How to Do a Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide

A literature review means finding, evaluating and synthesising existing knowledge on your topic. The goal is not to summarise sources one by one, but to show where knowledge in the field stands today and where your study fits.

1. Define your keywords

Write down the core concepts of your topic and add synonyms for each — for example "self-esteem" and "self-worth". Combine concepts with AND and widen synonyms with OR:

• (self-esteem OR self-worth) AND (social media) AND (university students)

2. Choose the right databases

• General and interdisciplinary: OpenAlex, Crossref, Semantic Scholar, Google Scholar
• Health and life sciences: PubMed, Europe PMC
• Open access: DOAJ, CORE
• Turkish sources: DergiPark, TR Dizin, the national thesis centre of the Council of Higher Education (YÖK)

Staying in a single database can make you miss important studies.

3. Screen your sources

Look at titles and abstracts first, then read the full text of relevant studies. Write your inclusion criteria in advance: publication years, language, study type, sample. If you are doing a systematic review, you are expected to document this process (for example with a PRISMA flow diagram).

4. Take notes as you read

For each source, note the aim, sample, method, key findings, limitations and its relationship to your study. Always record the page number of sentences you may quote. Collecting these notes in a table (a literature matrix) speeds up writing enormously.

5. Write by themes, not source by source

A weak literature review reads "A found this. B found that." A strong one is organised around themes: which findings support each other, which contradict, and which questions remain open?

6. State the gap clearly

At the end of your review the reader should be able to answer: "Why is this study needed?" The gap may be an understudied population, conflicting findings or a missing method.

Common mistakes

• Interpreting a study as if you read the full text when you only read the abstract
• Relying on outdated sources
• Presenting a secondary source as a primary one
• Leaving reference details to the end and not finding them again

Literature reviews with Academiana

Academiana plans a search strategy for your topic and searches more than 10 databases at once. Sources are verified via DOI, and every source shows clearly whether it was read at citation, abstract or full-text level. The literature matrix lets you compare sources in a table, and you can quote open-access full texts with page numbers.