Literature Reviews and Annotated Bibliographies

A literature review provides a foundation for understanding the current state of research on a given topic by providing an overview of the available research.

It serves to:

• Summarize and synthesize research by identifying key findings, trends, and perspectives.
• Highlight major theories and methodologies used by researchers in the field.
• Identify leading scholars and contributors to the topic.
• Explore ongoing debates and contradictions within the literature.
• Reveal gaps in knowledge that the current study aims to address.

Through this process, the literature review helps refine the research question and situates the new study within the broader academic context. It is an iterative process that may evolve as a deeper understanding of the topic emerges.

Common Approaches to Literature Reviews:

• Traditional or narrative reviews 
• Argumentative
• Chronological 
• By trend 
• Thematic (important themes) 
• Theoretical (how theory has shaped) 
• Methodological 
• Scoping | Systematic | Meta-Analysis 

Each review type varies in scope and workload, depending on your project objectives, and can sometimes be combined to meet your specific research needs. *This guide will not cover systematic, scoping, or other types of reviews.

Recommended Articles: Grant, M. J., & Booth, A. (2009). A typology of reviews: an analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Health information & libraries journal, 26(2), 91-108. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-1842.2009.00848.x

Sutton, A., Clowes, M., Preston, L., & Booth, A. (2019). Meeting the review family: Exploring review types and associated information retrieval requirements. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 36(3), 202–222. https://doi.org/10.1111/hir.12276