Literature Reviews: A Research Guide

Recommended Guides:

• Writing the Literature Review Chapter (Chapter 7). In Lunenburg, F. C., & Irby, B. J. (2007). Writing a successful thesis or dissertation: Tips and strategies for students in the social and behavioral sciences. SAGE Publications. 
• Literature review (Chapter 7). In McGregor, S. (2018). Understanding and evaluating research. SAGE Publications, Inc.
• Searching and Reviewing Scientific Literature (Chapter 4). In Davis, M., Davis, K. J., & Dunagan, M. (2012). Scientific papers and presentations. Elsevier Science & Technology. 
• Literature Reviews - University of Toronto Engineering Communication Program

Find a book that discusses research methods in your discipline.

All disciplines have books on research methods. Many of the books on research in a discipline will contain a chapter on literature reviewing. They may also discuss problem formulation, or how to define your topic well enough to know what literature to include in your review. To locate these books, search in the U of C Library collection for the name of your discipline and "research" or "research methods." Tip: If you log into your library account, you can "pin" titles to a favourites list. 

Consult Sage Research Methods Online 

Sage Research Methods Online is a large collection of resources for social sciences research. Searching "literature review" (in quotations to search it as a phrase) will bring up several articles on the topic of literature reviews. 

Sage Research Methods is also an excellent source if you're considering higher-level literature reviewing methods, such as systematic review, meta-analysis, or qualitative meta-synthesis.