Library FAQ

Academic communities refer to what has been written on a topic as the literature on the topic. A literature review is a comprehensive evaluation of the important research that has been done on the topic and should provide an overview of the current knowledge on a topic, and/or provide context for new research.

A literature review is NOT just a summary. Even though summarizing the existing research is an important part of a literature review, even more important is the discussion and analysis of the existing research findings.

Check out these sites for more help understanding literature reviews:

• How to ... Write a Literature Review, UC Santa Cruz Library
• The Literature Review: A few tips on conducting it, University of Toronto
• Writing a Literature Review, Purdue Online Writing Lab

Below are tips for finding literature reviews:

Using one of CSUSM's library databases, use keywords to narrow your search to literature reviews.  For example: “child development” AND literature review 

A few databases will let you limit your search to literature reviews only. You'll typically find this “methodology,” "document type," or "publication type" option in the database's advanced search options.

If you find a good research article about your topic, look at the list of references at the end of it. You might see citation information for a literature review which you can then look up in a library database or Google Scholar CSUSM.