CRES 190-01 - Senior Capstone (Baker, Spring 2025)

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 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.

The most important aspects of your literature review are:

• to make clear to your readers that you are indeed familiar with the existing scholarship and research relevant to your topic. In other words, it establishes that you've done your homework.
• to demonstrate to your readers how your work builds upon earlier research and offers answers to unanswered questions. In other words, it explains how and why your work adds to intellectual endeavor in your field.

Because your literature review should do all of the above, it should:

• be organized around and related directly to your topic or research question;
• offer a clear and concise summary of the knowns and unknowns in your field;
• point out controversies and areas of uncertainty in the literature; and
• point out issues and questions needing additional research and answers.

The most important aspects of your literature review are:

• to make clear to your readers that you are indeed familiar with the existing scholarship and research relevant to your topic. In other words, it establishes that you've done your homework.
• to demonstrate to your readers how your work builds upon earlier research and offers answers to unanswered questions. In other words, it explains how and why your work adds to intellectual endeavor in your field.

Because your literature review should do all of the above, it should:

• be organized around and related directly to your topic or research question;
• offer a clear and concise summary of the knowns and unknowns in your field;
• point out controversies and areas of uncertainty in the literature; and
• point out issues and questions needing additional research and answers.

Brereton, C. (2023). Critical race theory bans and reactionary Whiteness. [Doctoral dissertation, University of California at Irvine]. eScholarship. 

Harris, L. (2022). Lift every voice: Black high school students' lived experience with racism and discrimination through a critical race theory lens. [Doctoral dissertation, Montclair State University]. Montclair State University Digital Commons.