Reviewing the literature is about much more than summarizing sources. A strong literature review is a critical and analytical overview of the major contributions and lines of inquiry relevant to a research question or topic.
A good review will:
After you have collected a pool of sources using the appropriate search tools with scoped inclusion/exclusion criteria (typically a combination of platforms like the Library Search, subject-specific databases, and open search tools like Semantic Scholar or Google Scholar), you need to survey your sources to select the most useful and relevant sources.
Surveying your sources involves performing a quick, structured scan to decide whether a source is:
At this stage, you are filtering what you have found to determine what you should commit time to reading in-depth.
Skimming is strategically reading your sources to extract the key structure, purpose, and relevance before deciding whether deeper engagement is necessary.
| Step | What to Do | Why It Matters / What You Learn |
|---|---|---|
| 📑 Scan Structure | Look at section headings (e.g., Introduction, Methods, Findings, Discussion, Conclusion). | Understand how the article is organized and whether the content aligns with your topic or assignment. |
| 📝 Read Abstract Carefully | Identify the purpose, scope, methods, and major findings from the abstract. | Quickly decide whether the source addresses your research question before investing more time. |
| ✅ Jump to the Conclusion | Read the final section or final paragraph to see the author’s main claims and implications. | See what the study actually found and how useful it will be for your own argument or project. |
| 📊 Review Figures, Tables, or Charts | Scan any visual elements (graphs, tables, diagrams) for patterns, trends, or key data. | Get a fast sense of the evidence and how results are presented, without reading every line. |
| 📌 Read First Sentences of Paragraphs | Focus on topic sentences in sections like the literature review, findings, or discussion. | Topic sentences signal the main idea of each paragraph and help you quickly identify key themes or arguments. |
| ⚙️ Glance at Methodology | Confirm the study type (qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods), participants, and basic approach. | Judge whether the evidence is appropriate for your research question and if you need to read methods in detail later. |
| 🔑 Identify Key Terms or Concepts | Note repeated theories, keywords, or important authors’ names as you skim. | These terms can guide your later searches, help with synthesis, and show how this article fits into the wider conversation. |
While surveying, you should also be assessing whether sources are reliable enough to include in your review. This table provides some foundational elements to consider, depending on the specific focus of your review.
| Criterion | What to Look For | Questions to Ask |
|---|---|---|
| 👤 Authority | Who wrote or produced the source, and what makes them qualified? |
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| 🎯 Relevance | Whether the content directly addresses your research question or purpose. |
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| 📅 Currency/Timeliness | Whether the source is up-to-date and appropriate for your research area. |
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| ✔️ Accuracy & Evidence | The reliability and validity of claims, data, and arguments. |
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| ⚙️ Methodology Alignment & Quality | How the research was designed, conducted, and analyzed and whether the approach is appropriate. |
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| 🎭 Purpose & Objectivity | The motivation behind the source and whether it shows bias. |
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Another approach to evaluation involves using checklists designed for the literature in specific disciplines or tailored for the design/methodology of studies:
Synthesis is the process of bringing together data from a set of included studies in order to reach conclusions about a body of evidence. The approach you should take will often depend on the topic and its disciplinary standards.