AAS 101: Research Methods for African American Studies: Writing a Literature Review

A literature review surveys the scholarship on a particular topic, issue, or theory and provides a critical assessment of this literature.  The purpose of a literature review is to provide a written argument that supports the thesis by giving a succinct overview of previous research published on a topic. 

The Literature Review in four steps:

1. Identify the topic

• Usually based on research interest

2. Find important works of scholarship related to the topic

• seek advice from noted experts in the field
• search article database 
• search library catalogs
• review works cited pages - is there an author(s) consistently present

3. Evaluate and analyze the literature to determine which is most valuable to the topic

• preview(skim and scan), select, and organize the data

4. Write the review

For a more in-depth guide to writing a literature review, please refer to the following site

Learn How to Write a Review of Literature