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Political Science Subject Guide: Literature Reviews

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More Literature Review Writing Tips

• Thesis Whisperer- Bedraggled Daisy Lay advice on writing theses and dissertations. This article demonstrates in more detail one aspect of our discussion

Books on the Literature Review

What is a literature review?

"A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers. [...] In writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. As a piece of writing, the literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g., your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries."

(from "The Literature Review: A Few Tips on Writing It," http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/specific-types-of-writing/literature-review )

Strategies for conducting your own literature review

1. Use this guide as a starting point. Begin your search with the resources linked from the political science subject guide. These library catalogs and databases will help you identify what's been published on your topic.

2. What came first? Try bibliographic tracing. As you're finding sources, pay attention to what and whom these authors cite. Their footnotes and bibliographies will point you in the direction of additional scholarship on your topic.

3. What comes next? Look for reviews and citation reports. What did scholars think about that book when it was published in 2003? Has anyone cited that article since 1971? Reviews and citation analysis tools can help you determine if you've found the seminal works on your topic--so that you can be confident that you haven't missed anything important, and that you've kept up with the debates in your field. You'll find book reviews in JSTOR and other databases. Google Scholar has some citation metrics; you can use Web of Science ( Social Sciences Citation Index ) for more robust citation reports.

4. Stay current. Get familiar with the top journals in your field, and set up alerts for new articles. If you don't know where to begin, APSA and other scholarly associations often maintain lists of journals, broken out by subfield . In many databases (and in Google Scholar), you can also set up search alerts, which will notify you when additional items have been added that meet your search criteria.

5. Stay organized. A citation management tool--e.g., RefWorks, Endnote, Zotero, Mendeley--will help you store your citations, generate a bibliography, and cite your sources while you write. Some of these tools are also useful for file storage, if you'd like to keep PDFs of the articles you've found. To get started with citation management tools, check out this guide . 

How to find existing literature reviews

1. Consult Annual Reviews.  The Annual Review of Political Science consists of thorough literature review essays in all areas of political science, written by noted scholars. The library also subscribes to Annual Reviews in economics, law and social science, sociology, and many other disciplines.

2. Turn to handbooks, bibliographies, and other reference sources. Resources like Oxford Bibliographies Online and assorted handbooks ( Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics , Oxford Handbook of American Elections and Political Behavior , etc.) are great ways to get a substantive introduction to a topic, subject area, debate, or issue. Not exactly literature reviews, but they do provide significant reference to and commentary on the relevant literature--like a heavily footnoted encyclopedia for specialists in a discipline. 

3. Search databases and Google Scholar.   Use the recommended databases in the "Articles & Databases" tab of this guide and try a search that includes the phrase "literature review."

4. Search in journals for literature review articles.  Once you've identified the important journals in your field as suggested in the section above, you can target these journals and search for review articles. 

5. Find book reviews.  These reviews can often contain useful contextual information about the concerns and debates of a field. Worldwide Political Science Abstracts is a good source for book reviews, as is JSTOR . To get to book reviews in JSTOR, select the advanced search option, use the title of the book as your search phrase, and narrow by item type: reviews. You can also narrow your search further by discipline.

6. Cast a wide net--don't forget dissertations.  Dissertations and theses often include literature review sections. While these aren't necessarily authoritative, definitive literature reviews (you'll want to check in Annual Reviews for those), they can provide helpful suggestions for sources to consider.

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What is a Literature Review?

Definition and purpose.

• Further Information

Not to be confused with a book review, a literature review surveys scholarly articles, books and other sources (e.g. dissertations, conference proceedings) relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, providing a description, summary, and critical evaluation of each work. The purpose is to offer an overview of significant literature published on a topic.

Similar to primary research, development of the literature review requires four stages:

• Problem formulation —which topic or field is being examined and what are its component issues?
• Literature search —finding materials relevant to the subject being explored
• Data evaluation —determining which literature makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the topic
• Analysis and interpretation —discussing the findings and conclusions of pertinent literature

Literature reviews should comprise the following elements:

• An overview of the subject, issue or theory under consideration, along with the objectives of the literature review
• Division of works under review into categories (e.g. those in support of a particular position, those against, and those offering alternative theses entirely)
• 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

In assessing each piece, consideration should be given to:

• 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)?
• 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/least convincing?
• Value —Are the author's arguments and conclusions convincing? Does the work ultimately contribute in any significant way to an understanding of the subject?

A literature review may constitute an essential chapter of a thesis or dissertation, or may be a self-contained review of writings on a subject. In either case, its purpose is to:

• Place each work in the context of its contribution to the understanding of the subject under review
• Describe the relationship of each work to the others under consideration
• Identify new ways to interpret, and shed light on any gaps in, previous research
• Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies
• Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of effort
• Point the way forward for further research
• Place one's original work (in the case of theses or dissertations) in the context of existing literature

The literature review itself, however, does not present new primary scholarship.

An example of a literature review is:

Allen, R.C. (1996). Socioeconomic Conditions and Property Crime: A Comprehensive Review and Test of the Professional Literature. The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 55 (3), 293.

Tips for finding literature reviews in your field:

• ask your professor or advisor for recommendations for good examples of literature reviews in your discipline. You can also check out the literature review sections of peer review journal articles, theses, or dissertations.
• Search ProQuest Dissertations and Theses for dissertations and these to look at their literature review and also to look at their bibliography.
• certain discipline specific databases like PsycINFO have ways to limit your search to just review or systematic review articles. 

Further information on the literature review may be found in:

Adapted from " How to Write a Literature Review ", courtesy of the UC-Santa Cruz Library, retrieved 30th October 2008 from the Web.

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What is A Literature Review?

Definition :

A Literature Review surveys scholarly source materials that are relevant to a person's research thesis/problem and/or a particular issue or theory. It also provides a critical analysis that summarizes and synthesizes the source materials while also demonstrating how a person's research pertains to or fits within the larger discipline of study.

Literature Reviews vary from discipline to discipline as well as across assignments, but generally a good literature review is designed to help you answer 2 questions:

• What do we know about this particular issue, theory or subject?
• What do we not know about this particular issue, theory or subject?

Good literature reviews also :

• Evaluate the context of scholarly material for its contribution to the understanding of the research thesis being studied.
• Explain the relationships between each of the works under deliberation.
• Identify gaps in previous research.
• Define new ways to interpret research within a discipline.
• Address conflicts found in contradictory research previously conducted.
• Identify the need for additional research.

For Your Literature Review Include:

1. Introduction to the topic. State the topic, purpose, and significance. Provide a brief overview outlining the central points covered.

2. Relevance and Importance of studying this topic. What direction will the review take? Specific Aspects?

3. Literature Review. Organize your review of the research literature:  Methods, Chronological, different approaches or perspectives, etc... Remember you want to find the seminal or major works on your topic Avoid discussinh each article separately. Explore relationships and aim to compare/contrast more than one article in most paragraphs.

4. Any "Lessons Learned" that can be drawn from the literature review.

5. Future Directions. State any areas for further research, i.e. gaps, omissions, inconsistencies, hitherto unexplored aspects. 

 What types of literature are considered in a literature review

Peer-Reviewed articles are usually considered the most credible sources and the most common format of literature for a review.

In addition, when doing your research, consider those articles written by scholars who have written extensively on the specific topic or related areas. 

And more ......

A literature review DOES:

• discuss the work of others
• describe, in a narrative fashion, the major developments that relate to your research question
• evaluate other researchers' methods and findings
• identify any gaps in their research
• indicate how your research is going to be different in some way

A literature review DOES NOT:

• simply list all the resources that you consult in developing your research (that would be a Works Cited or Works Consulted page)
• simply list resources with a few factual, non-evaluative notes about what is in each work (that would be an Annotated Bibliography)
• try to discuss every bit of research that has ever been done relating to your topic (that would be far too big of a task)

Still confused?  See this guide  from the University of North Carolina for a more detailed explanation of lit reviews.

Tips for Writing Your Literature Review

• Signal Phrases for Summarizing, Paraphrasing, & Quotations
• Do not over "quote." If you only quote from every single author you found, then you are not showing any original thinking or analysis. Use quotes judiciously. Use quotes to highlight a particular passage or thought that exemplifies the research, theory or topic you are researching.
• Instead use paraphrasing to report, in your own words, what the author was reporting or theorizing.
• Summarize findings, important sections or a whole article--this is different from paraphrasing since you are not re-stating the author words but identifying the main points of what you are reading in a concise matter for your readers.
• When synthesizing your findings for the literature review (this is when you make comparisons, establish relationships between authors' works, point out weaknesses, strengths and gaps among the literature review), you still need to give credit to these sources.
• Short paragraphs are easier to read than long paragraphs.
• Subheadings and subsections can help to underscore the structure of your review.
• Do more than just summarize the readings.  A lit review is not an annotated bibliography.
• Resist the temptation to refer to *all* the readings you've evaluated.  To begin with, focus on readings you've identified as essential or representative

Literature Review vs. Annotated Bibliography

Literature reviews and annotated bibliographies may appear similar in nature, but in fact, they vary greatly in two very important areas: purpose and format.

Differences in Purpose :

Literature Review : A literature review works to do two main things. The first is to provide a case for continuing research into a particular subject or idea by giving an overview of source materials you have discovered on a subject or idea. The second is to demonstrate how your research will fit into the the larger discipline of study by noting discipline knowledge gaps and contextulizing questions for the betterment of the discipline. Literature reviews tend to have a stated or implied thesis as well.

Annotated Bibliography : An annotated bibliography is basically an aphabetically arranged list of references that consists of citations and a brief summary and critique of each of the source materials. The element of critiquing appears to give literature reviews and annotated bibliographies their apparent similarities but in truth this is where they greatly differ. An annotated bibliography normally critiques the quality of the source material  while literature reviews concentrate on the value of the source material in its ability to answer a particular question or support an argument.  

Differences in Format :

Literature Review : A literature review is a formally written prose document very similar to journal articles.  Many literature reviews are incorporated directly into scholarly source material as part of the formal research process. The literature review is typically a required component of dissertations and theses.

Annotated Bibliography : An annotated bibliography is a formal list of citations with annotations or short descriptions and critiques of particular source materials. Annotated bibliographies act as a precursor to a literature review as an organizational tool.

Literature Review Examples

To find literature reviews in databases like Academic Search Complete:

• Type your search term in the first search box.
• Type literature review in the second search box.

Some sample reviews:

• Writing a Short Literature Review
• Sample Literature Review
• Another Sample Literature Review

Ways to Organize Your Literature Review

Chronologically by 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 Date Order your sources by publication date if the order demonstrates an 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. Thematically (“conceptual categories”) 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 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 will still be organized chronologically reflecting technological developments in media. The only difference here between a "chronological" and a "thematic" approach is what is emphasized the most: the role of the Internet in presidential politics. Note however 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 made. Methodologically 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.

(adapted from  "The Literature Review"  from Organizing Your Social Research Paper, University of Southern California )

Best Practices: Quoting, Paraphrasing, etc.

Definitions:

Quoting *: "(a) to speak or write (a passage) from another usually with credit acknowledgment. (b) to repeat a passage especially in substantiation or illustration."

Paraphrasing *: Paraphrase is the "restatement of a text, passage, or work giving the meaning in another form."

Summarizing *: It's the process of summarizing a text or paragraph to tis main points succinctly.

Synthesizing *: "1. (a) the composition or combination of parts or elements so as to form a whole."

 *Definitions from Merriam Webster Dictionary Online: http://www.m-w.com <Accessed September 1st, 2011>

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Political Science: Conducting a Literature Review

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What is a Literature Review?

"A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers. [...] In writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. As a piece of writing, the literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g., your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries."

From Yale University Library "The Literature Review: A Few Tips on Writing It," http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/specific-types-of-writing/literature-review )

Literature Review Help

Courtesy of the University of North Carolina State University Libraries

• Annual Reviews This link opens in a new window Critical reviews of current research in biomedical, life, physical, and social sciences disciplines. More Info Partial Full-Text UB ONLY

Useful Guides for Doing One

• The Literature Review: A Few Tips on Conducting it (University of Toronto)
• Organizing Your Social Science Research Paper: 5. The Literature Review (USC Libraries) 
• How to Write a Literature Review 
• Review of the Literature
• Literature Reviews (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

How to Conduct a Literature Review in Political Science

• Literature Reviews (Political Science) (Yale University Library)
• Literature Review (Michigan State University)
• Literature Review (CQ University Library)

How to Read a Research Article

• How to Read a Scientific Paper (Elsevier)
• The Art of Reading Research Papers (Simon Fraser University)

More on Doing a Literature Review

• Jeffrey W. Knopf, "Doing a Literature Review," PS: Political Science & Politics 1 (January 2006): pp. 127-132.
• Iain McMenamin, "Process and Text: Teaching Students to Review the Literature," PS: Political Science & Politics 1 (January 2006): pp. 133-135.

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What's a Literature Review?

Types of literature reviews, resources for locating literature reviews, sage research methods-how to write a literature review.

Dr. Eric Jensen, Professor of Sociology at the University of Warwick, and Dr. Charles Laurie, Director of Research at Verisk Maplecroft, explain how to write a literature review and why researchers need to do so.

The steps of how to write a literature review discussed in the video include the following:

• How Do You Conduct a Literature Review?
• How Do You Find and Organize Sources of Information?
• How Do You Assess These Sources of Information?
• How Do You Write up Your Findings?
• How Do You Identify Gaps in Literature?

Other sources for Writing Literature Reviews

• Owl Purdue - Writing a Literature Review Provides a general overview of how to write a literature review.

Finding relevant materials for a literature review can often be a time-consuming, difficult process. A literature review examines primary and secondary scholarly literature of a topic, including books, journal articles, working papers, and other scholarly materials. A literature review can be as brief as a one-page summary or as comprehensive as a full-length scholarly article such as those found in the  Annual Reviews . Literature reviews provide scholarly, informative overviews of published literature that help researchers remain up-to-date in their disciplinary areas and also do the following:

• Acquire a better understanding of the current state of knowledge in a particular discipline or field of study, providing context for a research project.
• Identify key concepts, theories, methodologies, and other findings related to their research topic, which helps researchers in build theoretical frameworks based on established theories and concepts.
• Identify gaps in a disciplinary area where there is a lack of research or conflicting findings, and highlight major questions that should be addressed in further literature.

There are different types of literature reviews, and it's important to understand their differences:

• Narrative literature reviews provide a general, qualitative summary of the literature. Narrative reviews focus on only a few studies that describe a topic of interest and are not systematic. 
• Systematic reviews  follow a structured, rigorous methodology to systematically gather, analyze, and synthesize all relevant studies on a specific literature topic. They use specific criteria to decide what literature to include. Systematic reviews are primarily used in the medical and psychological literature.
• Meta-analyses  combine empirical statistical analysis research and data from multiple studies. The terms meta-analysis and systematic review are often used interchangeably.
• Scoping reviews map the literature broadly to identify key themes and gaps. Unlike systematic reviews, which have a narrow focus, scoping reviews are broader in scope and explore the diversity of the available literature in a given field.

Published literature reviews of all types are found in a variety of research databases. It is important to search different databases to locate relevant reviews. Regardless of the databases used, the following searches can be helpful:

• " literature review " OR " review of the literature " AND " your research topic/question/key terms "
• " systematic review " AND " your research topic/question/key terms "  
• " meta analysis " OR " meta-analysis " AND " your research topic/question/key terms "
• " scoping review " AND " your research topic/question/key terms "
• Annual Reviews The Annual Reviews series of publications provides literature review articles that analyze the most significant scholarly research published within the preceding year. These article-length reviews are authored by leading scholars and cover over 40 different subject disciplines in the social, behavioral, and hard sciences.
• Dissertations & Theses Global ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global is a comprehensive collection of academic theses and dissertations students submit as part of their university studies. Each dissertation or thesis provides a literature review section, offering a critical assessment of the sources used to write the work.
• The International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS) The International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS) is compiled by the British Library of Political and Economic Science at the London School of Economics. It provides access to scholarly literature in the social sciences, covering various disciplines, including sociology, political science, anthropology, economics, geography, and more. It includes over 3 million bibliographic references to journal articles, books, book reviews, and selected book chapters back to 1951.
• JSTOR Started as a grant-funded project at the University of Michigan, JSTOR is now a  premier scholarly digital research database primarily for the humanities and social sciences. In addition to journal articles, users can access ebooks, book chapters, images, and primary source documents.  JSTOR contains the full text of more than 2,300 journals from 1,000 publishers, with publication dates ranging from 1665 to 2015 (for specific titles). Journals are available in more than 60 disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, sciences, and mathematics. Note:  The majority of journals in JSTOR have an embargo period or "Moving Wall" delay of 3 to 5 years. This means there is a gap in the availability of current issues of most JSTOR journals.
• Oxford Bibliographies: Political Science Provides authoritative subject articles of current scholarship, containing original commentary and annotations written and reviewed by academic experts. Oxford Bibliographies in Political Science is a reliable, up-to-date, and authoritative guide to the best literature in the political science field. Areas of coverage include African politics, Asian politics, comparative politics, European politics, international relations, Latin American politics, methodologies, Middle Eastern politics, political psychology, political theory, and US politics.
• Project Muse Project Muse provides online access to many scholarly journals, books, and other academic resources in the humanities, social sciences, and arts. It is also a leading provider of digital humanities content. Project MUSE offers access to diverse, high-quality, peer-reviewed journals from renowned university presses, scholarly societies, and academic publishers. It also covers various disciplines, including literature, history, philosophy, political science, sociology, cultural studies, etc. Some institutions subscribe to the Project Muse Premium Collection, which contains over 700 scholarly journals from over 100 publishers on various subjects.
• Science Direct Science Direct provides a large collection of Social Sciences and Humanities journals and books, highlighting historical context, current developments, theories, applications, trends, and more.
• Social Science Citation Index™ (Web of Science) Social Sciences Citation Index™ provides access to a wide range of scholarly literature in the social sciences, including sociology, psychology, political science, anthropology, economics, and education, among others. Contains over 3,400 journals across 58 social sciences disciplines, as well as selected items from 3,500 of the world’s leading scientific and technical journals. More than 9.37 million records and 122 million cited references date back from 1900 to the present.
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A Political Science Guide

For students, researchers, and others interested in doing the work of political science, the literature review.

Imagine that the specific topic you’re looking to conduct research on is a jigsaw puzzle of which you have no reference. The completed puzzle is the hypothetical “objective truth” about that topic – an absolute conclusion that will invariably arrived at if all the important and relevant pieces of information are placed together and made to interact. Of course, this “objective truth” can never be obtained, and therefore the puzzle can never be completed (but that’s not the point). When you approach the specific topic with your research question, you’re basically looking at the incomplete puzzle. With your work, you’re seeking to help complete it – you are to cut up your own jigsaw piece and paint it appropriately to be inserted into what is already there.

A literature review is basically a broad survey into the specific topic you’re looking to do research in. Going back to the analogy, you’re looking at the incomplete puzzle and using the contours shaped by the already fitted pieces to inform your efforts of creating the new jigsaw piece. Sometimes you find that some pieces are inappropriate for the overall puzzle, and sometimes you find that there are too many significant gaps in the first place – making any concept of the picture you’re trying to obtain incomprehensible from the get-go. But that all comes with the territory; nobody said this job was easy.

In general, the literature review process can be broken down into two portions:

• A concise summary of the relevant arguments and conclusions that have already been made about the topic.
• A personal, deliberated judgment on what you have just summarized.

With these two fundamental aspects, you can then go on to lay out where to proceed from there. However, you need to know how to get those arguments and conclusions in the first place.

Resource-Finding

Of course, begin with the Library.  Refer to the “Using the Library” section for further information on this.

Explore your faculty . Coming off several years of graduate and post-graduate as well as their own independent research, they probably know a book or two about your specific topic. They might even have it lying around in their office. Also, don’t limit yourself to professors who specialize in the field you’re interested in or just to those in your department. This is especially true if you know you’re researching a somewhat neglected or obscure line of inquiry. Your Azerbaijan History professor might know a guy who knows a guy who specializes in Post-Modern Nuclear Deterrence Fiction to whom she/he could refer you to, and so on so forth.

When you get your hands on your first few books, read through the Bibliography and References section. Take note especially of the works cited consistently across the books you’re reading – this is a good indication of a work or an argument well-accepted (or debated) among the academia of that topic.

A few words on the Internet . We are all, of course, enamored by the sheer accessibility of information that Google pampers us with, this being the digital age and all. However, be very aware and critical about the material you come across. Assessing credibility is ever so important in the expansive sea of the internet (which means, in general, never rely on Wikipedia – unless if you’re using it as a hub to get to better places). Two pretty reliable academic search engines are Google Scholar and Jstor , though the latter can only be accessed in certain Wi-Fi networks (like universities or libraries) or only if you have a subscription.

So, we’ve touched upon places you can start off with finding resources. There are probably other more crafty methods to find out useful books and articles, and if so please let us know so we can put it up here. Now that we’re done with that, let’s look at production and composition.

Writing the Review

Read the article mentioned below on “Doing a Literature Review” by Jeffrey W. Knopf. It’s a concise and effective article on the craft of doing this important step of your research/thesis, and it provides a lot of key considerations that you should be thinking about when you both survey the literature and put your review together.

A few other words:

• A Literature Review is yet another active narrative to your work. Do not simply treat it as a list; treat it as exposition. If anything, it is analogous to the first ten minutes of your basic movie: it sets up the world, the rules, and the players.
• Don’t extend your bias just yet – and don’t be biased when you’re presenting the multiple schools of thought. That just hurts your credibility if you come off the bat with it, because it renders your work somewhat subjective. A reliable piece of social science research has to have some character of objectivity, the findings have to come out from a clear consideration of all sides.

Notes on Sources

It is important, when conducting your literature review, to keep in mind that not all sources are made equally.  A familiar division is between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources (see Monmouth College description of sources ).  However, there is also the issue of source quality.  Monmouth College’s evaluation criteria are a useful place to start. UC Berkeley Library’s guide to a “Critical Evaluation of Resources” also may be helpful here. They stress keeping in mind such factors as the suitability of a source (what was its intended audience?) and its authority (what are the credentials of the author? how does that author claim to know what they know?).  It is especially important to keep such issues in mind when gathering information from the internet. Johns Hopkins University’s Guide to “Evaluating Information Found on the Internet” has this specific set of concerns in mind. One of the tricky issues that they flag is the question of using sources that appear at the top of search results.  No one has a perfect answer for how to deal with the issue and every search engine is different. But it is important to keep this in mind.

Wesleyan University Library Guide on Literature Reviews: http://libguides.wesleyan.edu/litreview

• Knopf, Jeffrey W. “ Doing a Literature Review ,” PS: Political Science & Politics 39:1, 127-132.

Abstract : Educator and naval postgraduate school professor Knopf presents a brief and wholly comprehensive summary of what is a literature review and how to write one. He also discusses some other interesting issue to consider, like contributions students can make to their fields of interest and the techniques of framing.

• “ Literature Review Handout, ” prepared by The Writing Center, University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

Contributor: Nicholas Quah

updated January 18, 2024 – MN

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Political Science Research Methods

• Best Practices

Overviews and Background--Reference Materials

New search feature: what is articles+, literature sources, other useful databases.

• Citation Checking and Tracing
• Citation Tools/Building Your Bibliography
• Managing All These Citations?
• Assistance with Methods
• Data Support and Contacts

Reference works and handbooks are an important means to help you gather some initial resources, identify concepts, approaches, terminology, and theories, and refine your topic before delving into more detailed research.

• Routledge Handbooks
• Oxford Research Encyclopedias
• Oxford Handbooks
• Oxford Bibliographies
• Annual Reviews

What is a literature review?

A literature review provides an overview of the scholarly literature (e.g. books, articles, dissertations, proceedings) relevant to an area of research or theory. The review typically will include a summary of the major questions in a area and critical evaluations of work that has already been done. Literature reviews are also helpful for their comprehensive bibliographies. This  webpage by the UC Santa Cruz Library  does a good job of explaining lit reviews.

Literature reviews typically include these components:

• An overview of the subject
• Organization of relevant publications into subtopics, theoretical areas, or key debate
• An analysis and discussion of how various works relate to one another the the relevant questions
• A discussion of unresolved questions or future directions
• Some will also include discussions of key data collection and analysis methodologies

Another good way to think about literature reviews:

• Relevant literature
• Seminal literature
• Narrative and literature development
• Branches/schools of thought
• Self-placement (where does my literature fit?)

[Borrowed from Nordyke and Yacobucci (2021) "Beyond the Annotated Bibliography: Improving Student Literature Reviews through Structured Heuristics" in Teaching Research Methods in Political Science , Jeffrey Bernstein, ed. Edward Elgar.]

What is Articles+?

Articles+ provides Emory users with access to millions of scholarly e-resources including articles, images, conference proceedings, audio-visual materials, books, and dissertations. Search Articles+ by selecting the header on Library Search or by following the link in your search results.

Political Science Complete

 Political Science Complete contains full text for over 450 journals, and indexing and abstracts for nearly 2,100 titles, (including top-ranked scholarly journals). The database also features 330 full-text reference books and monographs, and over 35,000 full-text conference papers. A pro tip is to search for specific methodologies or data sources in your search terms, and fully utilize the filters.

• Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature with bibliometric tools to track, analyze and visualize research. It contains over 19,500 titles from more than 5,000 publishers around the world, covering the fields of science, technology, medicine, social sciences, and arts and humanities.
• Full text for more than 400 publications including titles from the American economic Association such as: American Economic Review, Journal of Economic Literature, and Journal of Economic Perspectives . Can search concurrently with Sociological Abstracts and Political Science Complete.
• Covers major international literature (journals, books, book chapters, book reviews, dissertations and conference papers) in sociology and related disciplines.  Can search concurrently with Econlit and Political Science Complete
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Political Science

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Writing a Literature Review (University Library, UC Santa Cruz)

"the literature" and "the review" (virginia commonwealth university).

• Evaluate Sources
• Cite Sources
• Annotated Bibliography
• POL Websites
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Additional Online Resources

• How to: Literature reviews The Writing Center, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
• The Literature Review A basic overview of the literature review process. (Courtesy of Virginia Commonwealth University)
• The Process: Search, Assess, Summarize, Synthesize Getting Started: Assessing Sources/Creating a Matrix/Writing a Literature Review (Courtesy of Virginia Commonwealth University)
• Review of Literature The Writing Center @ Univeristy of Wisconsin - Madison
• Tools for Preparing Literature Reviews George Washington University
• Write a Literature Review University Library, UC Santa Cruz

Your POL Librarian

1. Introduction

Not to be confused with a book review, a  literature review  surveys scholarly articles, books and other sources (e.g. dissertations, conference proceedings) relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, providing a description, summary, and critical evaluation of each work. The purpose is to offer an overview of significant literature published on a topic.

2. Components

Similar to primary research, development of the literature review requires four stages:

• Problem formulation—which topic or field is being examined and what are its component issues?
• Literature search—finding materials relevant to the subject being explored
• Data evaluation—determining which literature makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the topic
• Analysis and interpretation—discussing the findings and conclusions of pertinent literature

Literature reviews should comprise the following elements:

• An overview of the subject, issue or theory under consideration, along with the objectives of the literature review
• Division of works under review into categories (e.g. those in support of a particular position, those against, and those offering alternative theses entirely)
• 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

In assessing each piece, consideration should be given to:

• 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)?
• 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/least convincing?
• Value—Are the author's arguments and conclusions convincing? Does the work ultimately contribute in any significant way to an understanding of the subject?

  3. Definition and Use/Purpose

A literature review may constitute an essential chapter of a thesis or dissertation, or may be a self-contained review of writings on a subject. In either case, its purpose is to:

• Place each work in the context of its contribution to the understanding of the subject under review
• Describe the relationship of each work to the others under consideration
• Identify new ways to interpret, and shed light on any gaps in, previous research
• Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies
• Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of effort
• Point the way forward for further research
• Place one's original work (in the case of theses or dissertations) in the context of existing literature

The literature review itself, however, does not present new  primary  scholarship.

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• URL: https://libguides.merrimack.edu/political_science

Loyola University Chicago Libraries

Political science.

• Reference Resources
• News and Newspaper Sources
• General Data Sources
• International Organizations
• Research Institutions
• Advanced Library Research
• East Asian Foreign Policy
• Polling Data
• Literature Reviews

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

Useful Links:

• CQUniversity Library - Literature Reviews
• How I Teach Students to Write Literature Reviews
• Research Rabbit
• How to Read a Scholarly Article
• Annual Reviews
• Social Science Citation Index
• Political Science Abstracts - World Wide
• Humanities and Social Sciences Retrospective
• LUC Writing Center
• The Matrix Method
• Lit Review Presentation (2-23-24)
• Lit Review Steps
• Literature_Matrix_Basic_BLANK
• LitReviewMatrixTemplate

What Is 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.

Review the Literature

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. 
• Books: Search the Library's catalog. 
• 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.

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.

Pacheco-Vega, R. (2016, June 17).  Synthesizing different bodies of work in your literature review: The Conceptual Synthesis Excel Dump (CSED) technique .  http://www.raulpacheco.org/2016/06/synthesizing-different-bodies-of-work-in-your-literature-review-the-conceptual-synthesis-excel-dump-technique/

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 

Write the Literature Review

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.
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• Last Updated: Nov 21, 2024 12:47 PM
• URL: https://libguides.luc.edu/politicalscience

Loyola University Chicago Libraries Cudahy Library · 1032 W. Sheridan Rd., Chicago, IL 60660 · 773.508.2632 Lewis Library · 25 E. Pearson St., Chicago, IL 60611 · 312.915.6622 Comments & Suggestions Notice of Non-discriminatory Policy

University Libraries

Psci 3300: introduction to political research.

• Library Accounts
• Selecting a Topic for Research
• From Topic to Research Question
• From Question to Theories, Hypotheses, and Research Design
• Annotated Bibliographies
• The Literature Review
• Search Strategies for Ann. Bibliographies & Lit. Reviews
• Find PSCI Books for Ann. Bibliographies & Lit. Reviews
• Databases & Electronic Resources for Your Lit. Review
• Methods, Data Analysis, Results, Limitations, and Conclusion
• Finding Data and Statistics for the Data Analysis
• Citing Sources for the Reference Page

If you select "no," please send me an email so I can improve this guide.

What is the Purpose of a Literature Review?

A literature review is a synthesized account that  evaluates  the publications in a subject area, which are written by scholars or researchers. Literature reviews are used in a variety of contexts:

• standalone article
• introduction to a research paper
• introduction to a research prospectus
• an early chapter in a master's thesis or doctoral dissertation

Note that a literature review  evaluates  the literature; it  does not  simply summarize it.

What a Literature Review is Not?

A literature review is NOT:

• an annotative bibliography
• descriptive list
• summary of your readings

You need to be evaluating the literature and explaining how it leads to your research question or supports your thesis statement.

Why Do a Literature Review?

You may have been told you're required to do literature review, but don't know why you have to go through the process. Remembering some of the "whys" may help you focus and write your literature review.

Standalone article:

• Updates readers and the author on the current research, theories and methodologies in a subject area
• Demonstrates that you can evaluate the literature

Research paper:

• Sets the context for your thesis statement for the reader
• Focuses your thesis statement
• Demonstrates you can evaluate the literature

Prospectus:

• Explains the context of your research proposal and definitions in the field for a general audience
• Demonstrates to professionals in the field that you are familiar with the literature relevant to your proposal and can evaluate it

Updates you on current research, theories and methodologies that will help focus your proposal

Thesis or Dissertation:

• Allows you to determine whether your research question is original
• Helps you focus your research question and hypothesis
• Teaches you the important historical and current facts, theories, models, and methods in your topic area
• Sets the context for your research question
• Demonstrates to professionals in the field that you know how to do advanced literature searches and evaluate literature

Online Resources

• Literature Review Case Studies in Sage Research Methods
• Learn How to Write a Review of Literature A succinct description of the literature review process from The Writing Center at The University of Wisconsin-Madison.
• Writing the Literature Review, Part I In this YouTube video, David Taylor at the University of Maryland University College gives a practical, clear explanation of the process. The sound isn't high quality, but his presentation is. 5:22 minutes.
• Writing the Literature Review, Part 2 This YouTube video is a continuation of the one above. 7:40 minutes.
• How to Evaluate Journal Articles A list of questions to ask when evaluating an article for a literature review, written by Naomi Lederer at the Colorado State University Libraries.
• Lit Review LibGuide Process and resources compiled by Science Librarian Erin.

“The most common mistake that students make in writing a literature review for a research paper is to lose sight of its purpose. You include the literature review to explain both the basis for and contribution of your research project. T he literature review should be focused on issues directly relevant to your study and should be organized in a way to call attention to the contributions of your research . The purpose of the literature review is NOT to show that you have read a lot of material.”

 (Ashley Leeds, Rice University(page 2-3):  http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~leeds/documents/475rps10.pdf)  

Need More Help? Try these Books:

• Bloomberg, L.D., & Volpe, M. (2008).  Completing your Qualitative Dissertation: A Roadmap from Beginning to End . Los Angeles: Sage
• Machi, L.E., & McEvoy, B.T. ( 2009).  The Literature Review: Six Steps to Success . Thousand Oaks: Corwin Sage.
• O'Hara, M., Wainwright, J., & Kay, J. (2011).  Successful dissertations : The complete guide for education, childhood and early childhood studies students . London, GBR: Continuum International Publishing.

This class page is based on the 2011 presentation, "The Literature Review Process," created by librarian Annie Downey.

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• Next: Search Strategies for Ann. Bibliographies & Lit. Reviews >>

Copyright © University of North Texas. Some rights reserved. Except where otherwise indicated, the content of this library guide is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license . Suggested citation for citing this guide when adapting it:

This work is a derivative of "PSCI 3300: Introduction to Political Research" , created by [author name if apparent] and © University of North Texas, used under CC BY-NC 4.0 International .

• Last Updated: Dec 12, 2024 11:57 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.unt.edu/PSCI3300

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