DNP Program Guide

Write a Literature Review

A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources on a specific topic. It provides:

an overview of current knowledge, 

identification of relevant theories,

investigation of study methods, and

gaps in the existing research.

Writing a literature review involves:

finding relevant publications (such as books and journal articles),

critical analysis, and

explaining in writing what you discovered.

How to Write a Literature Review: 3 Minute Step-by-step Guide | Scribbr 🎓

STEP 1: Search the Literature

How to Search for Relevant Literature FAST Using Boolean Operators| Scribbr 🎓 (3:05)

Search CINAHL

Search Google Scholar

Search PubMed

Step 2: Evaluate & Select Sources

You probably won't be able to read absolutely everything that has been written on the topic.  You will have to evaluate which sources are most relevant to your PICO.

For each publication, ask yourself questions such as:

• What question or problem is the author addressing?
• What are the key concepts and how are they defined?
• What are the key theories, models and methods? Does the research use established frameworks or take an innovative approach?
• What are the results and conclusions of the study?
• How does the publication relate to other literature in the field? Does it confirm, add to, or challenge established knowledge?
• How does the publication contribute to your understanding of the topic? What are its key insights and arguments?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research?

Find out how to find the answers to these questions by learning How to Read Scientific Articles.

Table of Evidence &  EndNote

As you read and evaluate your literature It is important to keep track of your sources with citations to avoid plagiarism. It is highly recommended to make a table of evidence that includes answers to the above questions and notes that can later be incorporated into the text of your literature review and use a citation manager such as EndNote.

STEP 3: Identify Themes & Gaps

To begin organizing your literature review’s argument and structure, you need to understand the connections and relationships between the sources you’ve read. Based on your reading and notes, you can look for:

Trends and patterns (in theory, method or results): do certain approaches become more or less popular over time?

Themes: what questions or concepts recur across the literature?

Debates, conflicts and contradictions: where do sources disagree?

Pivotal publications: are there any influential theories or studies that changed the direction of the field?

Gaps: what is missing from the literature? Are there weaknesses that need to be addressed?

This step will help you work out the structure of your literature review and explain the purpose of and need for your project proposal.

In the video below, you'll learn how to identify themes, debates, and gaps between sources, using examples from real papers.

STEP 4: Outline the Structure

There are various approaches to organizing the body of a literature review. You should have a rough idea of your strategy before you start writing.

Depending on the length of your literature review, you can combine several of these strategies (for example, your overall structure might be thematic, but each theme is discussed chronologically).

Four common approaches to organizing the body of a literature review are below.

Chronological

A chronological approach involves tracing the development of your topic over time. Try to avoid just listing studies in chronological order; rather, identify trends and turning points and explain how different studies fit into the timeline.

Thematic

If you have found some recurring central themes, you can organize your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic.

For example, if you are reviewing literature about inequalities in migrant health outcomes, key themes might include healthcare policy, language barriers, cultural attitudes, legal status, and economic access.

Methodological

A methodological approach may be appropriate if your topic has been approached with a variety of methods. You can trace how these different methods have been applied and what conclusions have emerged from different approaches.

Theoretical

A literature review is often the foundation for a theoretical framework. You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts.

You might argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach, or combine various theoretical concepts to create a framework for your research.

In the video below, you will learn how to build a theoretical framework for your research in 3 steps.

Step 5: Write the Review

Like any other academic text, your literature review should have an introduction, a main body, and a conclusion. What you include in each depends on the objective of your literature review.

Introduction

The introduction should clearly establish the focus and purpose of the literature review.

Body

Depending on the length of your literature review, you might want to divide the body into subsections. You can use a subheading for each theme, time period, or methodological approach.

As you write, you can follow these tips:

• Summarize and synthesize: give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole
• Analyze and interpret: don’t just paraphrase other researchers—add your own interpretations where possible, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole
• Critically evaluate: mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources
• Write in well-structured paragraphs: use transition words and topic sentences to draw connections, comparisons and contrasts

Conclusion

In the conclusion, you should summarize the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasize their significance.

In the video below, you’ll learn what to include in each section, as well as 4 tips for the main body illustrated with an example.