A literature review surveys scholarly sources on a topic to provide an overview of current knowledge and identify relevant theories, methods, and gaps in existing research. It should analyze, synthesize, and critically evaluate sources, rather than just summarizing them. Conducting a literature review allows one to familiarize themselves with a topic, ensure they are not repeating past work, identify gaps their research could address, and develop a theoretical framework. The literature review typically comes early in a research paper, after the introduction, to ground the research in a scholarly field.

1. What is a literature review? A literature review is a survey of scholarly
sources on a specific topic. It provides an overview of current knowledge,
allowing you to identify relevant theories, methods, and gaps in the existing
research that you can later apply to your paper, thesis, or dissertation topic.
A good literature review doesn’t just summarize sources—it analyzes,
synthesizes, and critically evaluates to give a clear picture of the state of
knowledge on the subject.

2. There are several reasons to conduct a literature review at the beginning of a research
project:
To familiarize yourself with the current state of knowledge on your topic
To ensure that you’re not just repeating what others have already done
To identify gaps in knowledge and unresolved problems that your research can address
To develop your theoretical framework and methodology
To provide an overview of the key findings and debates on the topic
Writing the literature review shows your reader how your work relates to existing
research and what new insights it will contribute.

3. The literature review usually comes near the beginning of your paper. After the
introduction, it grounds your research in a scholarly field and leads directly to your
theoretical framework or methodology.
Where does the literature review go in a research paper?

4. A literature review generally consists of the following parts:
1. Introduction
●The introduction should clearly establish the focus and purpose of the literature
review, defining your topic and setting your scope. If there's anything you aren't
planning to include in your analysis, mention it here.
Example: Struggles with body image and appearance have been widely associated with media
consumption, particularly in young women. While this topic has been widely studied, extant research
has not quite caught up with emerging technologies, such as TikTok, and has mainly focused on mass
media effects. This paper will examine the effects of newer technology, specifically in regards to instant
sharing of images, and its effect on mental health of adolescents.

5. 2. Body
● The body should contain a summary and critical evaluation of each source,
focusing on the research design and conclusion. You can structure your body in
different ways:
○ Chronological: traces the development of your topic over time
○ Thematic: organizes discussion of your topic around central themes
○ Methodological: analyzes the different takes various methodological
approaches have had on your topic
○ Theoretical: discusses how different theoretical perspectives come together in
support of or against your research

6. 3. Conclusion
In conclusion, you should summarize the key findings you have taken from
the literature and emphasize their significance to your topic, along with your
overarching conclusions and avenues for future research. Be sure to clearly
restate your topic and scope, so it's clear to your reader why the literature
you reviewed is relevant to your research.
Example: Extant research has mainly focused on mass media consumption in its analysis of the effects of
the relationship between media consumption and body image issues. While it has shown that a
relationship certainly exists, it has not robustly shown how the advent of instant-sharing technologies like
Instagram Stories and TikTok have affected the situation.

7. 4. Reference list
The reference list contains a correct, full citation for each source that has been
mentioned in the text.

8. Step 1 – Search for relevant literature
Before you begin searching for literature, you need a clearly defined topic.
If you are writing the literature review section of a research paper, you will search for
literature related to your research problem and questions.
Literature review research question example
What is the impact of social media on body image among Generation Z?
1. Make a list of keywords
Start by creating a list of keywords related to your research question. Include each of the
key concepts or variables you’re interested in, and list any synonyms and related terms.
You can add to this list as you discover new keywords in the process of your literature
search.

9. Keywords example
Social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok, Body image, self-perception,
self-esteem, mental health, Generation Z, teenagers, adolescents, youth
2. Use your keywords to begin searching for sources. Some useful databases to search for
journals and articles include:
Your university’s library catalogue
Google Scholar
JSTOR
EBSCO

10. Step 2 – Evaluate and select sources
You likely won’t be able to read absolutely everything that has been written on your
topic, so it will be necessary to evaluate which sources are most relevant to your
research question.
For each publication, ask yourself:
- What question or problem is the author addressing?
- What are the key concepts and how are they defined?
- What are the key theories, models, and methods?
- Does the research use established frameworks or take an innovative approach?

11. - What are the results and conclusions of the study?
- How does the publication relate to other literature in the field? Does it confirm, add to,
or challenge established knowledge?
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research?
- Step 3 – Identify themes, debates, and gaps
- To begin organizing your literature review’s argument and structure, be sure you
understand the connections and relationships between the sources you’ve read.
Based on your reading and notes, you can look for:

12. •Trends and patterns (in theory, method or results): do certain approaches
become more or less popular over time?
•Themes: what questions or concepts recur across the literature?
•Debates, conflicts and contradictions: where do sources disagree?
•Pivotal publications: are there any influential theories or studies that changed
the direction of the field?
•Gaps: what is missing from the literature? Are there weaknesses that need to
be addressed?

13. Step 5 – Write your literature review
Like any other academic text, your literature review should have an introduction, a main body, and
a conclusion.
1. The introduction should clearly establish the focus and purpose of the literature review.
Tip
If you are writing the literature review as part of your paper, reiterate your
central problem or research question and give a brief summary of the
scholarly context. You can emphasize the timeliness of the topic (“many
recent studies have focused on the problem of x”) or highlight a gap in the
literature (“while there has been much research on x, few researchers have
taken y into consideration”).

14. 2. Body
Depending on the length of your literature review, you might want to divide the body into
subsections. You can use a subheading for each theme, time period, or methodological
approach.
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 sentences to draw
connections, comparisons and contrasts

15. 3. Conclusion
In the conclusion, you should summarize the key findings you have taken from the
literature and emphasize their significance.
Be sure to show how your research addresses gaps and contributes new
knowledge, or discuss how you have drawn on existing theories and methods to
build a framework for your research.
When you’ve finished writing and revising your literature review, don’t forget to
proofread thoroughly before submitting. Check out Scribbr’s professional
proofreading services!