

Grammar refresher: Sentence structure

For undergraduate and postgraduate students Learn the underlying structure of English sentences – the foundation of clear writing.

Delivering awesome oral presentations

For diploma, degree and taught masters students Learn effective oral delivery.

The what, why and how of research data management (Data management Part 1) (PG)

Expected audience: Dissertation or thesis writers Learn the basics of managing your research data, including proper storage and backup, metadata, data formats and file and folder names.

For more events and workshops view the full calendar

The STEM Gender Gap: A Literature Review

Article sidebar.

Main Article Content

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is vital for any advancing society. While diversity in STEM has improved significantly over the years, there is still evidence that gender inequality persists. The lack of diversity regarding gender is often referred to as the STEM gender gap.  To delve deeper into this topic, the information presented in this literature review discusses the issues, causes, consequences, and solutions of the STEM gender gap. 

Article Details

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License .

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

• Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a  Creative Commons Attribution License  that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.  
• Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See  The Effect of Open Access ).
• Student authors waive FERPA rights for only the publication of the author submitted works. Specifically: Students of Indiana University East voluntarily agree to submit their own works to The Journal of Student Research at Indiana University East , with full understanding of FERPA rights and in recognition that for this one, specific instance they understand that  The Journal of Student Research at Indiana University East is Public and Open Access. Additionally, the Journal is viewable via the Internet and searchable via Indiana University, Google, and Google-Scholar search engines.