The purpose of the literature review is to give you an overview of a particular topic. Your job in a Health Sciences literature review is to discover the research that has already been done, the major perspectives of researchers in the field, and the significant thinkers and writers, or experts, who have published on the topic you’re interested in. In other words, it’s a survey of what has been written and argued about your topic.
By the time you complete your literature review you should have written an essay that demonstrates that you:
- Understand the history of what’s been written and researched on your topic
- Know the significance of the current academic thinking on your topic, including what the controversies are
- Have a perspective about what work remains to be done on your topic
Thus, a Health Sciences literature review synthesizes–or puts together in one place–your research into an explanation of what is known and what is not known on your topic. If the topic is one from which you want to embark on a major research project, doing a literature review will save you time and help you figure out where you might focus your attention so you don’t duplicate research that has already been done.
Just to be clear: a literature review differs from a research paper in that a literature review is a summary and synthesis of the major arguments and thinking of experts on the topic you’re investigating, whereas a research paper supports a position or an opinion you have developed yourself as a result of your own analysis of a topic.
Another advantage of doing a ilterature review is that it summarizes the intellectual discussion that has been going on over the decades–or centuries–on a specific topic and allows you to join in that conversation (what academics call academic discourse) from a knowledgeable position.
The following presentation will provide you with the basic steps to follow as you work to complete a literature review.
Seeing a sample literature review can be a helpful way to get started. Click on the image below to open a PDF of a sample literature review written according to APA 7th edition guidelines.
