HIST495 Introduction to Historical Interpretation (History Honors)
- Getting Started
- Consulting Reference Materials for Overview/Background Information
- Finding Primary Sources
- Finding Secondary Sources (Books and Articles)
- Locating Book Reviews
Guidelines and Examples
3 simple steps to get your literature review done (nus libraries).
- Creating an Annotated Bibliography
- Strategies for Building Your Bibliography
- Special Collections and Archives Outside of the US
- Rose Library, Emory University and Other Archives Within Georgia
- Writing & Citing
- Library Assignments
- Introduction to Literature Reviews (UNC)
- Literature Review Guidelines (Univ. of Mary Washington)
- Organizing Research for Arts and Humanities Papers and Theses: Writing A Literature Review
- Write a Literature Review (JHU)
- Example from the University of Mary Washington
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- Next: Creating an Annotated Bibliography >>
- Last Updated: Sep 26, 2024 1:41 PM
- URL: https://guides.libraries.emory.edu/main/histhonors
- University of Texas Libraries
Literature Reviews
- What is a literature review?
- Steps in the Literature Review Process
- Define your research question
- Determine inclusion and exclusion criteria
- Choose databases and search
- Review Results
- Synthesize Results
- Analyze Results
- Librarian Support
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools
What is a Literature Review?
A literature or narrative review is a comprehensive review and analysis of the published literature on a specific topic or research question. The literature that is reviewed contains: books, articles, academic articles, conference proceedings, association papers, and dissertations. It contains the most pertinent studies and points to important past and current research and practices. It provides background and context, and shows how your research will contribute to the field.
A literature review should:
- Provide a comprehensive and updated review of the literature;
- Explain why this review has taken place;
- Articulate a position or hypothesis;
- Acknowledge and account for conflicting and corroborating points of view
From S age Research Methods
Purpose of a Literature Review
A literature review can be written as an introduction to a study to:
- Demonstrate how a study fills a gap in research
- Compare a study with other research that's been done
Or it can be a separate work (a research article on its own) which:
- Organizes or describes a topic
- Describes variables within a particular issue/problem
Limitations of a Literature Review
Some of the limitations of a literature review are:
- It's a snapshot in time. Unlike other reviews, this one has beginning, a middle and an end. There may be future developments that could make your work less relevant.
- It may be too focused. Some niche studies may miss the bigger picture.
- It can be difficult to be comprehensive. There is no way to make sure all the literature on a topic was considered.
- It is easy to be biased if you stick to top tier journals. There may be other places where people are publishing exemplary research. Look to open access publications and conferences to reflect a more inclusive collection. Also, make sure to include opposing views (and not just supporting evidence).
Source: Grant, Maria J., and Andrew Booth. “A Typology of Reviews: An Analysis of 14 Review Types and Associated Methodologies.” Health Information & Libraries Journal, vol. 26, no. 2, June 2009, pp. 91–108. Wiley Online Library, doi:10.1111/j.1471-1842.2009.00848.x.
Librarian Assistance
For help, please contact the librarian for your subject area. We have a guide to library specialists by subject .
Periodically, UT Libraries runs a workshop covering the basics and library support for literature reviews. While we try to offer these once per academic year, we find providing the recording to be helpful to community members who have missed the session. Following is the most recent recording of the workshop, Conducting a Literature Review. To view the recording, a UT login is required.
- October 2 2, 2024
- Last Updated: Oct 23, 2024 11:46 AM
- URL: https://guides.lib.utexas.edu/literaturereviews
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VIDEO