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Conducting a Literature Review

Introduction

As you find sources of information related to your research question, you'll also need to evaluate whether each source fits into the scope of your literature review. Furthermore, a literature review is not just a summary of important past and current literature related to your topic or research question, a well-written literature review synthesizes the sources you are using.

Although the process of evaluating and synthesizing literature is presented here as separate concepts, sometimes they are performed simultaneously. You may either evaluate multiple sources first and then synthesize them together, while other times you may synthesize multiple sources and then evaluate them as a group. 

Critically Analyze and Evaluate

Evaluating the literature

When evaluating sources for your literature review, there are three aspects to consider:

  1.  the source itself
  2.  how it relates to other sources
  3.  is it useful/ relevant to your topic/ project?

Furthermore, while you are evaluating sources, it's important to remain objective. This means:

  • do not avoid information that may contradict your views or assumptions
  • keep an open mind
  • look at the topic from different vantage points
  • consider what perspectives, voices or views may be missing

Evaluating the source:

When evaluating a source, consider the following questions:

  • Who is the author, or who actually performed the research?
  • What is the author’s purpose?
  • Note the experts in the field. Are there specific names that are frequently cited?
  • Pay attention to methodology. Is it sound? What testing procedures, subjects, and materials were used?
  • What were the political, socio-economic, religious, etc. conditions at the time of the research?
  • Note conflicting theories, methodologies and results. Are there any assumptions being made by most/some researchers?
  • Theories: Have they evolved overtime?
  • Who funded the research studies?
  • When and where were the studies carried out?

Is this useful/ relevant to your topic or project?

Deciding which sources to include in your literature review includes deciding which are the most relevant to your overall argument and/or to position your study within the rest of the literature (for research papers, independent projects, dissertations or theses).

Synthesize 

Literature reviews synthesize large amounts of information and present it in a coherent, organized fashion. In a literature review you will be combining material from several texts to create a new text – your literature review.

Synthesizing sources for your literature review involves:

  •     Combining elements of several sources to help you make a point, or make the case for your research.
  •     Describing how sources converse each other, and how they relate to your thesis or question.
  •     Organizing similar ideas together so readers can understand how they overlap. Sometimes it's helpful to sort the literature    into categories or themes, such as
    • Theories
    • Methodologies or techniques
    • Geographies
    • Conflicting opinions
    • Time frames
  • Describe how the research has evolved over time
  • Develop conclusions and summarize what's been done in the past

Using A Synthesis Matrix

A synthesis matrix is a table that can be used to organize research. When completed, it provides a visual representation of main ideas found in the literature and also shows where there is overlap in ideas between authors. A completed matrix will help to integrate all of the different resources together, which will facilitate the synthesis of information on a specific topic.

A synthesis matrix can take many different forms. In the example table below, the sources are listed in the left column of the table, and the main ideas or themes about the topic are listed along the top of the table.

Synthesis table

 

Resources:

Example of a Partially Completed Synthesis Matrix (University of Arizona)

Using a Literature Matrix

Using a literature matrix can help you keep track of various aspects of your sources, so you can start to see themes emerge.

Here are some potential aspects you may want to track: 

Year of Publication Abstract  Methodology
Author Names Geographic location Sample/Population characteristics
Source Title Keywords Main findings
Publication Name Purpose/Objectives Limitations
Citation Research questions/Hypothesis Future research directions
Source type (book, journal article)  Theoretical framework Notes

Download Literature Review Spreadsheets:

Below are a couple of different examples of lit review spreadsheets. Customize the columns to your needs.