Demystifying the Literature Review

Writing a literature review can feel daunting, but they're actually great! Learn how to conduct a literature review for your research papers, independent projects, and fellowship applications. In this 45-minute workshop, students will learn:

• why a literature review is important
• how to conduct a literature review
• ways to evaluate and synthesize your sources
• how to use citation management software (like Zotero) to organize citations and take notes

What is a literature review?

A literature review is similar to an annotated bibliography, but more formal, analytical, and narrative. They are often required in for theses and published papers to provide an analysis of sources/authors to demonstrate how your research fits within a larger academic conversation. Depending on the discipline, a literature review might also be called a systematic review, argumentative review, meta-analysis, or a methodological review.

Audience: Undergraduate students. Graduate students new to writing a literature review are also welcome to attend.

Registration: Required for access to the Zoom room. You will also receive a reminder email 1-hour before the event.

Students interested in this workshop might also be interested in the workshop "Reading Strategies for Writing Papers." For individual support, reach out to your Personal Librarian or Subject Specialist Librarian.

Any student who participates in at least 3 library workshops this semester will be eligible for a prize. Learn more about the Workshop Incentive Program.