Build a literature review around evidence
A literature review needs an argument about the research, not just a sequence of paper summaries. Use Citation to keep source records beside a working draft while you decide which findings belong together and where they disagree.
- Audience
- Researchers
- Role
- Research associate
- Project
- Literature review
- Reading time
- 2 min read
Begin with a question narrow enough to guide source selection. Write down the population, concept or setting you want the review to address before expanding your reading list.
For each paper, record its finding and why it matters to the question. Keep a page number or passage reference so you can return to the evidence when you draft.
Give each source a purpose
Add a paper by DOI or enter its details manually, then check the record against the publication. Write a short note explaining the role it could play in your argument.
Distinguish a definition, a methodological example and a conflicting finding. A source can be relevant without supporting the claim you first expected it to support.
Compare before you combine
Group notes by theme and compare how the studies define their terms. Different populations or measures can explain apparently conflicting conclusions.
Use those differences to shape the outline. Keep a section for unresolved questions instead of forcing every result into a single conclusion.
Connect claims as you draft
Insert the citation beside the sentence that uses the evidence. Return to the original paper to check quotations, page numbers and methodological details.
Treat an AI suggestion as a proposed revision. Check whether it changes the strength or scope of the claim before applying it.
Ask for focused feedback
Share the draft with an invited editor and ask which connection between evidence and argument is hardest to follow. Comments on specific passages make the review actionable.
Revise the explanation as well as the wording. If a reader cannot see why a study belongs in a section, make its role explicit or move it.
Check the complete review
Read the finished argument separately from the reference list. Look for unsupported transitions, repeated summaries and conclusions that go beyond the included research.
Export the draft in the required format and inspect citations, headings and references in the exported file before submission.