What a literature review needs that a summary does not
Most literature review templates give you the outline: introduction, body, conclusion, references. The outline is not the hard part. The hard part is the step between reading forty sources and writing paragraphs that connect them. This template puts two tools in that gap.
- A source matrix. One row per source with the same columns: question, method and sample, main finding, limits, theme. Filling it forces you to read every paper for the same things, and it shows patterns that are invisible when sources live in separate notes.
- Themes written as claims. Each body section starts with a sentence the sources support, then shows where they agree, where they disagree, how strong the evidence is, and what nobody has tested. That structure turns summaries into synthesis.
Before the matrix, read each source properly. How to read a research paper covers a three-pass method that fits the matrix columns.
Choosing how to organize it
The common guides list four ways to organize a review and leave you to choose. Choose from your matrix:
- By theme when sources cluster around a few recurring findings. This is the default for most theses. The retrieval practice example is organized this way.
- Chronologically when the answer changed over time because conditions changed. Do not use it just because the sources have dates; use it when the dates explain the findings, as in the remote work example.
- By method when studies agree on direction but differ in how much you can trust them. Common in health and policy reviews, as in the falls example.
- By theory when sources argue about why something happens. Course papers that ask you to compare explanations often fit, as in the procrastination example.
If two seem to fit, pick the one that lets you state your conclusion most directly. You can use another inside a section.
From source notes to synthesis
Work in this order:
- One note per source, with full reference, method, findings in your own words and limits.
- Fill the matrix from those notes. Add the Theme column last.
- Group by theme and write one claim per group.
- Write each theme section from the matrix rows, not from the papers.
- Run the paragraph check. Count citations per paragraph. One citation per paragraph means you are summarizing; go back to step 3 for that section.
When to stop searching
Top results describe the search but not when to stop. Stop when new sources stop changing your themes: three or four in a row fit an existing theme without changing its claim. Record the date of the last search in the template so you can rerun it before you submit; for a thesis that takes a year, new work will have appeared.
Common mistakes
- One paragraph per source. Readers see an annotated bibliography with transitions.
- Only agreeing sources. Reviewers notice, and the disagreements are often where your contribution sits.
- No limits column. Without limits, a small pilot and a large trial look equally convincing.
- Choosing the organization first. Let the matrix decide.
- Losing track of what you read. Note how closely you read each source; citing an abstract as if you read the paper is a common error.
When to use a different template
While you are still reading, take source notes with the research notes template. If the assignment asks for evaluated summaries of each source rather than a synthesis, use the annotated bibliography template. For the broader setup of a research workflow, see the page for researchers.
From forty PDFs to one argument
Keep one note per source in Scribelet, link them to your review, tag them by theme and ask your notes which sources support a claim before you write it. Encrypted, free to start.
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