What is a Literature Review?
This Resource Page will help you:
- Learn what a literature review is
- Identify different types of literature reviews
- Understand the reasons for writing a literature review
What is a Literature Review?
A literature review is a piece of written work that examines and summarizes published work on a specific topic. Literature reviews have the following functions:
- Synthesize, analyze and place into context original research and scholarly literature relevant to the topic
- Provide a critical overview of previous research relevant to the topic
- Evaluate the state and quality of research
- Identify gaps in knowledge and suggest future research directions
A literature review can be a section of a larger paper (e.g., research proposal, research report, dissertation), or it can be a standalone paper. The cards below show an overview of the main differences:
Literature Review as Standalone Work
Focus: The evaluation of literature
Functions: Shows your understanding of current research on a topic and presents what is currently known about a topic.
Literature Review as a Section of a Larger Piece of Work
Focus: Preparation to introduce research work (e.g., research proposal or report)
Functions: Shows your understanding of current research on a topic and suggests how the review findings lead to the research proposed/conducted by identifying conclusions, gaps and open questions to date.
It is important to note that regardless of the kind of literature review you write, an effective literature review goes beyond summarizing content from other sources. It is meant to provide solid understanding, analysis and discussion of key ideas and existing research gaps within the breadth of your topic.
What is Literature?
It’s common to run into the term “literature” in your courses and readings, but it can sometimes be unclear as to what “literature” is. When academics refer to “literature,” they are referring to academic works such as journal articles, published books, conference proceedings, and dissertations. However, depending on your area of interest, the resources listed above may not be sufficient for your studies. In that case, literature can also take the form of encyclopedias, textbooks, websites, reports by institutions or governments, and blog posts.
Below are the different types of literature you may want to consider when writing your own literature review:
Published results of original research studies
Pieces that interpret, discuss, or summarize original sources
Synthesizes or distills primary and secondary sources (e.g., directories, dictionaries, handbooks, guides)
Research, reports, and information released by non-commercial publishers such as governments, government agencies, policy organizations, and non-profits.
As a literature review is a critical analysis of academic or other relevant works, it is up to you, the author, to decide what literature is relevant. You can check our resource page on evaluating and selecting literature to learn more about inclusion and exclusion criteria for literature.
Once you are ready to look for sources for your literature review, check our resource page on how to search for sources.
What are the Different Types of Literature Reviews?
There are different types of literature reviews. It is important to understand their differences to learn how to write and read literature reviews effectively. At OISE, critical and scoping literature reviews are the most common types of literature review assignments.
Critical Literature Reviews
Features:
- Goes beyond a descriptive summary of relevant works
- Reviews multiple works, evaluates their strengths and weakness, and explains their relationship to one another within selected conceptual or theoretical framework
- May not need strict formal inclusion and exclusion criteria
- The most common type of literature review you may write during graduate study
Information you should write or can acquire from reading:
- Evaluation of the relevance, strengths and weaknesses of the ideas and content of the works
- Analysis and interpretation of the work to demonstrate your understanding of the works
Example: Jaramillo-Yanquepe, C. (2022). A synthesis of EFL research in Chilean high schools: Research shortage or research opportunities? Profile: Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 24(1), 227–246.
Scoping Literature Reviews
Features:
- Summarizes and shares the findings of previous work within an area
- Guided by inclusion and exclusion criteria that defined before conducting a resource search
Assesses and maps out key concepts, types of evidence, research methods, and gaps in research in the defined area
Information you should write or can acquire from reading:
- Examination of the extent, range and nature of research activity
- The value of undertaking a full systematic review (e.g., Do any studies exist? Have systematic reviews already been conducted?)
- Gaps in an existing body of literature
Example: Caldeborg, A., Andersson, J., & Öhman, M. (2023). Physical contact in physical education, sports coaching and the preschool – a scoping review. Sport, Education and Society, 28(3), 326–340.
Beyond critical and scoping reviews, there are also other types of literature reviews you may encounter during graduate studies.
Features:
- Identifies, evaluates and synthesizes all the empirical evidence that meets pre-specified eligibility criteria to answer a given research question
- Must be as thorough and unbiased as possible
- Must make explicit how the search was conducted
Information you should write or can acquire from reading:
- Answers to a specific question(s) that is related to a certain topic
- Summary of the most reliable information on a specific topic, and rigorous, unbiased methods reaching to that information
- Summary of a variety of study designs such as mixed methods, qualitative, and quantitative studies for a specific topic
Example: Davies, D., Jindal-Snape, D., Collier, C., Digby, R., Hay, P., & Howe, A. (2013). Creative learning environments in education—A systematic literature review. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 8, 80–91.
Features:
- Provides current understanding and knowledge available about a topic
- Highlights disagreement or differing aspects in the current state of knowledge
Information you should write or can acquire from reading:
- An overview of the current knowledge and state of a defined topic and potential directions for future research
- Starting point on your assignment when you don’t know much about the topic or area
- Relevant sources you can check for your paper topic
Example: Kukulska-Hulme, A., & Viberg, O. (2018). Mobile collaborative language learning: State of the art. British Journal of Educational Technology, 49(2), 207–218.
Features:
- Thoroughly evaluates existing studies to obtain conclusions about that body of research (sub-set of systematic review)
- Can include statistical analysis of the reviewed studies, or subjective, evaluative, or interpretive qualitative analysis identifying new themes or concepts related to the research topic
Information you should write or can acquire from reading:
- More solid conclusions about a specific research question than in individual studies
- More comprehensive insights and understanding of the research areas of interest
- Starting point on your assignment when you don’t know much about the topic or area
- Relevant sources you can check for your paper topic
Example: Cornelius-White, J. (2007). Learner-centered teacher-student relationships are effective: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 113–143.
Features:
- Categorizes and describes concepts and theories related to a defined topic
- Outlines a relationship among the concepts and theories, including relevant theoretical and empirical research
Information you should write or can acquire from reading:
- Greater understanding of the concepts, theories, or variables relevant to your topic or issue of interest
- Concepts or theories that can help you create your own conceptual or theoretical framework for your assignment
Example: Amundsen, C., & Wilson, M. (2012). Are we asking the right questions?: A conceptual review of the educational development literature in higher education. Review of Educational Research, 82(1), 90–126.
Why Write a Literature Review?
You may encounter literature review assignments from your professors or instructors. It’s fair that you may be questioning why. What is so important about writing a literature review?
Writing a literature review will help you:
- Form a broad understanding of your topic by gathering related ideas and information
- Keep up with the current trends, main findings, and relevant terminology
- Develop new research questions by identifying gaps or unanswered questions in the field
- Find your own position in the ongoing academic conversation
In addition, writing literature reviews allows you to develop skills in:
- Deep learning: This happens when you read and understand a text by creating connections between ideas, identifying patterns, or judging if the argument made is supported.
- Active or independent learning: This happens when you understand the main idea of a text, apply the main idea to other contexts, and analyze the relationship of the main idea to other ideas or contexts.
- Critical thinking: This happens when you break down pieces of information in the text to inform your own reflection or judgement of what you have learned. You can find more information about critical thinking skills in our resource page on critical reading.
Next Steps
Check our resource page on how to prepare a literature review for information and tips on the steps to complete your literature review. If you are looking for samples of literature reviews, you can find sample works written by students, along with analysis and feedback, on our resource page of samples of written assignments by OISE students.