Literature review

A literature review provides a comprehensive and up to date overview of current research on a topic, containing the most relevant studies and pointing to important past and current research and practices in a field.

Writing a good literature review requires careful planning, a clear structure, analytical thinking, good literature searching skills, and the ability to synthesise and summarise information in a clear writing style.

A literature review can:

• Provide a thorough knowledge of previous studies
• Introduce important works and focus your research topic within the broader context
• Help you to see how new research is like building blocks, laid upon the ideas built by others, and appreciate the sequence and growth of knowledge
• Identify gaps in the research for future investigation
• Help you to avoid repetition of earlier research
• Identify controversy in the literature
• Focus your own research topic within the broader context.

• Think of the main concepts relating to your research question
• Determine the scope of your literature search and review
• The extent of literature retrieved will indicate the level of research conducted in your area of study. Is this a new area of research?
• Consider how far back you search, are there theoretical works that must be included?
• Ensure you also look at the most current research

The Library can provide expert help in finding, evaluating, using and referencing resources for your assessments and research.