Chapter 5: The Literature Review
Following are a few acceptable sources for literature reviews, listed in order from what will be considered most acceptable to less acceptable sources for your literature review assignments:
- Peer reviewed journal articles.
- Edited academic books.
- Articles in professional journals.
- Statistical data from government websites.
- Website material from professional associations (use sparingly and carefully). The following sections will explain and provide examples of these various sources.
Peer reviewed journal articles (papers)
A peer reviewed journal article is a paper that has been submitted to a scholarly journal, accepted, and published. Peer review journal papers go through a rigorous, blind review process of peer review. What this means is that two to three experts in the area of research featured in the paper have reviewed and accepted the paper for publication. The names of the author(s) who are seeking to publish the research have been removed (blind review), so as to minimize any bias towards the authors of the research (albeit, sometimes a savvy reviewer can discern who has done the research based upon previous publications, etc.). This blind review process can be long (often 12 to 18 months) and may involve many back and forth edits on the behalf of the researchers, as they work to address the edits and concerns of the peers who reviewed their paper. Often, reviewers will reject the paper for a variety of reasons, such as unclear or questionable methods, lack of contribution to the field, etc. Because peer reviewed journal articles have gone through a rigorous process of review, they are considered to be the premier source for research. Peer reviewed journal articles should serve as the foundation for your literature review.
The following link will provide more information on peer reviewed journal articles. Make sure you watch the little video on the upper left-hand side of your screen, in addition to reading the material at the following website: http://guides.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/c.php?g=288333&p=1922599
Edited academic books
An edited academic book is a collection of scholarly scientific papers written by different authors. The works are original papers, not published elsewhere (“Edited volume,” 2018). The papers within the text also go through a process of review; however, the review is often not a blind review because the authors have been invited to contribute to the book. Consequently, edited academic books are fine to use for your literature review, but you also want to ensure that your literature review contains mostly peer reviewed journal papers.
Articles in professional journals
Articles from professional journals should be used with caution for your literature review. This is because articles in trade journals are not usually peer reviewed, even though they may appear to be. A good way to find out is to read the “About Us” section of the professional journal, which should state whether or not the papers are peer reviewed. You can also find out by Googling the name of the journal and adding “peer reviewed” to the search.
Statistical data from governmental websites
Governmental websites can be excellent sources for statistical data, e.g, Statistics Canada collects and publishes data related to the economy, society, and the environment (see https://www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/start).
Website material from professional associations
Material from other websites can also serve as a source for statistics that you may need for your literature review. Since you want to justify the value of the research that interests you, you might make use of a professional association’s website to learn how many members they have, for example. You might want to demonstrate, as part of the introduction to your literature review, why more research on the topic of PTSD in police officers is important. You could use peer reviewed journal articles to determine the prevalence of PTSD in police officers in Canada in the last ten years, and then use the Ontario Police Officers´ Association website to determine the approximate number of police officers employed in the Province of Ontario over the last ten years. This might help you estimate how many police officers could be suffering with PTSD in Ontario. That number could potentially help to justify a research grant down the road. But again, this type of website- based material should be used with caution and sparingly.
FAQs
Books, peer-reviewed scholarly or scientific journals from reputable publishers. Avoid predatory journals. At least 80% of the total number of sources in your literature review should be sources from this category.
What is a good source for a literature review? ›
Books, peer-reviewed scholarly or scientific journals from reputable publishers. Avoid predatory journals. At least 80% of the total number of sources in your literature review should be sources from this category.
What is a literature review in social science research? ›
A literature review surveys 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.
How many sources for literature review? ›
As a very rough rule of thumb – you may choose 8-10 significant pieces (books and/or articles) for an 8,000 word dissertation, up to 20 major pieces of work for 12-15,000 words, and so on.
Which is the most reliable source of information for your literature review *? ›
Peer-reviewed journal articles are considered the best source of information for literature reviews, though other sources are often used.
What are the three major sources of literature review? ›
Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources.
How do you gather sources for a literature review? ›
Journals are a major source of materials for a literature review. With the library's databases, you can search thousands of journals back a century or more. At conferences, professionals and scholars explore the latest trends, share new ideas, and present new research.
What is the introduction of a literature review? ›
In a literature review, an introduction may contain the following: A concise definition of a topic under consideration (this may be a descriptive or argumentative thesis, or proposal), as well as the scope of the related literature being investigated.
What is the importance of literature review in social research? ›
Literature reviews prevent you from duplicating the same information as others writing in your field, allowing you to find your own, unique approach to your topic. Literature reviews give you familiarity with the knowledge in your field, giving you the chance to analyze the significance of your additional research.
What is the main aim of a literature review in the sciences? ›
The purpose of a literature review is to gain an understanding of the existing research and debates relevant to a particular topic or area of study, and to present that knowledge in the form of a written report. Conducting a literature review helps you build your knowledge in your field.
Primary and secondary sources
| Primary sources: | Secondary sources: |
|---|
| Diaries | Journal articles |
| Audio recordings | Textbooks |
| Transcripts | Dictionaries and encyclopaedias |
| Original manuscripts | Biographies |
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While you have to cite every source that you reference properly, you defenitely don't have to discuss every source in the literature review.
How many sources are enough? ›
I usually tell my students a good rule of thumb is about one source per page of the assignment length. If a teacher assigns a 10–20 page research essay, you need 10–20 sources. If it's 5–7 pages, you need about 5–7 sources. I'd guestimate that most research papers have 1–2 citations per paragraph, on average.
What is the most reliable source of information? ›
Scholarly, peer-reviewed articles and books. Trade or professional articles or books. Magazine articles, books and newspaper articles from well-established companies.
What is the most reliable source for a research paper? ›
Consider these research databases to find credible sources:
- JSTOR: multidisciplinary academic journals, books, primary sources, and images.
- Scopus: peer-reviewed scientific journals and books.
- PubMed: literature on biomedical or life sciences.
- Directory of Open Access Journals: peer-reviewed scholarly research journals.
The 2 most common forms of a literature review probably are labeled narrative review, and systematic review.
How many references are enough for literature review? ›
There is no magic number regarding how many sources you are going to need for your literature review, it all depends on the topic and what type of the literature review you are doing: ► Are you working on an emerging topic?
How many sources are in a 1000 word literature review? ›
Writing a Literature Review
For the purposes of this task, your literature review should be 1000-1200 words long (about 4 pages, you can go over it) without repeating your self, which means you need at least 4-5 outstanding secondary sources.
Can you have too many sources in a literature review? ›
My "rule of thumb" has always been to use a maximum of three references to support a particular statement. The role of a literature review is to provide a targeted review of the literature. In my view, there are several reasons why it is wise not to use too many references: It really disturbs the flow of the paper.
How many sources for 3000 word literature review? ›
3000 word essay: 20 sources (or more) listed in the reference list. 5000 word essay: 33 sources (or more) listed in the reference list. A 3000 word essay should have exactly as many references cited as required - not a single reference more and not a single reference less.
