explains
indicates
notes
describes
Most of us have favourite verbs that we default to almost unconsciously when we are writing—reports, argues, describes, studies, explains, asserts—but these verbs are not interchangeable. They each inscribe a slightly different stance towards the knowledge—not only the writer’s stance, but also the stance of the researcher who created the knowledge. It is critical to get the original stance right in your critical summary. Nothing irritates me more than seeing my stance mispresented in someone else’s literature review. For example, if I wrote a paragraph offering tentative reflections on a new idea, I don’t want to see that summarized in someone’s literature review as ‘Lingard argues’, when more accurate would be ‘Lingard suggests’ or ‘Lingard explored’.
Writers need to extend their library of citation verbs to allow themselves to accurately and persuasively position knowledge claims published by authors in their field. You can find many online resources to help extend your vocabulary: Tab. 2 , adapted from one such online source [ 4 ], provides some suggestions. Tables like these should be thought of as tools, not rules—keep in mind that words have flexible meanings depending on context and purpose. This is why one word, such as suggest or conclude , can appear in more than one list.
Verbs to represent the nature and strength of an author’s contributions to the literature
Verbs to report what an author DID | Verbs to report what an author SAID | Verbs to report an author’s OPINION | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
analyse, assess, , discover, describe, demonstrate, examine, explore, establish, find, identify, inquire, prove, observe, study, show | Weaker | Stronger | Weaker | Stronger |
comment, describe, note, remark, add, offer, | affirm, emphasize, stress, maintain, stipulate, explain, , identify, insist | accept, believe, consider, think, , suspect, speculate | argue, assert, claim, contend, deny, recommend, reject, advocate, maintain |
Knowledge is a social construction and it accumulates as researchers debate, extend and refine one another’s contributions. To avoid your literature review reading like a laundry list of disconnected ‘facts’, reporting verbs are an important resource. Tab. 3 offers a selection of verbs organized to reflect different relationships among authors in the field of knowledge being reviewed.
Verbs to express relations among authors in the field
Depicting similar positions | Depicting contrasting positions | Depicting relating/responding positions |
---|---|---|
Taylor Jackson’s claim that … | Taylor Jackson’s claim that … | Taylor to Jackson’s claim that … |
affirms, agrees, confirms, concurs, aligns, shares, echoes, supports, verifies, concedes, accepts | argues, disagrees, questions, dismisses, refuses, rejects, challenges contradicts, criticizes, opposes, counters, disputes | extends, elaborates, refines, builds on, reconsiders, draws upon, advances, repositions, addresses |
Finally, although we have focused on citation verbs in this article, adverbs (e. g., similarly, consequently) and prepositional phrases (e. g., by contrast, in addition) are also important for expressing similar, contrasting or responding relations among knowledge claims and their authors in the field being reviewed.
In summary, an effective literature review not only summarizes existing knowledge, it also critically presents that knowledge to depict an evolving conversation and understanding in a particular domain of study. As writers we need to know when we are summarizing and when we are critically summarizing—summary alone makes for a literature review that reads like a laundry list of undigested ‘facts-in-the-world’. Finally, writers need to attend to the subtle power of citation verbs to position themselves and the authors they are citing in relation to the knowledge being reviewed. Broadening our catalogue of ‘go-to’ verbs is an important step in enlivening and strengthening our writing.
Thanks to Mark Goldszmidt for his feedback on an early version of this manuscript.
PhD, is director of the Centre for Education Research & Innovation at Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, and professor for the Department of Medicine at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada.
Part II: Citation technique
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Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
In the Writer’s Craft section we offer simple tips to improve your writing in one of three areas: Energy, Clarity and Persuasiveness. Each entry focuses on a key writing feature or strategy, illustrates how it commonly goes wrong, teaches the grammatical underpinnings necessary to understand it and offers suggestions to wield it effectively. We encourage readers to share comments on or suggestions for this section on Twitter, using the hashtag: #how’syourwriting?
This Writer’s Craft instalment is the second in a two-part series that offers strategies for effectively presenting the literature review section of a research manuscript. This piece argues that citation is not just a technical practice but also a rhetorical one, and offers writers an expanded vocabulary for using citation to maximal effect.
Many writers think of citation as the formal system we use to avoid plagiarism and acknowledge others’ work. But citation is a much more nuanced practice than this. Not only does citation allow us to represent the source of knowledge, but it also allows us to position ourselves in relation to that knowledge, and to place that knowledge in relation to other knowledge . In short, citation is how we artfully tell the story of what the field knows, how it came to that knowledge, and where we stand in relation to it as we write the literature review section to frame our own work. Seen this way, citation is a sophisticated task, requiring in-depth knowledge of the literature in a domain.
Citation is more than just referencing; it is how we represent the social construction of knowledge in a field. A citation strategy is any indication in the text about the source and nature of knowledge. Consider the following passage, in which all citation strategies are italicized:
Despite years of effort to teach and enforce positive professional norms and standards, many reports of challenges to medical professionalism continue to appear, both in the medical and education literature and, often in reaction, in the lay press . 1,2,3,4,5 Examples of professional lapses dot the health care landscape: regulations are thwarted, records are falsified, patients are ignored, colleagues are berated. 2,4,6 The medical profession has articulated its sense of what professionalism is in a number of important position statements . 7,8 These statements tend to be built upon abstracted principles and values, such as the taxonomy presented in the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM’s) Project Professionalism : altruism, accountability, excellence, duty, honour, integrity, and respect for others. 7 (From Ginsburg et al., The anatomy of a professional lapse [ 1 ])
In this passage, citation as referencing (in the form of Vancouver format superscript numbers) is used to acknowledge the source of knowledge. There are more than just references in this passage, however. Citation strategies also include statements that characterize the density of that knowledge (‘many reports’), its temporal patterns (‘continue to appear’), its diverse origins (‘both in the medical and education literature’), its social nature (‘often in reaction’), and its social import (‘important position statements’). Citation does more than just acknowledge the source of something you’ve read. It is how you represent the social nature of knowledge as coming from somewhere, being debated and developed, and having impact on the world [ 2 ]. If we remove all these citation strategies, the passage sounds at best like common sense or, at worst, like unsubstantiated personal opinion:
Despite years of effort to teach and enforce positive professional norms and standards, challenges to medical professionalism continue. Examples of professional lapses dot the health care landscape: regulations are thwarted, records are falsified, patients are ignored, colleagues are berated. Professionalism is a set of principles and values: altruism, accountability, excellence, duty, honour, integrity, and respect for others.
But perhaps you’ve been told that your literature review should be ‘objective’—that you should simply present what is known without taking a stance on it. This is largely untrue, for two reasons. The first involves the distinction between summary and critical summary. A summary is a neutral description of material, but a good literature review contains very little pure summary because, as we review, we must also judge the quality, source and reliability of the knowledge claims we are presenting [ 3 ]. To do this, we engage in critical summary, not only summarizing existing knowledge but offering a stance on it.
The second reason is that, even when we’re aiming for simple summary, a completely neutral presentation of knowledge claims is very difficult to achieve. We take a stance in ways we hardly even notice. Consider how the verb in each of these statements adds a flavour of stance to what is otherwise a summary of a knowledge claim in the field:
Anderson describes how the assessment is overly time-consuming for use in the Emergency Department. Anderson discovered that the assessment was overly time-consuming for use in the Emergency Department. Anderson claims that the assessment is overly time-consuming for use in the Emergency Department.
The first verb, ‘describes’, is neutral: it is not possible to ascertain the writer’s stance on the knowledge Anderson has contributed to the field. The second verb, ‘discovered’, expresses an affiliation or positive stance in the writer, while the third verb, ‘claims’, distances the writer from Anderson’s work. Even these brief summary sentences contain a flavour of critical summary. This is not a flaw; in fact, it is an important method of portraying existing knowledge as a conversation in which the writer is positioning herself and her work. But it should be done consciously and strategically. Tab. 1 offers examples to help writers think about how the verbs in their literature review position them in relation to existing knowledge in the field. Meaning is subject to context and these examples should only be taken as a guide: e. g., ‘suggests’ can be used to signal neutrality or distancing.
Most of us have favourite verbs that we default to almost unconsciously when we are writing—reports, argues, describes, studies, explains, asserts—but these verbs are not interchangeable. They each inscribe a slightly different stance towards the knowledge—not only the writer’s stance, but also the stance of the researcher who created the knowledge. It is critical to get the original stance right in your critical summary. Nothing irritates me more than seeing my stance mispresented in someone else’s literature review. For example, if I wrote a paragraph offering tentative reflections on a new idea, I don’t want to see that summarized in someone’s literature review as ‘Lingard argues’, when more accurate would be ‘Lingard suggests’ or ‘Lingard explored’.
Writers need to extend their library of citation verbs to allow themselves to accurately and persuasively position knowledge claims published by authors in their field. You can find many online resources to help extend your vocabulary: Tab. 2 , adapted from one such online source [ 4 ], provides some suggestions. Tables like these should be thought of as tools, not rules—keep in mind that words have flexible meanings depending on context and purpose. This is why one word, such as suggest or conclude , can appear in more than one list.
Knowledge is a social construction and it accumulates as researchers debate, extend and refine one another’s contributions. To avoid your literature review reading like a laundry list of disconnected ‘facts’, reporting verbs are an important resource. Tab. 3 offers a selection of verbs organized to reflect different relationships among authors in the field of knowledge being reviewed.
Finally, although we have focused on citation verbs in this article, adverbs (e. g., similarly, consequently) and prepositional phrases (e. g., by contrast, in addition) are also important for expressing similar, contrasting or responding relations among knowledge claims and their authors in the field being reviewed.
In summary, an effective literature review not only summarizes existing knowledge, it also critically presents that knowledge to depict an evolving conversation and understanding in a particular domain of study. As writers we need to know when we are summarizing and when we are critically summarizing—summary alone makes for a literature review that reads like a laundry list of undigested ‘facts-in-the-world’. Finally, writers need to attend to the subtle power of citation verbs to position themselves and the authors they are citing in relation to the knowledge being reviewed. Broadening our catalogue of ‘go-to’ verbs is an important step in enlivening and strengthening our writing.
Ginsburg S, Regehr G, Stern D, Lingard L. The anatomy of the professional lapse: Bridging the gap between traditional frameworks and students’ perceptions. Acad Med. 2002;77:516–22.
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Lingard L. Mapping the gap. Perspect Med Educ. 2017;6. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40037-017-0401-x .
Hampton M. Writing about others’ work: verbs for citations. Department of Curriculum and Quality Enhancement. http://www.port.ac.uk/media/contacts-and-departments/student-support-services/ask/downloads/Verbs-for-citation.pdf Accessed 7 September 2017.
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Thanks to Mark Goldszmidt for his feedback on an early version of this manuscript.
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Lingard, L. Writing an effective literature review. Perspect Med Educ 7 , 133–135 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40037-018-0407-z
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I am currently writing my bachelor thesis and have to do a small literature review for it. Unfortunately, I don't know which tense I should use. Do you write ?
I am quite confused about what tense to use.
I don't think there are any general standards. It depends on your field and, potentially, your adviser's preferences. I tend to prefer the active tense (since I think that any sentence that mentions a work kind of presents said work), but pick whatever you like as long as you are consistent about it.
(My field is maths/computer science; other domains might have common standards)
Generally speaking any are acceptable. If you focus on the authors then "did show" or "have shown" feels about right. But if you take the citation to mean the paper itself, then the present tense is fine since the paper still exists and does still show...
However, advisors can be a bit picky on some such things, so it would be good to ask whether they think it makes a difference.
In a few rare circumstances, future might even work if a paper hasn't yet appeared, as in one of your own. But, as Gnosophilon says, consistency is probably a good choice.
In almost all cases people will understand you no matter how you write it. But there are exceptions, such as when some things need to be put in historical context, perhaps with older results being replace by new research. That doesn't seem to be your concern here, though.
My preference would be option 2, the simple past. There is IMO a good reason to prefer it. Quite often it is natural to say something like "Hager et al. showed [statement]. Subsequently, Smith et al. showed [stronger statement]." This (or anything else that indicates the papers were written at different past times) doesn't really work with either of the other options.
The already-given advice to ask your advisor is good general advice for academia. It doesn't always work; some advisors are less helpful than they should be. But if they will be grading your work, they can be the most reliable about how they want it to look.
Another piece of general writing advice is to look for already-published examples in your field. A lot of papers have a section that is a small literature review - how do they do it? This is nice because you can learn more than just what tense to use.
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APA, Chicago and MLA are the three main referencing systems/writing styles used at Massey. Re commendations they make in relation to verb tenses are summarized below. Implementing these recommendations may be especially important if you are planning to publish work in a journal that requires certain style guidelines to be followed. However, for assignments or theses at Massey, it is important to be guided by any advice your lecturer or supervisor may provide in relation to use of tenses.
Simple past tense
Present perfect tense
Note : A shift of tense may be used to indicate that the research findings are still relevant.
Simple present tense
Both Chicago and MLA recommend the use of the simple present tense (e.g. ‘argues’) or present perfect tense (e.g. ‘has argued’) in the following situations:
No matter how long ago the work was published, the present tense is used, and even a deceased author ‘argues’ or ‘claims’.
Note : If the context is clearly historical (rather than textual), use of the past tense is acceptable.
These pages are provided as a guide to proper referencing. Your course, department, school, or institute may prescribe specific conventions, and their recommendations supersede these instructions. If you have questions not covered here, check in the style guide listed above, ask your course coordinator, or ask at Academic Q+A .
Page authorised by Director - Centre for Learner Success Last updated on 17 November, 2020
Have a study or assignment writing question? Ask an expert at Academic Q+A
Q. Dear Chicago, what verb tense do you recommend for the literature review section of a scholarly article? APA insists on the past tense, arguing that any work included in a literature review was obviously published in the past. People writing about English literature, on the other hand, discuss works in the present tense because readers always experience the book in the present. I’m editing a Canadian public policy journal, and the author uses the present tense to discuss works published ten or fifteen years ago. Should I change these tenses to the present perfect? The journal has no in-house rule on this.
A. Since the use of the present tense in literature reviews is widely accepted, and since any decision about where to cut off “past” from “present” literature would have to be arbitrary, using the present tense for everything is a fine option. You shouldn’t worry about using it if a journal doesn’t express a preference.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
The 7th edition style manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) provides suggestions on which verb tense is appropriate for various sections of a thesis, major project or journal article:
As much as possible, try to be consistent with your chosen verb tense within a section "to ensure smooth expression" (APA, 2020, p. 118). If the verb tenses suggested above don't make sense for the purposes of your document, please check with your instructor or academic supervisor to get their recommendation on the best approach for your document.
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
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Most common verb tenses in academic writing.
According to corpus research, in academic writing, the three tenses used the most often are the simple present , the simple past , and the present perfect (Biber et al., 1999; Caplan, 2012). The next most common tense for capstone writers is the future ; the doctoral study/dissertation proposal at Walden is written in this tense for a study that will be conducted in the future.
Biber, D., Johansson, S., Leech, G., Conrad, S., & Finegan, E. (1999). Longman grammar of written and spoken English . Pearson. https://doi.org/10.1162/089120101300346831
Caplan, N. A. (2012). Grammar choices for graduate and professional writers . University of Michigan Press.
Simple present: Use the simple present to describe a general truth or a habitual action. This tense indicates that the statement is generally true in the past, present, and future.
Simple past : Use the simple past tense to describe a completed action that took place at a specific point in the past (e.g., last year, 1 hour ago, last Sunday). In the example below, the specific point of time in the past is 1998.
Present perfect: Use the present perfect to indicate an action that occurred at a nonspecific time in the past. This action has relevance in the present. The present perfect is also sometimes used to introduce background information in a paragraph. After the first sentence, the tense shifts to the simple past.
Future: Use the future to describe an action that will take place at a particular point in the future (at Walden, this is used especially when writing a proposal for a doctoral capstone study).
Keep in mind that verb tenses should be adjusted after the proposal after the research has been completed. See this blog post about Revising the Proposal for the Final Capstone Document for more information.
APA calls for consistency and accuracy in verb tense usage (see APA 7, Section 4.12 and Table 4.1). In other words, avoid unnecessary shifts in verb tense within a paragraph or in adjacent paragraphs to help ensure smooth expression.
When explaining what an author or researcher wrote or did, use the past tense.
However, there can be a shift to the present tense if the research findings still hold true:
To preview what is coming in the document or to explain what is happening at that moment in the document, use the present or future tense:
To refer back to information already covered, such as summaries of discussions that have already taken place or conclusions to chapters/sections, use the past tense:
Rules for the use of the present perfect differ slightly in British and American English. Researchers have also found that among American English writers, sometimes individual preferences dictate whether the simple past or the present perfect is used. In other words, one American English writer may choose the simple past in a place where another American English writer may choose the present perfect.
Keep in mind, however, that the simple past is used for a completed action. It often is used with signal words or phrases such as "yesterday," "last week," "1 year ago," or "in 2015" to indicate the specific time in the past when the action took place.
The present perfect focuses more on an action that occurred without focusing on the specific time it happened. Note that the specific time is not given, just that the action has occurred.
The present perfect focuses more on the result of the action.
The present perfect is often used with signal words such as "since," "already," "just," "until now," "(not) yet," "so far," "ever," "lately," or "recently."
The 12 main tenses:
Conditionals:
Zero conditional (general truths/general habits).
First conditional (possible or likely things in the future).
Second conditional (impossible things in the present/unlikely in the future).
Third conditional (things that did not happen in the past and their imaginary results)
Subjunctive : This form is sometimes used in that -clauses that are the object of certain verbs or follow certain adjectives. The form of the subjective is the simple form of the verb. It is the same for all persons and number.
Note that these videos were created while APA 6 was the style guide edition in use. There may be some examples of writing that have not been updated to APA 7 guidelines.
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Methodology
Published on January 2, 2023 by Shona McCombes . Revised on September 11, 2023.
What is a literature review? A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources on a specific topic. It provides an overview of current knowledge, allowing you to identify relevant theories, methods, and gaps in the existing research that you can later apply to your paper, thesis, or dissertation topic .
There are five key steps to writing a literature review:
A good literature review doesn’t just summarize sources—it analyzes, synthesizes , and critically evaluates to give a clear picture of the state of knowledge on the subject.
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What is the purpose of a literature review, examples of literature reviews, step 1 – search for relevant literature, step 2 – evaluate and select sources, step 3 – identify themes, debates, and gaps, step 4 – outline your literature review’s structure, step 5 – write your literature review, free lecture slides, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions, introduction.
When you write a thesis , dissertation , or research paper , you will likely have to conduct a literature review to situate your research within existing knowledge. The literature review gives you a chance to:
Writing literature reviews is a particularly important skill if you want to apply for graduate school or pursue a career in research. We’ve written a step-by-step guide that you can follow below.
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Writing literature reviews can be quite challenging! A good starting point could be to look at some examples, depending on what kind of literature review you’d like to write.
You can also check out our templates with literature review examples and sample outlines at the links below.
Download Word doc Download Google doc
Before you begin searching for literature, you need a clearly defined topic .
If you are writing the literature review section of a dissertation or research paper, you will search for literature related to your research problem and questions .
Start by creating a list of keywords related to your research question. Include each of the key concepts or variables you’re interested in, and list any synonyms and related terms. You can add to this list as you discover new keywords in the process of your literature search.
Use your keywords to begin searching for sources. Some useful databases to search for journals and articles include:
You can also use boolean operators to help narrow down your search.
Make sure to read the abstract to find out whether an article is relevant to your question. When you find a useful book or article, you can check the bibliography to find other relevant sources.
You likely won’t be able to read absolutely everything that has been written on your topic, so it will be necessary to evaluate which sources are most relevant to your research question.
For each publication, ask yourself:
Make sure the sources you use are credible , and make sure you read any landmark studies and major theories in your field of research.
You can use our template to summarize and evaluate sources you’re thinking about using. Click on either button below to download.
As you read, you should also begin the writing process. Take notes that you can later incorporate into the text of your literature review.
It is important to keep track of your sources with citations to avoid plagiarism . It can be helpful to make an annotated bibliography , where you compile full citation information and write a paragraph of summary and analysis for each source. This helps you remember what you read and saves time later in the process.
To begin organizing your literature review’s argument and structure, be sure you understand the connections and relationships between the sources you’ve read. Based on your reading and notes, you can look for:
This step will help you work out the structure of your literature review and (if applicable) show how your own research will contribute to existing knowledge.
There are various approaches to organizing the body of a literature review. Depending on the length of your literature review, you can combine several of these strategies (for example, your overall structure might be thematic, but each theme is discussed chronologically).
The simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time. However, if you choose this strategy, be careful to avoid simply listing and summarizing sources in order.
Try to analyze patterns, turning points and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred.
If you have found some recurring central themes, you can organize your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic.
For example, if you are reviewing literature about inequalities in migrant health outcomes, key themes might include healthcare policy, language barriers, cultural attitudes, legal status, and economic access.
If you draw your sources from different disciplines or fields that use a variety of research methods , you might want to compare the results and conclusions that emerge from different approaches. For example:
A literature review is often the foundation for a theoretical framework . You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts.
You might argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach, or combine various theoretical concepts to create a framework for your research.
Like any other academic text , your literature review should have an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion . What you include in each depends on the objective of your literature review.
The introduction should clearly establish the focus and purpose of the literature review.
Depending on the length of your literature review, you might want to divide the body into subsections. You can use a subheading for each theme, time period, or methodological approach.
As you write, you can follow these tips:
In the conclusion, you should summarize the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasize their significance.
When you’ve finished writing and revising your literature review, don’t forget to proofread thoroughly before submitting. Not a language expert? Check out Scribbr’s professional proofreading services !
This article has been adapted into lecture slides that you can use to teach your students about writing a literature review.
Scribbr slides are free to use, customize, and distribute for educational purposes.
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If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.
Statistics
Research bias
A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources (such as books, journal articles, and theses) related to a specific topic or research question .
It is often written as part of a thesis, dissertation , or research paper , in order to situate your work in relation to existing knowledge.
There are several reasons to conduct a literature review at the beginning of a research project:
Writing the literature review shows your reader how your work relates to existing research and what new insights it will contribute.
The literature review usually comes near the beginning of your thesis or dissertation . After the introduction , it grounds your research in a scholarly field and leads directly to your theoretical framework or methodology .
A literature review is a survey of credible sources on a topic, often used in dissertations , theses, and research papers . Literature reviews give an overview of knowledge on a subject, helping you identify relevant theories and methods, as well as gaps in existing research. Literature reviews are set up similarly to other academic texts , with an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion .
An annotated bibliography is a list of source references that has a short description (called an annotation ) for each of the sources. It is often assigned as part of the research process for a paper .
If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.
McCombes, S. (2023, September 11). How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates. Scribbr. Retrieved September 9, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/dissertation/literature-review/
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Verb tenses – literature.
This handout is available for download in DOCX format and PDF format .
Use of the correct verb tense allows you to express clearly the time relationships among your ideas. When deciding which verb tense to use, aim for consistency, simplicity, and clarity. Whenever possible, keep verbs in the same tense (consistency), and use either the simple present or the past tense (simplicity). Above all, choose the verb tense that most clearly expresses the idea you want to convey (clarity). In general, use the present tense to describe actions and states of being that are still true in the present; use the past tense to describe actions or states of being that occurred exclusively in the past.
Below are some discipline-specific guidelines for how to use verb tenses effectively in literature and the humanities. For details on tenses in science writing, see handout “Verb Tenses—Science.”
Use the present tense to describe fictional events that occur in the text:.
(This use of present tense is referred to as "the historical present.")
Use the present tense to report your interpretations and the interpretations of other sources:.
When writing about literature, use both present and past tense when combining observations about fictional events from the text (present tense) with factual information (past tense):.
Credit: Adapted from “Verb Tense,” Hamilton University Writing Center. 16 October 2017, https://www.hamilton.edu/academics/centers/writing/writing-resources/verb-tense .
The past tense or present perfect tense are appropriate when discussing a researcher’s work. Use the past or present perfect tenses in your in-text citations.
Berry (2022) and Gimmel et al. (2020) discovered that young people in foster care are at high risk for psychiatric disorders and poor long-term functional outcomes.
Wood (2018) and Winter (2008) used tribal critical race theory to explore the necessity and importance of letting Native people be the authority on their culture’s representation and allowing them to center their lived experiences and speak for themselves.
Present Perfect
Researchers have discovered that young people in foster care are at high risk for psychiatric disorders and poor long-term functional outcomes ( Berry, 2022; Gimmel et al., 2020) .
Other scholars have used tribal critical race theory to explore the necessity and importance of letting Native people be the authority on their culture’s representation and allowing them to center their lived experiences and speak for themselves (Wood, 2018; Writer, 2008).
Common Verbs (Reporting Verbs) Used in Academic Writing
Reporting verbs are used to convey what someone else has said or written. We use these in in-text citations to describe the ideas we are citing from authors’ works.
admitted | hypothesized |
alleged | imagined |
anticipated | implied |
cautioned | intimated |
conceded | perceived |
confused | postulated |
commented | proposed |
considered | questioned |
doubted | recommended |
guessed | speculated |
hoped | suggested |
The information on this page formatted as a handout that can be printed for convenient reference as you write.
accentuated | held the view that |
accepted | hypothesized |
accessed | identified |
acknowledged | illustrated |
added | implemented |
administered | implied |
advised | indicated |
affected | inferred |
agreed | interpreted |
analyzed | investigated |
appraised | justified |
approached | knew |
articulated | linked |
assessed | listed |
assumed | maintained |
assured | mentioned |
attributed | noted |
believed | observed |
categorized | outlined |
characterized | pointed out |
charted | posited |
claimed | presented |
clarified | professed |
classified | proposed |
concluded | realized |
concurred | reasoned that |
confirmed | recognized |
commented | refined |
compared | reflected |
considered | regarded |
contrasted | regulated |
created | relied on |
debated | reported |
declared | represented |
deduced | requested |
defined | responded |
demonstrated | revealed |
derived | questioned |
described | showed |
detected | sought to |
documented | specified |
differentiated | stated |
disagreed | studied |
discovered | submitted |
discussed | subscribed to |
encouraged | suggested |
estimated | surveyed |
evaluated | theorized |
examined | thought |
excluded | took into consideration |
explained | uncovered |
explored | understood |
expressed | used |
felt | utilized |
focused on | viewed |
found | wondered |
generated |
accused | guaranteed |
achieved | highlighted |
acknowledged | ignored |
advocated | inferred |
affirmed | insisted |
announced | intervened |
argued | justified |
asserted | maintained |
assumed | misinterpreted |
believed | monitored |
blamed | negated |
challenged | objected to |
claimed | opposed |
complained | persuaded |
conceded | presumed |
concluded | promised |
condoned | prioritized |
confirmed | proved |
contended | recognized |
contradicted | refuted |
criticized | reinforced |
declared | rejected |
denied | required |
determined | restricted |
deviated | revealed |
discounted | stressed |
dismissed | substantiated |
disputed | supported the view that |
disregarded | threatened |
doubted | underscored |
emphasized | upheld |
endorsed | urged |
established | validated |
exhorted | warned |
extolled | |
Adapted from American Psychological Association publication manual (7th ed.).
Training videos | Faqs
Overview | Abstract | Introduction | Literature Review | Materials & Methods | Results & Discussion | Conclusion & Future Work | Acknowledgements & Appendix
The literature review should clearly demonstrate that the author has a good knowledge of the research area. Literature review typically occupies one or two passages in the introduction section. A well-written literature review should provide a critical appraisal of previous studies related to the current research area rather than a simple summary of prior works. The author shouldn’t shy away from pointing out the shortcomings of previous works. However, criticising other’s work without any basis can weaken your paper. This is a perfect place to coin your research question and justify the need for such a study. It is also worth pointing out towards the end of the review that your study is unique and there is no direct literature addressing this issue. Add a few sentences about the significance of your research and how this will add value to the body of knowledge.
The literature review section of your research paper should include the following:
The literature review shows that __ Previous research showed __ Seminal contributions have been made by __ A series of recent studies has indicated that __ Several theories have been proposed to __, some focusing on __, others on __ There has been numerous studies to investigate __ This has been used in several studies to assess __ Previous studies have shown __ Several studies suggest that __ This has also been explored in prior studies by __ Prior research suggests that __ Previous studies have emphasized __ The majority of prior research has applied __ Most early studies as well as current work focus on __ For instance, the following studies were conducted on __ Studies of __are well documented, it is also well acknowledged that __ A number of authors have recognized __ Some authors have also suggested that __ Some authors have driven the further development of __ This has been discussed by a great number of authors in literature. For example, research has provided evidence for __ The authors bring some information about the background of the problem, __ As has been previously reported in the literature, __ A large number of existing studies in the broader literature have examined __ The literature review shows that __ There exists a considerable body of literature on __ In short, the literature pertaining to __ strongly suggests that __ Over time, an extensive literature has developed on __ This section presents a review of recent literature on __ This paper begins with a short review of the literature regarding the __ Several methods are reported in the literature to address this issue. There is a wide choice of __ available in the literature. This section reviews the literature related to __ It was reported in literature that __ A recent study by __ concluded that __ In the light of reported __ it is conceivable that __ The method introduced by __ has the advantage that __ One method employed by __ is __ A more comprehensive description can be found in __ For example, recent research suggests that __ This was successfully established as described by __ The author employed a __ methodology which prescribes the use of __
A number of questions regarding __ remain to be addressed. A closer look to the literature on __, however, reveals a number of gaps and shortcomings. This question has previously never been addressed because__ Most studies have relied on __ Previous studies by __ cannot be considered as conclusive because __ Previous studies have almost exclusively focused on __ This has been previously assessed only to a very limited extent because __ In the present studies __ were constrained to __ In previous studies were limited to __ Although results appear consistent with prior research, they appear inconsistent with __ These are previously unstudied because __ As far as we know, no previous research has investigated __ Moreover, although research has illuminated __ no study to date has examined __ Despite decades of research, this continues to be debated among __ This section points out some of the problems encountered in the extant research. Although there are many studies, the research in __ remains limited. However, the existing research has many problems in representing __ The literature on __ is less consistent Historically, there has been a great deal of confusion in the literature regarding __ This approach remains briefly addressed in the literature. These are rarely analyzed in the literature as __ There are key questions and notions that are still not discussed in the literature __ This is not clearly presented in the literature because __ This paper addresses the need for __, so far lacking in the scientific literature. To fill this literature gap, this paper identifies __ Only a few works in literature demonstrate __ Although studies have been conducted by many authors, this problem is still insufficiently explored. To our knowledge, no prior studies have examined __ However, the existing research has many problems in __ Therefore, important issue in the literature is __ However, we argue that previous literature suffers from certain weaknesses: __ Previous research can only be considered a first step towards a more profound understanding of __ The previous studies reveal that __ are usually the most problematic to __
More specific research questions will be introduced and investigated in __ A further question is whether __ Finally, another promising line of research would be __ The study addresses several further questions on __ Some of the interesting questions in this context are __ In order to address the questions outlined above, we report here __ These questions are of central interest as much recent research in __ Furthermore, __ is arguably an important question to be addressed. The question now is how __ can be used to explain __ Study addresses the research question __ In order to properly address this question, we __ An important question associated with __ is __ A critical open question is whether __ A still unsolved question is whether __ This remains an open question as __ This question has previously never been addressed because __ This study offers a test of __ research question Study addresses the research question __ Even in general __ research strategies is needed to explain __ The researcher should be interested here in __ Many questions remain unanswered __ There are some potentially open questions about the validity of __ The question that then naturally arises is __ The question then becomes how best to define__ This was an important question to study as __
A more systematic and theoretical analysis is required for __ As the authors note earlier, more work is necessary to__ Additional studies to understand more completely the key tenets of __ are required. The unexpected findings signal the need for additional studies to understand more about __ This paper addresses __, so far lacking in the scientific literature. A new approach is therefore needed for __ One of the tough challenges for all researchers in this domain is __
In this blog, we discuss phrases related to materials and methods such as experimental setup, data collection & analysis, and statistical testing.
In this blog, we discuss phrases related to the abstract section. An abstract is a self-contained and short synopsis that describes a larger work.
In this blog, we discuss phrases related to thanking colleagues, acknowledging funders and writing the appendix section.
In this blog, we will go through many literature review examples and understand different ways to present past literature in your paper.
In this blog, we explain various sections of a research paper and give you an overview of what these sections should contain.
In this blog, we discuss phrases related to introduction section such as opening statement, problem definition and research aims.
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Psychology 194: honors seminar: the literature review.
A literature review is a survey of research on a given topic. It allows you see what has already been written on a topic so that you can draw on that research in your own study. By seeing what has already been written on a topic you will also know how to distinguish your research and engage in an original area of inquiry.
A literature review helps you explore the research that has come before you, to see how your research question has (or has not) already been addressed.
You will identify:
According to Byrne's What makes a successful literature review? you should follow these steps:
from Byrne, D. (2017). What makes a successful literature review?. Project Planner . 10.4135/9781526408518. (via SAGE Research Methods )
Email : Email your research questions to the Library.
Appointments : Schedule a 30-minute research meeting with a librarian.
Find a subject librarian : Find a library expert in your specific field of study.
Research guides on your topic : Learn more about resources for your topic or subject.
COMMENTS
Mastering Verb Tenses in Literature Reviews. Suzanne Hall Johnson, MN, RN,C, CNS. Deciding on which verb tense to use when writing the literature review sec tion ofa manuscript is challenging. Edi tors find that verb tense problems are common in literature report sections of manuscripts. Authors, reviewers, and ed itors need to be able to spot ...
Reporting verbs. A key language feature of a literature review is the use of reporting verbs. These types of verbs describe and report on the literature under review. They report on: aims: investigates, examines, looks at. results: shows, suggests, reveals. opinions: states, believes, argues. The choice of reporting verb (s) indicates your ...
Typically, for the former, using the simple past tense is common, e.g., "Jones (2013) found that...." But it is possible to use more than one tense in a literature review. Here are a few tips to consider when presenting a review of previously published work: Past tense: If your focus is on the study itself or the people who studied it, then it ...
Verbs are direct, vigorous communicators. Use a chosen verb tense consistently throughout the same and adjacent paragraphs of a paper to ensure smooth expression. ... Literature review (or whenever discussing other researchers' work) Past. Martin (2020) addressed. Present perfect. Researchers have studied. Method. Description of procedure ...
literature review and a larger area of study such as a discipline, a scientific endeavor, or a ... LITERATURE REVIEW VERB TENSE . 7 Technique Examples and Common Uses Using past tense emphasizes the researcher's agency. Examples: Jones (1997) investigated the causes of illiteracy; The causes of illiteracy were investigated by Jones (1997).
The present tense is generally used in statements to introduce the literature review, and the past tense is typically used when you are talking about specific papers. The following table summarizes different types of statements you might typically include in your literature review and the corresponding tenses you should use.
Abstract. Deciding on which verb tense to use when writing the literature review section of a manuscript is challenging. Editors find that verb tense problems are common in literature report sections of manuscripts. Authors, reviewers, and editors need to be able to spot incorrect verb tenses in literature reviews.
A reviewer or editor who finds inconsistent use of tenses in manuscripts might put a note in the review like: "Verb tenses switch frequently in the literature review section. Edit those verbs for consistency." Try It. The following paragraph is similar to ones in the literature review sections of manuscripts submitted for publication.
But it should be done consciously and strategically. Tab. 1 offers examples to help writers think about how the verbs in their literature review position them in relation to existing knowledge in the field. Meaning is subject to context and these examples should only be taken as a guide: e. g., 'suggests' can be used to signal neutrality or ...
Editors find that verb tense problems are common in literature report sections of manuscripts. Authors, reviewers, and editors need to be able to spot incorrect verb tenses in literature reviews ...
But it should be done consciously and strategically. Tab. 1 offers examples to help writers think about how the verbs in their literature review position them in relation to existing knowledge in the field. Meaning is subject to context and these examples should only be taken as a guide: e. g., 'suggests' can be used to signal neutrality or ...
Writing a literature review Reporting verbs A well written literature review contains many verbs that are used to introduce references. These are called reporting verbs. Reporting verbs can indicate either the author's personal viewpoint, your viewpoint regarding what the author says, and/or the author's viewpoint regarding other literature.
8. Generally speaking any are acceptable. If you focus on the authors then "did show" or "have shown" feels about right. But if you take the citation to mean the paper itself, then the present tense is fine since the paper still exists and does still show... However, advisors can be a bit picky on some such things, so it would be good to ask ...
Answer: By 'literature write-up,' we understand you mean 'literature review.'. Now, do you mean an entire paper that is a literature review or only the literature review section of the paper that typically comes in the Introduction? Anyway, the answer is: it depends, and it's quite possible to have multiple tenses in the literature ...
Referring to the ideas of other researchers (e.g. in a literature review) No matter how long ago the work was published, the present tense is used, and even a deceased author 'argues' or 'claims'. Simple present tense. Vasquez and Lopez argue that… Present perfect tense. Bailey has outlined… Discussing the actions of characters in ...
Dear Chicago, what verb tense do you recommend for the literature review section of a scholarly article? APA insists on the past tense, arguing that any work included in a literature review was obviously published in the past. People writing about English literature, on the other hand, discuss works in the present tense because readers always ...
Past or present perfect tense: "Literature review (or whenever discussing other researchers' work)" (APA, 2020, p. 118), "method" (APA, 2020, 118), and "description of procedure" (APA, 2020, 118) ... As much as possible, try to be consistent with your chosen verb tense within a section "to ensure smooth expression" (APA, 2020, p. 118). If the ...
In other words, avoid unnecessary shifts in verb tense within a paragraph or in adjacent paragraphs to help ensure smooth expression. Use the past tense (e.g., researchers presented) or the present perfect (e.g., researchers have presented) for the literature review and the description of the procedure if discussing past events.
Examples of literature reviews. Step 1 - Search for relevant literature. Step 2 - Evaluate and select sources. Step 3 - Identify themes, debates, and gaps. Step 4 - Outline your literature review's structure. Step 5 - Write your literature review.
Verb Tenses - Literature. This handout is available for download in DOCX format and PDF format. Use of the correct verb tense allows you to express clearly the time relationships among your ideas. When deciding which verb tense to use, aim for consistency, simplicity, and clarity.
Common Verbs (Reporting Verbs) Used in Academic Writing. Reporting verbs are used to convey what someone else has said or written. We use these in in-text citations to describe the ideas we are citing from authors' works.
The literature review should clearly demonstrate that the author has a good knowledge of the research area. A well-written literature review should provide a critical appraisal of previous studies related to the current research area rather than a simple summary of prior works. ... Mastering Verb Tenses in Literature Reviews. By refnwrite April ...
The Use of Tense in Literature Review. A recent flurry of tweets, seemingly initiated by @thesiswhisperer, discussed the use of tense in literature review. There doesn't seem to be a definitive rule to using either present or past tense (i.e. Smith (1989) argues… vs. Smith (1989) argued… etc.), though switching from one to the other can ...
According to Byrne's What makes a successful literature review? you should follow these steps:. Identify appropriate search terms.; Search appropriate databases to identify articles on your topic.; Identify key publications in your area.; Search the web to identify relevant grey literature.(Grey literature is often found in the public sector and is not traditionally published like academic ...