A literature review, also called a narrative review, is an analysis of published literature used to summarize a body of literature, draw conclusions about a topic, and identify research gaps.
Reasons to Do a Literature Review
- Summarize a research topic or concept
- Explain the background of research on a topic
- Demonstrate the importance of a topic
- Identify research gaps/suggest new areas of research
A Literature Review is NOT
- Just a summary of sources
- A review of all literature on a topic
- A paper that argues for a specific viewpoint - a good literature review should avoid bias and highlight points of disagreement in the literature