function of the literature review

• My Playlists
• Media Upload

• How To Use Media Hopper Create
• How To Use Media Hopper Create In Learn
• Creative Commons
• All Channels

Literature reviews: functions, types and methods

Related media.

When we think of a literature review, we often forget to consider the different types of reviews and the different roles or functions that literature reviews can have.

In this short presentation I will first discuss some functions of literature reviews, and then make some points about how the function or purpose of your review should inform the type that you choose to do, and the methods that you employ.

• Link to facebook
• Link to linkedin
• Link to twitter
• Link to youtube
• Writing Tips

What is the Purpose of a Literature Review?

4-minute read

• 23rd October 2023

If you’re writing a research paper or dissertation , then you’ll most likely need to include a comprehensive literature review . In this post, we’ll review the purpose of literature reviews, why they are so significant, and the specific elements to include in one. Literature reviews can:

1. Provide a foundation for current research.

2. Define key concepts and theories.

3. Demonstrate critical evaluation.

4. Show how research and methodologies have evolved.

5. Identify gaps in existing research.

6. Support your argument.

Keep reading to enter the exciting world of literature reviews!

What is a Literature Review?

A literature review is a critical summary and evaluation of the existing research (e.g., academic journal articles and books) on a specific topic. It is typically included as a separate section or chapter of a research paper or dissertation, serving as a contextual framework for a study. Literature reviews can vary in length depending on the subject and nature of the study, with most being about equal length to other sections or chapters included in the paper. Essentially, the literature review highlights previous studies in the context of your research and summarizes your insights in a structured, organized format. Next, let’s look at the overall purpose of a literature review.

Find this useful?

Subscribe to our newsletter and get writing tips from our editors straight to your inbox.

Literature reviews are considered an integral part of research across most academic subjects and fields. The primary purpose of a literature review in your study is to:

Provide a Foundation for Current Research

Since the literature review provides a comprehensive evaluation of the existing research, it serves as a solid foundation for your current study. It’s a way to contextualize your work and show how your research fits into the broader landscape of your specific area of study.  

Define Key Concepts and Theories

The literature review highlights the central theories and concepts that have arisen from previous research on your chosen topic. It gives your readers a more thorough understanding of the background of your study and why your research is particularly significant .

Demonstrate Critical Evaluation 

A comprehensive literature review shows your ability to critically analyze and evaluate a broad range of source material. And since you’re considering and acknowledging the contribution of key scholars alongside your own, it establishes your own credibility and knowledge.

Show How Research and Methodologies Have Evolved

Another purpose of literature reviews is to provide a historical perspective and demonstrate how research and methodologies have changed over time, especially as data collection methods and technology have advanced. And studying past methodologies allows you, as the researcher, to understand what did and did not work and apply that knowledge to your own research.  

Identify Gaps in Existing Research

Besides discussing current research and methodologies, the literature review should also address areas that are lacking in the existing literature. This helps further demonstrate the relevance of your own research by explaining why your study is necessary to fill the gaps.

Support Your Argument

A good literature review should provide evidence that supports your research questions and hypothesis. For example, your study may show that your research supports existing theories or builds on them in some way. Referencing previous related studies shows your work is grounded in established research and will ultimately be a contribution to the field.  

Literature Review Editing Services 

Ensure your literature review is polished and ready for submission by having it professionally proofread and edited by our expert team. Our literature review editing services will help your research stand out and make an impact. Not convinced yet? Send in your free sample today and see for yourself! 

Share this article:

Post A New Comment

Got content that needs a quick turnaround? Let us polish your work. Explore our editorial business services.

3-minute read

How to Insert a Text Box in a Google Doc

Google Docs is a powerful collaborative tool, and mastering its features can significantly enhance your...

2-minute read

How to Cite the CDC in APA

If you’re writing about health issues, you might need to reference the Centers for Disease...

5-minute read

Six Product Description Generator Tools for Your Product Copy

Introduction If you’re involved with ecommerce, you’re likely familiar with the often painstaking process of...

What Is a Content Editor?

Are you interested in learning more about the role of a content editor and the...

The Benefits of Using an Online Proofreading Service

Proofreading is important to ensure your writing is clear and concise for your readers. Whether...

6 Online AI Presentation Maker Tools

Creating presentations can be time-consuming and frustrating. Trying to construct a visually appealing and informative...

Make sure your writing is the best it can be with our expert English proofreading and editing.

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Writing a Literature Review

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

A literature review is a document or section of a document that collects key sources on a topic and discusses those sources in conversation with each other (also called synthesis ). The lit review is an important genre in many disciplines, not just literature (i.e., the study of works of literature such as novels and plays). When we say “literature review” or refer to “the literature,” we are talking about the research ( scholarship ) in a given field. You will often see the terms “the research,” “the scholarship,” and “the literature” used mostly interchangeably.

Where, when, and why would I write a lit review?

There are a number of different situations where you might write a literature review, each with slightly different expectations; different disciplines, too, have field-specific expectations for what a literature review is and does. For instance, in the humanities, authors might include more overt argumentation and interpretation of source material in their literature reviews, whereas in the sciences, authors are more likely to report study designs and results in their literature reviews; these differences reflect these disciplines’ purposes and conventions in scholarship. You should always look at examples from your own discipline and talk to professors or mentors in your field to be sure you understand your discipline’s conventions, for literature reviews as well as for any other genre.

A literature review can be a part of a research paper or scholarly article, usually falling after the introduction and before the research methods sections. In these cases, the lit review just needs to cover scholarship that is important to the issue you are writing about; sometimes it will also cover key sources that informed your research methodology.

Lit reviews can also be standalone pieces, either as assignments in a class or as publications. In a class, a lit review may be assigned to help students familiarize themselves with a topic and with scholarship in their field, get an idea of the other researchers working on the topic they’re interested in, find gaps in existing research in order to propose new projects, and/or develop a theoretical framework and methodology for later research. As a publication, a lit review usually is meant to help make other scholars’ lives easier by collecting and summarizing, synthesizing, and analyzing existing research on a topic. This can be especially helpful for students or scholars getting into a new research area, or for directing an entire community of scholars toward questions that have not yet been answered.

What are the parts of a lit review?

Most lit reviews use a basic introduction-body-conclusion structure; if your lit review is part of a larger paper, the introduction and conclusion pieces may be just a few sentences while you focus most of your attention on the body. If your lit review is a standalone piece, the introduction and conclusion take up more space and give you a place to discuss your goals, research methods, and conclusions separately from where you discuss the literature itself.

Introduction:

• An introductory paragraph that explains what your working topic and thesis is
• A forecast of key topics or texts that will appear in the review
• Potentially, a description of how you found sources and how you analyzed them for inclusion and discussion in the review (more often found in published, standalone literature reviews than in lit review sections in an article or research paper)
• Summarize and synthesize: Give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole
• Analyze and interpret: Don’t just paraphrase other researchers – add your own interpretations where possible, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole
• Critically Evaluate: Mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources
• Write in well-structured paragraphs: Use transition words and topic sentence to draw connections, comparisons, and contrasts.

Conclusion:

• Summarize the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasize their significance
• Connect it back to your primary research question

How should I organize my lit review?

Lit reviews can take many different organizational patterns depending on what you are trying to accomplish with the review. Here are some examples:

• Chronological : The simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time, which helps familiarize the audience with the topic (for instance if you are introducing something that is not commonly known in your field). If you choose this strategy, be careful to avoid simply listing and summarizing sources in order. Try to analyze the patterns, turning points, and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred (as mentioned previously, this may not be appropriate in your discipline — check with a teacher or mentor if you’re unsure).
• Thematic : If you have found some recurring central themes that you will continue working with throughout your piece, you can organize your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic. For example, if you are reviewing literature about women and religion, key themes can include the role of women in churches and the religious attitude towards women.
• Qualitative versus quantitative research
• Empirical versus theoretical scholarship
• Divide the research by sociological, historical, or cultural sources
• Theoretical : In many humanities articles, the literature review is the foundation for the theoretical framework. You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts. You can argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach or combine various theorical concepts to create a framework for your research.

What are some strategies or tips I can use while writing my lit review?

Any lit review is only as good as the research it discusses; make sure your sources are well-chosen and your research is thorough. Don’t be afraid to do more research if you discover a new thread as you’re writing. More info on the research process is available in our "Conducting Research" resources .

As you’re doing your research, create an annotated bibliography ( see our page on the this type of document ). Much of the information used in an annotated bibliography can be used also in a literature review, so you’ll be not only partially drafting your lit review as you research, but also developing your sense of the larger conversation going on among scholars, professionals, and any other stakeholders in your topic.

Usually you will need to synthesize research rather than just summarizing it. This means drawing connections between sources to create a picture of the scholarly conversation on a topic over time. Many student writers struggle to synthesize because they feel they don’t have anything to add to the scholars they are citing; here are some strategies to help you:

• It often helps to remember that the point of these kinds of syntheses is to show your readers how you understand your research, to help them read the rest of your paper.
• Writing teachers often say synthesis is like hosting a dinner party: imagine all your sources are together in a room, discussing your topic. What are they saying to each other?
• Look at the in-text citations in each paragraph. Are you citing just one source for each paragraph? This usually indicates summary only. When you have multiple sources cited in a paragraph, you are more likely to be synthesizing them (not always, but often
• Read more about synthesis here.

The most interesting literature reviews are often written as arguments (again, as mentioned at the beginning of the page, this is discipline-specific and doesn’t work for all situations). Often, the literature review is where you can establish your research as filling a particular gap or as relevant in a particular way. You have some chance to do this in your introduction in an article, but the literature review section gives a more extended opportunity to establish the conversation in the way you would like your readers to see it. You can choose the intellectual lineage you would like to be part of and whose definitions matter most to your thinking (mostly humanities-specific, but this goes for sciences as well). In addressing these points, you argue for your place in the conversation, which tends to make the lit review more compelling than a simple reporting of other sources.

• University of Texas Libraries

Literature Reviews

• What is a literature review?
• Steps in the Literature Review Process
• Define your research question
• Determine inclusion and exclusion criteria
• Choose databases and search
• Review Results
• Synthesize Results
• Analyze Results
• Librarian Support

What is a Literature Review?

A literature or narrative review is a comprehensive review and analysis of the published literature on a specific topic or research question. The literature that is reviewed contains: books, articles, academic articles, conference proceedings, association papers, and dissertations. It contains the most pertinent studies and points to important past and current research and practices. It provides background and context, and shows how your research will contribute to the field. 

A literature review should: 

• Provide a comprehensive and updated review of the literature;
• Explain why this review has taken place;
• Articulate a position or hypothesis;
• Acknowledge and account for conflicting and corroborating points of view

From  S age Research Methods

Purpose of a Literature Review

A literature review can be written as an introduction to a study to:

• Demonstrate how a study fills a gap in research
• Compare a study with other research that's been done

Or it can be a separate work (a research article on its own) which:

• Organizes or describes a topic
• Describes variables within a particular issue/problem

Limitations of a Literature Review

Some of the limitations of a literature review are:

• It's a snapshot in time. Unlike other reviews, this one has beginning, a middle and an end. There may be future developments that could make your work less relevant.
• It may be too focused. Some niche studies may miss the bigger picture.
• It can be difficult to be comprehensive. There is no way to make sure all the literature on a topic was considered.
• It is easy to be biased if you stick to top tier journals. There may be other places where people are publishing exemplary research. Look to open access publications and conferences to reflect a more inclusive collection. Also, make sure to include opposing views (and not just supporting evidence).

Source: Grant, Maria J., and Andrew Booth. “A Typology of Reviews: An Analysis of 14 Review Types and Associated Methodologies.” Health Information & Libraries Journal, vol. 26, no. 2, June 2009, pp. 91–108. Wiley Online Library, doi:10.1111/j.1471-1842.2009.00848.x.

Meryl Brodsky : Communication and Information Studies

Hannah Chapman Tripp : Biology, Neuroscience

Carolyn Cunningham : Human Development & Family Sciences, Psychology, Sociology

Larayne Dallas : Engineering

Janelle Hedstrom : Special Education, Curriculum & Instruction, Ed Leadership & Policy ​

Susan Macicak : Linguistics

Imelda Vetter : Dell Medical School

For help in other subject areas, please see the guide to library specialists by subject .

Periodically, UT Libraries runs a workshop covering the basics and library support for literature reviews. While we try to offer these once per academic year, we find providing the recording to be helpful to community members who have missed the session. Following is the most recent recording of the workshop, Conducting a Literature Review. To view the recording, a UT login is required.

• October 26, 2022 recording
• Last Updated: Oct 26, 2022 2:49 PM
• URL: https://guides.lib.utexas.edu/literaturereviews

What Is A Literature Review?

A plain-language explainer (with examples).

By:  Derek Jansen (MBA) & Kerryn Warren (PhD) | June 2020 (Updated May 2023)

If you’re faced with writing a dissertation or thesis, chances are you’ve encountered the term “literature review” . If you’re on this page, you’re probably not 100% what the literature review is all about. The good news is that you’ve come to the right place.

Literature Review 101

• What (exactly) is a literature review
• What’s the purpose of the literature review chapter
• How to find high-quality resources
• How to structure your literature review chapter
• Example of an actual literature review

What is a literature review?

The word “literature review” can refer to two related things that are part of the broader literature review process. The first is the task of  reviewing the literature  – i.e. sourcing and reading through the existing research relating to your research topic. The second is the  actual chapter  that you write up in your dissertation, thesis or research project. Let’s look at each of them:

Reviewing the literature

The first step of any literature review is to hunt down and  read through the existing research  that’s relevant to your research topic. To do this, you’ll use a combination of tools (we’ll discuss some of these later) to find journal articles, books, ebooks, research reports, dissertations, theses and any other credible sources of information that relate to your topic. You’ll then  summarise and catalogue these  for easy reference when you write up your literature review chapter. 

The literature review chapter

The second step of the literature review is to write the actual literature review chapter (this is usually the second chapter in a typical dissertation or thesis structure ). At the simplest level, the literature review chapter is an  overview of the key literature  that’s relevant to your research topic. This chapter should provide a smooth-flowing discussion of what research has already been done, what is known, what is unknown and what is contested in relation to your research topic. So, you can think of it as an  integrated review of the state of knowledge  around your research topic. 

What’s the purpose of a literature review?

The literature review chapter has a few important functions within your dissertation, thesis or research project. Let’s take a look at these:

Purpose #1 – Demonstrate your topic knowledge

The first function of the literature review chapter is, quite simply, to show the reader (or marker) that you  know what you’re talking about . In other words, a good literature review chapter demonstrates that you’ve read the relevant existing research and understand what’s going on – who’s said what, what’s agreed upon, disagreed upon and so on. This needs to be  more than just a summary  of who said what – it needs to integrate the existing research to  show how it all fits together  and what’s missing (which leads us to purpose #2, next). 

Purpose #2 – Reveal the research gap that you’ll fill

The second function of the literature review chapter is to  show what’s currently missing  from the existing research, to lay the foundation for your own research topic. In other words, your literature review chapter needs to show that there are currently “missing pieces” in terms of the bigger puzzle, and that  your study will fill one of those research gaps . By doing this, you are showing that your research topic is original and will help contribute to the body of knowledge. In other words, the literature review helps justify your research topic.  

Purpose #3 – Lay the foundation for your conceptual framework

The third function of the literature review is to form the  basis for a conceptual framework . Not every research topic will necessarily have a conceptual framework, but if your topic does require one, it needs to be rooted in your literature review. 

For example, let’s say your research aims to identify the drivers of a certain outcome – the factors which contribute to burnout in office workers. In this case, you’d likely develop a conceptual framework which details the potential factors (e.g. long hours, excessive stress, etc), as well as the outcome (burnout). Those factors would need to emerge from the literature review chapter – they can’t just come from your gut! 

So, in this case, the literature review chapter would uncover each of the potential factors (based on previous studies about burnout), which would then be modelled into a framework. 

Purpose #4 – To inform your methodology

The fourth function of the literature review is to  inform the choice of methodology  for your own research. As we’ve  discussed on the Grad Coach blog , your choice of methodology will be heavily influenced by your research aims, objectives and questions . Given that you’ll be reviewing studies covering a topic close to yours, it makes sense that you could learn a lot from their (well-considered) methodologies.

So, when you’re reviewing the literature, you’ll need to  pay close attention to the research design , methodology and methods used in similar studies, and use these to inform your methodology. Quite often, you’ll be able to  “borrow” from previous studies . This is especially true for quantitative studies , as you can use previously tried and tested measures and scales. 

How do I find articles for my literature review?

Finding quality journal articles is essential to crafting a rock-solid literature review. As you probably already know, not all research is created equally, and so you need to make sure that your literature review is  built on credible research . 

We could write an entire post on how to find quality literature (actually, we have ), but a good starting point is Google Scholar . Google Scholar is essentially the academic equivalent of Google, using Google’s powerful search capabilities to find relevant journal articles and reports. It certainly doesn’t cover every possible resource, but it’s a very useful way to get started on your literature review journey, as it will very quickly give you a good indication of what the  most popular pieces of research  are in your field.

One downside of Google Scholar is that it’s merely a search engine – that is, it lists the articles, but oftentimes  it doesn’t host the articles . So you’ll often hit a paywall when clicking through to journal websites. 

Thankfully, your university should provide you with access to their library, so you can find the article titles using Google Scholar and then search for them by name in your university’s online library. Your university may also provide you with access to  ResearchGate , which is another great source for existing research. 

Remember, the correct search keywords will be super important to get the right information from the start. So, pay close attention to the keywords used in the journal articles you read and use those keywords to search for more articles. If you can’t find a spoon in the kitchen, you haven’t looked in the right drawer. 

Need a helping hand?

How should I structure my literature review?

Unfortunately, there’s no generic universal answer for this one. The structure of your literature review will depend largely on your topic area and your research aims and objectives.

You could potentially structure your literature review chapter according to theme, group, variables , chronologically or per concepts in your field of research. We explain the main approaches to structuring your literature review here . You can also download a copy of our free literature review template to help you establish an initial structure.

In general, it’s also a good idea to start wide (i.e. the big-picture-level) and then narrow down, ending your literature review close to your research questions . However, there’s no universal one “right way” to structure your literature review. The most important thing is not to discuss your sources one after the other like a list – as we touched on earlier, your literature review needs to synthesise the research , not summarise it .

Ultimately, you need to craft your literature review so that it conveys the most important information effectively – it needs to tell a logical story in a digestible way. It’s no use starting off with highly technical terms and then only explaining what these terms mean later. Always assume your reader is not a subject matter expert and hold their hand through a journe y of the literature while keeping the functions of the literature review chapter (which we discussed earlier) front of mind.

Example of a literature review

In the video below, we walk you through a high-quality literature review from a dissertation that earned full distinction. This will give you a clearer view of what a strong literature review looks like in practice and hopefully provide some inspiration for your own. 

Wrapping Up

In this post, we’ve (hopefully) answered the question, “ what is a literature review? “. We’ve also considered the purpose and functions of the literature review, as well as how to find literature and how to structure the literature review chapter. If you’re keen to learn more, check out the literature review section of the Grad Coach blog , as well as our detailed video post covering how to write a literature review . 

Psst… there’s more!

This post is an extract from our bestselling short course, Literature Review Bootcamp . If you want to work smart, you don't want to miss this .

You Might Also Like:

16 Comments

Thanks for this review. It narrates what’s not been taught as tutors are always in a early to finish their classes.

Thanks for the kind words, Becky. Good luck with your literature review 🙂

This website is amazing, it really helps break everything down. Thank you, I would have been lost without it.

This is review is amazing. I benefited from it a lot and hope others visiting this website will benefit too.

Timothy T. Chol [email protected]

Thank you very much for the guiding in literature review I learn and benefited a lot this make my journey smooth I’ll recommend this site to my friends

This was so useful. Thank you so much.

Hi, Concept was explained nicely by both of you. Thanks a lot for sharing it. It will surely help research scholars to start their Research Journey.

The review is really helpful to me especially during this period of covid-19 pandemic when most universities in my country only offer online classes. Great stuff

Great Brief Explanation, thanks

So helpful to me as a student

GradCoach is a fantastic site with brilliant and modern minds behind it.. I spent weeks decoding the substantial academic Jargon and grounding my initial steps on the research process, which could be shortened to a couple of days through the Gradcoach. Thanks again!

This is an amazing talk. I paved way for myself as a researcher. Thank you GradCoach!

Well-presented overview of the literature!

This was brilliant. So clear. Thank you

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• Print Friendly

Libraries | Research Guides

Literature reviews, what is a literature review, learning more about how to do a literature review.

• Planning the Review
• The Research Question
• Choosing Where to Search
• Organizing the Review
• Writing the Review

A literature review is a review and synthesis of existing research on a topic or research question. A literature review is meant to analyze the scholarly literature, make connections across writings and identify strengths, weaknesses, trends, and missing conversations. A literature review should address different aspects of a topic as it relates to your research question. A literature review goes beyond a description or summary of the literature you have read. 

• Sage Research Methods Core Collection This link opens in a new window SAGE Research Methods supports research at all levels by providing material to guide users through every step of the research process. SAGE Research Methods is the ultimate methods library with more than 1000 books, reference works, journal articles, and instructional videos by world-leading academics from across the social sciences, including the largest collection of qualitative methods books available online from any scholarly publisher. – Publisher

• Next: Planning the Review >>
• Last Updated: Jan 17, 2024 10:05 AM
• URL: https://libguides.northwestern.edu/literaturereviews

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, automatically generate references for free.

• Knowledge Base
• Dissertation
• What is a Literature Review? | Guide, Template, & Examples

What is a Literature Review? | Guide, Template, & Examples

Published on 22 February 2022 by Shona McCombes . Revised on 7 June 2022.

What is a literature review? A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources on a specific topic. It provides an overview of current knowledge, allowing you to identify relevant theories, methods, and gaps in the existing research.

There are five key steps to writing a literature review:

• Search for relevant literature
• Evaluate sources
• Identify themes, debates and gaps
• Outline the structure
• Write your literature review

A good literature review doesn’t just summarise sources – it analyses, synthesises, and critically evaluates to give a clear picture of the state of knowledge on the subject.

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Be assured that you'll submit flawless writing. Upload your document to correct all your mistakes.

Table of contents

Why write a literature review, examples of literature reviews, step 1: search for relevant literature, step 2: evaluate and select sources, step 3: identify themes, debates and gaps, step 4: outline your literature review’s structure, step 5: write your literature review, frequently asked questions about literature reviews, introduction.

• Quick Run-through
• Step 1 & 2

When you write a dissertation or thesis, you will have to conduct a literature review to situate your research within existing knowledge. The literature review gives you a chance to:

• Demonstrate your familiarity with the topic and scholarly context
• Develop a theoretical framework and methodology for your research
• Position yourself in relation to other researchers and theorists
• Show how your dissertation addresses a gap or contributes to a debate

You might also have to write a literature review as a stand-alone assignment. In this case, the purpose is to evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your knowledge of scholarly debates around a topic.

The content will look slightly different in each case, but the process of conducting a literature review follows the same steps. We’ve written a step-by-step guide that you can follow below.

The only proofreading tool specialized in correcting academic writing

The academic proofreading tool has been trained on 1000s of academic texts and by native English editors. Making it the most accurate and reliable proofreading tool for students.

Correct my document today

Writing literature reviews can be quite challenging! A good starting point could be to look at some examples, depending on what kind of literature review you’d like to write.

• Example literature review #1: “Why Do People Migrate? A Review of the Theoretical Literature” ( Theoretical literature review about the development of economic migration theory from the 1950s to today.)
• Example literature review #2: “Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines” ( Methodological literature review about interdisciplinary knowledge acquisition and production.)
• Example literature review #3: “The Use of Technology in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Thematic literature review about the effects of technology on language acquisition.)
• Example literature review #4: “Learners’ Listening Comprehension Difficulties in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Chronological literature review about how the concept of listening skills has changed over time.)

You can also check out our templates with literature review examples and sample outlines at the links below.

Download Word doc Download Google doc

Before you begin searching for literature, you need a clearly defined topic .

If you are writing the literature review section of a dissertation or research paper, you will search for literature related to your research objectives and questions .

If you are writing a literature review as a stand-alone assignment, you will have to choose a focus and develop a central question to direct your search. Unlike a dissertation research question, this question has to be answerable without collecting original data. You should be able to answer it based only on a review of existing publications.

Make a list of keywords

Start by creating a list of keywords related to your research topic. Include each of the key concepts or variables you’re interested in, and list any synonyms and related terms. You can add to this list if you discover new keywords in the process of your literature search.

• Social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok
• Body image, self-perception, self-esteem, mental health
• Generation Z, teenagers, adolescents, youth

Search for relevant sources

Use your keywords to begin searching for sources. Some databases to search for journals and articles include:

• Your university’s library catalogue
• Google Scholar
• Project Muse (humanities and social sciences)
• Medline (life sciences and biomedicine)
• EconLit (economics)
• Inspec (physics, engineering and computer science)

You can use boolean operators to help narrow down your search:

Read the abstract to find out whether an article is relevant to your question. When you find a useful book or article, you can check the bibliography to find other relevant sources.

To identify the most important publications on your topic, take note of recurring citations. If the same authors, books or articles keep appearing in your reading, make sure to seek them out.

You probably won’t be able to read absolutely everything that has been written on the topic – you’ll have to evaluate which sources are most relevant to your questions.

For each publication, ask yourself:

• What question or problem is the author addressing?
• What are the key concepts and how are they defined?
• What are the key theories, models and methods? Does the research use established frameworks or take an innovative approach?
• What are the results and conclusions of the study?
• How does the publication relate to other literature in the field? Does it confirm, add to, or challenge established knowledge?
• How does the publication contribute to your understanding of the topic? What are its key insights and arguments?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research?

Make sure the sources you use are credible, and make sure you read any landmark studies and major theories in your field of research.

You can find out how many times an article has been cited on Google Scholar – a high citation count means the article has been influential in the field, and should certainly be included in your literature review.

The scope of your review will depend on your topic and discipline: in the sciences you usually only review recent literature, but in the humanities you might take a long historical perspective (for example, to trace how a concept has changed in meaning over time).

Remember that you can use our template to summarise and evaluate sources you’re thinking about using!

Take notes and cite your sources

As you read, you should also begin the writing process. Take notes that you can later incorporate into the text of your literature review.

It’s important to keep track of your sources with references to avoid plagiarism . It can be helpful to make an annotated bibliography, where you compile full reference information and write a paragraph of summary and analysis for each source. This helps you remember what you read and saves time later in the process.

You can use our free APA Reference Generator for quick, correct, consistent citations.

Prevent plagiarism, run a free check.

To begin organising your literature review’s argument and structure, you need to understand the connections and relationships between the sources you’ve read. Based on your reading and notes, you can look for:

• Trends and patterns (in theory, method or results): do certain approaches become more or less popular over time?
• Themes: what questions or concepts recur across the literature?
• Debates, conflicts and contradictions: where do sources disagree?
• Pivotal publications: are there any influential theories or studies that changed the direction of the field?
• Gaps: what is missing from the literature? Are there weaknesses that need to be addressed?

This step will help you work out the structure of your literature review and (if applicable) show how your own research will contribute to existing knowledge.

• Most research has focused on young women.
• There is an increasing interest in the visual aspects of social media.
• But there is still a lack of robust research on highly-visual platforms like Instagram and Snapchat – this is a gap that you could address in your own research.

There are various approaches to organising the body of a literature review. You should have a rough idea of your strategy before you start writing.

Depending on the length of your literature review, you can combine several of these strategies (for example, your overall structure might be thematic, but each theme is discussed chronologically).

Chronological

The simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time. However, if you choose this strategy, be careful to avoid simply listing and summarising sources in order.

Try to analyse patterns, turning points and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred.

If you have found some recurring central themes, you can organise your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic.

For example, if you are reviewing literature about inequalities in migrant health outcomes, key themes might include healthcare policy, language barriers, cultural attitudes, legal status, and economic access.

Methodological

If you draw your sources from different disciplines or fields that use a variety of research methods , you might want to compare the results and conclusions that emerge from different approaches. For example:

• Look at what results have emerged in qualitative versus quantitative research
• Discuss how the topic has been approached by empirical versus theoretical scholarship
• Divide the literature into sociological, historical, and cultural sources

Theoretical

A literature review is often the foundation for a theoretical framework . You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts.

You might argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach, or combine various theoretical concepts to create a framework for your research.

Like any other academic text, your literature review should have an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion . What you include in each depends on the objective of your literature review.

The introduction should clearly establish the focus and purpose of the literature review.

If you are writing the literature review as part of your dissertation or thesis, reiterate your central problem or research question and give a brief summary of the scholarly context. You can emphasise the timeliness of the topic (“many recent studies have focused on the problem of x”) or highlight a gap in the literature (“while there has been much research on x, few researchers have taken y into consideration”).

Depending on the length of your literature review, you might want to divide the body into subsections. You can use a subheading for each theme, time period, or methodological approach.

As you write, make sure to follow these tips:

• Summarise and synthesise: give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole.
• Analyse and interpret: don’t just paraphrase other researchers – add your own interpretations, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole.
• Critically evaluate: mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources.
• Write in well-structured paragraphs: use transitions and topic sentences to draw connections, comparisons and contrasts.

In the conclusion, you should summarise the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasise their significance.

If the literature review is part of your dissertation or thesis, reiterate how your research addresses gaps and contributes new knowledge, or discuss how you have drawn on existing theories and methods to build a framework for your research. This can lead directly into your methodology section.

A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources (such as books, journal articles, and theses) related to a specific topic or research question .

It is often written as part of a dissertation , thesis, research paper , or proposal .

There are several reasons to conduct a literature review at the beginning of a research project:

• To familiarise yourself with the current state of knowledge on your topic
• To ensure that you’re not just repeating what others have already done
• To identify gaps in knowledge and unresolved problems that your research can address
• To develop your theoretical framework and methodology
• To provide an overview of the key findings and debates on the topic

Writing the literature review shows your reader how your work relates to existing research and what new insights it will contribute.

The literature review usually comes near the beginning of your  dissertation . After the introduction , it grounds your research in a scholarly field and leads directly to your theoretical framework or methodology .

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.

McCombes, S. (2022, June 07). What is a Literature Review? | Guide, Template, & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 22 April 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/thesis-dissertation/literature-review/

Is this article helpful?

Shona McCombes

Other students also liked, how to write a dissertation proposal | a step-by-step guide, what is a theoretical framework | a step-by-step guide, what is a research methodology | steps & tips.

• UConn Library
• Literature Review: The What, Why and How-to Guide
• Introduction

Literature Review: The What, Why and How-to Guide — Introduction

• Getting Started
• How to Pick a Topic
• Strategies to Find Sources
• Evaluating Sources & Lit. Reviews
• Tips for Writing Literature Reviews
• Writing Literature Review: Useful Sites
• Citation Resources
• Other Academic Writings

What are Literature Reviews?

So, what is a literature review? "A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers. In writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. As a piece of writing, the literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g., your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries." Taylor, D.  The literature review: A few tips on conducting it . University of Toronto Health Sciences Writing Centre.

Goals of Literature Reviews

What are the goals of creating a Literature Review?  A literature could be written to accomplish different aims:

• To develop a theory or evaluate an existing theory
• To summarize the historical or existing state of a research topic
• Identify a problem in a field of research 

Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1997). Writing narrative literature reviews .  Review of General Psychology , 1 (3), 311-320.

What kinds of sources require a Literature Review?

• A research paper assigned in a course
• A thesis or dissertation
• A grant proposal
• An article intended for publication in a journal

All these instances require you to collect what has been written about your research topic so that you can demonstrate how your own research sheds new light on the topic.

Types of Literature Reviews

What kinds of literature reviews are written?

Narrative review: The purpose of this type of review is to describe the current state of the research on a specific topic/research and to offer a critical analysis of the literature reviewed. Studies are grouped by research/theoretical categories, and themes and trends, strengths and weakness, and gaps are identified. The review ends with a conclusion section which summarizes the findings regarding the state of the research of the specific study, the gaps identify and if applicable, explains how the author's research will address gaps identify in the review and expand the knowledge on the topic reviewed.

• Example : Predictors and Outcomes of U.S. Quality Maternity Leave: A Review and Conceptual Framework:  10.1177/08948453211037398  

Systematic review : "The authors of a systematic review use a specific procedure to search the research literature, select the studies to include in their review, and critically evaluate the studies they find." (p. 139). Nelson, L. K. (2013). Research in Communication Sciences and Disorders . Plural Publishing.

• Example : The effect of leave policies on increasing fertility: a systematic review:  10.1057/s41599-022-01270-w

Meta-analysis : "Meta-analysis is a method of reviewing research findings in a quantitative fashion by transforming the data from individual studies into what is called an effect size and then pooling and analyzing this information. The basic goal in meta-analysis is to explain why different outcomes have occurred in different studies." (p. 197). Roberts, M. C., & Ilardi, S. S. (2003). Handbook of Research Methods in Clinical Psychology . Blackwell Publishing.

• Example : Employment Instability and Fertility in Europe: A Meta-Analysis:  10.1215/00703370-9164737

Meta-synthesis : "Qualitative meta-synthesis is a type of qualitative study that uses as data the findings from other qualitative studies linked by the same or related topic." (p.312). Zimmer, L. (2006). Qualitative meta-synthesis: A question of dialoguing with texts .  Journal of Advanced Nursing , 53 (3), 311-318.

• Example : Women’s perspectives on career successes and barriers: A qualitative meta-synthesis:  10.1177/05390184221113735

Literature Reviews in the Health Sciences

• UConn Health subject guide on systematic reviews Explanation of the different review types used in health sciences literature as well as tools to help you find the right review type
• << Previous: Getting Started
• Next: How to Pick a Topic >>
• Last Updated: Sep 21, 2022 2:16 PM
• URL: https://guides.lib.uconn.edu/literaturereview

• Library databases
• Library website

Library Guide to Capstone Literature Reviews: Role of the Literature Review

The role of the literature review.

Your literature review gives readers an understanding of the scholarly research on your topic.

In your literature review you will:

• demonstrate that you are a well-informed scholar with expertise and knowledge in the field by giving an overview of the current state of the literature
• find a gap in the literature, or address a business or professional issue, depending on your doctoral study program; the literature review will illustrate how your research contributes to the scholarly conversation
• provide a synthesis of the issues, trends, and concepts surrounding your research

Be aware that the literature review is an iterative process. As you read and write initial drafts, you will find new threads and complementary themes, at which point you will return to search, find out about these new themes, and incorporate them into your review.

The purpose of this guide is to help you through the literature review process. Take some time to look over the resources in order to become familiar with them. The tabs on the left side of this page have additional information.

Short video: Research for the Literature Review

Short Video: Research for the Literature Review

(4 min 10 sec) Recorded August 2019 Transcript 

Literature review as a dinner party

To think about the role of the literature review, consider this analogy:  pretend that you throw a dinner party for the other researchers working in your topic area. First, you’d need to develop a guest list.

• The guests of honor would be early researchers or theorists; their work likely inspired subsequent studies, ideas, or controversies that the current researchers pursue.
• Then, think about the important current researchers to invite. Which guests might agree with each other?  Which others might provide useful counterpoints?
• You likely won’t be able to include everyone on the guest list, so you may need to choose carefully so that you don’t leave important figures out. 
• Alternatively, if there aren’t many researchers working in your topic area, then your guest list will need to include people working in other, related areas, who can still contribute to the conversation.

After the party, you describe the evening to a friend. You’ll summarize the evening’s conversation. Perhaps one guest made a comment that sparked a conversation, and then you describe who responded and how the topic evolved. There are other conversations to share, too. This is how you synthesize the themes and developments that you find in your research. Thinking about your literature research this way will help you to present your dinner party (and your literature review) in a lively and engaging way.

Short video: Empirical research

Video: How to locate and identify empirical research for your literature review

(6 min 16 sec) Recorded May 2020 Transcript 

Here are some useful resources from the Writing Center, the Office of Research and Doctoral Services, and other departments within the Office of Academic Support. Take some time to look at what is available to help you with your capstone/dissertation.

• Familiarize yourself with Walden support
• Doctoral Capstone Resources website
• Capstone writing resources
• Office of Student Research Administration
• Office of Research and Doctoral Services
• Visit the Writing Center

You can watch recorded webinars on the literature review in our Library Webinar Archives .

• Next Page: Scope
• Office of Student Disability Services

Walden Resources

Departments.

• Academic Residencies
• Academic Skills
• Career Planning and Development
• Customer Care Team
• Field Experience
• Military Services
• Student Success Advising
• Writing Skills

Centers and Offices

• Center for Social Change
• Office of Academic Support and Instructional Services
• Office of Degree Acceleration
• Office of Student Affairs

Student Resources

• Doctoral Writing Assessment
• Form & Style Review
• Quick Answers
• ScholarWorks
• SKIL Courses and Workshops
• Walden Bookstore
• Walden Catalog & Student Handbook
• Student Safety/Title IX
• Legal & Consumer Information
• Website Terms and Conditions
• Cookie Policy
• Accessibility
• Accreditation
• State Authorization
• Net Price Calculator
• Contact Walden

Walden University is a member of Adtalem Global Education, Inc. www.adtalem.com Walden University is certified to operate by SCHEV © 2024 Walden University LLC. All rights reserved.

• USC Libraries
• Research Guides

Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper

• 5. The Literature Review
• Purpose of Guide
• Design Flaws to Avoid
• Independent and Dependent Variables
• Glossary of Research Terms
• Reading Research Effectively
• Narrowing a Topic Idea
• Broadening a Topic Idea
• Extending the Timeliness of a Topic Idea
• Academic Writing Style
• Applying Critical Thinking
• Choosing a Title
• Making an Outline
• Paragraph Development
• Research Process Video Series
• Executive Summary
• The C.A.R.S. Model
• Background Information
• The Research Problem/Question
• Theoretical Framework
• Citation Tracking
• Content Alert Services
• Evaluating Sources
• Primary Sources
• Secondary Sources
• Tiertiary Sources
• Scholarly vs. Popular Publications
• Qualitative Methods
• Quantitative Methods
• Insiderness
• Using Non-Textual Elements
• Limitations of the Study
• Common Grammar Mistakes
• Writing Concisely
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Footnotes or Endnotes?
• Further Readings
• Generative AI and Writing
• USC Libraries Tutorials and Other Guides
• Bibliography

A literature review surveys prior research published in books, scholarly articles, and any other sources relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, and by so doing, provides a description, summary, and critical evaluation of these works in relation to the research problem being investigated. Literature reviews are designed to provide an overview of sources you have used in researching a particular topic and to demonstrate to your readers how your research fits within existing scholarship about the topic.

Fink, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper . Fourth edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2014.

Importance of a Good Literature Review

A literature review may consist of simply a summary of key sources, but in the social sciences, a literature review usually has an organizational pattern and combines both summary and synthesis, often within specific conceptual categories . A summary is a recap of the important information of the source, but a synthesis is a re-organization, or a reshuffling, of that information in a way that informs how you are planning to investigate a research problem. The analytical features of a literature review might:

• Give a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations,
• Trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates,
• Depending on the situation, evaluate the sources and advise the reader on the most pertinent or relevant research, or
• Usually in the conclusion of a literature review, identify where gaps exist in how a problem has been researched to date.

Given this, the purpose of a literature review is to:

• Place each work in the context of its contribution to understanding the research problem being studied.
• Describe the relationship of each work to the others under consideration.
• Identify new ways to interpret prior research.
• Reveal any gaps that exist in the literature.
• Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies.
• Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of effort.
• Point the way in fulfilling a need for additional research.
• Locate your own research within the context of existing literature [very important].

Fink, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2005; Hart, Chris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998; Jesson, Jill. Doing Your Literature Review: Traditional and Systematic Techniques . Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2011; Knopf, Jeffrey W. "Doing a Literature Review." PS: Political Science and Politics 39 (January 2006): 127-132; Ridley, Diana. The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for Students . 2nd ed. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2012.

Types of Literature Reviews

It is important to think of knowledge in a given field as consisting of three layers. First, there are the primary studies that researchers conduct and publish. Second are the reviews of those studies that summarize and offer new interpretations built from and often extending beyond the primary studies. Third, there are the perceptions, conclusions, opinion, and interpretations that are shared informally among scholars that become part of the body of epistemological traditions within the field.

In composing a literature review, it is important to note that it is often this third layer of knowledge that is cited as "true" even though it often has only a loose relationship to the primary studies and secondary literature reviews. Given this, while literature reviews are designed to provide an overview and synthesis of pertinent sources you have explored, there are a number of approaches you could adopt depending upon the type of analysis underpinning your study.

Argumentative Review This form examines literature selectively in order to support or refute an argument, deeply embedded assumption, or philosophical problem already established in the literature. The purpose is to develop a body of literature that establishes a contrarian viewpoint. Given the value-laden nature of some social science research [e.g., educational reform; immigration control], argumentative approaches to analyzing the literature can be a legitimate and important form of discourse. However, note that they can also introduce problems of bias when they are used to make summary claims of the sort found in systematic reviews [see below].

Integrative Review Considered a form of research that reviews, critiques, and synthesizes representative literature on a topic in an integrated way such that new frameworks and perspectives on the topic are generated. The body of literature includes all studies that address related or identical hypotheses or research problems. A well-done integrative review meets the same standards as primary research in regard to clarity, rigor, and replication. This is the most common form of review in the social sciences.

Historical Review Few things rest in isolation from historical precedent. Historical literature reviews focus on examining research throughout a period of time, often starting with the first time an issue, concept, theory, phenomena emerged in the literature, then tracing its evolution within the scholarship of a discipline. The purpose is to place research in a historical context to show familiarity with state-of-the-art developments and to identify the likely directions for future research.

Methodological Review A review does not always focus on what someone said [findings], but how they came about saying what they say [method of analysis]. Reviewing methods of analysis provides a framework of understanding at different levels [i.e. those of theory, substantive fields, research approaches, and data collection and analysis techniques], how researchers draw upon a wide variety of knowledge ranging from the conceptual level to practical documents for use in fieldwork in the areas of ontological and epistemological consideration, quantitative and qualitative integration, sampling, interviewing, data collection, and data analysis. This approach helps highlight ethical issues which you should be aware of and consider as you go through your own study.

Systematic Review This form consists of an overview of existing evidence pertinent to a clearly formulated research question, which uses pre-specified and standardized methods to identify and critically appraise relevant research, and to collect, report, and analyze data from the studies that are included in the review. The goal is to deliberately document, critically evaluate, and summarize scientifically all of the research about a clearly defined research problem . Typically it focuses on a very specific empirical question, often posed in a cause-and-effect form, such as "To what extent does A contribute to B?" This type of literature review is primarily applied to examining prior research studies in clinical medicine and allied health fields, but it is increasingly being used in the social sciences.

Theoretical Review The purpose of this form is to examine the corpus of theory that has accumulated in regard to an issue, concept, theory, phenomena. The theoretical literature review helps to establish what theories already exist, the relationships between them, to what degree the existing theories have been investigated, and to develop new hypotheses to be tested. Often this form is used to help establish a lack of appropriate theories or reveal that current theories are inadequate for explaining new or emerging research problems. The unit of analysis can focus on a theoretical concept or a whole theory or framework.

NOTE : Most often the literature review will incorporate some combination of types. For example, a review that examines literature supporting or refuting an argument, assumption, or philosophical problem related to the research problem will also need to include writing supported by sources that establish the history of these arguments in the literature.

Baumeister, Roy F. and Mark R. Leary. "Writing Narrative Literature Reviews."  Review of General Psychology 1 (September 1997): 311-320; Mark R. Fink, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper . 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2005; Hart, Chris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998; Kennedy, Mary M. "Defining a Literature." Educational Researcher 36 (April 2007): 139-147; Petticrew, Mark and Helen Roberts. Systematic Reviews in the Social Sciences: A Practical Guide . Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 2006; Torracro, Richard. "Writing Integrative Literature Reviews: Guidelines and Examples." Human Resource Development Review 4 (September 2005): 356-367; Rocco, Tonette S. and Maria S. Plakhotnik. "Literature Reviews, Conceptual Frameworks, and Theoretical Frameworks: Terms, Functions, and Distinctions." Human Ressource Development Review 8 (March 2008): 120-130; Sutton, Anthea. Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review . Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, 2016.

Structure and Writing Style

I.  Thinking About Your Literature Review

The structure of a literature review should include the following in support of understanding the research problem :

• An overview of the subject, issue, or theory under consideration, along with the objectives of the literature review,
• Division of works under review into themes or categories [e.g. works that support a particular position, those against, and those offering alternative approaches entirely],
• An explanation of how each work is similar to and how it varies from the others,
• Conclusions as to which pieces are best considered in their argument, are most convincing of their opinions, and make the greatest contribution to the understanding and development of their area of research.

The critical evaluation of each work should consider :

• Provenance -- what are the author's credentials? Are the author's arguments supported by evidence [e.g. primary historical material, case studies, narratives, statistics, recent scientific findings]?
• Methodology -- were the techniques used to identify, gather, and analyze the data appropriate to addressing the research problem? Was the sample size appropriate? Were the results effectively interpreted and reported?
• Objectivity -- is the author's perspective even-handed or prejudicial? Is contrary data considered or is certain pertinent information ignored to prove the author's point?
• Persuasiveness -- which of the author's theses are most convincing or least convincing?
• Validity -- are the author's arguments and conclusions convincing? Does the work ultimately contribute in any significant way to an understanding of the subject?

II.  Development of the Literature Review

Four Basic Stages of Writing 1.  Problem formulation -- which topic or field is being examined and what are its component issues? 2.  Literature search -- finding materials relevant to the subject being explored. 3.  Data evaluation -- determining which literature makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the topic. 4.  Analysis and interpretation -- discussing the findings and conclusions of pertinent literature.

Consider the following issues before writing the literature review: Clarify If your assignment is not specific about what form your literature review should take, seek clarification from your professor by asking these questions: 1.  Roughly how many sources would be appropriate to include? 2.  What types of sources should I review (books, journal articles, websites; scholarly versus popular sources)? 3.  Should I summarize, synthesize, or critique sources by discussing a common theme or issue? 4.  Should I evaluate the sources in any way beyond evaluating how they relate to understanding the research problem? 5.  Should I provide subheadings and other background information, such as definitions and/or a history? Find Models Use the exercise of reviewing the literature to examine how authors in your discipline or area of interest have composed their literature review sections. Read them to get a sense of the types of themes you might want to look for in your own research or to identify ways to organize your final review. The bibliography or reference section of sources you've already read, such as required readings in the course syllabus, are also excellent entry points into your own research. Narrow the Topic The narrower your topic, the easier it will be to limit the number of sources you need to read in order to obtain a good survey of relevant resources. Your professor will probably not expect you to read everything that's available about the topic, but you'll make the act of reviewing easier if you first limit scope of the research problem. A good strategy is to begin by searching the USC Libraries Catalog for recent books about the topic and review the table of contents for chapters that focuses on specific issues. You can also review the indexes of books to find references to specific issues that can serve as the focus of your research. For example, a book surveying the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict may include a chapter on the role Egypt has played in mediating the conflict, or look in the index for the pages where Egypt is mentioned in the text. Consider Whether Your Sources are Current Some disciplines require that you use information that is as current as possible. This is particularly true in disciplines in medicine and the sciences where research conducted becomes obsolete very quickly as new discoveries are made. However, when writing a review in the social sciences, a survey of the history of the literature may be required. In other words, a complete understanding the research problem requires you to deliberately examine how knowledge and perspectives have changed over time. Sort through other current bibliographies or literature reviews in the field to get a sense of what your discipline expects. You can also use this method to explore what is considered by scholars to be a "hot topic" and what is not.

III.  Ways to Organize Your Literature Review

Chronology of Events If your review follows the chronological method, you could write about the materials according to when they were published. This approach should only be followed if a clear path of research building on previous research can be identified and that these trends follow a clear chronological order of development. For example, a literature review that focuses on continuing research about the emergence of German economic power after the fall of the Soviet Union. By Publication Order your sources by publication chronology, then, only if the order demonstrates a more important trend. For instance, you could order a review of literature on environmental studies of brown fields if the progression revealed, for example, a change in the soil collection practices of the researchers who wrote and/or conducted the studies. Thematic [“conceptual categories”] A thematic literature review is the most common approach to summarizing prior research in the social and behavioral sciences. Thematic reviews are organized around a topic or issue, rather than the progression of time, although the progression of time may still be incorporated into a thematic review. For example, a review of the Internet’s impact on American presidential politics could focus on the development of online political satire. While the study focuses on one topic, the Internet’s impact on American presidential politics, it would still be organized chronologically reflecting technological developments in media. The difference in this example between a "chronological" and a "thematic" approach is what is emphasized the most: themes related to the role of the Internet in presidential politics. Note that more authentic thematic reviews tend to break away from chronological order. A review organized in this manner would shift between time periods within each section according to the point being made. Methodological A methodological approach focuses on the methods utilized by the researcher. For the Internet in American presidential politics project, one methodological approach would be to look at cultural differences between the portrayal of American presidents on American, British, and French websites. Or the review might focus on the fundraising impact of the Internet on a particular political party. A methodological scope will influence either the types of documents in the review or the way in which these documents are discussed.

Other Sections of Your Literature Review Once you've decided on the organizational method for your literature review, the sections you need to include in the paper should be easy to figure out because they arise from your organizational strategy. In other words, a chronological review would have subsections for each vital time period; a thematic review would have subtopics based upon factors that relate to the theme or issue. However, sometimes you may need to add additional sections that are necessary for your study, but do not fit in the organizational strategy of the body. What other sections you include in the body is up to you. However, only include what is necessary for the reader to locate your study within the larger scholarship about the research problem.

Here are examples of other sections, usually in the form of a single paragraph, you may need to include depending on the type of review you write:

• Current Situation : Information necessary to understand the current topic or focus of the literature review.
• Sources Used : Describes the methods and resources [e.g., databases] you used to identify the literature you reviewed.
• History : The chronological progression of the field, the research literature, or an idea that is necessary to understand the literature review, if the body of the literature review is not already a chronology.
• Selection Methods : Criteria you used to select (and perhaps exclude) sources in your literature review. For instance, you might explain that your review includes only peer-reviewed [i.e., scholarly] sources.
• Standards : Description of the way in which you present your information.
• Questions for Further Research : What questions about the field has the review sparked? How will you further your research as a result of the review?

IV.  Writing Your Literature Review

Once you've settled on how to organize your literature review, you're ready to write each section. When writing your review, keep in mind these issues.

Use Evidence A literature review section is, in this sense, just like any other academic research paper. Your interpretation of the available sources must be backed up with evidence [citations] that demonstrates that what you are saying is valid. Be Selective Select only the most important points in each source to highlight in the review. The type of information you choose to mention should relate directly to the research problem, whether it is thematic, methodological, or chronological. Related items that provide additional information, but that are not key to understanding the research problem, can be included in a list of further readings . Use Quotes Sparingly Some short quotes are appropriate if you want to emphasize a point, or if what an author stated cannot be easily paraphrased. Sometimes you may need to quote certain terminology that was coined by the author, is not common knowledge, or taken directly from the study. Do not use extensive quotes as a substitute for using your own words in reviewing the literature. Summarize and Synthesize Remember to summarize and synthesize your sources within each thematic paragraph as well as throughout the review. Recapitulate important features of a research study, but then synthesize it by rephrasing the study's significance and relating it to your own work and the work of others. Keep Your Own Voice While the literature review presents others' ideas, your voice [the writer's] should remain front and center. For example, weave references to other sources into what you are writing but maintain your own voice by starting and ending the paragraph with your own ideas and wording. Use Caution When Paraphrasing When paraphrasing a source that is not your own, be sure to represent the author's information or opinions accurately and in your own words. Even when paraphrasing an author’s work, you still must provide a citation to that work.

V.  Common Mistakes to Avoid

These are the most common mistakes made in reviewing social science research literature.

• Sources in your literature review do not clearly relate to the research problem;
• You do not take sufficient time to define and identify the most relevant sources to use in the literature review related to the research problem;
• Relies exclusively on secondary analytical sources rather than including relevant primary research studies or data;
• Uncritically accepts another researcher's findings and interpretations as valid, rather than examining critically all aspects of the research design and analysis;
• Does not describe the search procedures that were used in identifying the literature to review;
• Reports isolated statistical results rather than synthesizing them in chi-squared or meta-analytic methods; and,
• Only includes research that validates assumptions and does not consider contrary findings and alternative interpretations found in the literature.

Cook, Kathleen E. and Elise Murowchick. “Do Literature Review Skills Transfer from One Course to Another?” Psychology Learning and Teaching 13 (March 2014): 3-11; Fink, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper . 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2005; Hart, Chris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998; Jesson, Jill. Doing Your Literature Review: Traditional and Systematic Techniques . London: SAGE, 2011; Literature Review Handout. Online Writing Center. Liberty University; Literature Reviews. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J. and Rebecca Frels. Seven Steps to a Comprehensive Literature Review: A Multimodal and Cultural Approach . Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2016; Ridley, Diana. The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for Students . 2nd ed. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE, 2012; Randolph, Justus J. “A Guide to Writing the Dissertation Literature Review." Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation. vol. 14, June 2009; Sutton, Anthea. Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review . Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, 2016; Taylor, Dena. The Literature Review: A Few Tips On Conducting It. University College Writing Centre. University of Toronto; Writing a Literature Review. Academic Skills Centre. University of Canberra.

Writing Tip

Break Out of Your Disciplinary Box!

Thinking interdisciplinarily about a research problem can be a rewarding exercise in applying new ideas, theories, or concepts to an old problem. For example, what might cultural anthropologists say about the continuing conflict in the Middle East? In what ways might geographers view the need for better distribution of social service agencies in large cities than how social workers might study the issue? You don’t want to substitute a thorough review of core research literature in your discipline for studies conducted in other fields of study. However, particularly in the social sciences, thinking about research problems from multiple vectors is a key strategy for finding new solutions to a problem or gaining a new perspective. Consult with a librarian about identifying research databases in other disciplines; almost every field of study has at least one comprehensive database devoted to indexing its research literature.

Frodeman, Robert. The Oxford Handbook of Interdisciplinarity . New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.

Another Writing Tip

Don't Just Review for Content!

While conducting a review of the literature, maximize the time you devote to writing this part of your paper by thinking broadly about what you should be looking for and evaluating. Review not just what scholars are saying, but how are they saying it. Some questions to ask:

• How are they organizing their ideas?
• What methods have they used to study the problem?
• What theories have been used to explain, predict, or understand their research problem?
• What sources have they cited to support their conclusions?
• How have they used non-textual elements [e.g., charts, graphs, figures, etc.] to illustrate key points?

When you begin to write your literature review section, you'll be glad you dug deeper into how the research was designed and constructed because it establishes a means for developing more substantial analysis and interpretation of the research problem.

Hart, Chris. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science Research Imagination . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1 998.

Yet Another Writing Tip

When Do I Know I Can Stop Looking and Move On?

Here are several strategies you can utilize to assess whether you've thoroughly reviewed the literature:

• Look for repeating patterns in the research findings . If the same thing is being said, just by different people, then this likely demonstrates that the research problem has hit a conceptual dead end. At this point consider: Does your study extend current research?  Does it forge a new path? Or, does is merely add more of the same thing being said?
• Look at sources the authors cite to in their work . If you begin to see the same researchers cited again and again, then this is often an indication that no new ideas have been generated to address the research problem.
• Search Google Scholar to identify who has subsequently cited leading scholars already identified in your literature review [see next sub-tab]. This is called citation tracking and there are a number of sources that can help you identify who has cited whom, particularly scholars from outside of your discipline. Here again, if the same authors are being cited again and again, this may indicate no new literature has been written on the topic.

Onwuegbuzie, Anthony J. and Rebecca Frels. Seven Steps to a Comprehensive Literature Review: A Multimodal and Cultural Approach . Los Angeles, CA: Sage, 2016; Sutton, Anthea. Systematic Approaches to a Successful Literature Review . Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, 2016.

• << Previous: Theoretical Framework
• Next: Citation Tracking >>
• Last Updated: Apr 24, 2024 10:51 AM
• URL: https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide

Get science-backed answers as you write with Paperpal's Research feature

What is a Literature Review? How to Write It (with Examples)

A literature review is a critical analysis and synthesis of existing research on a particular topic. It provides an overview of the current state of knowledge, identifies gaps, and highlights key findings in the literature. 1 The purpose of a literature review is to situate your own research within the context of existing scholarship, demonstrating your understanding of the topic and showing how your work contributes to the ongoing conversation in the field. Learning how to write a literature review is a critical tool for successful research. Your ability to summarize and synthesize prior research pertaining to a certain topic demonstrates your grasp on the topic of study, and assists in the learning process. 

Table of Contents

• What is the purpose of literature review? 
• a. Habitat Loss and Species Extinction: 
• b. Range Shifts and Phenological Changes: 
• c. Ocean Acidification and Coral Reefs: 
• d. Adaptive Strategies and Conservation Efforts: 
• How to write a good literature review 
• Choose a Topic and Define the Research Question: 
• Decide on the Scope of Your Review: 
• Select Databases for Searches: 
• Conduct Searches and Keep Track: 
• Review the Literature: 
• Organize and Write Your Literature Review: 
• Frequently asked questions 

What is a literature review?

A well-conducted literature review demonstrates the researcher’s familiarity with the existing literature, establishes the context for their own research, and contributes to scholarly conversations on the topic. One of the purposes of a literature review is also to help researchers avoid duplicating previous work and ensure that their research is informed by and builds upon the existing body of knowledge.

What is the purpose of literature review?

A literature review serves several important purposes within academic and research contexts. Here are some key objectives and functions of a literature review: 2  

• Contextualizing the Research Problem: The literature review provides a background and context for the research problem under investigation. It helps to situate the study within the existing body of knowledge. 
• Identifying Gaps in Knowledge: By identifying gaps, contradictions, or areas requiring further research, the researcher can shape the research question and justify the significance of the study. This is crucial for ensuring that the new research contributes something novel to the field. 
• Understanding Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks: Literature reviews help researchers gain an understanding of the theoretical and conceptual frameworks used in previous studies. This aids in the development of a theoretical framework for the current research. 
• Providing Methodological Insights: Another purpose of literature reviews is that it allows researchers to learn about the methodologies employed in previous studies. This can help in choosing appropriate research methods for the current study and avoiding pitfalls that others may have encountered. 
• Establishing Credibility: A well-conducted literature review demonstrates the researcher’s familiarity with existing scholarship, establishing their credibility and expertise in the field. It also helps in building a solid foundation for the new research. 
• Informing Hypotheses or Research Questions: The literature review guides the formulation of hypotheses or research questions by highlighting relevant findings and areas of uncertainty in existing literature. 

Literature review example

Let’s delve deeper with a literature review example: Let’s say your literature review is about the impact of climate change on biodiversity. You might format your literature review into sections such as the effects of climate change on habitat loss and species extinction, phenological changes, and marine biodiversity. Each section would then summarize and analyze relevant studies in those areas, highlighting key findings and identifying gaps in the research. The review would conclude by emphasizing the need for further research on specific aspects of the relationship between climate change and biodiversity. The following literature review template provides a glimpse into the recommended literature review structure and content, demonstrating how research findings are organized around specific themes within a broader topic. 

Literature Review on Climate Change Impacts on Biodiversity:

Climate change is a global phenomenon with far-reaching consequences, including significant impacts on biodiversity. This literature review synthesizes key findings from various studies: 

a. Habitat Loss and Species Extinction:

Climate change-induced alterations in temperature and precipitation patterns contribute to habitat loss, affecting numerous species (Thomas et al., 2004). The review discusses how these changes increase the risk of extinction, particularly for species with specific habitat requirements. 

b. Range Shifts and Phenological Changes:

Observations of range shifts and changes in the timing of biological events (phenology) are documented in response to changing climatic conditions (Parmesan & Yohe, 2003). These shifts affect ecosystems and may lead to mismatches between species and their resources. 

c. Ocean Acidification and Coral Reefs:

The review explores the impact of climate change on marine biodiversity, emphasizing ocean acidification’s threat to coral reefs (Hoegh-Guldberg et al., 2007). Changes in pH levels negatively affect coral calcification, disrupting the delicate balance of marine ecosystems. 

d. Adaptive Strategies and Conservation Efforts:

Recognizing the urgency of the situation, the literature review discusses various adaptive strategies adopted by species and conservation efforts aimed at mitigating the impacts of climate change on biodiversity (Hannah et al., 2007). It emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary approaches for effective conservation planning. 

How to write a good literature review

Writing a literature review involves summarizing and synthesizing existing research on a particular topic. A good literature review format should include the following elements. 

Introduction: The introduction sets the stage for your literature review, providing context and introducing the main focus of your review. 

• Opening Statement: Begin with a general statement about the broader topic and its significance in the field. 
• Scope and Purpose: Clearly define the scope of your literature review. Explain the specific research question or objective you aim to address. 
• Organizational Framework: Briefly outline the structure of your literature review, indicating how you will categorize and discuss the existing research. 
• Significance of the Study: Highlight why your literature review is important and how it contributes to the understanding of the chosen topic. 
• Thesis Statement: Conclude the introduction with a concise thesis statement that outlines the main argument or perspective you will develop in the body of the literature review. 

Body: The body of the literature review is where you provide a comprehensive analysis of existing literature, grouping studies based on themes, methodologies, or other relevant criteria. 

• Organize by Theme or Concept: Group studies that share common themes, concepts, or methodologies. Discuss each theme or concept in detail, summarizing key findings and identifying gaps or areas of disagreement. 
• Critical Analysis: Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each study. Discuss the methodologies used, the quality of evidence, and the overall contribution of each work to the understanding of the topic. 
• Synthesis of Findings: Synthesize the information from different studies to highlight trends, patterns, or areas of consensus in the literature. 
• Identification of Gaps: Discuss any gaps or limitations in the existing research and explain how your review contributes to filling these gaps. 
• Transition between Sections: Provide smooth transitions between different themes or concepts to maintain the flow of your literature review. 

Conclusion: The conclusion of your literature review should summarize the main findings, highlight the contributions of the review, and suggest avenues for future research. 

• Summary of Key Findings: Recap the main findings from the literature and restate how they contribute to your research question or objective. 
• Contributions to the Field: Discuss the overall contribution of your literature review to the existing knowledge in the field. 
• Implications and Applications: Explore the practical implications of the findings and suggest how they might impact future research or practice. 
• Recommendations for Future Research: Identify areas that require further investigation and propose potential directions for future research in the field. 
• Final Thoughts: Conclude with a final reflection on the importance of your literature review and its relevance to the broader academic community. 

Conducting a literature review

Conducting a literature review is an essential step in research that involves reviewing and analyzing existing literature on a specific topic. It’s important to know how to do a literature review effectively, so here are the steps to follow: 1  

Choose a Topic and Define the Research Question:

• Select a topic that is relevant to your field of study. 
• Clearly define your research question or objective. Determine what specific aspect of the topic do you want to explore? 

Decide on the Scope of Your Review:

• Determine the timeframe for your literature review. Are you focusing on recent developments, or do you want a historical overview? 
• Consider the geographical scope. Is your review global, or are you focusing on a specific region? 
• Define the inclusion and exclusion criteria. What types of sources will you include? Are there specific types of studies or publications you will exclude? 

Select Databases for Searches:

• Identify relevant databases for your field. Examples include PubMed, IEEE Xplore, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. 
• Consider searching in library catalogs, institutional repositories, and specialized databases related to your topic. 

Conduct Searches and Keep Track:

• Develop a systematic search strategy using keywords, Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT), and other search techniques. 
• Record and document your search strategy for transparency and replicability. 
• Keep track of the articles, including publication details, abstracts, and links. Use citation management tools like EndNote, Zotero, or Mendeley to organize your references. 

Review the Literature:

• Evaluate the relevance and quality of each source. Consider the methodology, sample size, and results of studies. 
• Organize the literature by themes or key concepts. Identify patterns, trends, and gaps in the existing research. 
• Summarize key findings and arguments from each source. Compare and contrast different perspectives. 
• Identify areas where there is a consensus in the literature and where there are conflicting opinions. 
• Provide critical analysis and synthesis of the literature. What are the strengths and weaknesses of existing research? 

Organize and Write Your Literature Review:

• Literature review outline should be based on themes, chronological order, or methodological approaches. 
• Write a clear and coherent narrative that synthesizes the information gathered. 
• Use proper citations for each source and ensure consistency in your citation style (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.). 
• Conclude your literature review by summarizing key findings, identifying gaps, and suggesting areas for future research. 

The literature review sample and detailed advice on writing and conducting a review will help you produce a well-structured report. But remember that a literature review is an ongoing process, and it may be necessary to revisit and update it as your research progresses. 

Frequently asked questions

A literature review is a critical and comprehensive analysis of existing literature (published and unpublished works) on a specific topic or research question and provides a synthesis of the current state of knowledge in a particular field. A well-conducted literature review is crucial for researchers to build upon existing knowledge, avoid duplication of efforts, and contribute to the advancement of their field. It also helps researchers situate their work within a broader context and facilitates the development of a sound theoretical and conceptual framework for their studies.

Literature review is a crucial component of research writing, providing a solid background for a research paper’s investigation. The aim is to keep professionals up to date by providing an understanding of ongoing developments within a specific field, including research methods, and experimental techniques used in that field, and present that knowledge in the form of a written report. Also, the depth and breadth of the literature review emphasizes the credibility of the scholar in his or her field.  

Before writing a literature review, it’s essential to undertake several preparatory steps to ensure that your review is well-researched, organized, and focused. This includes choosing a topic of general interest to you and doing exploratory research on that topic, writing an annotated bibliography, and noting major points, especially those that relate to the position you have taken on the topic. 

Literature reviews and academic research papers are essential components of scholarly work but serve different purposes within the academic realm. 3 A literature review aims to provide a foundation for understanding the current state of research on a particular topic, identify gaps or controversies, and lay the groundwork for future research. Therefore, it draws heavily from existing academic sources, including books, journal articles, and other scholarly publications. In contrast, an academic research paper aims to present new knowledge, contribute to the academic discourse, and advance the understanding of a specific research question. Therefore, it involves a mix of existing literature (in the introduction and literature review sections) and original data or findings obtained through research methods. 

Literature reviews are essential components of academic and research papers, and various strategies can be employed to conduct them effectively. If you want to know how to write a literature review for a research paper, here are four common approaches that are often used by researchers.  Chronological Review: This strategy involves organizing the literature based on the chronological order of publication. It helps to trace the development of a topic over time, showing how ideas, theories, and research have evolved.  Thematic Review: Thematic reviews focus on identifying and analyzing themes or topics that cut across different studies. Instead of organizing the literature chronologically, it is grouped by key themes or concepts, allowing for a comprehensive exploration of various aspects of the topic.  Methodological Review: This strategy involves organizing the literature based on the research methods employed in different studies. It helps to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of various methodologies and allows the reader to evaluate the reliability and validity of the research findings.  Theoretical Review: A theoretical review examines the literature based on the theoretical frameworks used in different studies. This approach helps to identify the key theories that have been applied to the topic and assess their contributions to the understanding of the subject.  It’s important to note that these strategies are not mutually exclusive, and a literature review may combine elements of more than one approach. The choice of strategy depends on the research question, the nature of the literature available, and the goals of the review. Additionally, other strategies, such as integrative reviews or systematic reviews, may be employed depending on the specific requirements of the research.

The literature review format can vary depending on the specific publication guidelines. However, there are some common elements and structures that are often followed. Here is a general guideline for the format of a literature review:  Introduction:   Provide an overview of the topic.  Define the scope and purpose of the literature review.  State the research question or objective.  Body:   Organize the literature by themes, concepts, or chronology.  Critically analyze and evaluate each source.  Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the studies.  Highlight any methodological limitations or biases.  Identify patterns, connections, or contradictions in the existing research.  Conclusion:   Summarize the key points discussed in the literature review.  Highlight the research gap.  Address the research question or objective stated in the introduction.  Highlight the contributions of the review and suggest directions for future research.

Both annotated bibliographies and literature reviews involve the examination of scholarly sources. While annotated bibliographies focus on individual sources with brief annotations, literature reviews provide a more in-depth, integrated, and comprehensive analysis of existing literature on a specific topic. The key differences are as follows: 

References 

• Denney, A. S., & Tewksbury, R. (2013). How to write a literature review.  Journal of criminal justice education ,  24 (2), 218-234. 
• Pan, M. L. (2016).  Preparing literature reviews: Qualitative and quantitative approaches . Taylor & Francis. 
• Cantero, C. (2019). How to write a literature review.  San José State University Writing Center . 

Paperpal is an AI writing assistant that help academics write better, faster with real-time suggestions for in-depth language and grammar correction. Trained on millions of research manuscripts enhanced by professional academic editors, Paperpal delivers human precision at machine speed.  

Try it for free or upgrade to  Paperpal Prime , which unlocks unlimited access to premium features like academic translation, paraphrasing, contextual synonyms, consistency checks and more. It’s like always having a professional academic editor by your side! Go beyond limitations and experience the future of academic writing.  Get Paperpal Prime now at just US$19 a month!

Related Reads:

• Empirical Research: A Comprehensive Guide for Academics 
• How to Write a Scientific Paper in 10 Steps 
• Life Sciences Papers: 9 Tips for Authors Writing in Biological Sciences
• What is an Argumentative Essay? How to Write It (With Examples)

6 Tips for Post-Doc Researchers to Take Their Career to the Next Level

Self-plagiarism in research: what it is and how to avoid it, you may also like, measuring academic success: definition & strategies for excellence, what is academic writing: tips for students, why traditional editorial process needs an upgrade, paperpal’s new ai research finder empowers authors to..., what is hedging in academic writing  , how to use ai to enhance your college..., ai + human expertise – a paradigm shift..., how to use paperpal to generate emails &..., ai in education: it’s time to change the..., is it ethical to use ai-generated abstracts without....

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

The objective of a literature review

Questions to Consider

B. In some fields or contexts, a literature review is referred to as the introduction or the background; why is this true, and does it matter?

The elements of a literature review • The first step in scholarly research is determining the “state of the art” on a topic. This is accomplished by gathering academic research and making sense of it. • The academic literature can be found in scholarly books and journals; the goal is to discover recurring themes, find the latest data, and identify any missing pieces. • The resulting literature review organizes the research in such a way that tells a story about the topic or issue.

The literature review tells a story in which one well-paraphrased summary from a relevant source contributes to and connects with the next in a logical manner, developing and fulfilling the message of the author. It includes analysis of the arguments from the literature, as well as revealing consistent and inconsistent findings. How do varying author insights differ from or conform to previous arguments?

Language in Action

A. How are the terms “critique” and “review” used in everyday life? How are they used in an academic context?

In terms of content, a literature review is intended to:

• Set up a theoretical framework for further research • Show a clear understanding of the key concepts/studies/models related to the topic • Demonstrate knowledge about the history of the research area and any related controversies • Clarify significant definitions and terminology • Develop a space in the existing work for new research

The literature consists of the published works that document a scholarly conversation or progression on a problem or topic in a field of study. Among these are documents that explain the background and show the loose ends in the established research on which a proposed project is based. Although a literature review focuses on primary, peer -reviewed resources, it may begin with background subject information generally found in secondary and tertiary sources such as books and encyclopedias. Following that essential overview, the seminal literature of the field is explored. As a result, while a literature review may consist of research articles tightly focused on a topic with secondary and tertiary sources used more sparingly, all three types of information (primary, secondary, tertiary) are critical.

The literature review, often referred to as the Background or Introduction to a research paper that presents methods, materials, results and discussion, exists in every field and serves many functions in research writing.

Adapted from Frederiksen, L., & Phelps, S. F. (2017). Literature Reviews for Education and Nursing Graduate Students. Open Textbook Library

Review and Reinforce

Two common approaches are simply outlined here. Which seems more common? Which more productive? Why? A. Forward exploration 1. Sources on a topic or problem are gathered. 2. Salient themes are discovered. 3. Research gaps are considered for future research. B. Backward exploration 1. Sources pertaining to an existing research project are gathered. 2. The justification of the research project’s methods or materials are explained and supported based on previously documented research.

Media Attributions

• 2589960988_3eeca91ba4_o © Untitled blue is licensed under a CC BY (Attribution) license

Sourcing, summarizing, and synthesizing:  Skills for effective research writing  Copyright © 2023 by Wendy L. McBride is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

Literature Review: Purpose of a Literature Review

• Literature Review
• Purpose of a Literature Review
• Work in Progress
• Compiling & Writing
• Books, Articles, & Web Pages
• Types of Literature Reviews
• Departmental Differences
• Citation Styles & Plagiarism
• Know the Difference! Systematic Review vs. Literature Review

The purpose of a literature review is to:

• Provide a foundation of knowledge on a topic
• Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication and give credit to other researchers
• Identify inconstancies: gaps in research, conflicts in previous studies, open questions left from other research
• Identify the need for additional research (justifying your research)
• Identify the relationship of works in the context of their contribution to the topic and other works
• Place your own research within the context of existing literature, making a case for why further study is needed.

Videos & Tutorials

VIDEO: What is the role of a literature review in research? What's it mean to "review" the literature? Get the big picture of what to expect as part of the process. This video is published under a Creative Commons 3.0 BY-NC-SA US license. License, credits, and contact information can be found here: https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/tutorials/litreview/

Elements in a Literature Review

• Elements in a Literature Review txt of infographic
• << Previous: Literature Review
• Next: Searching >>
• Last Updated: Oct 19, 2023 12:07 PM
• URL: https://uscupstate.libguides.com/Literature_Review

• Library Homepage

Literature Review: The What, Why and How-to Guide: Literature Reviews?

• Literature Reviews?
• Strategies to Finding Sources
• Keeping up with Research!
• Evaluating Sources & Literature Reviews
• Organizing for Writing
• Writing Literature Review
• Other Academic Writings

What is a Literature Review?

So, what is a literature review .

"A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers. In writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. As a piece of writing, the literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g., your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list of the material available or a set of summaries." - Quote from Taylor, D. (n.d)."The Literature Review: A Few Tips on Conducting it".

• Citation: "The Literature Review: A Few Tips on Conducting it"

What kinds of literature reviews are written?

Each field has a particular way to do reviews for academic research literature. In the social sciences and humanities the most common are:

• Narrative Reviews: The purpose of this type of review is to describe the current state of the research on a specific research topic and to offer a critical analysis of the literature reviewed. Studies are grouped by research/theoretical categories, and themes and trends, strengths and weaknesses, and gaps are identified. The review ends with a conclusion section that summarizes the findings regarding the state of the research of the specific study, the gaps identify and if applicable, explains how the author's research will address gaps identify in the review and expand the knowledge on the topic reviewed.
• Book review essays/ Historiographical review essays : A type of literature review typical in History and related fields, e.g., Latin American studies. For example, the Latin American Research Review explains that the purpose of this type of review is to “(1) to familiarize readers with the subject, approach, arguments, and conclusions found in a group of books whose common focus is a historical period; a country or region within Latin America; or a practice, development, or issue of interest to specialists and others; (2) to locate these books within current scholarship, critical methodologies, and approaches; and (3) to probe the relation of these new books to previous work on the subject, especially canonical texts. Unlike individual book reviews, the cluster reviews found in LARR seek to address the state of the field or discipline and not solely the works at issue.” - LARR

What are the Goals of Creating a Literature Review?

• To develop a theory or evaluate an existing theory
• To summarize the historical or existing state of a research topic
• Identify a problem in a field of research 
• Baumeister, R.F. & Leary, M.R. (1997). "Writing narrative literature reviews," Review of General Psychology , 1(3), 311-320.

When do you need to write a Literature Review?

• When writing a prospectus or a thesis/dissertation
• When writing a research paper
• When writing a grant proposal

In all these cases you need to dedicate a chapter in these works to showcase what has been written about your research topic and to point out how your own research will shed new light into a body of scholarship.

Where I can find examples of Literature Reviews?

Note:  In the humanities, even if they don't use the term "literature review", they may have a dedicated  chapter that reviewed the "critical bibliography" or they incorporated that review in the introduction or first chapter of the dissertation, book, or article.

• UCSB electronic theses and dissertations In partnership with the Graduate Division, the UC Santa Barbara Library is making available theses and dissertations produced by UCSB students. Currently included in ADRL are theses and dissertations that were originally filed electronically, starting in 2011. In future phases of ADRL, all theses and dissertations created by UCSB students may be digitized and made available.

Where to Find Standalone Literature Reviews

Literature reviews are also written as standalone articles as a way to survey a particular research topic in-depth. This type of literature review looks at a topic from a historical perspective to see how the understanding of the topic has changed over time. 

• Find e-Journals for Standalone Literature Reviews The best way to get familiar with and to learn how to write literature reviews is by reading them. You can use our Journal Search option to find journals that specialize in publishing literature reviews from major disciplines like anthropology, sociology, etc. Usually these titles are called, "Annual Review of [discipline name] OR [Discipline name] Review. This option works best if you know the title of the publication you are looking for. Below are some examples of these journals! more... less... Journal Search can be found by hovering over the link for Research on the library website.

Social Sciences

• Annual Review of Anthropology
• Annual Review of Political Science
• Annual Review of Sociology
• Ethnic Studies Review

Hard science and health sciences:

• Annual Review of Biomedical Data Science
• Annual Review of Materials Science
• Systematic Review From journal site: "The journal Systematic Reviews encompasses all aspects of the design, conduct, and reporting of systematic reviews" in the health sciences.
• << Previous: Overview
• Next: Strategies to Finding Sources >>
• Last Updated: Mar 5, 2024 11:44 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.ucsb.edu/litreview

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• Clinics (Sao Paulo)

Approaching literature review for academic purposes: The Literature Review Checklist

Debora f.b. leite.

I Departamento de Ginecologia e Obstetricia, Faculdade de Ciencias Medicas, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, SP, BR

II Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Pernambuco, PE, BR

III Hospital das Clinicas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Pernambuco, PE, BR

Maria Auxiliadora Soares Padilha

Jose g. cecatti.

A sophisticated literature review (LR) can result in a robust dissertation/thesis by scrutinizing the main problem examined by the academic study; anticipating research hypotheses, methods and results; and maintaining the interest of the audience in how the dissertation/thesis will provide solutions for the current gaps in a particular field. Unfortunately, little guidance is available on elaborating LRs, and writing an LR chapter is not a linear process. An LR translates students’ abilities in information literacy, the language domain, and critical writing. Students in postgraduate programs should be systematically trained in these skills. Therefore, this paper discusses the purposes of LRs in dissertations and theses. Second, the paper considers five steps for developing a review: defining the main topic, searching the literature, analyzing the results, writing the review and reflecting on the writing. Ultimately, this study proposes a twelve-item LR checklist. By clearly stating the desired achievements, this checklist allows Masters and Ph.D. students to continuously assess their own progress in elaborating an LR. Institutions aiming to strengthen students’ necessary skills in critical academic writing should also use this tool.

INTRODUCTION

Writing the literature review (LR) is often viewed as a difficult task that can be a point of writer’s block and procrastination ( 1 ) in postgraduate life. Disagreements on the definitions or classifications of LRs ( 2 ) may confuse students about their purpose and scope, as well as how to perform an LR. Interestingly, at many universities, the LR is still an important element in any academic work, despite the more recent trend of producing scientific articles rather than classical theses.

The LR is not an isolated section of the thesis/dissertation or a copy of the background section of a research proposal. It identifies the state-of-the-art knowledge in a particular field, clarifies information that is already known, elucidates implications of the problem being analyzed, links theory and practice ( 3 - 5 ), highlights gaps in the current literature, and places the dissertation/thesis within the research agenda of that field. Additionally, by writing the LR, postgraduate students will comprehend the structure of the subject and elaborate on their cognitive connections ( 3 ) while analyzing and synthesizing data with increasing maturity.

At the same time, the LR transforms the student and hints at the contents of other chapters for the reader. First, the LR explains the research question; second, it supports the hypothesis, objectives, and methods of the research project; and finally, it facilitates a description of the student’s interpretation of the results and his/her conclusions. For scholars, the LR is an introductory chapter ( 6 ). If it is well written, it demonstrates the student’s understanding of and maturity in a particular topic. A sound and sophisticated LR can indicate a robust dissertation/thesis.

A consensus on the best method to elaborate a dissertation/thesis has not been achieved. The LR can be a distinct chapter or included in different sections; it can be part of the introduction chapter, part of each research topic, or part of each published paper ( 7 ). However, scholars view the LR as an integral part of the main body of an academic work because it is intrinsically connected to other sections ( Figure 1 ) and is frequently present. The structure of the LR depends on the conventions of a particular discipline, the rules of the department, and the student’s and supervisor’s areas of expertise, needs and interests.

Interestingly, many postgraduate students choose to submit their LR to peer-reviewed journals. As LRs are critical evaluations of current knowledge, they are indeed publishable material, even in the form of narrative or systematic reviews. However, systematic reviews have specific patterns 1 ( 8 ) that may not entirely fit with the questions posed in the dissertation/thesis. Additionally, the scope of a systematic review may be too narrow, and the strict criteria for study inclusion may omit important information from the dissertation/thesis. Therefore, this essay discusses the definition of an LR is and methods to develop an LR in the context of an academic dissertation/thesis. Finally, we suggest a checklist to evaluate an LR.

WHAT IS A LITERATURE REVIEW IN A THESIS?

Conducting research and writing a dissertation/thesis translates rational thinking and enthusiasm ( 9 ). While a strong body of literature that instructs students on research methodology, data analysis and writing scientific papers exists, little guidance on performing LRs is available. The LR is a unique opportunity to assess and contrast various arguments and theories, not just summarize them. The research results should not be discussed within the LR, but the postgraduate student tends to write a comprehensive LR while reflecting on his or her own findings ( 10 ).

Many people believe that writing an LR is a lonely and linear process. Supervisors or the institutions assume that the Ph.D. student has mastered the relevant techniques and vocabulary associated with his/her subject and conducts a self-reflection about previously published findings. Indeed, while elaborating the LR, the student should aggregate diverse skills, which mainly rely on his/her own commitment to mastering them. Thus, less supervision should be required ( 11 ). However, the parameters described above might not currently be the case for many students ( 11 , 12 ), and the lack of formal and systematic training on writing LRs is an important concern ( 11 ).

An institutional environment devoted to active learning will provide students the opportunity to continuously reflect on LRs, which will form a dialogue between the postgraduate student and the current literature in a particular field ( 13 ). Postgraduate students will be interpreting studies by other researchers, and, according to Hart (1998) ( 3 ), the outcomes of the LR in a dissertation/thesis include the following:

• To identify what research has been performed and what topics require further investigation in a particular field of knowledge;
• To determine the context of the problem;
• To recognize the main methodologies and techniques that have been used in the past;
• To place the current research project within the historical, methodological and theoretical context of a particular field;
• To identify significant aspects of the topic;
• To elucidate the implications of the topic;
• To offer an alternative perspective;
• To discern how the studied subject is structured;
• To improve the student’s subject vocabulary in a particular field; and
• To characterize the links between theory and practice.

A sound LR translates the postgraduate student’s expertise in academic and scientific writing: it expresses his/her level of comfort with synthesizing ideas ( 11 ). The LR reveals how well the postgraduate student has proceeded in three domains: an effective literature search, the language domain, and critical writing.

Effective literature search

All students should be trained in gathering appropriate data for specific purposes, and information literacy skills are a cornerstone. These skills are defined as “an individual’s ability to know when they need information, to identify information that can help them address the issue or problem at hand, and to locate, evaluate, and use that information effectively” ( 14 ). Librarian support is of vital importance in coaching the appropriate use of Boolean logic (AND, OR, NOT) and other tools for highly efficient literature searches (e.g., quotation marks and truncation), as is the appropriate management of electronic databases.

Language domain

Academic writing must be concise and precise: unnecessary words distract the reader from the essential content ( 15 ). In this context, reading about issues distant from the research topic ( 16 ) may increase students’ general vocabulary and familiarity with grammar. Ultimately, reading diverse materials facilitates and encourages the writing process itself.

Critical writing

Critical judgment includes critical reading, thinking and writing. It supposes a student’s analytical reflection about what he/she has read. The student should delineate the basic elements of the topic, characterize the most relevant claims, identify relationships, and finally contrast those relationships ( 17 ). Each scientific document highlights the perspective of the author, and students will become more confident in judging the supporting evidence and underlying premises of a study and constructing their own counterargument as they read more articles. A paucity of integration or contradictory perspectives indicates lower levels of cognitive complexity ( 12 ).

Thus, while elaborating an LR, the postgraduate student should achieve the highest category of Bloom’s cognitive skills: evaluation ( 12 ). The writer should not only summarize data and understand each topic but also be able to make judgments based on objective criteria, compare resources and findings, identify discrepancies due to methodology, and construct his/her own argument ( 12 ). As a result, the student will be sufficiently confident to show his/her own voice .

Writing a consistent LR is an intense and complex activity that reveals the training and long-lasting academic skills of a writer. It is not a lonely or linear process. However, students are unlikely to be prepared to write an LR if they have not mastered the aforementioned domains ( 10 ). An institutional environment that supports student learning is crucial.

Different institutions employ distinct methods to promote students’ learning processes. First, many universities propose modules to develop behind the scenes activities that enhance self-reflection about general skills (e.g., the skills we have mastered and the skills we need to develop further), behaviors that should be incorporated (e.g., self-criticism about one’s own thoughts), and each student’s role in the advancement of his/her field. Lectures or workshops about LRs themselves are useful because they describe the purposes of the LR and how it fits into the whole picture of a student’s work. These activities may explain what type of discussion an LR must involve, the importance of defining the correct scope, the reasons to include a particular resource, and the main role of critical reading.

Some pedagogic services that promote a continuous improvement in study and academic skills are equally important. Examples include workshops about time management, the accomplishment of personal objectives, active learning, and foreign languages for nonnative speakers. Additionally, opportunities to converse with other students promotes an awareness of others’ experiences and difficulties. Ultimately, the supervisor’s role in providing feedback and setting deadlines is crucial in developing students’ abilities and in strengthening students’ writing quality ( 12 ).

HOW SHOULD A LITERATURE REVIEW BE DEVELOPED?

A consensus on the appropriate method for elaborating an LR is not available, but four main steps are generally accepted: defining the main topic, searching the literature, analyzing the results, and writing ( 6 ). We suggest a fifth step: reflecting on the information that has been written in previous publications ( Figure 2 ).

First step: Defining the main topic

Planning an LR is directly linked to the research main question of the thesis and occurs in parallel to students’ training in the three domains discussed above. The planning stage helps organize ideas, delimit the scope of the LR ( 11 ), and avoid the wasting of time in the process. Planning includes the following steps:

• Reflecting on the scope of the LR: postgraduate students will have assumptions about what material must be addressed and what information is not essential to an LR ( 13 , 18 ). Cooper’s Taxonomy of Literature Reviews 2 systematizes the writing process through six characteristics and nonmutually exclusive categories. The focus refers to the reviewer’s most important points of interest, while the goals concern what students want to achieve with the LR. The perspective assumes answers to the student’s own view of the LR and how he/she presents a particular issue. The coverage defines how comprehensive the student is in presenting the literature, and the organization determines the sequence of arguments. The audience is defined as the group for whom the LR is written.
• Designating sections and subsections: Headings and subheadings should be specific, explanatory and have a coherent sequence throughout the text ( 4 ). They simulate an inverted pyramid, with an increasing level of reflection and depth of argument.
• Identifying keywords: The relevant keywords for each LR section should be listed to guide the literature search. This list should mirror what Hart (1998) ( 3 ) advocates as subject vocabulary . The keywords will also be useful when the student is writing the LR since they guide the reader through the text.
• Delineating the time interval and language of documents to be retrieved in the second step. The most recently published documents should be considered, but relevant texts published before a predefined cutoff year can be included if they are classic documents in that field. Extra care should be employed when translating documents.

Second step: Searching the literature

The ability to gather adequate information from the literature must be addressed in postgraduate programs. Librarian support is important, particularly for accessing difficult texts. This step comprises the following components:

• Searching the literature itself: This process consists of defining which databases (electronic or dissertation/thesis repositories), official documents, and books will be searched and then actively conducting the search. Information literacy skills have a central role in this stage. While searching electronic databases, controlled vocabulary (e.g., Medical Subject Headings, or MeSH, for the PubMed database) or specific standardized syntax rules may need to be applied.

In addition, two other approaches are suggested. First, a review of the reference list of each document might be useful for identifying relevant publications to be included and important opinions to be assessed. This step is also relevant for referencing the original studies and leading authors in that field. Moreover, students can directly contact the experts on a particular topic to consult with them regarding their experience or use them as a source of additional unpublished documents.

Before submitting a dissertation/thesis, the electronic search strategy should be repeated. This process will ensure that the most recently published papers will be considered in the LR.

• Selecting documents for inclusion: Generally, the most recent literature will be included in the form of published peer-reviewed papers. Assess books and unpublished material, such as conference abstracts, academic texts and government reports, are also important to assess since the gray literature also offers valuable information. However, since these materials are not peer-reviewed, we recommend that they are carefully added to the LR.

This task is an important exercise in time management. First, students should read the title and abstract to understand whether that document suits their purposes, addresses the research question, and helps develop the topic of interest. Then, they should scan the full text, determine how it is structured, group it with similar documents, and verify whether other arguments might be considered ( 5 ).

Third step: Analyzing the results

Critical reading and thinking skills are important in this step. This step consists of the following components:

• Reading documents: The student may read various texts in depth according to LR sections and subsections ( defining the main topic ), which is not a passive activity ( 1 ). Some questions should be asked to practice critical analysis skills, as listed below. Is the research question evident and articulated with previous knowledge? What are the authors’ research goals and theoretical orientations, and how do they interact? Are the authors’ claims related to other scholars’ research? Do the authors consider different perspectives? Was the research project designed and conducted properly? Are the results and discussion plausible, and are they consistent with the research objectives and methodology? What are the strengths and limitations of this work? How do the authors support their findings? How does this work contribute to the current research topic? ( 1 , 19 )
• Taking notes: Students who systematically take notes on each document are more readily able to establish similarities or differences with other documents and to highlight personal observations. This approach reinforces the student’s ideas about the next step and helps develop his/her own academic voice ( 1 , 13 ). Voice recognition software ( 16 ), mind maps ( 5 ), flowcharts, tables, spreadsheets, personal comments on the referenced texts, and note-taking apps are all available tools for managing these observations, and the student him/herself should use the tool that best improves his/her learning. Additionally, when a student is considering submitting an LR to a peer-reviewed journal, notes should be taken on the activities performed in all five steps to ensure that they are able to be replicated.

Fourth step: Writing

The recognition of when a student is able and ready to write after a sufficient period of reading and thinking is likely a difficult task. Some students can produce a review in a single long work session. However, as discussed above, writing is not a linear process, and students do not need to write LRs according to a specific sequence of sections. Writing an LR is a time-consuming task, and some scholars believe that a period of at least six months is sufficient ( 6 ). An LR, and academic writing in general, expresses the writer’s proper thoughts, conclusions about others’ work ( 6 , 10 , 13 , 16 ), and decisions about methods to progress in the chosen field of knowledge. Thus, each student is expected to present a different learning and writing trajectory.

In this step, writing methods should be considered; then, editing, citing and correct referencing should complete this stage, at least temporarily. Freewriting techniques may be a good starting point for brainstorming ideas and improving the understanding of the information that has been read ( 1 ). Students should consider the following parameters when creating an agenda for writing the LR: two-hour writing blocks (at minimum), with prespecified tasks that are possible to complete in one section; short (minutes) and long breaks (days or weeks) to allow sufficient time for mental rest and reflection; and short- and long-term goals to motivate the writing itself ( 20 ). With increasing experience, this scheme can vary widely, and it is not a straightforward rule. Importantly, each discipline has a different way of writing ( 1 ), and each department has its own preferred styles for citations and references.

Fifth step: Reflecting on the writing

In this step, the postgraduate student should ask him/herself the same questions as in the analyzing the results step, which can take more time than anticipated. Ambiguities, repeated ideas, and a lack of coherence may not be noted when the student is immersed in the writing task for long periods. The whole effort will likely be a work in progress, and continuous refinements in the written material will occur once the writing process has begun.

LITERATURE REVIEW CHECKLIST

In contrast to review papers, the LR of a dissertation/thesis should not be a standalone piece or work. Instead, it should present the student as a scholar and should maintain the interest of the audience in how that dissertation/thesis will provide solutions for the current gaps in a particular field.

A checklist for evaluating an LR is convenient for students’ continuous academic development and research transparency: it clearly states the desired achievements for the LR of a dissertation/thesis. Here, we present an LR checklist developed from an LR scoring rubric ( 11 ). For a critical analysis of an LR, we maintain the five categories but offer twelve criteria that are not scaled ( Figure 3 ). The criteria all have the same importance and are not mutually exclusive.

First category: Coverage

1. justified criteria exist for the inclusion and exclusion of literature in the review.

This criterion builds on the main topic and areas covered by the LR ( 18 ). While experts may be confident in retrieving and selecting literature, postgraduate students must convince their audience about the adequacy of their search strategy and their reasons for intentionally selecting what material to cover ( 11 ). References from different fields of knowledge provide distinct perspective, but narrowing the scope of coverage may be important in areas with a large body of existing knowledge.

Second category: Synthesis

2. a critical examination of the state of the field exists.

A critical examination is an assessment of distinct aspects in the field ( 1 ) along with a constructive argument. It is not a negative critique but an expression of the student’s understanding of how other scholars have added to the topic ( 1 ), and the student should analyze and contextualize contradictory statements. A writer’s personal bias (beliefs or political involvement) have been shown to influence the structure and writing of a document; therefore, the cultural and paradigmatic background guide how the theories are revised and presented ( 13 ). However, an honest judgment is important when considering different perspectives.

3. The topic or problem is clearly placed in the context of the broader scholarly literature

The broader scholarly literature should be related to the chosen main topic for the LR ( how to develop the literature review section). The LR can cover the literature from one or more disciplines, depending on its scope, but it should always offer a new perspective. In addition, students should be careful in citing and referencing previous publications. As a rule, original studies and primary references should generally be included. Systematic and narrative reviews present summarized data, and it may be important to cite them, particularly for issues that should be understood but do not require a detailed description. Similarly, quotations highlight the exact statement from another publication. However, excessive referencing may disclose lower levels of analysis and synthesis by the student.

4. The LR is critically placed in the historical context of the field

Situating the LR in its historical context shows the level of comfort of the student in addressing a particular topic. Instead of only presenting statements and theories in a temporal approach, which occasionally follows a linear timeline, the LR should authentically characterize the student’s academic work in the state-of-art techniques in their particular field of knowledge. Thus, the LR should reinforce why the dissertation/thesis represents original work in the chosen research field.

5. Ambiguities in definitions are considered and resolved

Distinct theories on the same topic may exist in different disciplines, and one discipline may consider multiple concepts to explain one topic. These misunderstandings should be addressed and contemplated. The LR should not synthesize all theories or concepts at the same time. Although this approach might demonstrate in-depth reading on a particular topic, it can reveal a student’s inability to comprehend and synthesize his/her research problem.

6. Important variables and phenomena relevant to the topic are articulated

The LR is a unique opportunity to articulate ideas and arguments and to purpose new relationships between them ( 10 , 11 ). More importantly, a sound LR will outline to the audience how these important variables and phenomena will be addressed in the current academic work. Indeed, the LR should build a bidirectional link with the remaining sections and ground the connections between all of the sections ( Figure 1 ).

7. A synthesized new perspective on the literature has been established

The LR is a ‘creative inquiry’ ( 13 ) in which the student elaborates his/her own discourse, builds on previous knowledge in the field, and describes his/her own perspective while interpreting others’ work ( 13 , 17 ). Thus, students should articulate the current knowledge, not accept the results at face value ( 11 , 13 , 17 ), and improve their own cognitive abilities ( 12 ).

Third category: Methodology

8. the main methodologies and research techniques that have been used in the field are identified and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed.

The LR is expected to distinguish the research that has been completed from investigations that remain to be performed, address the benefits and limitations of the main methods applied to date, and consider the strategies for addressing the expected limitations described above. While placing his/her research within the methodological context of a particular topic, the LR will justify the methodology of the study and substantiate the student’s interpretations.

9. Ideas and theories in the field are related to research methodologies

The audience expects the writer to analyze and synthesize methodological approaches in the field. The findings should be explained according to the strengths and limitations of previous research methods, and students must avoid interpretations that are not supported by the analyzed literature. This criterion translates to the student’s comprehension of the applicability and types of answers provided by different research methodologies, even those using a quantitative or qualitative research approach.

Fourth category: Significance

10. the scholarly significance of the research problem is rationalized.

The LR is an introductory section of a dissertation/thesis and will present the postgraduate student as a scholar in a particular field ( 11 ). Therefore, the LR should discuss how the research problem is currently addressed in the discipline being investigated or in different disciplines, depending on the scope of the LR. The LR explains the academic paradigms in the topic of interest ( 13 ) and methods to advance the field from these starting points. However, an excess number of personal citations—whether referencing the student’s research or studies by his/her research team—may reflect a narrow literature search and a lack of comprehensive synthesis of ideas and arguments.

11. The practical significance of the research problem is rationalized

The practical significance indicates a student’s comprehensive understanding of research terminology (e.g., risk versus associated factor), methodology (e.g., efficacy versus effectiveness) and plausible interpretations in the context of the field. Notably, the academic argument about a topic may not always reflect the debate in real life terms. For example, using a quantitative approach in epidemiology, statistically significant differences between groups do not explain all of the factors involved in a particular problem ( 21 ). Therefore, excessive faith in p -values may reflect lower levels of critical evaluation of the context and implications of a research problem by the student.

Fifth category: Rhetoric

12. the lr was written with a coherent, clear structure that supported the review.

This category strictly relates to the language domain: the text should be coherent and presented in a logical sequence, regardless of which organizational ( 18 ) approach is chosen. The beginning of each section/subsection should state what themes will be addressed, paragraphs should be carefully linked to each other ( 10 ), and the first sentence of each paragraph should generally summarize the content. Additionally, the student’s statements are clear, sound, and linked to other scholars’ works, and precise and concise language that follows standardized writing conventions (e.g., in terms of active/passive voice and verb tenses) is used. Attention to grammar, such as orthography and punctuation, indicates prudence and supports a robust dissertation/thesis. Ultimately, all of these strategies provide fluency and consistency for the text.

Although the scoring rubric was initially proposed for postgraduate programs in education research, we are convinced that this checklist is a valuable tool for all academic areas. It enables the monitoring of students’ learning curves and a concentrated effort on any criteria that are not yet achieved. For institutions, the checklist is a guide to support supervisors’ feedback, improve students’ writing skills, and highlight the learning goals of each program. These criteria do not form a linear sequence, but ideally, all twelve achievements should be perceived in the LR.

CONCLUSIONS

A single correct method to classify, evaluate and guide the elaboration of an LR has not been established. In this essay, we have suggested directions for planning, structuring and critically evaluating an LR. The planning of the scope of an LR and approaches to complete it is a valuable effort, and the five steps represent a rational starting point. An institutional environment devoted to active learning will support students in continuously reflecting on LRs, which will form a dialogue between the writer and the current literature in a particular field ( 13 ).

The completion of an LR is a challenging and necessary process for understanding one’s own field of expertise. Knowledge is always transitory, but our responsibility as scholars is to provide a critical contribution to our field, allowing others to think through our work. Good researchers are grounded in sophisticated LRs, which reveal a writer’s training and long-lasting academic skills. We recommend using the LR checklist as a tool for strengthening the skills necessary for critical academic writing.

AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS

Leite DFB has initially conceived the idea and has written the first draft of this review. Padilha MAS and Cecatti JG have supervised data interpretation and critically reviewed the manuscript. All authors have read the draft and agreed with this submission. Authors are responsible for all aspects of this academic piece.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful to all of the professors of the ‘Getting Started with Graduate Research and Generic Skills’ module at University College Cork, Cork, Ireland, for suggesting and supporting this article. Funding: DFBL has granted scholarship from Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES) to take part of her Ph.D. studies in Ireland (process number 88881.134512/2016-01). There is no participation from sponsors on authors’ decision to write or to submit this manuscript.

No potential conflict of interest was reported.

1 The questions posed in systematic reviews usually follow the ‘PICOS’ acronym: Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes, Study design.

2 In 1988, Cooper proposed a taxonomy that aims to facilitate students’ and institutions’ understanding of literature reviews. Six characteristics with specific categories are briefly described: Focus: research outcomes, research methodologies, theories, or practices and applications; Goals: integration (generalization, conflict resolution, and linguistic bridge-building), criticism, or identification of central issues; Perspective: neutral representation or espousal of a position; Coverage: exhaustive, exhaustive with selective citations, representative, central or pivotal; Organization: historical, conceptual, or methodological; and Audience: specialized scholars, general scholars, practitioners or policymakers, or the general public.

What is Literature Review? Importance, Functions, Process,

• Post last modified: 13 August 2023
• Reading time: 12 mins read
• Post category: Research Methodology

What is Literature Review?

A literature review is a critical and comprehensive analysis of existing research, studies, articles, books, and other relevant sources on a specific topic or subject. It serves as a foundational step in the research process, helping researchers understand the current state of knowledge, identify gaps in the literature, and establish a context for their own study.

Table of Content

• 1 What is Literature Review?
• 2 Importance of a Literature Review
• 3 Functions of a Literature Review
• 4.1 Search the Existing Literature in Your Field of Interest
• 4.2 Review the Literature Obtained
• 4.3 Develop a Theoretical Framework
• 4.4 Write the Literature Review
• 5 How to Write a Literature Review
• 6 Types of Sources for Review

In most research reports or research papers, you will see that literature review is an essential element and it forms the basis for advancing knowledge, facilitates theory development, discovers new research areas and closes old ones. When researchers want to understand the management dilemma, they study various books, articles and all other available sources.

In the research reports, the researchers present a summary of their search, study and evaluation of the literature that is already available related to the research topic. When the researcher presents a summary of their study of present literature in addition to their analysis of how this literature is related to or essential for the current research report; then, this process is known as literature review.

For example, in a research paper titled ‘Attrition Analysis in a Leading Sales Organisation in India’, authored by Mamta Mohapatra (International Management Institute, New Delhi, India), Amisha Gupta (Birlasoft, New Delhi, India) and Nikita Lamba (Genpact, New Delhi, India), literature review is presented as follows:

Organisations and researchers usually conduct literature review in order to establish how their own research fits within the context of existing literature.

Apart from these, some other objectives of carrying out literature review are:

• Develop an understanding of how each source of literature helps in understanding the research problem
• Examine the interrelationships among different variables
• Find out ways to interpret earlier similar researches on the topic under study
• Rectify the conflicts that exist among previously conducted studies
• Get an idea regarding the required sample size
• Get an estimate of how much variance is there in the variables of interest
• Understand the type of relationship that exists among variables
• Determine the research method that can be used in the research

Importance of a Literature Review

There are various reasons for carrying out literature review. Majorly, literature review helps in:

• Assessing the current state and level of research on a given topic
• Identifying experts related to particular research
• Identifying questions that need further research and exploration
• Identifying what methodologies have been used in the related past studies and what methodology should be used in current research
• Justifying a proposed research methodology
• Indicating the originality and relevance of the given research problem
• Demonstrating the preparedness of a researcher to complete the research

Functions of a Literature Review

Some of the major functions of literature review are:

• Establishing a context for the research
• Demonstrating that the researcher has actually read related literature extensively and is aware of most theory and methodology related to the given research topic
• Providing a shape for the research under consideration
• Establishing a connection between what the researcher is proposing and what he has already read
• Demonstrating how the findings of researcher can be integrated with the already existing research findings.
• Revealing the differences or areas of gap between present and earlier research findings
• Improving researcher’s research methodology
• Expanding researcher’s knowledge base
• Ensuring that the researcher is carrying out new research that has not been carried out earlier

Process of a Literature Review

The second step in the research process is to carry out the review of already existing literature. Before engaging in literature review, the researcher must be clear as to what is the area and topic of research. There are four steps involved in the literature review process as shown in Figure:

Search the Existing Literature in Your Field of Interest

In the literature review process, the first step is to find out what research has already been done in the area that the researcher has chosen. This step involves preparing a list or bibliography of existing sources of relevant literature such as books, journals, abstracts of articles on your research topic, citation indices and digital libraries.

Review the Literature Obtained

After the researcher has identified related literature including journals, books, research papers, etc.; the next step is to study, evaluate and analyse the literature critically. This study of literature helps a researcher identify themes and issues related to the research topic.

An evaluation of literature helps in:

• Identifying the different theories and their criticism
• Identifying different methodologies used in different studies including their sample size, data used, measurement methods
• Assessing if the researcher’s theory is confirmed beyond doubt
• Preparing a list of different opinions of different researchers and researcher should also add his/her opinion about the validity of these different opinions

Develop a Theoretical Framework

Since carrying out literature review is a time-consuming activity but the researcher has to do it within a limited time. In order to do so, the researcher usually establishes a boundary and parameters for the research work. Also, the researcher must sort information obtained from all the sources of literature. For a researcher, the theoretical framework acts as a base on which he can further or extend his research. At times, the researchers may modify their research framework after analysing the available literature.

Write the Literature Review

The last step in literature review is to make a summary of all the literature that the researcher has studied and reviewed. Usually, writing a literature review starts with a write-up on the main theme of research followed by the important ideas on which the research would focus. After this, the all the major themes and sub-themes to be discussed are organised and related. This will help the researcher in structuring the literature review. The researcher should also identify and describe the theories and studies that are relevant for the study under consideration. The researcher should then list and describe all the gaps that are present in the current body of knowledge. In addition, the researcher may also explain the recent advances and trends in the given research field. To conclude, the researcher should compare and evaluate his findings on the basis of research assumptions, related research theories, hypotheses, applied research designs, variables selected and potential future work speculated by the researchers. Finally, the researcher must acknowledge, cite and quote all the sources that he/she has used in his research. One specific characteristic of literature review is that the researcher must ensure that he gives due credit to all people who have contributed in the research work.

How to Write a Literature Review

While writing the literature review, the researcher must adopt or adhere to certain strategies as follows:

• Establish a focus around the central theme and ideas of the research
• Describe what a reader can expect from the given research study
• Organise the literature research to include basic elements such as introduction, body and conclusions

Types of Sources for Review

A researcher usually uses secondary data for literature review. Some of the major and widely used sources for literature reviews include articles in professional journals, statistical data from government websites and website material from professional organisations.

Apart from the previously mentioned sources, certain other sources of data can also be used by researchers that provide them first-hand information that is important for the study. These sources include reports, theses, emails, letters, conference proceedings, company reports, autobiographies, official reports, research articles, etc.

Apart from these, the researcher may also refer to other such as review articles, academic journals, books, newspapers, documentaries, encyclopaedias, dictionaries, bibliographies and citation indexes.

Business Ethics

( Click on Topic to Read )

• What is Ethics?
• What is Business Ethics?
• Values, Norms, Beliefs and Standards in Business Ethics
• Indian Ethos in Management
• Ethical Issues in Marketing
• Ethical Issues in HRM
• Ethical Issues in IT
• Ethical Issues in Production and Operations Management
• Ethical Issues in Finance and Accounting
• What is Corporate Governance?
• What is Ownership Concentration?
• What is Ownership Composition?
• Types of Companies in India
• Internal Corporate Governance
• External Corporate Governance
• Corporate Governance in India
• What is Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)?
• What is Assessment of Risk?
• What is Risk Register?
• Risk Management Committee

Corporate social responsibility (CSR)

• Theories of CSR
• Arguments Against CSR
• Business Case for CSR
• Importance of CSR in India
• Drivers of Corporate Social Responsibility
• Developing a CSR Strategy
• Implement CSR Commitments
• CSR Marketplace
• CSR at Workplace
• Environmental CSR
• CSR with Communities and in Supply Chain
• Community Interventions
• CSR Monitoring
• CSR Reporting
• Voluntary Codes in CSR
• What is Corporate Ethics?

Lean Six Sigma

• What is Six Sigma?
• What is Lean Six Sigma?
• Value and Waste in Lean Six Sigma
• Six Sigma Team
• MAIC Six Sigma
• Six Sigma in Supply Chains
• What is Binomial, Poisson, Normal Distribution?
• What is Sigma Level?
• What is DMAIC in Six Sigma?
• What is DMADV in Six Sigma?
• Six Sigma Project Charter
• Project Decomposition in Six Sigma
• Critical to Quality (CTQ) Six Sigma
• Process Mapping Six Sigma
• Flowchart and SIPOC
• Gage Repeatability and Reproducibility
• Statistical Diagram
• Lean Techniques for Optimisation Flow
• Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA)
• What is Process Audits?
• Six Sigma Implementation at Ford
• IBM Uses Six Sigma to Drive Behaviour Change
• Research Methodology
• What is Research?
• What is Hypothesis?
• Sampling Method
• Research Methods

Data Collection in Research

• Methods of Collecting Data
• Application of Business Research
• Levels of Measurement
• What is Sampling?

Hypothesis Testing

Research report.

• What is Management?
• Planning in Management
• Decision Making in Management
• What is Controlling?
• What is Coordination?
• What is Staffing?
• Organization Structure
• What is Departmentation?
• Span of Control
• What is Authority?
• Centralization vs Decentralization
• Organizing in Management
• Schools of Management Thought
• Classical Management Approach
• Is Management an Art or Science?
• Who is a Manager?

Operations Research

• What is Operations Research?
• Operation Research Models
• Linear Programming
• Linear Programming Graphic Solution
• Linear Programming Simplex Method
• Linear Programming Artificial Variable Technique
• Duality in Linear Programming
• Transportation Problem Initial Basic Feasible Solution
• Transportation Problem Finding Optimal Solution
• Project Network Analysis with Critical Path Method
• Project Network Analysis Methods
• Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
• Simulation in Operation Research
• Replacement Models in Operation Research

Operation Management

• What is Strategy?
• What is Operations Strategy?
• Operations Competitive Dimensions
• Operations Strategy Formulation Process
• What is Strategic Fit?
• Strategic Design Process
• Focused Operations Strategy
• Corporate Level Strategy
• Expansion Strategies
• Stability Strategies
• Retrenchment Strategies
• Competitive Advantage
• Strategic Choice and Strategic Alternatives
• What is Production Process?
• What is Process Technology?
• What is Process Improvement?
• Strategic Capacity Management
• Production and Logistics Strategy
• Taxonomy of Supply Chain Strategies
• Factors Considered in Supply Chain Planning
• Operational and Strategic Issues in Global Logistics
• Logistics Outsourcing Strategy
• What is Supply Chain Mapping?
• Supply Chain Process Restructuring
• Points of Differentiation
• Re-engineering Improvement in SCM
• What is Supply Chain Drivers?
• Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) Model
• Customer Service and Cost Trade Off
• Internal and External Performance Measures
• Linking Supply Chain and Business Performance
• Netflix’s Niche Focused Strategy
• Disney and Pixar Merger
• Process Planning at Mcdonald’s

Service Operations Management

• What is Service?
• What is Service Operations Management?
• What is Service Design?
• Service Design Process
• Service Delivery
• What is Service Quality?
• Gap Model of Service Quality
• Juran Trilogy
• Service Performance Measurement
• Service Decoupling
• IT Service Operation
• Service Operations Management in Different Sector

Procurement Management

• What is Procurement Management?
• Procurement Negotiation
• Types of Requisition
• RFX in Procurement
• What is Purchasing Cycle?
• Vendor Managed Inventory
• Internal Conflict During Purchasing Operation
• Spend Analysis in Procurement
• Sourcing in Procurement
• Supplier Evaluation and Selection in Procurement
• Blacklisting of Suppliers in Procurement
• Total Cost of Ownership in Procurement
• Incoterms in Procurement
• Documents Used in International Procurement
• Transportation and Logistics Strategy
• What is Capital Equipment?
• Procurement Process of Capital Equipment
• Acquisition of Technology in Procurement
• What is E-Procurement?
• E-marketplace and Online Catalogues
• Fixed Price and Cost Reimbursement Contracts
• Contract Cancellation in Procurement
• Ethics in Procurement
• Legal Aspects of Procurement
• Global Sourcing in Procurement
• Intermediaries and Countertrade in Procurement

Strategic Management

• What is Strategic Management?
• What is Value Chain Analysis?
• Mission Statement
• Business Level Strategy
• What is SWOT Analysis?
• What is Competitive Advantage?
• What is Vision?
• What is Ansoff Matrix?
• Prahalad and Gary Hammel
• Strategic Management In Global Environment
• Competitor Analysis Framework
• Competitive Rivalry Analysis
• Competitive Dynamics
• What is Competitive Rivalry?
• Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy
• What is PESTLE Analysis?
• Fragmentation and Consolidation Of Industries
• What is Technology Life Cycle?
• What is Diversification Strategy?
• What is Corporate Restructuring Strategy?
• Resources and Capabilities of Organization
• Role of Leaders In Functional-Level Strategic Management
• Functional Structure In Functional Level Strategy Formulation
• Information And Control System
• What is Strategy Gap Analysis?
• Issues In Strategy Implementation
• Matrix Organizational Structure
• What is Strategic Management Process?

Supply Chain

• What is Supply Chain Management?
• Supply Chain Planning and Measuring Strategy Performance
• What is Warehousing?
• What is Packaging?
• What is Inventory Management?
• What is Material Handling?
• What is Order Picking?
• Receiving and Dispatch, Processes
• What is Warehouse Design?
• What is Warehousing Costs?

You Might Also Like

Ethics in research, what is causal research advantages, disadvantages, how to perform, sampling process and characteristics of good sample design, what is sample size determination, formula, determining,, what is research types, purpose, characteristics, process, what is scaling techniques types, classifications, techniques, what is measurement scales, types, criteria and developing measurement tools, types of charts used in data analysis, steps in questionnaire design, leave a reply cancel reply.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

World's Best Online Courses at One Place

We’ve spent the time in finding, so you can spend your time in learning

Digital Marketing

Personal growth.

Development

• Harvard Library
• Research Guides
• Harvard Graduate School of Design - Frances Loeb Library

Write and Cite

• Literature Review
• Academic Integrity
• Citing Sources
• Fair Use, Permissions, and Copyright
• Writing Resources
• Grants and Fellowships
• Last Updated: Apr 26, 2024 10:28 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.harvard.edu/gsd/write

Harvard University Digital Accessibility Policy

• schrijfvaardigheid
• literature review

Functions of a literature review

A literature review basically has three functions:

• to convey to the reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are;
• in doing so, you clearly pass the message to the reader that you are familiar with these theories & ideas. Consequently, you are somewhat more of an expert writer, or so the reader may think.
• present your ideas on the matter & your theorie(s).

Leadership agility in the context of organisational agility: a systematic literature review

• Published: 17 April 2024

Cite this article

• Latika Tandon   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9937-072X 1 ,
• Tithi Bhatnagar   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8469-7658 1 , 2 &
• Tanushree Sharma   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7727-0258 3  

55 Accesses

Explore all metrics

Organisations across the globe are looking to become agile and are seeking leaders to guide their transformation to agility. This paper conducts a systematic literature review across eighty-six papers spanning over 25 years (1999–2023), to develop an overview of how leadership agility is conceptualized in the context of organisational agility in the extant literature. This systematic review was conducted using the PRISMA framework. The databases searched for the review were: EBSCO, Emerald Insight, JStor, ProQuest, ScienceDirect, and Scopus. The data thus collected was organised and integrated using reflective thematic synthesis. Literature suggests that leadership agility is one of the key dimensions to foster organisational agility, though challenging in practice and difficult to implement. Based on the analysis of extant literature, this paper identifies four emergent themes of leadership agility: Leadership Agility Mindsets; Leadership Agility Competencies; Leadership Agility Styles; and Leadership Organisational Agility Functions . This study has conceptualized a framework of leadership agility in the context of organisational agility, anchored in the interplay of the emergent themes and their categories, contributing to leadership agility research, and promoting its adoption by the practitioners.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price includes VAT (Russian Federation)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Rent this article via DeepDyve

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Agile Leadership and Bootlegging Behavior: Does Leadership Coping Dynamics Matter?

Positive Leadership: Moving Towards an Integrated Definition and Interventions

Leadership and Change Management: Examining Gender, Cultural and ‘Hero Leader’ Stereotypes

Data availability.

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

Adhiatma A, Fachrunnisa O, Lukman N, Majid MNA (2023) Comparative study on workforce transformation strategy and SME policies in Indonesia and Malaysia. Eng Manage Prod Ser 15(4):1–11. https://doi.org/10.2478/emj-2023-0024

Article   Google Scholar  

Ahmed J, Mrugalska B, Akkaya B (2022) Agile management and VUCA 2.0 (VUCA-RR) during industry 4.0. In: Akkaya B, Guah MW, Jermsittiparsert K, Bulinska-Stangrecka H, Kaya Y (eds) Agile management and VUCA-RR: opportunities and threats in industry 4.0 towards society 5.0. Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp 13–26. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80262-325-320220002

Chapter   Google Scholar  

Akkaya B, Tabak A (2020) The link between organizational agility and leadership: a research in science parks. Acad Strateg Manag J 19:1–17

Google Scholar  

Akkaya B, Waritay-Guah M, Jermsittiparsert K, Bulinska-Stangrecka H, Kaya-Koçyiğit Y (2022) Agile management and VUCA-RR opportunities and threats in industry 4.0 towards society 5.0. Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley

Book   Google Scholar  

Akkaya B, Üstgörül S (2020) Leadership styles and female managers in perspective of agile leadership. Agile Bus Leadersh Methods Ind 4:121–137. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80043-380-920201008

Akkaya B, Sever E (2022) Agile leadership and organization performance in the perspective of VUCA. In: Post-pandemic talent management models in knowledge organizations. IGI Global

Aldianto L, Anggadwita G, Permatasari A, Mirzanti IR, Williamson IO (2021) Toward a business resilience framework for startups. Sustainability (switzerland) 13(6):1–19. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063132

Appelbaum SH, Calla R, Desautels D, Hasan L (2017a) The challenges of organizational agility (part 1). Ind Commer Train 49(1):6–14. https://doi.org/10.1108/ICT-05-2016-0027

Appelbaum SH, Calla R, Desautels D, Hasan LN (2017b) The challenges of organizational agility: part 2. Ind Commer Train 49(2):69–74. https://doi.org/10.1108/ICT-05-2016-0028

As Global Growth Slows, Developing Economies Face Risk of ‘Hard Landing.’ (2022) The World Bank

Asseraf Y, Gnizy I (2022) Translating strategy into action: the importance of an agile mindset and agile slack in international business. Int Bus Rev 31(6):102036. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2022.102036

Attar M, Abdul-Kareem A (2020) The role of agile leadership in organisational agility. In: Akkaya B (ed) Agile business leadership methods for industry 40. Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp 171–191. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80043-380-920201011

Avery CM (2004) The mindset of an agile leader. Cut IT J 17(6):22–27

Balázs V, Éva S (2023) Unlocking the key dimensions of organizational agility: a systematic literature review on leadership, structural and cultural antecedents. Soc Econ 45. https://doi.org/10.1556/204.2023.00023

Benchea L, Ilie AG (2023) Preparing for a new world of work: leadership styles reconfigured in the digital age. Eur J Interdiscip Stud 15(1):135–143. https://doi.org/10.24818/ejis.2023.10

Booth A, Sutton A, Papaioannou D (2016) Systematic approaches to a successful literature review, 2nd edn. Sage, Thousand Oaks

Brandt EN, Kjellström S, Andersson A-C (2019) Transformational change by a post-conventional leader. Leadersh Org Dev J 40(4):457–471. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-07-2018-0273

Buttigieg SC, Cassia MV, Cassar V (2023) The relationship between transformational leadership, leadership agility, work engagement and adaptive performance: a theoretically informed empirical study. In: Chambers N (ed) Research handbook on leadership in healthcare. Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, pp 235–251

Chakraborty T, Awan TM, Natarajan A, Kamran M (eds) (2023) Agile leadership for industry 4.0: an indispensable approach for the digital era, 1 edn. AAP/Apple Academic Press

Chatwani N (2019) Agility revisited. In: Chatwani N (ed) Organisational agility. Springer International Publishing, Berlin, pp 1–21

De Smet A, Lurie M, St George A (2018) Leading agile transformation: The new capabilities leaders need to build 21st-century organizations. Mckinsey.com, October 2018.

Denning S (2016) Agile’s ten implementation challenges. Strategy Leadersh 44(5):15–20. https://doi.org/10.1108/SL-08-2016-0065

Denning S (2018a) Succeeding in an increasingly Agile world. Strategy Leadersh 46(3):3–9. https://doi.org/10.1108/SL-03-2018-0021

Denning S (2018b) The role of the C-suite in Agile transformation: the case of Amazon. Strategy Leadersh 46(6):14–21. https://doi.org/10.1108/SL-10-2018-0094

Denning S (2019a) Lessons learned from mapping successful and unsuccessful Agile transformation journeys. Strategy Leadersh 47(4):3–11. https://doi.org/10.1108/SL-04-2019-0052

Denning S (2019b) The ten stages of the Agile transformation journey. Strategy Leadersh 47(1):3–10. https://doi.org/10.1108/SL-11-2018-0109

Doz Y, Kosonen M (2008) The dynamics of strategic agility: Nokia’s rollercoaster experience. Calif Manage Rev 50(3):95–118. https://doi.org/10.2307/41166447

Dulay S (ed) (2023) Empowering educational leaders: How to thrive in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world. Peter Lang, Lausanne

Eilers K, Peters C, Leimeister JM (2022) Why the agile mindset matters. Technol Forecast Soc Chang 179:121650. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121650

Esamah A, Aujirapongpan S, Rakangthong NK, Imjai N (2023) Agile leadership and digital transformation in savings cooperative limited: impact on sustainable performance amidst COVID-19. J Hum Earth Future 4(1):36–53. https://doi.org/10.28991/HEF-2023-04-01-04

Fachrunnisa O, Adhiatma A, Lukman N, Ab-Majid MN (2020) Towards SMEs’ digital transformation: the role of agile leadership and strategic flexibility. J Small Bus Strategy 30:65–85

Felipe CM, Roldán JL, Leal-Rodríguez AL (2016) An explanatory and predictive model for organizational agility. J Bus Res 69(10):4624–4631. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.04.014

Fernandes V, Wong W, Noonan M (2023) Developing adaptability and agility in leadership amidst the COVID-19 crisis: experiences of early-career school principals. Int J Educ Manag 37(2):483–506. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-02-2022-0076

Garton E, Noble A (2017) How to make agile work for the C-Suite. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2017/07/how-to-make-agile-work-for-the-c-suite

Govuzela S, Mafini C (2019) Organisational agility, business best practices and the performance of small to medium enterprises in South Africa. S Afr J Bus Manag 50(1):1–13. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajbm.v50i1.1417

Gren L, Ralph P (2022) What makes effective leadership in agile software development teams? In: Proceedings of the 44th international conference on software engineering, pp. 2402–2414. https://doi.org/10.1145/3510003.3510100

Gren L, Lindman M, Stray V, Hoda R, Paasivaara M, Kruchten P (2020) Agile processes in software engineering and extreme programming. 21st International Conference on Agile Software Development XP 2020 Copenhagen Denmark June 8–12, 2020 Proceedings What an Agile Leader Does: The Group Dynamics Perspective. Springer, Cham, pp 178–194. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49392-9

Grześ B (2023) Managing an agile organization – key determinants of orgnizational agility. Scientific Papers of Silesian University of Technology Organization and Management Series. 2023(172). https://doi.org/10.29119/1641-3466.2023.172.17

Hartney E, Melis E, Taylor D, Dickson G, Tholl B, Grimes K, Chan M-K, Van Aerde J, Horsley T (2022) Leading through the first wave of COVID: a Canadian action research study. Leadersh Health Serv 35(1):30–45. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHS-05-2021-0042

Hill L (2020) Being the agile boss. MIT SMR, Fall (2020)

Hofstede G, Hofstede GJ, Minkov M (2005) Cultures and organizations: software of the mind. Choice Rev 42(10):42–5937. https://doi.org/10.5860/CHOICE.42-5937

Holbeche L (2018) Organisational effectiveness and agility. J Organ Eff People Perform 5(4):302–313. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOEPP-07-2018-0044

Holbeche L (2019) Designing sustainably agile and resilient organizations. Syst Res Behav Sci 36(5):668–677. https://doi.org/10.1002/sres.2624

Horney N, Pasmore B, O’Shea T (2010) Leadership agility: a business imperative for a VUCA world. People Strategy 33(4):34

Howieson B, Grant K (2022) Wicked leadership development for wicked problems. In: Holland P, Bartram T, Garavan T, Grant K (eds) The emerald handbook of work, workplaces and disruptive issues in HRM. Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp 303–316. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80071-779-420221030

Jansen JJP, Vera D, Crossan M (2009) Strategic leadership for exploration and exploitation: the moderating role of environmental dynamism. Leadersh Q 20(1):5–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2008.11.008

Joiner B (2009) Creating a culture of agile leaders: a developmental approach. People Strategy 32(4):28–35

Joiner B (2012) How to build an agile leader. Chief Learn off 11(8):48–51

Joiner B, Josephs S (2007) Developing agile leaders. Ind Commer Train 39(1):35–42. https://doi.org/10.1108/00197850710721381

Jones S, Cass D (2022) Agile leadership: eight steps to becoming an agile team leader. Eff Exec 25(1):7–12

Kaya Y (2023) Agile leadership from the perspective of dynamic capabilities and creating value. Sustainability 15(21):15253. https://doi.org/10.3390/su152115253

Keleş HN (2023) Agile leadership in schools. In: Empowering educational leaders: How to thrive in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world. Peter Lang AG

Konrad-Maerk M, Gfrerer A, Hutter K (2022) From transformational to agile leadership: what future skills it takes to act as agile leaders. Acad Manag Proc 2022(1):12343. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMBPP.2022.12343abstract

Kumar S, Ray S (2023) Moving towards agile leadership to help organizations succeed. IUP J Soft Skills 17(1):2023. ProQuest

Lang D, Rumsey C (2018) Business disruption is here to stay: What should leaders do? Qual Access Success 19(S3):35–40

Leslie J (2015) The leadership gap: what you need, and still don’t have, when it comes to leadership talent. Cent Creative Leadersh. https://doi.org/10.35613/ccl.2015.1014 (2015).

Liberati A, Altman DG, Tetzlaff J, Mulrow C, Gotzsche PC, Ioannidis JPA, Clarke M, Devereaux PJ, Kleijnen J, Moher D (2009) The PRISMA statement for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses of studies that evaluate healthcare interventions: explanation and elaboration. BMJ 339(1):b2700. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.b2700

Luthia M (2023) Agile Leadership for Industry 4.0. An Indispensable Approach for the Digital Era. Apple Academic Press, New York

MacLean D, MacIntosh R, Seidl D (2015) Rethinking dynamic capabilities from a creative action perspective. Strateg Organ 13(4):340–352. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476127015593274

McKenzie J, Aitken P (2012) Learning to lead the knowledgeable organization: developing leadership agility. Strateg HR Rev 11(6):329–334. https://doi.org/10.1108/14754391211264794

McPherson B (2016) Agile, adaptive leaders. Hum Resour Manag Int Dig 24(2):1–3. https://doi.org/10.1108/HRMID-11-2015-0171

Menon S, Suresh M (2021) Factors influencing organizational agility in higher education. Benchmark Int J 28(1):307–332. https://doi.org/10.1108/BIJ-04-2020-0151

Meyer R, Meijers R (2017) Leadership Agility: Developing Your Repertoire of Leadership Styles, 1st edn. Routledge, London

Modi S, Strode D (2020) Leadership in agile software development: a systematic literature review. In: ACIS 2020 proceedings. 55. https://aisel.aisnet.org/acis2020/55

Morton J, Stacey P, Mohn M (2018) Building and maintaining strategic agility: an agenda and framework for executive IT leaders. Calif Manage Rev 61(1):94–113. https://doi.org/10.1177/0008125618790245

Muafi M, Diamastuti E, Pambudi A (2020) Service innovation strategic consensus: a lesson from the Islamic banking industry in Indonesia. J Asian Finance Econ Bus 7(11):401–411. https://doi.org/10.13106/JAFEB.2020.VOL7.NO11.401

Muafi M, Uyun Q (2019) Leadership agility, the influence on the organizational learning and organizational innovation and how to reduce imitation orientation. Int J Qual Res 13(2):467–484. https://doi.org/10.24874/IJQR13.02-14

Mukherjee T (2023) The power of empathy: rethinking leadership agility during transition. In: Agile leadership for industry 4.0. An indispensable approach for the digital era , 1st edn. Apple Academic Press

Naslund D, Kale R (2020) Is agile the latest management fad? A review of success factors of agile transformations. Int J Qual Serv Sci 12(4):489–504. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJQSS-12-2019-0142

Oliveira SRM, Saraiva MA (2023) Leader skills interpreted in the lens of education 4.0. Procedia Comput Sci 217:1296–1304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2022.12.327

Orski K (2017) What’s your agility ability? Nurs Manage 48(4):44–51. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NUMA.0000511922.75269.6a

O’Brien E, Robertson P (2009) Future leadership competencies: from foresight to current practice. J Eur Ind Train 33(4):371–380. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090590910959317

O’Reilly CA, Tushman ML (2008) Ambidexterity as a dynamic capability: resolving the innovator’s dilemma. Res Organ Behavior 28:185–206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2008.06.002

Page MJ, Moher D, Bossuyt PM, Boutron I, Hoffmann TC, Mulrow CD, Shamseer L, Tetzlaff JM, Akl EA, Brennan SE, Chou R, Glanville J, Grimshaw JM, Hróbjartsson A, Lalu MM, Li T, Loder EW, Mayo-Wilson E, McDonald S et al (2021) PRISMA 2020 explanation and elaboration: Updated guidance and exemplars for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ 372:160. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n160

Paul J, Criado AR (2020) The art of writing literature review: What do we know and what do we need to know? Int Bus Rev 29(4):101717. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2020.101717

Pesut DJ, Thompson SA (2018) Nursing leadership in academic nursing: The wisdom of development and the development of wisdom. J Prof Nurs 34(2):122–127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2017.11.004

Piwowar-Sulej K, Sołtysik M, Różycka-Antkowiak JŁ (2022) Implementation of management 3.0: its consistency and conditional factors. J Organ Change Manage 35(3):541–557. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-07-2021-0203

Popay J, Roberts H, Sowden A, Petticrew M, Arai L, Rodgers M, Britten N, Roen K, Duffy S (2006) Guidance on the conduct of narrative synthesis in systematic reviews: a product from the ESRC Methods Programme. Lanc Univ https://doi.org/10.13140/2.1.1018.4643

Psychogios A (2022) Re-conceptualising total quality leadership: a framework development and future research agenda. TQM J. https://doi.org/10.1108/TQM-01-2022-0030

Rigby D, Elk S, Steve B (2020) The agile C-suite a new approach to leadership for the team at the top. Harv Bus Rev

Roux M, Härtel CEJ (2018) The cognitive, emotional, and behavioral qualities required for leadership assessment and development in the new world of work. In: Petitta L, Härtel CEJ, Ashkanasy NM, Zerbe WJ (eds) Research on emotion in organizations, vol 14, pp 59–69. Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1746-979120180000014010

Rožman M, Oreški D, Tominc P (2023a) A multidimensional model of the new work environment in the digital age to increase a company’s performance and competitiveness. IEEE Access 11:26136–26151. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3257104

Rožman M, Tominc P, Štrukelj T (2023b) Competitiveness through development of strategic talent management and agile management ecosystems. Glob J Flex Syst Manage 24(3):373–393. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40171-023-00344-1

Şahin S, Alp F (2020) Agile leadership model in health care: Organizational and individual antecedents and outcomes. In: Akkaya B (ed) Agile business leadership methods for industry 4.0. Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp 47–68

Sampson CJ (2023) How agile leadership can sustain innovation in healthcare. Front Health Serv Manage 40(2):1–3. https://doi.org/10.1097/HAP.0000000000000186

Saputra N (2023) Digital quotient as mediator in the link of leadership agility to employee engagement of digital generation. In: 2023 8th International conference on business and industrial research (ICBIR), pp 706–710. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICBIR57571.2023.10147472

Sharifi H, Zhang Z (1999) Methodology for achieving agility in manufacturing organisations: an introduction. Int J Prod Econ 62(1):7–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0925-5273(98)00217-5

Sheffield R, Jensen KR, Kaudela-Baum S (2023) Inspiring and enabling innovation leadership: key findings and future directions. In: K. R. Jensen, S. Kaudela-Baum, R. Sheffield (eds) Innovation leadership in practice: how leaders turn ideas into value in a changing world. Emerald Publishing Limited, pp 367–381. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83753-396-120231019

Silva-Martinez J (2023) Conceptualization of agile leadership characteristics and outcomes from NASA agile teams as a path to the development of an agile leadership theory. J Creat Value, 23949643231202894. https://doi.org/10.1177/23949643231202894

Spiegler SV, Heinecke C, Wagner S (2021) An empirical study on changing leadership in agile teams. Abstr Empirical Softw Eng 26(3). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10664-021-09949-5

Teece D, Peteraf M, Leih S (2016) Dynamic capabilities and organizational agility: Risk, uncertainty, and strategy in the innovation economy. Calif Manage Rev 58(4):13–35. https://doi.org/10.1525/cmr.2016.58.4.13

The Center for Creative Leadership (2015) What you need, and don’t have, when it comes to leadership talent. Center for Creative Leadership

The World Bank (2022) As global growth slows, developing economies face risk of ‘Hard Landing’. The World Bank . The World Bank

Theobald S, Prenner N, Krieg A, Schneider K (2020) Agile leadership and agile management on organizational level—a systematic literature review. In: Lecture notes in computer science (including subseries lecture notes in artificial intelligence and lecture notes in bioinformatics), 12562 LNCS, pp 20–36. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64148-1_2

Turan HY, Cinnioğlu H (2022) Agile leadership and employee performance in VUCA world. In: Akkaya B, Guah MW, Jermsittiparsert K, Bulinska-Stangrecka H, Kaya Y (eds) Agile management and VUCA-RR: opportunities and threats in industry 4.0 towards society 5.0. Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp 27–38

Ulrich D, Yeung A (2019) Agility: the new response to dynamic change. Strateg HR Rev 18(4):161–167. https://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-04-2019-0032

Vaszkun B, Sziráki É (2023) Unlocking the key dimensions of organizational agility: a systematic literature review on leadership, structural and cultural antecedents. Soc Econ 45(4):393–410. https://doi.org/10.1556/204.2023.00023

Walter A-T (2021) Organizational agility: ill-defined and somewhat confusing? A systematic literature review and conceptualization. Manage Rev Q 71(2):343–391. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11301-020-00186-6

Warner KSR, Wäger M (2019) Building dynamic capabilities for digital transformation: an ongoing process of strategic renewal. Long Range Plan 52(3):326–349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2018.12.001

Weiss L, Vergin L, Kanbach DK (2023) How agile leaders promote continuous innovation: an explorative framework. In: K. R. Jensen, S. Kaudela-Baum, R. Sheffield (eds) Innovation leadership in practice: How leaders turn ideas into value in a changing world. Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp 223–242. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83753-396-120231012

Zitkiene R, Deksnys M (2018) Organizational agility conceptual model. Monten J Econ 14(2):115–129. https://doi.org/10.14254/1800-5845/2018.14-2.7

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the Research Ethics and Review Board (RERB) at O.P. Jindal Global University for their review and approval on our research study.

The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation of this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Jindal Institute of Behavioural Sciences, O.P. Jindal Global University, Haryana, India

Latika Tandon & Tithi Bhatnagar

National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bangalore, India

Tithi Bhatnagar

Jindal Global Business School, and Executive Director-Centre for Learning and Innovative Pedagogy (CLIP), O.P. Jindal Global University, Haryana, India

Tanushree Sharma

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by first author. The first draft of the manuscript was written by first author and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Latika Tandon .

Ethics declarations

Competing interests.

The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.

Additional information

Publisher's note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

See the Table  6 , 7 and 8 .

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Tandon, L., Bhatnagar, T. & Sharma, T. Leadership agility in the context of organisational agility: a systematic literature review. Manag Rev Q (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11301-024-00422-3

Download citation

Received : 15 June 2022

Accepted : 12 March 2024

Published : 17 April 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11301-024-00422-3

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Leadership agility
• Agile leaders
• Agile leadership
• Organisational agility
• Leadership agility mindset
• Leadership agility competencies
• Leadership agility functions

JEL Classification

• Find a journal
• Publish with us
• Track your research

• Case Report
• Open access
• Published: 27 April 2024

Minimally invasive treatment of uterine necrosis with favorable outcomes: an uncommon case presentation and literature review

• Tengge Yu 1  

BMC Women's Health volume  24 , Article number:  267 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

Metrics details

Uterine necrosis is a rare condition and is considered a life-threatening complication. However, cases of uterine necrosis were rarely reported, particularly those caused by infection. In terms of treatment, no minimally invasive treatment for uterine necrosis has been reported, and total hysterectomy is mostly considered as the treatment option.

The article specifically focuses on minimally invasive treatments and provides a summary of recent cases of uterine necrosis.

Case presentation

We report the case of a 28-year-old patient gravid 1, para 0 underwent a cesarean section after unsuccessful induction due to fetal death. She presented with recurrent fever and vaginal discharge. The blood inflammation markers were elevated, and a CT scan revealed irregular lumps with low signal intensity in the uterine cavity. The gynecological examination revealed the presence of gray and white soft tissue, approximately 5 cm in length, exuding from the cervix. The secretions were found to contain Fusobacterium necrophorum, Escherichia coli, and Proteus upon culturing. Given the patient’s sepsis and uterine necrosis caused by infection, laparoscopic exploration uncovered white pus and necrotic tissue openings in the anterior wall of the uterus. The necrotic tissue was removed during the operation, and the uterus was repaired. Postoperative pathological findings revealed complete degeneration and necrosis of fusiform cell-like tissue. Severe uterine necrosis caused by a multi-drug resistant bacterial infection was considered after the operation. She was treated with antibiotics for three weeks and was discharged after the infection was brought under control. The patient expressed satisfaction with the treatment plan, which preserved her uterus, maintained reproductive function, and minimized the extent of surgery.

Based on the literature review of uterine necrosis, we found that it presents a potential risk of death, emphasizing the importance of managing the progression of the condition. Most treatment options involve a total hysterectomy. A partial hysterectomy reduces the extent of the operation, preserves fertility function, and can also yield positive outcomes in the treatment of uterine necrosis, serving as a complement to the overall treatment of this condition.

Peer Review reports

Uterine necrosis is a rare complication. Several cases of uterine necrosis have been reported following embolization of the uterine arteries for postpartum hemorrhage or uterine fibroids, or as a result of severe endometritis [ 1 ]. Symptoms of uterine necrosis caused by infection typically include lower abdominal pain, fever, and foul-smelling vaginal discharge. When the infection affects the tissue surrounding the uterus, the uterus becomes enlarged and tender, and the edema of the inflamed tissue holds the uterus in place. Some complications may occur infrequently, including peritonitis, pelvic vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, pelvic abscess, sepsis, kidney damage, and even death. Diagnosis is usually based on clinical symptoms and physical examination. Inflammatory markers, imaging studies, and secretion cultures can also assist in the diagnosis. Hysteronecrosis is typically treated with a total hysterectomy. Most patients recover, and only a small number of patients do not survive. We reported a case of uterine necrosis caused by infection. We removed part of the uterus instead of performing a total hysterectomy. The patient recovered well. Few cases of uterine necrosis have been reported, and no one has reported minimally invasive treatment for it. Given the rarity of the case and the lack of minimally invasive treatment options for uterine necrosis, this report was written in conjunction with a literature review summarizing similar cases of uterine necrosis.

We report the case of a 28-year-old patient who was gravid 1, para 0, with no significant medical history. The patient is Asian, from the Han ethnic group, China’s largest ethnic group. When she was 32 weeks pregnant, intrauterine fetal demise was confirmed by ultrasound. A cesarean section was performed due to the difficulty of vaginal trial labor following a lateral perineal incision, which was necessary because the fetus’s shoulder was exposed. After the operation, the patient continued to experience a high fever, with a maximum temperature of 39.5 degrees Celsius, and the fat around the abdominal incision has become liquefied. The number of patient’s pulses was 140, respiratory rate was 22 times per minute, and blood pressure was 131/87mmhg. After receiving treatment with medications such as Tienam and Piperacillin, the patient’s body temperature and inflammation returned to normal, and she was discharged from Municipal integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine hospital. The type of antibiotic Tienam is Carbapenem antibiotics, and the dose is 500 mg by injection three times a day. The type of antibiotic Piperacillin is semi-synthetic penicillin antibiotics, and the dose is 1.5 g by injection three times a day. The disease subside after 7 days treatment.

A week later, she was admitted to Municipal integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine hospital for the second time due to fever and pain in her lower left abdomen. The patient’s heart rate was normal, respiratory rate was 20 times per minute, and blood pressure was 121/80mmhg. The blood inflammation index was elevated, indicated by a C-reactive protein level of 52.01 mg/L. Brain CT and lung CT scans revealed no significant abnormalities. She was discharged after two weeks of treatment with medications such as Tienam and Piperacillin with the same dose as last time. The disease subside after 5 days treatment.

Five days later, she was admitted to our hospital for the third time due to a recurring fever, accompanied by vaginal purulent discharge and odor. The patient’s heart rate was 110 times per minute, respiratory rate was 23 times per minute, and blood pressure was 132/85mmhg. There was no increase in β-HCG, white cell count was 12.3 × 10^9 /L in the differential blood count, hemoglobin was 104 g/L, and procalcitonin was 0.12 ng/ml. She felt feverish and lethargic, with mild nausea. The patient was treated orally with Moxifloxacin by 1 tablet once a day for 3 days. A vaginal color ultrasound revealed a hypoechoic area in front of the uterus, indicating encapsulated effusion. The ultrasound also revealed an abnormal uterine echo, uneven uterine enlargement with abundant blood supply, trace effusion of the cervical canal, and pelvic effusion. The enhanced CT scan revealed swelling and adhesion of the anterior wall of the uterus and the adjacent anterior abdominal wall, along with changes in the surrounding exudate. Additionally, a lumpy, uneven low signal shadow was observed in the uterine cavity, along with visible pelvic fluid (Fig.  1 ). The histopathological analysis of intrauterine effluents revealed degenerative smooth muscle tissue accompanied by pus. Anaerobic culture of cervical secretions suggested the presence of Fusobacterium necrophorum. Biopsy of cervical and vaginal lesions revealed complete necrosis of fusiform cell-like tissue, with increased infiltration of inflammatory cells, and no identifiable endometrial tissue. Due to the presence of pus in the uterus, morinidazole was administered, and uterine drainage was performed. However, the result was not favorable. A gynecological examination revealed the presence of necrotic tissue in the vagina, extending approximately 5 cm from the cervical opening. The tissue appeared white and emitted a foul odor. It was recommended to undergo a laparoscopic surgery.

Sagittal computed tomography images. The uterus shows heterogeneous spongiform enlargement with multiple air locules, measuring 4 × 2.6 cm and extending over 5 cm. We have observed a difficulty in distinguishing between the myometrium and the endometrial cavity

Given that the patient had strong fertility requirements, the surgical procedure included laparoscopic necrotic tissue excision, uterine reconstruction, and the uterine drainage tube placement. During the laparoscopy, adhesion of the uterus to the anterior wall of the abdomen was observed. An opening with white pus and necrotic tissue was visible in the anterior wall of the uterus. The necrotic tissue in the cavity was removed during the operation (Fig.  2 Fig.  3 ). Cefoxitin (1.5 g tid ivgtt) and ornidazole (500 mg bid oral) were administered postoperatively to prevent infection for 2 days. After the surgery, the patient developed a fever with a peak body temperature of 39.3 degrees Celsius, which prompted a switch to cefoperazone-sulbactam sodium (2 g bid ivgtt) and ornidazole antibiotics (500 mg bid oral) for 7 days. After the body temperature returned to normal, the antibiotics were downgraded, the uterine drainage tube was removed, and oral antibiotics were continued after discharge. The results of the vaginal secretion culture indicated the presence of Escherichia coli and Proteus bacteria. The pathological results revealed extensively denatured necrotic tissue with calcification and heightened inflammatory cell infiltration.

The images seen during the surgery. The necrotic tissue of the uterus, attached to the anterior wall of the abdomen, is clearly visible in gray and white colors. It is situated in the anterior wall of the uterus and is connected to the uterine cavity

The gross specimen appeared gray in color, with an extremely soft texture, measuring about 5 cm in length, and accompanied by a foul odor

Uterine necrosis is a rare and serious complication. Cases of uterine necrosis have been reported in the literature as a complication of cesarean section, embolization for postpartum hemorrhage, or for a leiomyomatous uterus, as well as in cases of severe endometritis [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ] (Table  1 ). Several authors have described cases of uterine necrosis associated with intrapartum or postpartum complications that increase the risk of infection. The literature reports cases of uterine necrosis resulting from the placement of B-Lynch compression sutures, uterine artery embolization, or surgical ligation techniques used to treat postpartum hemorrhage. These procedures may increase the risk of infection as the tissue becomes devascularized. A. Fouad et al. described a case similar to ours in which a patient underwent a cesarean section due to fetal death, followed by postoperative sepsis and purulent uterine necrosis. Despite undergoing a hysterectomy, the disease continued to progress and ultimately resulted in death due to septic shock and multiple organ failure.

The case we report has identified pathogenic bacteria in the culture, which is significant for diagnosing infection-induced uterine necrosis. Fusobacterium necrophorum is a pleomorphic, Gram-negative, non-spore-forming obligate anaerobic coccobacillus. It is associated with localized abscesses, throat infections, and life-threatening systemic diseases. It is a common resident of the oral cavity and the vagina. Of the two subspecies of Fusobacterium necrophorum, biovar B is the primary pathogen for humans. Potential virulence factors include cell wall endotoxin lipopolysaccharide, hemagglutinin, and hemolysin. Most reported cases related to gynaecology occurred in the postpartum or post-abortion period, in addition to a few reports associated with the use of intrauterine devices, tubo-ovarian abscesses, and gynecological Lemierre’s syndrome [ 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Although infected with the same pathogen, the case reported by T. Widelock et al. developed more severe symptoms, including lung abscesses and kidney failure, as a result of hematoplasm infection [ 11 , 12 , 13 ].

A pelvic ultrasound is the initial diagnostic test that can reveal signs of uterine necrosis. The uterine cavity is typically expanded and exhibits multiple echogenic foci with accompanying dirty acoustic shadowing. Little or no vascularity is observed [ 14 ]. The diagnosis requires further exploration through a CT scan or MRI, as these are the preferred methods of investigation. The CT scan is highly useful for diagnosis as it demonstrates the presence of gas in the myometrium, the lack of enhancement of the myometrium after contrast injection associated with uterine enlargement, and the presence of free fluid in the peritoneal space [ 15 , 16 ].

Since uterine necrosis is described as a life-threatening complication, it is suggested to manage it with hysterectomy and broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy [ 17 , 18 ]. But sometimes it’s a case-by-case situation.

Avoid the chances of associated infections by systematic vaginal sampling in the third trimester, and promote good asepsis during surgery and antibiotic coverage in case of doubt about any undiagnosed prepartum infection, which may potentiate hypoxia and the risk of necrosis. Uterine necrosis may be secondary to all these intertwined factors and could be potentiated by an environment of hypoxia, hypoperfusion, hypovolemia secondary to hemorrhage, massive transfusions with disadvantages in a patient who is immunocompromised by pregnancy, and possibly, by other vitamin and iron deficiencies.

Given the limited number of reported cases of uterine necrosis in the past, there is no standardized treatment protocol. However, due to the potential fatality of uterine necrosis, most treatment options involve total hysterectomy. In our case, only the necrotic tissue of the uterus was removed in young women who had not given birth, and the prognosis for the patient is good. This study also has limitations, including the short follow-up time and the small number of cases collected. It needs to be complemented by subsequent case reports related to uterine necrosis.

Data availability

No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

Dharia S, Shah S, Kissinger M, Sanders A, Singh G. Group A Streptococcal endometritis and toxic shock causing septic pelvic thrombophlebitis and Septic Pulmonary Emboli. BMJ Case Rep. 2023;16(11):e255455. https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2023-255455 . PMID: 37996149; PMCID: PMC10668199.

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Fouad A, Bouab M, Youssouf N, Lamrissi A, Fichtali K, Bouhya S. Uterine necrosis simulating a textiloma: a case report. Int J Surg Case Rep. 2022;91:106754. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijscr.2021.106754 . Epub 2022 Jan 5. PMID: 35051885; PMCID: PMC8777381.

Article   CAS   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Luo L, Wan J, Chen X, Zhang H, Zhang M, Chen Q. Uterine necrosis, infection, and subinvolution: complications observed after combined application of modified B-Lynch suture and vascular ligation. J Int Med Res. 2021;49(5):3000605211010730. https://doi.org/10.1177/03000605211010730 . PMID: 33947256; PMCID: PMC8113939.

Tymon-Rosario J, Chuang M. Multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli resulting in Postpartum Necrotizing endomyometritis. Case Rep Obstet Gynecol. 2019;2019:6715974. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/6715974 . PMID: 31139481; PMCID: PMC6500617.

Article   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Tanaka K, Muraoka Y, Toda Y, Kiyomoto C, Okubo Y, Nagashima T, Furukawa S, Fujiwara M, Mochizuki M, Kobayashi Y, Iwashita M. Finegoldia magna myometritis with uterine necrosis after uterine artery embolisation. J Obstet Gynaecol. 2017;37(5):688–9. Epub 2017 Mar 20. PMID: 28319430.

Kashan D, Muthu N, Chaucer B, Davalos F, Bernstein M, Chendrasekhar A. Uterine perforation with Intra-abdominal Clostridium perfringens Gas Gangrene: a rare and fatal infection. J Gynecol Surg. 2016;32(3):182–4. PMID: 27274183; PMCID: PMC4876544.

Widelock T, Elkattah R, Gibbs S, Mashak Z, Mohling S, DePasquale S. Uterine Necrosis Associated with Fusobacterium necrophorum infection. Case Rep Obstet Gynecol. 2015;2015:934913. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/934913 . Epub 2015 Apr 27. PMID: 26000185; PMCID: PMC4426659.

Koshy KM, Malik W, Roberts SC. Myometritis with pelvic septic vein thrombophlebitis secondary to Fusobacterium necrophorum sepsis. BMJ Case Rep. 2022;15(10):e250097. https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2022-250097 . PMID: 36229077; PMCID: PMC9562719.

Tamura S, Jwa SC, Tarumoto N, Ishihara O. Septic shock caused by Fusobacterium Necrophorum after sexual intercourse during recovery from infectious mononucleosis in an adolescent: a Case Report. J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol. 2020;33(5):566–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpag.2020.06.018 . Epub 2020 Jun 26. PMID: 32599171.

Reymond B, Huette P, Roger PA, Tredez E, Gagneur O, Sanguin S, Guihéneuf R, Dupont H, Mahjoub Y, Abou Arab O. Fatal Fusobacterium necrophorum infection with gynecological Lemierre’s syndrome. Med Mal Infect. 2019;49(1):72–4. Epub 2018 Oct 9. PMID: 30309662.

Brazier JS. Human infections with Fusobacterium necrophorum. Anaerobe. 2006;12(4):165–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anaerobe.2005.11.003 . Epub 2005 Dec 22. PMID: 16962962.

Hagelskjaer Kristensen L, Prag J. Lemierre’s syndrome and other disseminated Fusobacterium necrophorum infections in Denmark: a prospective epidemiological and clinical survey. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2008;27(9):779–89. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-008-0496-4 . Epub 2008 Mar 11. PMID: 18330604; PMCID: PMC7102232.

Treszezamsky AD, Molina Boero MF, Mehta I. Cervical conization complicated by sepsis with lung and liver abscesses. J Low Genit Tract Dis. 2010;14(2):130-3. https://doi.org/10.1097/LGT.0b013e3181c7104e . PMID: 20354422.

Ruiz Sánchez E, Peinado Rodenas J, Gil Martínez-Acacio L, Arones Collantes M, Villar García M, García de la Torre JP, Amezcua Recover AN. Uterine necrosis. A rare complication of embolisation due to post-partum haemorrhage. J Gynecol Obstet Hum Reprod. 2021;50(2):101773. Epub 2020 Apr 20. PMID: 32325270.

Benkirane S, Saadi H, Serji B, Mimouni A. Uterine necrosis following a combination of uterine compression sutures and vascular ligation during a postpartum hemorrhage: a case report. Int J Surg Case Rep. 2017;38:5–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijscr.2017.07.005 . Epub 2017 Jul 10. PMID: 28728102; PMCID: PMC5516088.

Pirard C, Squifflet J, Gilles A, Donnez J. Uterine necrosis and sepsis after vascular embolization and surgical ligation in a patient with postpartum hemorrhage. Fertil Steril. 2002;78(2):412-3. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0015-0282(02)03229-6 . PMID: 12137882.

Gupta S, Buxi TBS, Rastogi D, Ghuman S, Mittal S, Sud S. Imaging of uterine necrosis: a rare complication of uterine artery embolization for post partum hemorrhage. Curr Med Res Pract. 2017;7(1):20–3.

Article   Google Scholar  

Melenhorst M, Hehenkamp W, de Heer K, Herger F. CT features in uterine necrosis of unknown cause: a case report. Clin Imaging. 2014;38(4):543–6.

Download references

Acknowledgements

Not applicable.

All authors declare that no fundings were received concerning the published case or the decision to publish it.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, West China Xiamen Hospital of Sichuan University, Xiamen, 361000, China

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

Tengge Yu have drafted the work and substantively revised it.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tengge Yu .

Ethics declarations

Competing interests.

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Patient consent for publication.

Consent for publication

Written Informed consent for publication obtained from the participant.

Additional information

Publisher’s note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary Material 1

Rights and permissions.

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ ) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Yu, T. Minimally invasive treatment of uterine necrosis with favorable outcomes: an uncommon case presentation and literature review. BMC Women's Health 24 , 267 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-024-03089-w

Download citation

Received : 21 December 2023

Accepted : 12 April 2024

Published : 27 April 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-024-03089-w

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Minimally invasive surgical procedures
• Fertility preservation
• Bacterial infections

BMC Women's Health

ISSN: 1472-6874

• Submission enquiries: [email protected]
• General enquiries: [email protected]

Advancing social justice, promoting decent work ILO is a specialized agency of the United Nations

Migrated Content

ILO Working paper 71

This report sets out to analyse the emergence and distinctive impact of corporate social responsibility and sustainable development (CSR/SD) functions and professionals within organizations. By evaluating the literature on this topic, it seeks to clarify how leveraging the already established CSR/SD functions and professionals across organizations can contribute to the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) objective of achieving a future of work that provides decent and sustainable work opportunities for all.

Additional details

• Jean-Pascal Gond, Grace Augustine, Hyemi Shin, Alessandro Tirapani, Szilvia Mosonyi
• ISBN: 9789220374139 (print)
• ISBN: 9789220374146 (web pdf)
• ISBN: 9789220374153 (epub)
• ISBN: 9789220374160 (mobi)
• https://www.ilo.org/legacy/english/intserv/working-papers/wp071/index.html

• Open supplemental data
• Reference Manager
• Simple TEXT file

People also looked at

Case report article, malignant peritoneal mesothelioma presenting with bilateral hydronephrosis and renal insufficiency: a case report and literature review.

• 1 Department of Urology, Guiqian International General Hospital, Guiyang, China
• 2 Department of Pathology, Guiqian International General Hospital, Guiyang, China

Introduction: Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (MPM) is an extremely rare tumor with nonspecific clinical manifestations, making diagnosis challenging.

Case presentation: Herein, we report a case of MPM with occult onset presenting with bilateral hydronephrosis and renal insufficiency. A 30-year-old man was admitted to the Urology Department because of recurrent bilateral lower back pain. The etiology was unclear after a series of laboratory tests, imaging examinations, bone marrow aspiration, renal puncture biopsy, ascites examination, ureteroscopy, and so on. Finally, MPM was diagnosed by laparoscopic exploration and biopsy. Moreover, during the course of the disease, the patient's bilateral ureters were compressed, and the obstruction could not be relieved after the placement of ordinary ureteral stents. Percutaneous nephrostomy or metal ureteral stenosis was appropriate in managing malignant ureteral obstruction as it could improve renal function.

Conclusions: The onset of this case was insidious, and the diagnosis was difficult, with a poor prognosis. To date, only a handful of cases have been reported. We hope this case can provide some enlightenment for our clinical work.

Introduction

Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive neoplasm that can rapidly spread within the abdominal area. Patients with peritoneal mesothelioma usually present with an abdominal mass, ascites, and abdominal pain. Herein, we report a case with bilateral hydronephrosis and renal insufficiency as the first symptoms. The case was extremely challenging to diagnose, which was finally confirmed based on laparoscopic exploration and biopsy. This study aimed to provide clinical evidence for the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of rare MPM.

Case presentation

A 30-year-old man was admitted to the Urology Department because of repeated bilateral lower back pain for 3 months. At the onset of the illness, computed tomography (CT) scans revealed bilateral hydronephrosis, and the serum creatinine (SCr) level was 123 μmol/L. Symptoms improved after the placement of bilateral ureteral stents. However, the back pain recurred 1 month later, accompanied by abdominal distension, nausea, and vomiting. Enhanced CT scans revealed bilateral hydronephrosis, splenomegaly, and ascites. Hydronephrosis had aggravated, with SCr levels increasing to 305 µmol/L. A transurethral cystoscopy revealed no lower urinary tract obstruction. Ureteroscopy indicated narrowing of the lower part of the bilateral ureter, approximately 6 cm from the ureteral opening. During hospitalization, the patient's condition continued to deteriorate, with a progressive decrease in urine volume. The highest SCr level was 470 μmol/L. A plain CT scan revealed bilateral hydronephrosis, splenomegaly, abdominal effusion, peritoneal thickening with exudative changes, and intestinal wall thickening, with no significant mass observed. We performed a bilateral percutaneous nephrostomy (PCN) and abdominal catheterization. Ascites analysis revealed no definite malignant cells. Serum IgG4 level testing yielded negative results. A renal needle biopsy indicated moderate to severe chronic tubulointerstitial injury. Finally, laparoscopic exploration was performed, and intraoperative findings revealed numerous small, shiny, whitish nodules carpeting all visualized peritoneal surfaces and some parts of the intestinal tubes. The tumor infiltrated the entire omentum, forming a large, firm mass ( Figure 1 ). A biopsy of the omentum itself confirmed the diagnosis of peritoneal mesothelioma. Histological findings revealed fibrous tissue hyperplasia with inflammatory cell infiltration and papillary hyperplasia of the overlying mesothelium. The immunohistochemical (IHC) markers were as follows: calretinin (+), CK (+), desmin (-), HMB45 (-), Ki-67 (10%+), CD34 (-), MC (HBME-1) (+), melan-A (-), and B-catenin (+) ( Figure 2 ).

Figure 1 . ( A ) Numerous small nodules carpeting all visualized peritoneal and some parts of intestinal tube surfaces. ( B ) Tumor infiltrating the entire omentum and forming a large, firm mass.

Figure 2 . Histology and immunohistochemistry of the omentum. ( A , B ) Mass of cells lined with a papillary structure of monolayer flat/cuboidal mesothelial cells with a milder nucleus and acidophilic cytoplasm (H&E, ×100). ( C , D ) Immunohistochemistry results for calretinin and MC (HBME-1) (×100).

Unfortunately, the patient refused to undergo therapy and chose to be discharged for recuperation. During the follow-up, he died at home 1 month after discharge.

Discussion and conclusions

Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma is an aggressive neoplasm of the serosal membranes, first reported by Miller and Wynn in 1908 ( 1 ). It accounts for approximately 25% of malignant mesotheliomas. Asbestos exposure is a well-recognized high-risk pathogenic factor for MPM ( 2 ). The patient was a deaf–mute construction worker with no clear history of asbestos exposure. Patients with peritoneal mesothelioma usually present with abdominal pain, distention, ascites, and an abdominal mass. Hydronephrosis rarely occurs as the first symptom. We searched PubMed for articles addressing peritoneal mesothelioma and hydronephrosis and found five relevant articles, screened by title and abstract. Two articles were finally included in the review. Detailed case data of four patients were obtained ( Table 1 ).

Table 1 . Characteristics of four cases of peritoneal mesothelioma presenting with hydronephrosis, as screened from PubMed and our patient.

Among these cases, the majority had a survival period of only a few months after the first diagnosis. Four out of five presented with combined bilateral hydronephrosis. Ureteral stenting was initially used in the majority of patients to drain hydronephrosis. Renal function improvement was observed in two patients. Therefore, the drainage mode should be considered when dealing with ureteral obstruction. There is no consensus on the optimal method for malignant ureteral obstruction (MUO). Some studies ( 5 ) showed that the postoperative stent failure rate of extrinsic malignant ureteral obstruction was 42%–45%. However, there was no difference in median survival compared with PCN. Metallic stents and some new material stents provide more options. The type and level of obstruction, renal insufficiency, degree of hydroneurosis, and length of obstruction >3 cm have been identified as predictors of stent failure in MUO patients. Accordingly, all these aspects should be taken into consideration. Clinician preference and patient comfort are also important factors.

Diagnosing MPM is extremely challenging, as it is characterized by irregular or nodular peritoneal or mesenteric thickening, omental mass, and ascites in imaging evaluations. The accuracy of ascitic cytology is only 50% ( 6 ). Laparoscopy is superior to CT in the evaluation of localized peritoneal metastases. The gold standard for MPM diagnosis is pathological examination. Morphologically, there are mainly three subtypes of MPM: epithelioid, sarcomatoid, and biphasic. Epithelioid MPM is the most common and least aggressive subtype, accounting for approximately 60% of cases. Our patient belongs to the epithelioid type, as evidenced by the histological findings showing papillary hyperplasia of the overlying mesothelium. However, the diffused growth pattern of the tumor and the limited tissue obtained by laparoscopic biopsy present challenges for pathological examination. In combination with the prognosis of the patient, it can be mixed with a few sarcomatoid types. IHC staining is the most valuable and feasible method for the differential diagnosis of MPM ( 7 ). The recognized positive markers are calretinin, CK 5/6, WT-1, HBME-1, thrombomodulin, podoplanin, mesothelin, and D2-40, while the negative markers are TTF1, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), Ber Ep4, B72.3, MOC31, and CD15. It is recommended to use at least two positive and two negative markers for differential diagnosis ( 8 ).

In 2011, Yan et al. ( 9 ) proposed a TNM staging system based on the extent of peritoneal disease burden (T), intra-abdominal nodal metastasis (N), and extra-abdominal metastasis (M) to standardize and guide the clinical treatment and prognostic evaluation of MPM. The T stage is determined by calculating the peritoneal carcinomatosis index (PCI). This assessment combines lesion size (0–3) with tumor distribution (abdominopelvic and mesenteric regions 0–13) to quantify the extent of disease as a numerical score (PCI-0 to 39). The 5-year survival rates of stage I, II, and III patients were reported to be 87%, 53%, and 29%, respectively. The patient’s PCI was >30, categorizing MPM as stage III (T4). This staging was an independent prognostic factor for malignant peritoneal mesothelioma.

Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) combined with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is the initial preferred treatment for MPM. An analysis by the US HIPEC Collaborative, including 130 patients with MPM (all histologic subtypes included) who underwent CRS-HIPEC, reported a 5-year OS of 67.8% and a conditional OS of 89.7%. The strongest predictor of long-term survival is complete cytoreduction ( 10 ). Our patient presented with diffuse MPM, with extensive peritoneal, small bowel serosal, or mesentery involvement, which is not amenable to complete cytoreduction. The proposed treatment plan is intravenous chemotherapy and HIPEC, and immunosuppressive therapy can be added if physical conditions allow. The current preferred intraperitoneal chemotherapy is cisplatin alone or in combination with cisplatin/doxorubicin, the most commonly used combination therapy. Systemic therapy is an alternative treatment for inoperable patients. The International Expanded Access Program assessed pemetrexed regimens for 109 patients with MPM. Patients received pemetrexed, pemetrexed plus cisplatin, or pemetrexed plus carboplatin as either first-line or second-line therapy. For patients who received pemetrexed plus cisplatin, the 1-year survival rate was 57.4%. For patients who received pemetrexed alone, the median survival rate was 10.3 months, and the 1-year survival rate was 41.5%. Survival rates are not available for pemetrexed plus carboplatin ( 11 ). In recent years, molecular therapy and immunotherapy have attracted increasing attention. BAP1, TP53, NF2, and ALK, which are commonly mutated genes in MPM ( 12 ), are expected to become potential therapeutic targets. A phase II study evaluated the activity of pembrolizumab in 64 mesothelioma patients who had been treated with one or two chemotherapy regimens. Among these patients, only eight (12.5%) had MPM, and they exhibited lower overall response rates than patients with pleural mesothelioma in the study. Whether PDL1 expression is predictive of benefit remains unknown. In another cohort study evaluating the clinical efficacy of immunotherapy in patients with advanced MPM, the overall response rate was 19%, with a reported median progression-free survival (PFS) of 5.5 months ( 13 ) . Immunotherapy is an exciting future direction for MPM, and we look forward to the results of more clinical trials.

Peritoneal mesothelioma with bilateral hydronephrosis as the first symptom is rare and the diagnosis can be confirmed by laparoscopic exploration biopsy when necessary. Because of severe ureteral compression, PCN, or metal stents with high tension, offer more advantages than ordinary stents in improving renal function.

Data availability statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Ethics statement

This study involving humans was approved by the ethics committee of the Guiqian International General Hospital. The studies were conducted in accordance with local legislation and institutional requirements. The participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study. Written informed consent was obtained from the participant/patient(s) for the publication of this case report.

Author contributions

JL: Conceptualization, Data curation, Validation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. JP: Resources, Writing – review & editing. CZ: Investigation, Software, Validation, Writing – review & editing. LW: Formal analysis, Validation, Writing – review & editing. HZ: Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Methodology, Project administration, Writing – review & editing.

The authors declare that no financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary material

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsurg.2024.1342657/full#supplementary-material

1. Miller J, Wynn WH. A malignant tumour arising from the endothelium of the peritoneum, and producing a mucoid ascitic fluid. J Pathol Bacteriol . (1908) 12:267–78. doi: 10.1002/path.1700120212

Crossref Full Text | Google Scholar

2. Broeckx G, Pauwels P. Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma: a review. Transl Lung Cancer Res . (2018) 7(5):537–42. doi: 10.21037/tlcr.2018.10.04

PubMed Abstract | Crossref Full Text | Google Scholar

3. Yoshida T, Nishimura K, Uemurai M, Harada Y, Kanno N, Miyoshi S, et al. Peritoneal mesothelioma presented with bilateral hydronephrosis: a case report. Hinyokika Kiyo. Acta Urol Jpn . (2006) 52(5):363–6. PMID: 16758726.

PubMed Abstract | Google Scholar

4. McCaffrey JC, Foo FJ, Dalal N, Siddiqui KH. Benign multicystic peritoneal mesothelioma associated with hydronephrosis and colovesical fistula formation: report of a case. Tumori . (2009) 95(6):808–10. doi: 10.1177/030089160909500626

5. Chung SY, Stein RJ, Landsittel D, Davies BJ, Cuellar DC, Hrebinko RL, et al. 15-year experience with the management of extrinsic ureteral obstruction with indwelling ureteral stents. J Urol . (2004) 172(2):592–5. doi: 10.1097/01.ju.0000130510.28768.f5

6. Manzini VP, Recchia L, Cafferata M, Porta C, Siena S, Giannetta L, et al. Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma: a multicenter study on 81 cases. Ann Oncol . (2010) 21(2):348–53. doi: 10.1093/annonc/mdp307

7. Marchevsky AM. Application of immunohistochemistry to the diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma. Arch Pathol Lab Med . (2008) 132(3):397–401. doi: 10.5858/2008-132-397-AOITTD

8. Suster S, Moran CA. Applications and limitations of immunohistochemistry in the diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma. Adv Anat Pathol . (2006) 13(6):316–29. doi: 10.1097/01.pap.0000213064.05005.64

9. Yan TD, Deraco M, Elias D, Glehen O, Levine EA, Moran BJ, et al. A novel tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) staging system of diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma using outcome analysis of a multi-institutional database. Cancer . (2011) 117(9):1855–63. doi: 10.1002/cncr.25640

10. Steadman JA, Grotz TE. Principles of surgical management of peritoneal mesothelioma. J Natl Compr Canc Netw . (2023) 21(9):981–6. doi: 10.6004/jnccn.2023.7055

11. Ettinger DS, Wood DE, Stevenson J, Aisner DL, Akerley L, Bauman JR, et al. Mesothelioma: peritoneal, version 2.2023, NCCN clinical practice guidelines in oncology. J Natl Compr Canc Netw . (2023) 21(9):961–79. doi: 10.6004/jnccn.2023.0045

12. Kim JE, Kim D, Hong YS, Kim KP, Yoon YK, Lee DH, et al. Mutational profiling of malignant mesothelioma revealed potential therapeutic targets in EGFR and NRAS. Transl Oncol . (2018) 11(2):268–74. doi: 10.1016/j.tranon.2018.01.005

13. Menezes MB, Lima R, Dunões I, Inácio M, Dinis R. A complete response to pembrolizumab in malignant peritoneal mesothelioma: a case report. Cureus . (2024) 16(1):e52716. doi: 10.7759/cureus.52716

Keywords: peritoneal mesothelioma, hydronephrosis, percutaneous nephrostomy, ureteral stent, case report

Citation: Luo J, Pan J, Zhong C, Wang L and Zhang H (2024) Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma presenting with bilateral hydronephrosis and renal insufficiency: a case report and literature review. Front. Surg. 11:1342657. doi: 10.3389/fsurg.2024.1342657

Received: 22 November 2023; Accepted: 3 April 2024; Published: 24 April 2024.

Reviewed by:

© 2024 Luo, Pan, Zhong, Wang and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Heng Zhang [email protected]

A loss-of-function AGTR1 variant in a critically-ill infant with renal tubular dysgenesis: case presentation and literature review

Affiliations.

• 1 Laboratory of Genomic Medicine, Sidra Medicine, P.O. Box 26999, Doha, Qatar.
• 2 Department of Human Genetics-Precision Medicine in Diabetes Prevention, Sidra Medicine, P.O. Box 26999, Doha, Qatar.
• 3 Neonatology Division, Sidra Medicine, P.O. Box 26999, Doha, Qatar.
• 4 Genetic Pathology, Sidra Medicine, P.O. Box 26999, Doha, Qatar.
• 5 Anatomical Pathology, Sidra Medicine, P.O. Box 26999, Doha, Qatar.
• 6 Laboratory of Genomic Medicine, Sidra Medicine, P.O. Box 26999, Doha, Qatar. [email protected].
• 7 Department of Human Genetics-Precision Medicine in Diabetes Prevention, Sidra Medicine, P.O. Box 26999, Doha, Qatar. [email protected].
• 8 College of Health and Life Sciences, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, P.O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar. [email protected].
• 9 Department of Genetic Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, P.O. Box 24144, Doha, Qatar. [email protected].
• PMID: 38649831
• PMCID: PMC11034062
• DOI: 10.1186/s12882-024-03569-z

Background: Renal tubular dysgenesis (RTD) is a severe disorder with poor prognosis significantly impacting the proximal tubules of the kidney while maintaining an anatomically normal gross structure. The genetic origin of RTD, involving variants in the ACE, REN, AGT, and AGTR1 genes, affects various enzymes or receptors within the Renin angiotensin system (RAS). This condition manifests prenatally with oligohydramninos and postnatally with persistent anuria, severe refractory hypotension, and defects in skull ossification.

Case presentation: In this report, we describe a case of a female patient who, despite receiving multi vasopressor treatment, experienced persistent hypotension, ultimately resulting in early death at five days of age. While there was a history of parental consanguinity, no reported family history of renal disease existed. Blood samples from the parents and the remaining DNA sample of the patient underwent Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS). The genetic analysis revealed a rare homozygous loss of function variant (NM_000685.5; c.415C > T; p.Arg139*) in the Angiotensin II Receptor Type 1 (AGTR1) gene.

Conclusion: This case highlights the consequence of loss-of-function variants in AGTR1 gene leading to RTD, which is characterized by high mortality rate at birth or during the neonatal period. Furthermore, we provide a comprehensive review of previously reported variants in the AGTR1 gene, which is the least encountered genetic cause of RTD, along with their associated clinical features.

Keywords: AGTR1; Middle East; Rare Mendelian disease; Renal tubular dysgenesis; Whole genome sequencing.

© 2024. The Author(s).

Grants and funding

• NPRP11S-0110-180250/Qatar National Research Fund