“A literature review is an assessment of a body of research that addresses a research question.”
Harvard Graduate School of Education. (2016). The literature review: A research journey: Overview. Retrieved from
http://guides.library.harvard.edu/c.php?g=310271&p=2071512
This video was created by North Carolina State University librarians and it is found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2d7y_r65HU
Writing a literature review (or any research paper, really) is an iterative process -- meaning a writer repeats steps again and again. They don't select a topic, then research, and then write the paper without giving themselves freedom to jump back to a previous step. Based on your research you may revisit your topic. Or as you are writing, you may realize you need to do more research in an area. It's not a strictly linear process!
It may be helpful for you to look at some literature reviews that have been written. Sometimes you can simply use "literature review" as a search term and some of the articles in the result list will be literature reviews. However, some databases make it easier.
Here are a few databases and ways to find literature reviews indexed within them. When you are simply looking for examples of literature reviews, use a search term that is broader for now, like "bullying."
In ERIC, type a keyword in the first search box. In the second search box, type literature reviews and select "SU Descriptors" from the "Select a Field (optional)" dropdown box. Then click "Search."
In PsycINFO, type a keyword in the search box. Then, if you look lower on the page, you'll see ways to limit the search. One option is "Methodology." In this list, select "Literature Review." Then click the orange "Search" box.
In PubMed, type your search term and then click "Search." On the result page you'll see the heading "Article types" on the left of the page. One option is "Review." Click this. Now your results should be all literature reviews.
In Web of Science, type your search term in the search box and click "Search." On the left side of the page you'll see ways to Refine Results. One option is "Document Types." You'll probably see "Review" as one of these document types. Click that box and then the "Refine" button to the bottom right of the document type list. (You'll see Refine boxes up and down the left sidebar. Clicking any one of them should cause Web of Science to update the result list.)
