Literature Review Planning & Source Evaluation

Two problems appear again and again in literature reviews. Some students read widely but cannot see how to organise what they found. Others write a review that reads like a list: one author per paragraph, each summarised and left. This service helps with both, from the search to the finished draft.

What it means

A literature review is not a collection of summaries. It is an argument about what is known on your topic, how strong that knowledge is, where researchers disagree and what remains open. To write one, you need a sensible search, a way to judge the quality of what you find, and a structure that connects sources to each other.

We guide you through each of these steps. The review can be a standalone assignment, a chapter in a Masterarbeit or mémoire, or the background section of a research paper or proposal.

Problems it addresses

• Search terms that return thousands of results, or almost none
• Not knowing which databases suit your discipline
• Difficulty telling a peer-reviewed study from a weaker source, or judging a study's method and sample
• Reading notes that are impossible to use when you start writing
• Paragraphs that report one author at a time instead of comparing them
• A review that never arrives at a clear gap or reason for your study
• Uncertainty about when you have read "enough"

When you might need it

• You are starting a review and want to plan the search before you read randomly.
• You have read a lot and cannot decide between a thematic, methodological or chronological structure.
• Your supervisor has written "too descriptive" or "lacks synthesis".
• Your course asks for a systematic or scoping review method you have not used before.
• You are reading in English, German or French and need to keep track of sources across languages.

How the guidance works

1. Share topic and reading so far. Tell us your question or focus, your discipline and your stage: searching, reading or drafting.
2. Agree scope and quote. We confirm what the guidance covers and how it will be delivered.
3. Plan search and structure. We work through search terms, Boolean operators, inclusion criteria and a reading matrix, then discuss an organising logic for your review.
4. Receive feedback on your draft. Once you have written sections, we comment on how well your paragraphs compare and evaluate sources and how the review leads to your gap.
5. Revise in your own voice. You rewrite your paragraphs using the feedback.

What to prepare

• The review brief or thesis guidelines, including any required method
• Your search terms, databases used and any search log
• Your literature matrix, reading notes or reference manager export
• Draft review sections or the full chapter
• Supervisor or tutor comments on earlier versions

What you receive

Depending on the scope agreed in your quote, this can include:

• an explained search plan built from your own keywords, with notes on how to refine it
• a set of questions for evaluating any source you read
• an explained structure plan for organising your review, with the reasoning for each grouping
• written comments on your draft sections, showing where summary could become synthesis
• a feedback summary with revision priorities
• a discussion by message or call

Outside the scope

• Running searches and sending you a list of sources to use
• Reading papers and writing summaries for you
• Writing synthesis paragraphs or a review chapter for submission
• Adding citations for sources you have not read yourself
• Guaranteeing that your coverage will satisfy a marker

Citing a source you have not read is a serious integrity risk, so we always send you back to the original. See our academic integrity page.

An illustrative example

Frequently asked questions

How many sources should my review include?

There is no universal number. It depends on your level, word count, field and how much research exists. Your guidelines and supervisor are the best guide, and we can help you judge whether your coverage looks balanced.

How do I know if a source is reliable?

Look at where it was published, who wrote it, how the study was done, how large and relevant the sample is, and how the authors discuss limitations. We can work through these questions with your own sources.

Where can I start on my own?

Set up the free literature review matrix and read our literature reviews guide. The citation management guide helps you keep sources organised from the start.