Research Guides: Literature Reviews: Planning the Review

What is the review for?

Is this review a section in a research paper? Is it for a dissertation? Is this for a journal article? A stand-alone project? Determining what the end product is can help you determine how extensive the review will be.

Dissertations or stand-alone reviews may be extensive, more comprehensive, and may include peripheral literature that provides history or context for the topic. Reviews in a research paper or in the background section of a journal article may be limited to literature that is central to your research topic.

Initial background reading

Do initial background reading on your topic. Using subject encyclopedias and handbooks can be good places to start finding topic overviews and essays.

Reference Online and In Print
by Geoff Morse Last Updated Jul 12, 2024 1193 views this year

CQ Researcher Plus Archive This link opens in a new window
The CQ Researcher is a collection of reports covering political and social issues, with regular reports on topics in health, international affairs, education, the environment, technology and the U.S. economy.

Read existing reviews related to your topic for ideas

Annual Reviews This link opens in a new window
The Annual Reviews provide substantially researched articles written by recognized scholars in a wide variety of disciplines that summarize the major research literature in the field. These are often a good place to start your research and to keep informed about recent developments.
Oxford Bibliographies This link opens in a new window
Offers annotated bibliographies of the most important books and articles on specific topics in a growing range of subject areas. Particularly useful for anyone beginning research.

You can also search databases in your subject area to find reviews on your topic. For recommendations on databases, take a look at our Research Guides or contact your librarian.

Do some exploratory literature searching

Databases A-Z
Northwestern Libraries A-Z list of databases
Research Guides
These subject guides will provide you with recommendations on databases to search in different subject areas.