Research Guides: Literature Reviews: General Resources

The term "literature review" is closely related to the terms "systematic review," "scoping review," or others that describe a collection and assessment of literature for a specific topic or question.

"A systematic review is a carefully organized and structured assessment of all completed research on a specific topic. The term refers to both the process of conducting the review and the final document produced from the review process. The review establishes a specified objective and protocols to identify and evaluate all relevant primary literature, verify the validity of previous findings, and assemble and present the conclusions in a cohesive way that allows others to reproduce or confirm the findings. Performing a systematic review is less time-consuming and less expensive than conducting new studies. In addition, systematic reviews are generally more accurate than any individual study, and the results can be more widely applied (Systematic Reviews, Salem Press Encyclopedia)."

Literature Reviews

General Databases for Literature Reviews

EBSCO Discovery Service
EBSCO Discovery Service provides users with an easy, yet powerful means of accessing all of an institution's information resources through a single search. This is achieved by harvesting metadata from both internal (library) and external (database vendors) sources, and creating a pre-indexed service of unprecedented size and speed. (All federated databases are listed individually in Databases Search as well.)
Scopus
Scopus provides abstracts and citation tracking of peer-reviewed literature in science, technology, medicine, social sciences and arts and humanities. It features tools to track, analyze and visualize research. Researchers who use Web of Science will find Scopus indexes the same fields but with broader coverage. Users needing the Scopus ID" (for example, to use the "Papers by mekentosj" citation software), please use C000040240."
JSTOR
The JSTOR database consists of complete backfiles of core scholarly journals in all disciplines. Coverage: varies--going back to first year of publication and coming up to 3-5 years ago. See the Project Muse database for scholarly articles from within the past 3-5 years.

Science.gov
Search for authoritative federal science information from federal agency members like NIH, NSF, USGS, USDA, and more.

Help!

The Literature Review: A Few Tips On Conducting It
What is a review of the literature? What questions should I be asking as I review the literature? How do I organize my literature review?
(Writing advice from Dena Taylor, Health Sciences Writing Centre, University of Toronto. Retrieved 15 May 2025.)
Ten Simple Rules for Writing a Literature Review
Pautasso M. (2013). Ten simple rules for writing a literature review. PLoS computational biology, 9(7). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003149

Right Review
This tool is designed to provide guidance and supporting material to reviewers on methods for the conduct and reporting of knowledge synthesis.

Books & eBooks

The Literature Review: Six Steps to Success by Lawrence A. Machi; Brenda T. McEvoy
Call Number: LB1047.3 .M33 2016

Publication Date: 2016

The six-step process pioneered by this book has made the task flowing and seamless for masters and doctoral candidates in Education and related fields. This updated third edition features a wealth of all-new content including: A flowchart that graphically illustrates Machi and McEvoy's process. Reflective Oversight boxes in each chapter that prompt readers to direct metacognitive activities.
Research Strategies: Finding Your Way through the Information Fog by William Badke
Call Number: Z710 .B23 2014

Publication Date: 2014

In this fifth edition of Research Strategies, author William Badke helps you make sense of all of the available information, shows you how to navigate and discern it, and details how to use it to your advantage to become a better researcher. Badke focuses on informational research and provides a host of tips and advice not only for conducting research, but also for everything from finding a topic to writing an outline to documenting resources and polishing the final draft.