Writing the literature review might be easier than you think. It's only a critical recap of what has already been researched on a topic, so no need to panic. In this video, you'll learn how to write a literature review in 5 simple steps. Hi, I'm Jessica from Scribbr, here to help you achieve your academic goals. We also zoom in on all of the steps outlined in this video in separate videos check out the playlist here. Let's get ready to start writing! Step 1, search for relevant literature on your topic In this context, literature just means any academic sources like books or journal articles about your topic. First, you need to search in the right scholarly databases, so something like google scholar, JSTOR, science direct. Search your keywords with boolean operators like these to help you filter and refine the search results. Check out this video to find out how to use them. Step 2, evaluate and select sources Unless your topic is super niche, you probably can’t read EVERYTHING that’s been written on the topic. Once you've got the sources from step 1, read the abstract to scan whether an article is relevant or not. Also scan the bibliography to find other relevant sources! You should also pay attention to the citation count on Google Scholar. If the count is high, the source is probably important and you should include it. Step 3, identify themes, debates, and gaps As you read, take notes and pay attention to the connections between different sources. This way, you can organize your literature review's arguments and structure a lot easier. Here ar e some things to look for: Trends and patterns in theory, method or results. Themes Debates or contradictions Influential studies And gaps Step 4, outline your literature review’s structure You can go about your literature review's structure in a few ways. It all depends on what you found in the literature and what you want to emphasize. Here are 4 common approaches to structure the literature review. Chronological, that means from older to more recent publications. Thematic, so organized around several key themes. For methodological, you can compare the different research methods being used across studies. And use theoretical to discuss opposing theories or models. More details in this video, check it out. And finally, get writing! Make sure your literature review has an introduction, a main body that summarizes and synthesizes the sources, and a conclusion, just like other academic texts. Now let's get your literature review started! To learn more about literature review, click this playlist! I'll see you there.