Literature reviews

This resource will help you:

• Understand the purpose and function of writing a literature review.
• Develop your ability to plan and structure an effective literature review.

A literature review synthesises existing research to clarify what is known about a topic, identify key themes, and reveal gaps for further study (Lim et al., 2022).  It goes beyond simply summarising information by critically examining studies to create a solid foundation for future research (Torraco, 2005).  This entails identifying patterns in the research reviewed, particularly similarities and differences across the studies and any areas that need further investigation. Think of it as a dialogue between researchers, comparing research findings with each other and then working out what they haven’t covered yet. 

To begin your literature review, you first need to find the literature. To do this, you need an effective search strategy, as described in Step 2 of the Research skills tutorial:

You may follow the below search strategy to assist in your literature search:

Step 1: Broad search of the keywords 

• Begin by searching for the main keywords, for example, exercise AND stress. 

Step 2: Expand the search with synonyms

• For example, exercise AND reduce (OR decrease OR alleviate OR lessen) AND stress (OR anxiety OR tension). 

Step 3: Use truncation to further expand the search

• For example, exercis* will yield exercise, exercising, exercises, etc. 
• However, be careful if you used stres*, you may retrieve words like stressful and stressed as well as stress. 

Step 4: Use NOT to exclude irrelevant results

• This further refines your search, for example, exercise AND (reduce OR decrease OR alleviate OR lessen) AND (stress OR anxiety OR tension) NOT (injury OR exhaustion). 

Step 5: Apply limiters to filter results

• For example, if only results published within the last 10 years are required, you may set the date range to 2015-2025.

Step 6: Use field searching to further refine the search results

• For example, sources from Australia only.

Once you have found your sources:

• Take notes as you find useful sources but organise them by themes rather than by source to better spot key similarities and differences (Webster & Watson, 2002). 
• Consider structuring your notes using a table or matrix like Table 1 below, to make connections between sources clearer as patterns emerge. 
• This approach helps you show how studies relate—identifying agreements, support, and conflicts—and consider possible reasons for these differences (Chigbu et al., 2023). 

Structure

In its basic form, a literature review is structured like an essay, with an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion (Table 2). However, whilst an essay uses literature to support its arguments for a topic, in a literature review, the literature itself is the topic. Hence there will be discussion and evaluation on both the content provided by the literature as well as the quality of how the content has been demonstrated by the author (University of Melbourne, n.d).   

The general structure of a literature review, as well as the headings and sub-headings in the body, will depend entirely on your topic and discipline. For examples of this structure, have a look at some literature reviews published within your discipline or research field to get a general sense of their layout, word count distribution, and use of themes.

Language and vocabulary

A literature review is objective, synthesises information, and uses critical analysis to connect research, focusing on patterns, trends, and gaps (Galvan & Galvan, 2017). It therefore critically engages with sources, so clear language such as “however,” “in contrast” or “similarly” should be used to highlight agreements, disagreements, or contradictions and to avoid bias (Baumeister & Leary, 1997). Literature reviews should typically also include reporting verbs to describe and report on the studies and literature you are reviewing. Words such as "investigated" and "examined" demonstrate the study's aim; "suggests" or "reveals" indicate the results of the study; and "believes" or "argues" allude to the author's opinion or stance (Monash University, n.d.). For more information on reporting verbs, as well as detailed examples of common words and phrases to use when discussing literature, have a look at the Academic Phrasebank resource below:

Writing style

The writing style of a literature review is typically much more author-prominent than other styles of academic writing, which are often more parenthetical or information prominent. This style clarifies whose ideas are being presented, thereby strengthening your academic tone and positioning your synthesis within the broader literature. Note this clarity in the author-prominent example below, compared to the slightly more ambiguous information-prominent example:

• Author-prominent example: "Whilst Smith (2020) and Jackson (2018) agree that ..., there is some contradiction regarding ..., with Smith (2020) stating..."
• Information-prominent example: "Whilst there is agreeance on ..., there is some debate regarding ... in the literature (Smith, 2020; Jackson, 2018)."

For more information on writing style, check out the Academic writing library guide below:

Check out the below video (3:05 min) by Scribbr (2020) for tips on writing a literature review.

1. Evaluate sources critically. 

Look beyond the abstract. Assess each study’s methodology, sample size, bias and relevance to your topic. A critical evaluation helps you avoid poorly conducted studies and provides a more accurate picture of the existing research.  

2. Organise your body paragraphs by theme or trend, not by source.  

Instead of summarising each source individually, group studies by theme, trend, methodology, or theoretical perspective. Organising by theme allows you to synthesise information, showing how different studies connect or diverge, and sets the stage for identifying research gaps.  

3. Synthesise, don’t just summarise.  

Go beyond summarising each article. Integrate findings from multiple studies to identify patterns, contradictions, or gaps in the literature. Synthesis provides a more cohesive and analytical view of the literature.  

4. Use author-prominent language rather than narrative. 

Emphasise the contribution of each researcher by using phrases like, “Smith (2020) argues…” instead of “… (Smith, 2020).” This style clarifies whose ideas are being presented, which strengthens the review’s academic tone and situates your synthesis within the broader scholarly conversation.  

5. Incorporate string referencing.  

Use a coherent referencing style to connect citations fluidly within the text. String referencing ensures clarity, allowing readers to track multiple sources in single sentences or themes