Organizing and Conducting Scholarly Literature Reviews

The literature review is one of the first exercises taught as an upper level academic exercise. The ability to research, organize, and synthesize a body of knowledge for a specific purpose is a skill that will serve every professional and student, regardless of industry.  Literature reviews cross professional industries for the purpose of making informed and data-drive decisions based on a comprehensive review of the knowledge. Organizing and conducting a literature review, regardless of purpose is an exercise that should be conducted using pre-defined goals and delimitations, completed in a systematic and methodological manner. This chapter reviews the five purposes of literature reviews and presents specific steps for applying organization in a clear and systematic way to the development of a literature review. The application and characteristics of a literature review are presented. Examples of the literature review processes are provided. Finally, clear applied steps for organizing and conducting a literature review are provided.