Literature review: [Topic]

Replace the blue placeholders with your own words and delete the grey notes as you go. Delete the table below, the matrix and the checklist before you submit.

Research question

[the question this review helps answer]

Where it goes

[section of a paper, thesis chapter or standalone review]

Scope

[years covered, kinds of sources, languages]

Searched

[databases, search terms, date of the search]

Structure

[thematic, chronological, methodological or theoretical]

Citation style

[APA, MLA, Chicago or IEEE]

Length

[word or page limit]

Organize by idea, not by author. Each section makes a claim about the literature, uses several sources as evidence, explains where they disagree and why, and ends on what it means for your question. A paragraph that cites only one source is usually a summary.

Synthesis matrix

One row per source, one column per theme, debate or question. Write a few words in your own words in each cell, and put a dash where a source says nothing. Add a column when a new theme appears. Columns with many entries become your sections.

Source

Theme 1

Theme 2

Theme 3

Design and sample

[Author (year)]

[what it shows]

[what it shows]

[what it shows]

[method, sample, setting]

[Author (year)]

[what it shows]

[what it shows]

[what it shows]

[method, sample, setting]

[Author (year)]

[what it shows]

[what it shows]

[what it shows]

[method, sample, setting]

[Author (year)]

[what it shows]

[what it shows]

[what it shows]

[method, sample, setting]

[Author (year)]

[what it shows]

[what it shows]

[what it shows]

[method, sample, setting]

[Author (year)]

[what it shows]

[what it shows]

[what it shows]

[method, sample, setting]

See a filled-in row

Brooks & Tan (2020). Returns: late returns rose, lost items fell. Who uses the library: — (not covered). Costs: less staff time spent on fine disputes. Design and sample: survey of 64 public libraries.

An invented source, for the format only.

Introduction

Write it last. Inside a paper, two or three sentences; in a thesis chapter or standalone review, a few paragraphs.

  • Topic and why it matters: [the problem, and why it matters now]

  • Question or focus: [what this review sets out to establish]

  • Scope and search: [years, kinds of sources, where and how you searched]

  • Organization: [the sections that follow, one sentence each]

[Section 1: a claim about the first theme, period, method or theory]

  • Claim: [what the studies show together, in your own words]

  • Evidence: [Author (year), Author (year): what each one adds]

  • Disagreement: [which studies differ, and why: sample, setting, measure or design]

  • Strength of the evidence: [the designs and sample sizes behind the claim]

  • So what: [what this means for your question]

See a section paragraph

Ending fines appears to change when items come back more than whether they do. Late returns rose modestly after systems dropped fines (Alvarez, 2019; Brooks & Tan, 2020), but the share of items never returned did not rise (Alvarez, 2019), and in a survey of 64 libraries it fell (Brooks & Tan, 2020). Average loan length stayed flat across a three-system panel (Chikwanha, 2021). The cost may fall on other borrowers instead: in the one system Evans (2024) studied, waits for popular holds grew by about two days, a pattern no larger study has yet tested. No study has compared fine-free systems that kept automatic renewals with those that did not.

Invented sources, for the format only. Claim first, several sources, a difference, a gap.

[Section 2: a claim about the second theme]

  • Claim: [what the studies show together, in your own words]

  • Evidence: [Author (year), Author (year): what each one adds]

  • Disagreement: [which studies differ, and why: sample, setting, measure or design]

  • Strength of the evidence: [the designs and sample sizes behind the claim]

  • So what: [what this means for your question]

[Section 3: a claim about the third theme]

  • Claim: [what the studies show together, in your own words]

  • Evidence: [Author (year), Author (year): what each one adds]

  • Disagreement: [which studies differ, and why: sample, setting, measure or design]

  • Strength of the evidence: [the designs and sample sizes behind the claim]

  • So what: [what this means for your question]

Need more sections? Copy a section heading and its list. Most reviews have three to five.

Gaps and open questions

  • Not yet studied: [a population, setting, period or question no study has covered]

  • Conflicting findings: [where results disagree and the disagreement is unresolved]

  • Missing methods: [a design or measure the field has not used]

Conclusion

Inside a paper, a sentence or two that leads to your question; in a chapter or standalone review, a short section.

  • What the literature shows: [the main findings, in two or three sentences]

  • The gap: [the specific thing no study has done]

  • Your question or next step: [the research question, or an agenda for the field]

References

Every source cited above, and nothing else, in your citation style. In APA, list them alphabetically by the first author's surname and set hanging indents after you export.

[Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of the work. Source, volume(issue), pages. https://doi.org/...]

Before you submit

  • Every section heading states a claim, not just a topic

  • Most paragraphs cite more than one source

  • Differences between studies are explained, not just listed

  • Each section ends on what it means for the research question

  • The conclusion names a specific gap, not “more research is needed”

  • Quotations are few; findings are paraphrased in your own words

  • Every source cited appears in the references, and nothing else does

  • Headings, citations and tense follow your style guide

  • The grey notes, the top table, the matrix and this checklist are deleted