How To Structure A Literature Review: An Academic Guide

How to Structure a Literature Review: An Academic Guide

A literature review should be structured like any other essay: it should have an introduction, a middle or main body, and a conclusion/summary. The introduction should define your topic and provide an appropriate context for reviewing the literature; establish your reasons—i.e., your point of view—for reviewing the literature; explain the organization—i.e., sequence—of the review; and state the scope of the review—i.e., what is included and what isn’t included. For example, if you are reviewing literature on obesity in children, you might mention that many studies focus on overall obesity trends, but since your focus is specifically on childhood obesity, studies on general population obesity will only be referred to as appropriate.

The main body of the literature review can be organized based on a deductive approach, which involves structuring the literature according to common themes or subsections. This approach should provide insight into how your research topic relates to the wider subject area—such as exploring how blockchain technology impacts global financial security. The organization should move from a broad, general perspective to a specific focus, essentially funneling from wider theory to your particular research question. If you initially start with a broad topic and then narrow it down based on feedback or further research, this process is reflected in the funnel approach—beginning broad and progressively becoming specific.

The summary should recapitulate the significant aspects of the existing literature, evaluate the current state of research, and identify gaps or flaws in current knowledge. It should also outline potential areas for future study and explicitly link your research to the existing body of work, establishing how your study adds to or challenges current understanding.

Understanding the Deductive Approach to Research

The deductive research approach involves four stages: starting with an existing theory to formulate research questions; developing hypotheses based on this theory; collecting data to test these hypotheses; and analyzing the results to determine whether the data supports or rejects the initial hypotheses. This structured approach allows researchers to systematically test theories against empirical data, ensuring that findings are grounded in established frameworks.

Utilizing a Resource Summary Table

During research, managing numerous journals, articles, and resources can be overwhelming. A resource summary table is a valuable organizational tool that helps in summarizing and categorizing collected resources. It provides a quick overview of each source, enabling efficient organization and comparison. The table can be aligned with your outline, grouping similar resources together, which aids in structuring your literature review and subsequent writing.

Conclusion

Structuring a literature review like any academic essay involves clear planning and organization. Starting with a comprehensive introduction, followed by thematically organized subsections using a deductive approach, and culminating in a concise, evaluative summary ensures coherence and depth. Incorporating tools like a resource summary table further enhances the process, making literature review writing more manageable and focused. Mastering this structure allows researchers to effectively synthesize existing literature and provide a solid foundation for their own research efforts.

References

• Hart, C. (1998). Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination. Sage Publications.
• Galvan, J. L. (2017). Writing Literature Reviews: A Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Routledge.
• Ridley, D. (2012). The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for Students. Sage Publications.
• Jesson, J., Matheson, L., & Lacey, F. M. (2011). Doing Your Literature Review: Traditional and Systematic Techniques. Sage Publications.
• Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. Sage Publications.
• Cooper, H. (2016). Research Synthesis and Meta-Analysis: A Step-by-Step Approach. Sage Publications.
• Boote, D. N., & Beile, P. (2005). Scholars Before Researchers: On the Centrality of the Dissertation Literature Review in Research Preparation. Educational Researcher, 34(6), 3-15.
• Fink, A. (2019). Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper. Sage Publications.
• Page, M. J., et al. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ, 372, n71.
• Webster, J., & Watson, R. T. (2002). Analyzing the Past to Prepare for the Future: Writing a Literature Review. MIS Quarterly, 26(2), xiii-xxiii.