Answered By: Charlotte Gerstein
Last Updated: Jun 21, 2023     Views: 191

What is a literature review?

A literature review (also called a research review or review of the literature) is a summary of existing research on a topic. It reviews the scholarly "literature" on that topic.  It is often a preliminary part of a publication where the author identifies and comments on the relevant previous research, but it can also be a stand-alone work. 

Resources

Examples of published literature reviews:

Ferris, D., Hayduk, R., Richards, A., Schubert, E. S., & Acri, M. (2020). Noncitizen Voting Rights in the Global Era: a Literature Review and Analysis. Journal of International Migration and Integration / Revue de l’integration et de La Migration Internationale, 21(3), 949. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-019-00687-8

David, E. J. R., Tiera M. Schroeder, and Jessicaanne Fernandez. 2019. “Internalized Racism: A Systematic Review of the Psychological Literature on Racism’s Most Insidious Consequence.” Journal of Social Issues 75 (4): 1057–86. doi:10.1111/josi.12350.