GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPING
A LITERATURE REVIEW
1. Start with the
most current articles and work backwards.
2. Search for
theoretical articles on your topic.
3. Look for “review”
articles.
4. Identify
“landmark” or classic articles.
5. Scan the articles
to gain an overview of each.
6. Based on your
overview, group the articles by categories.
7. Look for explicit
definitions of key terms in the literature.
8. Look for
methodological strengths.
9. Look for
methodological weaknesses.
10. Distinguish
between assertion and evidence.
11. Identify the major
trends or patterns in the results of previous studies.
12. Identify gaps in
the literature.
13. Identify
relationships among studies.
14. Note how each
reviewed article relates to your topic.
15. Evaluate your
reference list for currency and for coverage.
