Write Abstracts, Literature Reviews, and Annotated Bibliographies

According to the Writing Center at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, "A literature review discusses published information in a particular subject area, and sometimes information in a particular subject area within a certain time period."

Although a literature review may summarize research on a given topic, it generally synthesizes and summarizes a subject. Therefore, a literature review's purpose is to present summaries and analysis of current research, not contribute new ideas on the topic (making it different from a research paper.)

From critical reviews to systematic reviews, there are around 16 different types of literature reviews. Including:

1. Narrative Reviews provide a comprehensive overview on a specific topic. These reviews often incorporate historical context for readers who may not have a broad understanding of the subject. Narrative reviews are often used in humanities and social sciences.

2. Systematic Reviews include a highly structured approach that seeks to answer a specific research question. The systemic approach is used to prevent and mitigate bias and subjectivity, making systemic reviews reliable and objective. Systemic reviews are commonly used in medical and scientific research.

3. Thematic Reviews identify and analyze existing literature in academic research. This research goes beyond summarizing research articles, it also includes organizing information around key themes throughout the text. Thematic reviews are mostly used in social sciences and health sciences.

4. Critical Reviews provide an in-depth evaluation of existing literature and the strengths and weaknesses of different studies. Unlike thematic reviews, they offer a very critical perspective, often highlighting and investigating gaps in research for further expansion.

5. Methodological Reviews dive into existing research methods and methodologies. Methodological research provide information on the conduct or analysis of primary and secondary research. Researchers use this method to assess their effectiveness, validity, and relevance to the research question.

According to Purdue University, "Most literature reviews use a basic introduction-body-conclusion structure; if your literature review is part of a larger paper, the introduction and conclusion pieces may be just a few sentences while you focus most of your attention on the body." 

Introduction: 

• Your introductory paragraph should go into great detail about your topic and thesis.
• Display key topics or texts that you will be utilizing in your review.
• If applicable, give readers a description of your research process including how you found sources and how you analyzed them to be included in your review.

Body:

• Summarize an overview of the main points of your review.
• Add your own interpretations of texts from other researchers. Discuss the significance of your findings. Do you agree or disagree with other researchers? Why or why not? These are all things that matter in a literature review. Critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your sources in your body paragraphs. This will communicate to readers that you are a credible and reliable author. Write in well-structured paragraphs by using transition words and sentences to draw the readers attention to connections, comparisons, and contrasts in your research.

Conclusion:

• Summarize your key findings and major contributions.
• Make sure to connect your conclusion to your research question.

DO:

Make a clear statement of the research problem.

Keep it in discussion style.

Give a critical assessment of your chosen literature topic, try to state the weaknesses and gaps in previous studies, try to raise questions and give suggestions for improvement.

List your ideas or theories in an unrepeated and sensible sequence.

Write a complete bibliography that provides the resources from where you had collected the data in this literature review.

DO NOT:

Use unfamiliar technical terms or too many abbreviations.

Use passive voice in your text.

Repeat same ideas in your text.

Include any ideas that you read in the article without citing them (author's name, publication date) as a reference source.

Include punctuation and grammatical errors.