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Writing the Literature Review: Helpful Readings

This guide reviews the content and structure of a literature review/meta-analysis - a form of scholarly writing and a part of most theses and dissertations.

How to Write a Review

The following article offers a good guide to reviewing the literature.

​Pautasso, M. (2013). Ten simple rules for writing a literature review. PLoS Computational Biology, 9(7). doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003149
 
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS ARTICLE (Baylor log-in required, "PDF Full Text" link on left).
 

Other Useful Readings

Here are one or two good books with sections on writing a review paper/meta-analysis/literature review.

Sample Literature Reviews

The reviews below come from the journal Choice which regularly includes a "Bibliographic Essay" (an essay that lists and describes important works on a specific topic, also another name for a literature review).  Each is a good example of how to organize a literature review.

I have selected reviews from a broad range of topics, including the arts, sciences, social sciences, humanities, and interdisciplinary studies.  

Access reviews from Choice at http://ala-choice.libguides.com/

 

Baker, Neal. “The Rise of Digital Game Studies.” Choice 48, no. 01 (September 1, 2010): 27–34.

Battistella, Edwin L. “Groping for Words: A Guide to Slang and Usage Resources.” Choice 46, no. 04 (December 1, 2008): 619–631.
Burstein, Miriam Elizabeth. “New Scholarship on Religion and Literature, 2000-2012.” Choice 51, no. 03 (November 1, 2013): 393–407.
Elmore, Marcus. “Masculinities and Men’s Studies: The Literature of a Growing Discipline.” Choice 44, no. 06 (February 1, 2007): 931–938.
Goldsmith, Melissa. “Film Music: Interdisciplinary Scholarship, Analysis, Criticism, and Theory.” Choice 44, no. 01 (September 1, 2006): 45–57.
Hartesveldt, Fred R. van. “The First Horseman and History: Epidemic Disease and Civilization.” Choice 46, no. 10 (June 1, 2009): 1841–1850.
Kidd, Quentin. “Civic Engagement: A Topic As Old as Jefferson and As New as Today.” Choice 47, no. 09 (May 1, 2010): 1603–1615.
Klink, Aaron. “Seeking the Ethical in the World of Medicine.” Choice 49, no. 08 (April 1, 2012): 1387–1391.
Kong, Leslie. “Social Themes as Reflected in Film: Scholarship, Criticism, and Theory.” Choice 47, no. 11 (July 1, 2010): 2047–2058.
Peter, Rutland. “Making Sense of War.” Choice 44, no. 10 (June 1, 2007): 1643–1649.
Shook, John R., and Tibor Solymosi. “Pragmatism: Key Resources.” Choice 50, no. 08 (April 1, 2013): 1367–1377.
 
 

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