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How to write a literature review: Find relevant sources

What is a literature review? How to write one? Check this guide to know more.

Planning your review in three steps

  1. Define and narrow a topic. Try to answer these questions: what is being examined? What issues will be covered with this review? What thesis, problem or question the literature review helps to clarify? What are your objectives with this literature review?

  2. Find sources about the topic: define selection criteria (for example, articles published within a certain date range, geographic region, or using a specific methodology). Based on your criteria, which databases or other search tools could be interesting to explore? Which sources or information may need to be included (articles, books, government reports, etc.)?

  3. Read and evaluate the sources: which assumptions and conclusions are being made? Which and how were different methods used? Are there conflicting theories or results? How have those evolved over time?
Check our Research Process guide for strategies on how to refine your topic, search strategies, and source evaluation.

Search for literature

The sources you select for a literature review will depend largely on your topic and your objectives. Many literature reviews contain both primary and secondary sources of information, with a combination of books, original research & review articles.  "Grey literature" -- sources not published through academic or commercial means (government and corporate reports, working papers, etc.) -- is also a relevant in some areas such as Health Sciences and Business.

Dig deeper with library databases


Looking for local (Yukon) sources? Try other Yukon libraries