Writing 101 (Koehler)

Writing for Psychology

Literature Review Basics

Sage Research Methods: Reviewing the Literature
This guide reviews the steps of the literature review process, and provides an overview of where to search for appropriate literature.
Ten Simple Rules for Writing a Literature Review
from PLOS Computational Biology (2013), Marco Pautassos

Reviews

Some journals are devoted to publishing review articles. A literature review is helpful for understanding concepts, the state of current research, and locating key authors and sources.

Sample Journals

Annual Review of Psychology

Annual Review of Clinical Psychology

Annual Review of Neuroscience

Perspectives on Psychological Science

Sample Review Article

"Conspiracy Theories: Evolved Functions and Psychological Mechanisms" (2018), van Prooijen and van Vugt

"Attachment in Adulthood: Recent Development, Emerging Debates, and Future Directions" (2019), Fraley

Literature Review Structure & Organization

This video includes information about how to structure and organize a literature review (UCSD Dept. of Psychology, 2.06)

Synthesizing Multiple Sources

This video provides step-by-step instructions for weaving together different research articles into a single, coherent literature review (USU Library, 2.06)

Literature Review: Synthesis Templates

Source Template
Basic Literature Review Source Template from Walden University Writing Center to help record the main findings and concepts from different articles.

Sample Literature Review Grids
A Google Sheet with multiple tabs containing different grids for recording notes to help with synthesizing sources. Download your own copy to begin recording notes.