Q. What is a literature review, and how do I do one?

A literature review is an account of what has been published on a specific subject by scholars and researchers. When writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader the significant works that have been published on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. Literature reviews provide the reader with a handy critical guide to a particular topic.

The librarians have created a helpful research page that will give you instructions on how to do a literature review and provide examples of completed reviews. We also have a great literature review tutorial. This interactive module will give you a real understanding of the process and help you create a thorough and effective literature review. Both are linked below.