USU LibrariesConducting a lit review

literature reviews

What is a Lit review?

A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by credible scholars and researchers. The purpose of a literature review is to summarize what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are.

A literature review must do these things

Be organized around and related directly to the thesis or research question you are developing
Synthesize results into a summary of what is and is not known
Identify areas of controversy in the literature
Formulate questions that need further research
Include sources from multiple perspectives

A lit review is not...

A literature review is not a summary of one source after another. A literature review should be organized into sections that reveal trends or themes.

Content adapted from Dena Taylor's "The Literature Review: A Few Tips on Conducting It" from the University of Toronto's Health Science Writing Centre.

how do i conduct A lit review?

Watch this video to learn more about criteria for conducting a literature review.

Sample literature reviews

Want to see a literature in action? View the examples below:

"Cascading Effects of Fire Exclusion in Rocky Mountain Ecosystems: A Literature Review" by Robert E. Keane, Kevin C. Ryan, Tom T. Veblen, Craig D. Allen, Jesse Logan, Brad Hawkes, USU.
"Nature of the Charge Localized Between Alkali Adatoms and Metal Substrates", G. K. Wertheim, D. Mark Riffe, P. H. Citrin, USU.

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Test yourself

The most important aspect of a literature review is...

Citing your sources

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Adding your own voice

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Including multiple perspectives

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Finding areas for further research

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All of the above

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