Your literature review should not be a list of sources with summaries and evacuations, one after the other. There are multiple ways you can structure your literature review, consider which method makes the most sense to guide readers through your ideas.
Options for organization:
- Chronological: One of the most common ways, especially for topics with a long history of scholarship that has changed over time. Organize your review in stages that follow changes in the topic.
- Major theories: When there are multiple models or prominent theories, you should outline those that have been applied the most. Group the sources by theoretical framework.
- Researchers: If the field was started by a certain researcher and there are several notable people who further developed the field, you can organize by grouping these authors and what they wrote about the topic. Create groups to organize other authors into by which notable author's ideas they follow.
- Tip! Look at the citations your sources list to see if there is an author(s) who appear over and over!
These are not the only ways to organize a literature review. Speak with a writing tutor or your instructor about a method that will work best for you!
