What is a Literature Review?
"Literature review articles (or narrative review articles) provide narrative summaries and evaluations of the findings or theories within a literature base. The literature base may include qualitative, quantitative, and/or mixed methods research. Literature reviews capture trends in the literature; they do not engage in a systematic quantitative or qualitative meta-analysis of the findings from the initial studies" (APA, 2020, p.8).
Example Literature Review Article
Using the Systematic Literature Review in Aviation: A Case Study for Runway Incursions
Goals of a Literature Review:
Literature Review Articles should (APA 7, 2020, p. 8):
- Define & clarify the problem
- Summarize previous investigations to inform readers of the state of the research
- Identify relations, contradictions, gaps, and inconsistencies in the literature
- Suggest next steps in solving the problem
How is a Literature Review Different?
Differences Between Student & Professional Papers:
Student literature reviews included, at minimum, a title page, page numbers, text, and a reference list . . . they may also have tables, figures, and/or appendices. Student literature reviews do not typically include a running heading, an author note, or an abstract, unless specifically requested by the instructor or institution (APA, 2020, p. 30). Student literature reviews have a student-specific version of the title page (please see Sample Student Paper PDF above).
". . . most of the guidelines in the Publication Manual can be applied to student papers. However, because the scope of what constitutes a student paper is broad and flexible, and because students submit paper to their academic institutions rather than to an APA journal, we do not designate formal requirements for the nature or content of an APA Style student paper. Thus, questions about paper length, required sections, and so forth are best answered the the instructor or institution setting the assignment" (APA, 2020, p. 10).
APA 7 Step-By-Step Tutorial
Academic Writer Tutorial: APA 7th Edition
By the end of this tutorial, you should be able to understand and implement the following basic elements of APA Style:
-
paper elements, format, and organization
-
academic writing style
-
grammar and usage
-
bias-free language guidelines
-
mechanics of style
-
tables and figures
-
in-text citations, paraphrasing, and quotations
-
reference list format and order