A literature review is a comprehensive examination of resources that are relevant to a research project. At the university level, most literature reviews cover scholarly resources, although some reviews may include popular and non-scholarly resources. Additionally, some literature reviews may include works in non-written media, like maps, videos, and so forth.
A literature review is NOT an annotated bibliography, although an annotated bibliography is often a precursor to a literature review. See the tab on annotated bibliographies for the differences between the two.
What's it for?
A good literature review will offer:
- A critical look at relevant literature or resources;
- A discussion of how the relevant literature or resources are related to your topic;
- An analysis of any gaps or unanswered questions in the relevant literature or resources, which your work will address and answer; and
- A rationale for doing your work in the first place -- i.e., it will answer the question: why is your work important?
A good literature review will clarify your thinking for you. Writing the literature review will help you organize your thoughts, broaden your knowledge in your topic area by requiring you to review relevant resources, and help you situate your own work within the larger context of your topic or subject.
