how to research literature

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Writing a Literature Review

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A literature review is a document or section of a document that collects key sources on a topic and discusses those sources in conversation with each other (also called synthesis ). The lit review is an important genre in many disciplines, not just literature (i.e., the study of works of literature such as novels and plays). When we say “literature review” or refer to “the literature,” we are talking about the research ( scholarship ) in a given field. You will often see the terms “the research,” “the scholarship,” and “the literature” used mostly interchangeably.

Where, when, and why would I write a lit review?

There are a number of different situations where you might write a literature review, each with slightly different expectations; different disciplines, too, have field-specific expectations for what a literature review is and does. For instance, in the humanities, authors might include more overt argumentation and interpretation of source material in their literature reviews, whereas in the sciences, authors are more likely to report study designs and results in their literature reviews; these differences reflect these disciplines’ purposes and conventions in scholarship. You should always look at examples from your own discipline and talk to professors or mentors in your field to be sure you understand your discipline’s conventions, for literature reviews as well as for any other genre.

A literature review can be a part of a research paper or scholarly article, usually falling after the introduction and before the research methods sections. In these cases, the lit review just needs to cover scholarship that is important to the issue you are writing about; sometimes it will also cover key sources that informed your research methodology.

Lit reviews can also be standalone pieces, either as assignments in a class or as publications. In a class, a lit review may be assigned to help students familiarize themselves with a topic and with scholarship in their field, get an idea of the other researchers working on the topic they’re interested in, find gaps in existing research in order to propose new projects, and/or develop a theoretical framework and methodology for later research. As a publication, a lit review usually is meant to help make other scholars’ lives easier by collecting and summarizing, synthesizing, and analyzing existing research on a topic. This can be especially helpful for students or scholars getting into a new research area, or for directing an entire community of scholars toward questions that have not yet been answered.

What are the parts of a lit review?

Most lit reviews use a basic introduction-body-conclusion structure; if your lit review is part of a larger paper, the introduction and conclusion pieces may be just a few sentences while you focus most of your attention on the body. If your lit review is a standalone piece, the introduction and conclusion take up more space and give you a place to discuss your goals, research methods, and conclusions separately from where you discuss the literature itself.

Introduction:

• An introductory paragraph that explains what your working topic and thesis is
• A forecast of key topics or texts that will appear in the review
• Potentially, a description of how you found sources and how you analyzed them for inclusion and discussion in the review (more often found in published, standalone literature reviews than in lit review sections in an article or research paper)
• Summarize and synthesize: Give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole
• Analyze and interpret: Don’t just paraphrase other researchers – add your own interpretations where possible, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole
• Critically Evaluate: Mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources
• Write in well-structured paragraphs: Use transition words and topic sentence to draw connections, comparisons, and contrasts.

Conclusion:

• Summarize the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasize their significance
• Connect it back to your primary research question

How should I organize my lit review?

Lit reviews can take many different organizational patterns depending on what you are trying to accomplish with the review. Here are some examples:

• Chronological : The simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time, which helps familiarize the audience with the topic (for instance if you are introducing something that is not commonly known in your field). If you choose this strategy, be careful to avoid simply listing and summarizing sources in order. Try to analyze the patterns, turning points, and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred (as mentioned previously, this may not be appropriate in your discipline — check with a teacher or mentor if you’re unsure).
• Thematic : If you have found some recurring central themes that you will continue working with throughout your piece, you can organize your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic. For example, if you are reviewing literature about women and religion, key themes can include the role of women in churches and the religious attitude towards women.
• Qualitative versus quantitative research
• Empirical versus theoretical scholarship
• Divide the research by sociological, historical, or cultural sources
• Theoretical : In many humanities articles, the literature review is the foundation for the theoretical framework. You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts. You can argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach or combine various theorical concepts to create a framework for your research.

What are some strategies or tips I can use while writing my lit review?

Any lit review is only as good as the research it discusses; make sure your sources are well-chosen and your research is thorough. Don’t be afraid to do more research if you discover a new thread as you’re writing. More info on the research process is available in our "Conducting Research" resources .

As you’re doing your research, create an annotated bibliography ( see our page on the this type of document ). Much of the information used in an annotated bibliography can be used also in a literature review, so you’ll be not only partially drafting your lit review as you research, but also developing your sense of the larger conversation going on among scholars, professionals, and any other stakeholders in your topic.

Usually you will need to synthesize research rather than just summarizing it. This means drawing connections between sources to create a picture of the scholarly conversation on a topic over time. Many student writers struggle to synthesize because they feel they don’t have anything to add to the scholars they are citing; here are some strategies to help you:

• It often helps to remember that the point of these kinds of syntheses is to show your readers how you understand your research, to help them read the rest of your paper.
• Writing teachers often say synthesis is like hosting a dinner party: imagine all your sources are together in a room, discussing your topic. What are they saying to each other?
• Look at the in-text citations in each paragraph. Are you citing just one source for each paragraph? This usually indicates summary only. When you have multiple sources cited in a paragraph, you are more likely to be synthesizing them (not always, but often
• Read more about synthesis here.

The most interesting literature reviews are often written as arguments (again, as mentioned at the beginning of the page, this is discipline-specific and doesn’t work for all situations). Often, the literature review is where you can establish your research as filling a particular gap or as relevant in a particular way. You have some chance to do this in your introduction in an article, but the literature review section gives a more extended opportunity to establish the conversation in the way you would like your readers to see it. You can choose the intellectual lineage you would like to be part of and whose definitions matter most to your thinking (mostly humanities-specific, but this goes for sciences as well). In addressing these points, you argue for your place in the conversation, which tends to make the lit review more compelling than a simple reporting of other sources.

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How To Approach Research In Literature Studies

Table of Contents

Introduction

How To Approach Research In Literature Studies Researching literature studies can be a fascinating and difficult endeavor. Since literary studies is a broad academic field that covers a variety of texts, genres, and approaches, it is crucial to conduct research methodically and carefully.

Learning how to carry out exhaustive and efficient research will improve your capacity to interact critically with literature, regardless of whether you’re a graduate researcher, undergraduate student, or just someone looking to expand your knowledge of literary works.

Literature studies research entails evaluating works, comprehending their settings, and adding novel insights to the corpus of existing knowledge. It goes beyond just recounting stories or reading critics’ viewpoints. This article will walk you through the essential processes of performing literature research, including practical suggestions and strategies to help you succeed.

1. Understanding the Basics of Literature Research

1.1 what is literary research.

Literary research involves the process of investigating, analyzing, and interpreting literary works using various methods. This research can range from close readings of individual texts to broader examinations of literary movements, genres, or cultural contexts. A key aspect of literary research is formulating questions about a text, examining it through different theoretical lenses, and supporting arguments with evidence from both primary and secondary sources.

• How To Write A Perfect Literature Essay In 2024

1.2 Purpose of Literary Research

The purpose of literary research is to gain a deeper understanding of literary texts and their cultural, historical, and social significance. Literary research is not merely about providing summaries or subjective opinions about literature. Instead, it seeks to critically engage with texts and contribute to the ongoing discourse surrounding literature. Researchers often aim to:

• Analyze literary themes, motifs, and symbols.
• Examine the historical and cultural context in which a text was written.
• Identify and critique the ideologies embedded in a work.
• Compare works from different authors, genres, or periods.
• Offer new interpretations or readings of existing literary works.

By doing so, literary research can open new perspectives on familiar texts and offer original insights into lesser-known works.

2. Steps for Conducting Effective Literary Research

2.1 step 1: choose your topic or research question.

Choosing a topic or developing a research question is the initial stage in every research effort. This is arguably the most important step in the process since a clear topic will help you stay focused and direct the course of your investigation.

Tips for choosing a research question:

• Narrow your focus : Avoid overly broad topics, which can be difficult to research in depth. For example, instead of researching “Shakespeare,” narrow it down to “The portrayal of women in Shakespeare’s comedies.”
• Make it original : Aim to explore areas that have not been extensively covered. Consider examining overlooked themes or authors, or propose a new interpretation of a widely discussed work.
• Ensure feasibility : Your question should be specific and manageable within the scope of your assignment or research project.

Example : Rather than asking, “What is the theme of love in Romeo and Juliet ?” you might narrow the question to “How does the theme of love in Romeo and Juliet reflect the political tensions of Elizabethan England?”

2.2 Step 2: Conduct Preliminary Research

Before diving into more detailed research, it’s important to do some preliminary reading. This will help you become familiar with the key themes, authors, and critical discussions around your topic.

How to conduct preliminary research:

• Read overviews : Use textbooks, encyclopedias, or general guides to get an overview of the literary work, genre, or movement you’re researching.
• Familiarize yourself with the context : Understand the historical, cultural, and social context in which the work was written. This will help you appreciate its significance and influence.
• Explore critical essays : Look for general articles or introductory essays to help you get an idea of the current debates and themes within your topic.

Example : If researching the theme of alienation in Kafka’s The Metamorphosis , a preliminary review of general critical responses to the text will give you a solid starting point for narrowing down your angle.

2.3 Step 3: Gather Primary and Secondary Sources

In literature research, both primary and secondary sources are important.

Primary sources : These are the original texts themselves, such as novels, plays, poems, or historical documents. Your primary source is where you’ll find the raw material for analysis.

Secondary sources : These are works written by other scholars or critics that discuss, analyze, or interpret the primary text. Secondary sources provide context, support, and alternative perspectives on your research topic.

Where to find sources:

• Library databases : Use academic databases such as JSTOR, Project MUSE, or Google Scholar to find scholarly articles and journals.
• Books and monographs : Scholarly books often provide in-depth analysis on a specific topic or author. Use library catalogs or online book retailers.
• Bibliographies : Check the bibliographies of key articles and books to find additional relevant sources.

Tip : When gathering secondary sources, ensure they are credible. Peer-reviewed journals and academic books from reputable publishers are always your best bet.

2.4 Step 4: Analyze the Texts Critically

Once you’ve gathered your primary and secondary sources, it’s time to dive into analysis. Literary analysis involves closely reading the text, identifying key themes and motifs, and interpreting the significance of various elements, such as:

• Character development : How are characters portrayed? Do they evolve over the course of the text?
• Symbols and imagery : What symbols are present? How do they contribute to the overall meaning of the text?
• Narrative techniques : How does the author use narrative structure, point of view, or voice to convey themes?

Tip : As you analyze, keep a research journal or notes. Write down your observations, ideas, and connections. This will help you form a coherent argument later on.

• Understanding Literary Devices: A Comprehensive Guide

2.5 Step 5: Develop a Thesis Statement

A thesis statement is the central argument or claim you intend to prove through your research. It is the backbone of your paper and provides direction to your analysis.

Tips for crafting a thesis statement:

• Be clear and concise : Your thesis should be a single sentence that clearly conveys the argument you will make.
• Make it debatable : Your thesis should present an argument that can be supported with evidence. Avoid statements that are too obvious or fact-based.
• Be specific : Avoid vague generalities. Focus on the key aspects of the text you will analyze.

Example : “In The Great Gatsby , Fitzgerald critiques the American Dream by illustrating how its pursuit leads to personal disillusionment and social decay.”

2.6 Step 6: Organize Your Research and Outline Your Paper

Organizing your research and making sure your article flows logically depend on creating an outline before you start writing. Divide your research into pieces that support your thesis and arrange them logically.

Suggested outline structure :

• Introduction : Introduce your research question and thesis.
• Literature Review : Summarize previous research on your topic, highlighting gaps in the literature that your research will address.
• Methodology : Explain your approach to analyzing the texts, including any literary theories or frameworks you’ll use.
• Analysis : Present your findings, providing evidence from both primary and secondary sources to support your thesis.
• Conclusion : Summarize your argument and discuss the broader implications of your findings.

2.7 Step 7: Write the Paper

With your outline in hand, you can begin writing your research paper. Focus on presenting your argument clearly and persuasively, supporting it with evidence from the texts you have analyzed.

Writing tips :

• Be critical and analytical : Rather than merely summarizing the text, focus on analyzing its deeper meanings and implications.
• Use textual evidence : Quote passages from primary and secondary sources to back up your arguments.
• Stay focused : Ensure that every paragraph contributes to your central thesis.

3. Tips for Effective Literary Research

• Use a variety of sources : Don’t rely solely on one type of source. A combination of books, journal articles, and critical essays will provide a more well-rounded perspective on your topic.
• Take organized notes : Keep track of your research and ideas. Annotate the texts you read, and keep a record of important quotes, arguments, and sources.
• Avoid plagiarism : Properly cite all of your sources to avoid plagiarism. Use citation styles such as MLA, APA, or Chicago, as required by your institution or field.
• Seek feedback : Don’t hesitate to discuss your research with peers or professors. Feedback can help you refine your arguments and improve the clarity of your paper.
• Stay updated : Literary research is an evolving field. Be sure to check for recent studies or articles that might inform your research.

Critical thinking, close reading of texts, and a firm grasp of literary techniques are all necessary for literature studies research. You can produce perceptive and persuasive literary studies research by following the stages described in this guide: choosing a clear topic, carrying out in-depth research, critically analyzing texts, and putting up a well-supported thesis.

• The Art Of Close Reading: Tips For Students

1. How long should my literature research paper be?

Your paper’s length will be determined by the particular specifications of your project or assignment. Although this can vary, a typical literature study research paper is between 3,000 and 6,000 words long.

2. What are some common mistakes in literary research?

Lack of focus, excessive reliance on secondary sources, inadequate text analysis, and improper citation of sources are examples of common errors. Furthermore, it’s crucial to refrain from summarizing the content instead of thoroughly evaluating it.

3. How can I find scholarly sources for my research?

To locate peer-reviewed books, essays, and articles, use scholarly databases such as Project MUSE, Google Scholar, or JSTOR. Numerous scholarly books and publications are also accessible through university libraries.

4. What if I don’t know what literary theory to use for my research?

Read more about the various critical approaches if you’re not sure which literary theory to choose. Selecting a theoretical lens that fits your research question can be aided by books or articles that offer summaries of literary theory.

5. How do I know if my thesis statement is strong?

Specific, debatable, and closely tied to the text you’re evaluating are characteristics of a strong thesis statement. It’s probably a strong thesis if it makes a point that is evident and backed up by facts.

• How To Compare And Contrast Two Literary Works

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• Steps in Conducting a Literature Review

What is a literature review?

A literature review is an integrated analysis -- not just a summary-- of scholarly writings and other relevant evidence related directly to your research question.  That is, it represents a synthesis of the evidence that provides background information on your topic and shows a association between the evidence and your research question.

A literature review may be a stand alone work or the introduction to a larger research paper, depending on the assignment.  Rely heavily on the guidelines your instructor has given you.

Why is it important?

A literature review is important because it:

• Explains the background of research on a topic.
• Demonstrates why a topic is significant to a subject area.
• Discovers relationships between research studies/ideas.
• Identifies major themes, concepts, and researchers on a topic.
• Identifies critical gaps and points of disagreement.
• Discusses further research questions that logically come out of the previous studies.

APA7 Style resources

APA Style Blog - for those harder to find answers

1. Choose a topic. Define your research question.

Your literature review should be guided by your central research question.  The literature represents background and research developments related to a specific research question, interpreted and analyzed by you in a synthesized way.

• Make sure your research question is not too broad or too narrow.  Is it manageable?
• Begin writing down terms that are related to your question. These will be useful for searches later.
• If you have the opportunity, discuss your topic with your professor and your class mates.

2. Decide on the scope of your review

How many studies do you need to look at? How comprehensive should it be? How many years should it cover? 

• This may depend on your assignment.  How many sources does the assignment require?

3. Select the databases you will use to conduct your searches.

Make a list of the databases you will search. 

Where to find databases:

• use the tabs on this guide
• Find other databases in the Nursing Information Resources web page
• More on the Medical Library web page
• ... and more on the Yale University Library web page

4. Conduct your searches to find the evidence. Keep track of your searches.

• Use the key words in your question, as well as synonyms for those words, as terms in your search. Use the database tutorials for help.
• Save the searches in the databases. This saves time when you want to redo, or modify, the searches. It is also helpful to use as a guide is the searches are not finding any useful results.
• Review the abstracts of research studies carefully. This will save you time.
• Use the bibliographies and references of research studies you find to locate others.
• Check with your professor, or a subject expert in the field, if you are missing any key works in the field.
• Ask your librarian for help at any time.
• Use a citation manager, such as EndNote as the repository for your citations. See the EndNote tutorials for help.

Review the literature

Some questions to help you analyze the research:

• What was the research question of the study you are reviewing? What were the authors trying to discover?
• Was the research funded by a source that could influence the findings?
• What were the research methodologies? Analyze its literature review, the samples and variables used, the results, and the conclusions.
• Does the research seem to be complete? Could it have been conducted more soundly? What further questions does it raise?
• If there are conflicting studies, why do you think that is?
• How are the authors viewed in the field? Has this study been cited? If so, how has it been analyzed?

Tips: 

• Review the abstracts carefully.  
• Keep careful notes so that you may track your thought processes during the research process.
• Create a matrix of the studies for easy analysis, and synthesis, across all of the studies.
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Literature Reviews

Steps in the literature review process.

• What is a literature review?
• 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
• You may need to some exploratory searching of the literature to get a sense of scope, to determine whether you need to narrow or broaden your focus
• Identify databases that provide the most relevant sources, and identify relevant terms (controlled vocabularies) to add to your search strategy
• Finalize your research question
• Think about relevant dates, geographies (and languages), methods, and conflicting points of view
• Conduct searches in the published literature via the identified databases
• Check to see if this topic has been covered in other discipline's databases
• Examine the citations of on-point articles for keywords, authors, and previous research (via references) and cited reference searching.
• Save your search results in a citation management tool (such as Zotero, Mendeley or EndNote)
• De-duplicate your search results
• Make sure that you've found the seminal pieces -- they have been cited many times, and their work is considered foundational 
• Check with your professor or a librarian to make sure your search has been comprehensive
• Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of individual sources and evaluate for bias, methodologies, and thoroughness
• Group your results in to an organizational structure that will support why your research needs to be done, or that provides the answer to your research question  
• Develop your conclusions
• Are there gaps in the literature?
• Where has significant research taken place, and who has done it?
• Is there consensus or debate on this topic?
• Which methodological approaches work best?
• For example: Background, Current Practices, Critics and Proponents, Where/How this study will fit in 
• Organize your citations and focus on your research question and pertinent studies
• Compile your bibliography

Note: The first four steps are the best points at which to contact a librarian. Your librarian can help you determine the best databases to use for your topic, assess scope, and formulate a search strategy.

Videos Tutorials about Literature Reviews

This 4.5 minute video from Academic Education Materials has a Creative Commons License and a British narrator.

Recommended Reading

• Last Updated: Oct 23, 2024 11:46 AM
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• Write a Literature Review
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What Will You Do Differently?

Please help your librarians by filling out this two-minute survey of today's class session..

Professor, this one's for you .

Introduction

Literature reviews take time. here is some general information to know before you start.  .

•  VIDEO -- This video is a great overview of the entire process.  (2020; North Carolina State University Libraries) --The transcript is included --This is for everyone; ignore the mention of "graduate students" --9.5 minutes, and every second is important  
• OVERVIEW -- Read this page from Purdue's OWL. It's not long, and gives some tips to fill in what you just learned from the video.  
• NOT A RESEARCH ARTICLE -- A literature review follows a different style, format, and structure from a research article.  
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• Literature Review: The What, Why and How-to Guide
• Strategies to Find Sources

Literature Review: The What, Why and How-to Guide — Strategies to Find Sources

• Getting Started
• Introduction
• How to Pick a Topic
• Evaluating Sources & Lit. Reviews
• Tips for Writing Literature Reviews
• Writing Literature Review: Useful Sites
• Citation Resources
• Other Academic Writings

The Research Process

Planning : Before searching for articles or books, brainstorm to develop keywords that better describe your research question.

Searching : While searching, take note of what other keywords are used to describe your topic, and use them to conduct additional searches

     ♠ Most articles include a keyword section

     ♠ Key concepts may change names throughout time so make sure to check for variations

Organizing : Start organizing your results by categories/key concepts or any organizing principle that make sense for you . This will help you later when you are ready to analyze your findings

Analyzing : While reading, start making notes of key concepts and commonalities and disagreement among the research articles you find.

♠ Create a spreadsheet  to record what articles you are finding useful and why.

♠ Create fields to write summaries of articles or quotes for future citing and paraphrasing .

Writing : Synthesize your findings. Use your own voice to explain to your readers what you learned about the literature on your topic. What are its weaknesses and strengths? What is missing or ignored?

Repeat : At any given time of the process, you can go back to a previous step as necessary.

Advanced Searching

All databases have Help pages that explain the best way to search their product. When doing literature reviews, you will want to take advantage of these features since they can facilitate not only finding the articles that you really need but also controlling the number of results and how relevant they are for your search. The most common features available in the advanced search option of databases and library online catalogs are:

• Boolean Searching (AND, OR, NOT): Allows you to connect search terms in a way that can either limit or expand your search results 
• Proximity Searching (N/# or W/#): Allows you to search for two or more words that occur within a specified number of words (or fewer) of each other in the database
• Limiters/Filters : These are options that let you control what type of document you want to search: article type, date, language, publication, etc.
• Question mark (?) or a pound sign (#) for wildcard: Used for retrieving alternate spellings of a word: colo?r will retrieve both the American spelling "color" as well as the British spelling "colour." 
• Asterisk (*) for truncation: Used for retrieving multiple forms of a word: comput* retrieves computer, computers, computing, etc.

Want to keep track of updates to your searches? Create an account in the database to receive an alert when a new article is published that meets your search parameters!

• EBSCOhost Advanced Search Tutorial Tips for searching a platform that hosts many library databases
• Library's General Search Tips Check the Search tips to better used our library catalog and articles search system
• ProQuest Database Search Tips Tips for searching another platform that hosts library databases

There is no magic number regarding how many sources you are going to need for your literature review; it all depends on the topic and what type of the literature review you are doing:

► Are you working on an emerging topic? You are not likely to find many sources, which is good because you are trying to prove that this is a topic that needs more research. But, it is not enough to say that you found few or no articles on your topic in your field. You need to look broadly to other disciplines (also known as triangulation ) to see if your research topic has been studied from other perspectives as a way to validate the uniqueness of your research question.

► Are you working on something that has been studied extensively? Then you are going to find many sources and you will want to limit how far back you want to look. Use limiters to eliminate research that may be dated and opt to search for resources published within the last 5-10 years.

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• Last Updated: Sep 21, 2022 2:16 PM
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Literature Reviews

• Getting Started

Selecting a topic

Remember the goal of your literature review, planning your research, popular vs. scholarly, finding scholarly journal articles, finding or requesting full-text articles, why not just use google scholar, finding books, open access resources, manage your own downloads and citations, using your own method, managing your citations, organizing your notes: synthesis matrix.

• Literature Review as a Product: Organizing your Writing
• Finding Examples of Literature Reviews
• Resources and Assistance

One of the most important steps in research is selecting a good research topic.  This page on the Capstone Research Guide will guide you through selecting a topic, writing a thesis statement and/or research questions, selecting keywords, and recommended databases for preliminary research.

The goal of the literature review is to provide an analysis of the literature and research already published on your subject. You want to read as much as possible on your topic to gain a foundation of the information which already exists and analyze that information to understand how it all relates. This gives you the opportunity to identify possible gaps in the research or justify your own research in relation to what already exists. 

This page will walk through the steps in: 

• Planning your research 
• Collecting your research 
• Organizing your notes 

After you have chosen your topic, you will want to make a plan for all of the places you should look for information. This will allow you to organize your search and keep track of information as you find it. In a document, make a list of possible places you might find information on your topic. This list might include: 

• Library databases - See section "Finding scholarly journal articles" below
• Research facilities - Are there organizations or institutions which publish and share research in your field of study?
• Open Access Journals - See section "Open Access Journals" below
• Webster University library catalog - See section "Finding books" below
• The catalogs of other libraries - See section "Finding books" below

Keep in mind that a literature review necessitates the use of scholarly research. These are peer-reviewed articles written by graduate or post-graduate students, educators, researchers, or professionals in the field. These types of articles wil include standard citations for the works they reference in their research. 

What is a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal article?

Scholarly articles are sometimes "peer-reviewed" or "refereed" because they are evaluated by other scholars or experts in the field before being accepted for publication.  A scholarly article is commonly an experimental or research study, or an in-depth theoretical or literature review. It is usually many more pages than a magazine article.

The clearest and most reliable indicator of a scholarly article is the presence of references or citations. Look for a list of works cited, a reference list, and/or numbered footnotes or endnotes. Citations are not merely a check against plagiarism. They set the article in the context of a scholarly discussion and provide useful suggestions for further research. 

Many of our databases allow you to limit your search to just scholarly articles. This is a useful feature, but it is not 100% accurate in terms of what it includes and what it excludes. You should still check to see if the article has references or citations.

The table below compares some of the differences between magazines (e.g. Psychology Today) and journals (e.g Journal of Abnormal Psychology).

How to find scholarly, peer-reviewed articles

• FAQ: How do I find peer-reviewed or scholarly articles?
• FAQ: How can I tell if an article is peer-reviewed?

To get a sense of the available research, you may want to start with a multidisciplinary article database such as  Academic Search Premier  or Business Source Complete (for management and business).  Then, you may want to do a more thorough search in additional specialized sources--see the link below.

• Academic Search Premier (EBSCO) A scholarly multidisciplinary database of periodical articles, most with full-text, through Ebscohost.
• Business Source Complete (EBSCO) A great starting point for articles on business and management topics including peer-reviewed journals and classic publications such Harvard Business Review. Also contains SWOT, industry, and market research reports.
• Additional specialized sources for finding journal articles Select the areas that correspond to your topic or academic program to find specialized journal article databases.

From a library database

When the PDF or HTML full-text is not available in one of our databases, use the "Full Text Finder" button. Full Text Finder will allow you to link to the article in another database. If no full text is available you may request an electronic copy of the article through Interlibrary Loan .

From another online source

Many articles that you find online may require payment ( aka  paywall) to download the article. In many cases the Library can get the article for you for free to keep you from having to pay out of pocket. For more information, please visit: 

• Request Articles and Books page For information on how to request items depending on your campus or location

While  Google Scholar can be a useful source for finding journal articles, there are advantages found in using Webster University Libraries' databases, including:

• Features that let you customize your search
• Access to more full text materials
• Integration with other library services (e.g., chat, delivery services, etc.).

For more information on using Google Scholar, view the FAQ:  How can I connect Google Scholar to the Library?

Do not forget books when you are surveying the literature. They often provide historical information and overviews of current research in a topic area.

• Search for books in the Library Catalog
• Find an ebook on a topic
• MOBIUS Catalog Here you can borrow from a consortium system of college & university libraries in Missouri and other states. (Some public libraries have also joined MOBIUS.)

Here you can search a large catalog of books and other materials owned by U.S libraries and some worldwide locations. This source shows local libraries where a given book is housed and also indicates if there is an ebook available.  

When something is published as an open access resource, it is published online and can be accessed for free with few or no copyright restrictions. Open access resources allows you to search, download, and cite researchers who have chosen to publish open access without paying for each article.

Searching through open access resources might be a great option for your research once you have exhausted the databases. Please note that sometimes, an open resource repository can be difficult to search through as often there are fewer ways to limit the search. 

• About Open Access guide This research guide provides information about Open Access (OA) and Open Educational Resources (OER) and includes a list of resources by discipline.

As you download articles and begin to identify helpful resources, you will need to develop a method of keeping track of this research. No matter the method you choose to use, make sure that: 

• Any article you've downloaded is saved in a labeled folder which is easy to access
• Any citation you have created is saved and accessible
• EBSCO tools If using an EBSCO database, this document provides information on how to create folders and save links to articles within the database.

You can certainly create a system for organizing your downloads, citations, and other electronic notes. Use the file storage system on your computer, or cloud computing software like  Google Drive  or  Dropbox . Create folders specifically for your project and save everything you think you might use. The benefit of managing your research this way is that these options are often free and allow you to have access to materials beyond your time as a Webster student.

There are a number of software programs available that help students store references and notes, create bibliographies, etc. While not needed for every assignment, they are useful for when you are gathering a large number of articles and other resources for projects such as capstone papers, theses, and dissertations. Some of the main citation management software applications are listed here.

Because the purpose of the literature review is to analyze the research on the topic and find relationships between resources, simply reading the resources and keeping notes may not be enough to help you see the connections between the resources. 

One option is to create a document with a chart used solely to compare the ideas and methods of various scholars and researchers. This is called a synthesis matrix . Before starting a matrix, you may want to identify a couple subtopics or themes to track within the articles you read. Other themes will reveal themselves as you read the literature and can be added to the chart. 

Below, you will find some examples of synthesis matrixes. Use inspiration from any of them to design  your own matrix which works best for your style and ideas. No matter the design of your matrix, some of the items you may want to compare across resources are: 

Publishing Date : Show how an idea has developed over time due to continuous research. 

Research Methods : Discuss findings based upon research type. You might ask yourself: How does the method used to collect the data impact the findings of the study? 

• Themes : Which topics are covered in the article and what does the author believe about that topic? 
• Literature Review: Synthesizing Multiple Sources (Indiana University Bloomington)
• Synthesis Matrix (NC State University)
• Writing a Literature Review and Using a Synthesis Matrix PDF Document created by North Carolina State University and posted by Wayne State University University.
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• Last Updated: Oct 12, 2024 4:46 PM
• URL: https://library.webster.edu/litreview