Start with a question and a search plan
Break the project question into concepts, synonyms, populations and context terms. Search scholarly databases, library catalogues and discipline-relevant repositories. Save the full citation and source link as you go; check the actual publication rather than relying on a search snippet. Record inclusion decisions so you can explain why central sources were selected.
For a study of mobile banking access among rural small businesses: (mobile banking OR digital financial service) AND (rural OR non-urban) AND (small business OR microenterprise). Add a country or method term only if it improves relevance; document the databases and dates searched.
Build themes, then compare sources
A source matrix makes synthesis easier. For each item, record its question, setting, sample or corpus, method, main reported result, limitation and relevance to your project. Sort the matrix by themes or debates instead of writing one paragraph per author.
Studies using branch-level records describe service availability differently from interview studies of business owners’ day-to-day access. Because the two approaches measure different things, their conclusions about access are not directly interchangeable. A project focused on user experience should explain why interviews or task observations fit its question and what they cannot establish about population-wide prevalence.
- Group sources around an idea, concept, method or disagreement.
- State the shared pattern or contrast in the paragraph's first sentence.
- Use several sources to support the synthesis, while preserving differences in sample and context.
- Evaluate how a study's design supports its conclusion.
- End each theme by explaining how it shapes your own question, framework or method.
Describe a gap carefully
A gap can concern an under-studied context, conflicting evidence, an overlooked population, a limitation in measurement or a question left unanswered by prior work. It must follow from a credible search of relevant scholarship. Say what you searched and what you found; do not claim that nobody has studied a topic after checking only one database or a few search results.
Common problems
- A list of summaries with no comparison or interpretation.
- Long quotations where a concise, accurate paraphrase would show your understanding.
- Old or secondary sources used as a substitute for a key original study when the original is accessible.
- Treating an author's stated limitation as proof that your own design solves it.
- Citations that point to a title you have not opened, or bibliographic details copied from an unreliable aggregator.
Literature review checklist
- Does the review follow your project question rather than an overly broad topic?
- Are themes and debates visible in the headings?
- Can each claim be traced to the sources actually consulted?
- Have you compared methods, contexts, strengths and limits where relevant?
- Does the ending connect the reviewed evidence to your study's framework, gap and method?
Sources and further reading
These university writing resources inform the general advice here. They do not replace your department's handbook or supervisor's guidance.