What and Why

What is a lit review?

A summary of the relevant literature of a subject

Depending on your subject and your field, can be chronologically broad or narrow
Sciences tend to emphasize currency

BUT in whatever field, if there is some fundamental text that defined the field or topic of study, that must be included no matter how old it is
Ranges from a few paragraphs to a few pages

Or can be extended into a paper solely reviewing recent literature

Why write a lit review?

“Analyzing the past to prepare for the future”*
To discover the patterns that emerge within the large body of work devoted to one issue

How do the studies speak to each other? Does one find one thing and another find something contradictory? Does one ask a question that another follows up?

To establish an evidentiary basis of common thought and current questions about a subject at the given moment

*(Webster, J., & Watson, R. (2002). Analyzing the past to prepare for the future: Writing a literature review. MIS Quarterly, 26(2), xiii-xxiii)

How to Write a Lit Review

Analyze! Evaluate! Synthesize!*

Analyze

Keep an eye out for:

Pertinent info – who/what/where/when/why
Page numbers if you quote something (for easy transfer into your paper!)
Numbers (not just “increase/decrease” but “up 50%” or “down 24%”)

Evaluate

What seems to occur regularly? -- Patterns
What issue has no one written about yet?

Synthesize

Use your spreadsheet (or whatever means by which you keep your articles organized) to sort the articles by pattern or theme
Write what you found into a linear narrative, tying all the studies together by their subject matter and findings, grouping certain studies by pattern/theme
Quote if necessary but sparingly
Keep it succinct -- it’s a lot of material but it’s not the bulk of your paper (unless it’s your whole paper!)

*Froese, A. D., Gantz, B. S., & Henry, A. L. (1998). Teaching students to write literature reviews: A meta-analytic model. Teaching of Psychology 25, pp. 102-105.

One Way to Track Your Readings

Lit Review Excel Template
Here is a template of an Excel spreadsheet you can use to keep track of what you read and use in your paper. Please feel free to adapt it however you see fit, if you find it to be of use to you.

Writing Help

Critically Analyzing Information Sources (Cornell)
When writing your review, you can't just summarize, you need to look at each article critically. This guide helps you figure out how to do that.
Stevens Writing & Communications Center (WCC)
Writing help for Stevens students from writing and communications professionals. Check the website for semester hours and services.