literature review example ama

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AMA Format Quick Guide

Additional Navigation

Attention all Liberty University students and faculty: The university officially switched to AMA 11th edition for Spring 2021. All resources below are AMA-11 compliant. 

Papers Using Structured Abstract

• Use of a structured abstract is appropriate for original research, systematic reviews, and clinical reviews. For example, students completing original research or systematic reviews for their Practicum would use a structured abstract.
• Sample AMA-11 paper using a structured abstract
• AMA-11 template for structured abstract

Papers With Non-Structured Abstract

• Use of a non-structured abstract is appropriate for all papers not falling under the categories for a structured abstract
• Sample AMA-11 paper for non-structured abstract paper
• AMA-11 template for non-structured abstract paper

Helpful Resources

AMA-11 Reference List

Sample AMA-11 Annotated Bibliography

Kaltura video tutorial on endnote numbering “fix” in reference list

Note about the templates provided by Liberty University. Please read the hot-pink and green highlighted text in each template and follow those instructions before removing that content or those placeholders from your final paper. Also, be sure to use  end notes rather than footnotes. Otherwise, the templates will not function properly.

AMA Formatting

• AMA-11 does not specify which font or size to use but  Liberty University requires all course assignments to be completed using 12-point Times New Romans font for the body and all elements other than the title of the paper and headings. Heading levels and the title of the paper will be in Arial (14-point font for the title and primary headings, 12-point font for second-, third-, and fourth-level headings).
• Include a digital object identifier (DOI) when available. If a DOI is not available but a URL is, use it instead. Do not add a period after the DOI or URL in your reference list.  The AMA Manual of Style recommends presenting DOIs as metadata (p. 97): doi:10.1001/jama.2017.13737
• Use sentence-style capitalization in tables and figures except their titles.
• Hyphens are not used for health care system .
• Omit fellowship designations and honorary degrees; include undergraduate degrees only if they are the highest degree earned.
• Titles and subtitles (section 2.1) = Should be concise, specific, and information and should contain key points of the work. Population type should be specified in the title, when possible (eg, Men with Atrial Fibrillation).  For scientific manuscripts (eg, reports or research), neither overly general titles nor “cute” titles are desirable.
• Use lowercase letters for subtitles in the references except for proper nouns and the first word of a complete sentence, even after a title that ends in a question mark (p. 70, example #2 under section 3.10).
• If quotation marks are required in the title or subtitle, they should be double, not single (section 2.1.1).
• Abbreviations in titles (section 2.1.5) = Avoid the use of abbreviations in the title and subtitle, unless space considerations require an exception or unless the title or subtitle includes the name of an entity or a group that is best known by its acronym. In both cases, the abbreviation should be expanded in the abstract and at the first appearance in the text.
• Capitalize the first letter of each major word in titles and subtitles. Do not capitalize subsequent articles (e.g., a , an , the ), prepositions of 3 or fewer letters, coordinating conjunctions ( and , or , for , nor , but , per ), or the to in infinitives.  Do capitalize a 2-letter verb, such as Is or Be (section 2.1.6).
• In order to best prepare its students for publication, Liberty University adopts and follows JAMA journals’ rule to include the shortened version of the article title in the running head.
• Appendixes: For LUO assignments (not being published) the Appendix would come after the References.
• Punctuation in AMA-11 is notably concise. For example, abbreviations including et al and eg do not have periods in the AMA manual. References are also consolidated with only punctuation as necessary to divide the elements.

AMA-11 does not specify any requirements for this so the sample papers and templates provided for LUO students are unique to Liberty University coursework.

• See the respective sample paper linked above for more details on what content to include based on your assignment.
• AMA-11 papers use headings to separate paper sections and establish a hierarchy of information.  Short papers (usually five pages or less in the body of the paper) may not have any headings unless required, but longer papers benefit from the organizational aspects of headings.
• Always begin with Level 1 headings and apply the appropriate heading and subheading levels from there.  If you use subheadings, you must have at least two under that larger heading. Do not simply progress from Level 1 to Level 2 to Level 3 .
• A paper may only have Level 1 headings if it is not divided into smaller subsections — or the content under some Level 1 headings may include two or more Level 2 headings (and some content under Level 2 headings may include two or more Level 3 headings).
• All heading levels in AMA-11 are left-justified. There should be more space before a Level 1 heading than the other heading levels (see our sample AMA papers for a visual of this).

Papers that include original research, synthesized reviews, clinical reviews, or other forms of research presentations should be presented with a structured abstract. Otherwise, an unstructured abstract is an appropriate form of abstract to use. If a student is ever in doubt about the type of abstract needed for a specific assignment, he or she should consult the assignment’s instructions, grading rubric, and professor of the course for clarification on that assignment. Separate sample papers and templates are provided in links above for both formats.

General guidelines for abstracts in AMA-11 include:

• Do not begin by repeating the title.
• Do not cite references or URLs in the body of the abstract.
• Do not cite figures or tables in the abstract.
• Include the hypothesis or study question, if applicable.
• Ensure that all concepts and data mentioned in the abstract are also included in the text.
• Spell out abbreviations at first mention and avoid use of abbreviations unless they appear numerous times.
• Verify the numbers provided in the abstract against those provided in the text, tables, and figures to ensure internal consistency.
• You may include a short list (3-10) of keywords.

Students using structured abstracts should include the following headings as their section titles :

• Design, Setting, Participants
• Main Outcome and Measures
• A citation is used whenever another author’s work is directly quoted or paraphrased.
• Citations in AMA-11 are ordered consecutively in the order they appear in the body of the text.  They are presented as superscripted numbers inserted at the end of the sentence, with a corresponding numbered reference entry in the reference list at the end of the paper.
• Every time you refer to a resource, you would use the same number for that resource, no matter how many times you cite that resource in your paper.
• Use Arabic superscript numerals outside periods and commas, inside colons and semicolons.
• Unfortunately, webpages do not reflect superscripted numbers well. Please see the sample papers for more discussion and visual examples of how to cite sources using AMA’s superscripted endnotes.
• The Bible is considered a classical work according to AMA 11 th ed and references to the Bible are included in text only, with the names of the book spelled out. The version of the Bible can also be provided in parenthesis. While the Bible text can be listed as a reference at the end, this is unnecessary.
• Use a colon to separate the chapter and verse numbers of a biblical reference.

Liberty University Class Lectures

In keeping with section 3.11.4.2.1, references to Liberty University class lectures will be cited as (please note that the content on the second line should be indented to fall under the content above it (not the number); limitations of Liberty’s website programming prevent it from appearing correctly below):

• COUC 815 – week 1: comparison of diagnostic criteria of PTSD and attachment disorders [PDF class handout]. Liberty University. Updated March 18, 2020. Accessed October 30, 2020. https://canvas.liberty.edu
• Owen C. COUC 815: PTSD from early childhood trauma as a precursor to attachment issues [Class lecture]. Liberty University. Updated March 13, 2020. Accessed October 28, 2020. https://canvas.liberty.edu

Student’s Prior Class Paper

In keeping with section 3.11.4.2.1, references to a student’s prior class paper will be cited as (please note that the content on the second line should be indented to fall under the content above it (not he number); limitations of Liberty’s website programming prevent it from appearing correctly below):

• Owen C. Effect of reduced Cluster-B personality traits in adopted children on their parents’ levels of family satisfaction. Liberty University, COUC 815; 2020. Accessed August 30, 2020.

Additional Formatting

Numbers & percentages ( chapter 18 ).

Use numerals to express numbers except :

• Numbers that begin a sentence, title, subtitle, or heading

Common fractions

• Accepted usage, such as idiomatic expressions and numbers used as pronouns
• Other uses of one in running text (text that is not part of an equation or otherwise separated from the main body of text)
• Ordinals first through ninth
• Numbers spelled out in quotes or article titles

Numbers of 4 or more digits to either side of the decimal point :

• In 4-digit numbers, the digits are set closed up: 2455
• For numbers of 10 000 or greater, a thin space is used to separate every 3 digits starting from the right-most integer.
• For numbers with 5 or more digits to the right of the decimal point, a thin space is used between every 3 digits starting from the right of the decimal: 8.453 98 g
• Mixed fractions are typically expressed in numerals
• Spell out fractions that are used as an adjective or noun in a hyphenated word: three-fourths; half-second; two-thirds.

Mixed fractions

• The surgery lasted 3¼ hours
• The patient was hospitalized for 5½ days

Measures of temperature

• Use the degree symbol with Celsius and Fahrenheit measures of temperature but not for Kelvin.
• A space should appear between the number and the degree symbol
• Changes in temperature expressed as higher or lower (not warmer or colder)
• The plates were cultured at 17 °C.
• The patient was febrile (temperature, 38.8 °C).
• The thermodynamic temperature equivalent to -25 °C is 298.15 K.

Miscellaneous rules involving numbers

• Rounded large numbers, such as those starting with million, should be expressed with numerals and words: 5 million to 6 million people.
• The word one should be spelled out when used as a pronoun or noun (as opposed to a number).
• When 2 numbers appear consecutively in a sentence, either reword the sentence or spell out 1 of the numbers for clarity: Twenty 5-mL syringes.
• Use a hyphen to connect a span of years: 2011-2015
• Use roman numerals with proper names (Henry Ford III); note that no comma is used before the numeral.

Italics ( Section 21.9.4 )

• Used for Level 4 heads (second-level sideheads)
• The page number is called the folio .
• In his handwriting, the n ’s look like u ’s.
• JAMA Psychiatry
• USS Constitution
• Verdi’s Requiem
• Spirit of St. Louis (plane)
• Microbe Invader (video game)
• For legal cases, eg, Roe v Wade
• For epigraphs set at the beginning of a work
• For search terms (keywords)
• For some non-English words and phrases that are not shown among English terms in the current edition of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary or in accepted medical dictionaries (eg, de Qi sensation)
• For lowercase letters used in alphabetic enumerations of items or topics (the parentheses are set roman): ( a ), ( b ), ( c ), etc.
• Bacillaceae
• Staphylococcus
• Staphylococcus aureus
• Staphylococci
• Staphylococcal
• Streptococcis
• For gene symbols but not gene names
• For chemical prefixes
• For mathematical expressions
• For some statistical terms: P value, R 2 , t test
• For the abbreviation for acceleration due to gravity, g , to distinguish it from g for gram
• For the term sic
• In formal resolutions, for Resolved
• Sparingly, for emphasis

Small Caps ( Section 21.9.5 )

• AM and PM in time
• BC, BCE, CE, and AD
• Some prefixes in chemical formulas (L for levo-, D for dextro-)

Appendix/Appendices

For manuscripts submitted for publication, any appendix would be submitted as a separate file; not as part of the paper itself.  For Liberty University assignments, however (not being published), the Appendix should be placed after the References.  Tables and figures are attached in the section following the appendix, if any.

Tables or Figures

Any tables or figures would be attached to a student’s paper after any appendices.

Annotated Bibliographies

• Sample Annotation

Note  that in a stand-alone Annotated Bibliography assignment, students would include Liberty University’s standard AMA-11 title page.

• Are numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals in the order in which they are cited in the text
• In reference lists, use the author’s surname followed by initials without periods. In listed references, the names of all authors should be given unless there are more than 6, in which case the names of the first 3 are used followed by “et al.”

• Do not use the possessive form of et al (et al’s); rephrase the sentence. Instead of “Doe et al’s data support our findings,” restructure the sentence to “The data in the study by Doe et al support our findings.” [ Note : Be sure to include endnote reference numbers anytime you refer to another’s work.  The web formatting on this webpage does not permit superscripted numbers so the endnote numbers were omitted here, where they would otherwise be required .]
• Note spacing and punctuation in the examples in the table above. Do not use and between names in the reference list.
• Roman numerals and abbreviations for Junior (Jr) and Senior (Sr) follow authors’ initials: Loe JT Sr.
• If a first name is hyphenated, include both initials (ie, Ka-Wai Tam – Tam KW). If the second part of a hyphenated name is lowercased, both initials would be capitalized in the reference list (ie, Hyun-seok Kim = Kim HS).
• Subtitle style follows that for titles, except that the subtitle of journal articles begins with a lowercase letter. (Capitalization is retained if the first word of the subtitle is a proper noun.)
• If the title or subtitle ends with a closing quotation mark, the ending period should appear after the quotation mark because the ending punctuation is not part of the original content.
• For journal articles, abbreviate and italicize names of journals in the reference list according to the listing in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) NLM Catalog database ( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/journals ). Journal names for journals not cited in PubMed may be expanded to avoid possible confusion. Include the year, followed by a semicolon; the volume number and the issue number (in parentheses), followed by a colon; the initial page number, a hyphen, and the final page number, followed by a period, are set without spaces.  Do not omit digits from inclusive page numbers.  The DOI should be included if provided.  The DOI should be the final element and is not followed by a period (present it as metadata format).
• If no DOI, a URL and accessed date may be used. If including a URL in a reference citation, use the URL that will take the reader directly to the article; do not include a long search string, and also avoid a short, more general URL (eg, one to the publisher’s homepage).  Always include http:// or https:// before the URL to help ensure proper linking.  The URL is not followed by a period.

Material on this page taken or adapted from the 11th Edition of the AMA Manual of Style.

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Literature Review: Conducting & Writing

• Sample Literature Reviews
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• Finding "The Literature"
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Sample Lit Reviews from Communication Arts

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• How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates

How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates

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:

• Search for relevant literature
• Evaluate sources
• Identify themes, debates, and gaps
• Outline the structure
• Write your 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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Table of contents

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.

• Quick Run-through
• Step 1 & 2

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:

• Demonstrate your familiarity with the topic and its scholarly context
• Develop a theoretical framework and methodology for your research
• Position your work in relation to other researchers and theorists
• Show how your research addresses a gap or contributes to a debate
• Evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your knowledge of the scholarly debates around your topic.

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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See an example

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.

• Example literature review #1: “Why Do People Migrate? A Review of the Theoretical Literature” ( Theoretical literature review about the development of economic migration theory from the 1950s to today.)
• Example literature review #2: “Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines” ( Methodological literature review about interdisciplinary knowledge acquisition and production.)
• Example literature review #3: “The Use of Technology in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Thematic literature review about the effects of technology on language acquisition.)
• Example literature review #4: “Learners’ Listening Comprehension Difficulties in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Chronological literature review about how the concept of listening skills has changed over time.)

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 .

Make a list of keywords

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.

• Social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok
• Body image, self-perception, self-esteem, mental health
• Generation Z, teenagers, adolescents, youth

Search for relevant sources

Use your keywords to begin searching for sources. Some useful databases to search for journals and articles include:

• Your university’s library catalogue
• Google Scholar
• Project Muse (humanities and social sciences)
• Medline (life sciences and biomedicine)
• EconLit (economics)
• Inspec (physics, engineering and computer science)

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:

• What question or problem is the author addressing?
• What are the key concepts and how are they defined?
• What are the key theories, models, and methods?
• Does the research use established frameworks or take an innovative approach?
• What are the results and conclusions of the study?
• How does the publication relate to other literature in the field? Does it confirm, add to, or challenge established knowledge?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research?

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.

Take notes and cite your sources

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.

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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:

• Trends and patterns (in theory, method or results): do certain approaches become more or less popular over time?
• Themes: what questions or concepts recur across the literature?
• Debates, conflicts and contradictions: where do sources disagree?
• Pivotal publications: are there any influential theories or studies that changed the direction of the field?
• Gaps: what is missing from the literature? Are there weaknesses that need to be addressed?

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.

• Most research has focused on young women.
• There is an increasing interest in the visual aspects of social media.
• But there is still a lack of robust research on highly visual platforms like Instagram and Snapchat—this is a gap that you could address in your own research.

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).

Chronological

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.

Methodological

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:

• Look at what results have emerged in qualitative versus quantitative research
• Discuss how the topic has been approached by empirical versus theoretical scholarship
• Divide the literature into sociological, historical, and cultural sources

Theoretical

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:

• Summarize and synthesize: give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole
• Analyze and interpret: don’t just paraphrase other researchers — add your own interpretations where possible, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole
• Critically evaluate: mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources
• Write in well-structured paragraphs: use transition words and topic sentences to draw connections, comparisons and contrasts

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.

• Sampling methods
• Simple random sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
• Likert scales
• Reproducibility

 Statistics

• Null hypothesis
• Statistical power
• Probability distribution
• Effect size
• Poisson distribution

Research bias

• Optimism bias
• Cognitive bias
• Implicit bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Anchoring bias
• Explicit 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:

• To familiarize yourself with the current state of knowledge on your topic
• To ensure that you’re not just repeating what others have already done
• To identify gaps in knowledge and unresolved problems that your research can address
• To develop your theoretical framework and methodology
• To provide an overview of the key findings and debates on the topic

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 .  

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McCombes, S. (2023, September 11). How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates. Scribbr. Retrieved August 12, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/dissertation/literature-review/

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Format Standards

Because AMA formatting is dependent on the publisher where you may be submitting research, it is helpful to pick a source for guidelines and be consistent with those guidelines. A few starting points are suggested below:

• National Library of Medicine | Formatting Requirements The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) offers guidance to authors in its publication Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (ICMJE Recommendations), which was formerly the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts. The recommended style for references is based on the National Information Standards Organization NISO Z39.29-2005 (R2010) Bibliographic References as adapted by the National Library of Medicine for its databases.
• Citing Medicine: The NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers (2nd Ed.) Citing Medicine provides assistance to authors in compiling lists of references for their publications, to editors in revising such lists, to publishers in setting reference standards for their authors and editors, and to librarians and others in formatting bibliographic citations.

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• Structured Abstract- IMRAD
• Primary & Secondary Sources
• Literature Matrix

What is a literature matrix?

As defined by Judith Garrard in her handbook entitled  Health Sciences Literature Reviews Made Easy: The Matrix Method , a “Review of the literature consists of reading, analyzing, and writing a synthesis of scholarly materials about a specific topic. When reviewing scientific literature, the focus is on the hypotheses, the scientific methods, the strengths and weaknesses of the study, the results, and the authors’ interpretations and conclusions.” When reading materials for a literature review, you should critically evaluate the study’s major aims and results. 

The purpose of completing a literature matrix is to help you identify important aspects of the study. Literature matrixes contain a variety of headings, but frequent headings include: author surname and date, theoretical/ conceptual framework, research question(s)/ hypothesis, methodology, analysis & results, conclusions, implications for future research, and implications for practice. You can add additional columns as needed, and you might consider adding a “notes column” to proactively have important quotations and your thoughts already collected.  As you read journal articles, have your literature matrix ready. It is best to fill in the matrix directly after reading a work, rather than returning to the matrix later.  

Literature Matrix Files

You should use a literature matrix that best helps you to organize your reading and research. Excel workbooks can help to organize your research. Sample basic and complex literature matrixes are provided below: 

• Literature Matrix Basic BLANK
• Literature Matrix Basic SAMPLE
• Literature Matrix Complex BLANK

Synthesize vs. Summarize

When writing your literature review, you will not simply summarize the materials that you found related to your topic. A summary is a recap of the information provided in research articles. Summaries provide basic information about the study, but the details provided in a summary are not enumerative or systematic. 

Synthesizing goes beyond summarizing to explore specific aspects of the research study. When synthesizing the literature, rely on your completed literature matrix to inform your writing. Do you see any tends across publications? Was one type of methodology used repeatedly, why or why not? Did separate teams of researchers come to the same conclusion, differing conclusions, or is the literature inconclusive? Synthesizing requires that you look at the current state of the research overall. 

When preparing to write a synthesis, you will read the literature available, tease apart individual findings and supporting evidence across different articles, and then reorganize this information in a way that presents your understanding of the current state of research in this field.  

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Literature Review Example/Sample

Detailed Walkthrough + Free Literature Review Template

If you’re working on a dissertation or thesis and are looking for an example of a strong literature review chapter , you’ve come to the right place.

In this video, we walk you through an A-grade literature review from a dissertation that earned full distinction . We start off by discussing the five core sections of a literature review chapter by unpacking our free literature review template . This includes:

• The literature review opening/ introduction section
• The theoretical framework (or foundation of theory)
• The empirical research
• The research gap
• The closing section

We then progress to the sample literature review (from an A-grade Master’s-level dissertation) to show how these concepts are applied in the literature review chapter. You can access the free resources mentioned in this video below.

PS – If you’re working on a dissertation, be sure to also check out our collection of dissertation and thesis examples here .

FAQ: Literature Review Example

Literature review example: frequently asked questions, is the sample literature review real.

Yes. The literature review example is an extract from a Master’s-level dissertation for an MBA program. It has not been edited in any way.

Can I replicate this literature review for my dissertation?

As we discuss in the video, every literature review will be slightly different, depending on the university’s unique requirements, as well as the nature of the research itself. Therefore, you’ll need to tailor your literature review to suit your specific context.

You can learn more about the basics of writing a literature review here .

Where can I find more examples of literature reviews?

The best place to find more examples of literature review chapters would be within dissertation/thesis databases. These databases include dissertations, theses and research projects that have successfully passed the assessment criteria for the respective university, meaning that you have at least some sort of quality assurance. 

The Open Access Thesis Database (OATD) is a good starting point. 

How do I get the literature review template?

You can access our free literature review chapter template here .

Is the template really free?

Yes. There is no cost for the template and you are free to use it as you wish. 

Psst… there’s more!

This post is an extract from our bestselling short course, Literature Review Bootcamp . If you want to work smart, you don't want to miss this .

What will it take for you to guide me in my Ph.D research work?

Thank you so much for all this information. I am unable to download the literature review template and the excel worksheet. When I click the button it takes me to the top of the page. I would really love to use this template, thank you again!

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Citation & Writing: AMA Style

• Citation Managers
• Books & eBooks on Writing
• Logan Writing Center This link opens in a new window

AMA Style Guide Book

Full Text Examples

Want to see AMA style in action or find an example of the formatting for a review article?  Search JAMA articles in PubMed.

PubMed .  Main search page of the PubMed database for Logan.

Enter JAMA into the search box.

On the side menu, choose an Article Type (i.e. review, clinical trial...).

Click on an article title, find the Logan ONLINE icon to access the full text.

AMA Citation Format - ARTICLES

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Sample Article Citations:

Benny BV, Nagpal AS, Singh P, Smuck M. Vascular causes of radiculopathy: a literature review. Spine J. 2011 Jan;11(1):73-85.

Brantingham JW, Bonnefin D, Perle SM, et al. Manipulative therapy for lower extremity conditions: update of a literature review. J Manipulative Physiol Ther . 2012 Feb;35(2):127-66.

Daniels CJ, Morrell AP. Chiropractic management of pediatric plantar fasciitis: a case report. J Chiropr Med . 2012 Mar;11(1):58-63.

Author A, Author BB. Article title. Journal Name Abbreviation . Year;vol(issue No.):inclusive pages.

Journal abbreviations may be located in the NLM's Catalog of Journals .

AMA Citation Format - BOOKS

Sample Book Citations:

France RC. Introduction to Sports Medicine and Athletic Training . 2nd ed. Clifton Park, NY: Delmar Cengage Learning; 2011.

Kendall FP, McCreary EK, Provance PG, et al. Muscles: Testing and Function With Posture and Pain . 5th ed. Baltimore (MD): Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2005.

Book with an Editor and no Author:

Davis NJ, ed. Chiropractic Pediatrics: A Clinical Handbook . 2nd ed. New York, NY: Elsevier/Churchill Livingstone; 2010.

Author A, Author BB, Author C. Book Title . Edition number (if 2nd or above). City, State (or Country) or publisher; Publisher's name; copyright year.

AMA Citation Format - WEBSITES

Sample Website Citation:

Thomas ABC. Survey of AMA references and citations. MedStyleRefs Web site. http://www.org-name/page.htm. Updated January 11, 2008. Accessed February 19, 2008.

Author (if no author is available, list the name of the organization). Title (if available, if not, list the name of the organization, if not already listed). Name of the Web site. URL. Updated date (if listed). Accessed [date].

WHERE TO GO FOR MORE INFORMATION

• JAMA Instructions for Authors Instructions on manuscript preparation and submission for the Journal of the American Medical Association. Also includes reference list examples.
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Ten Simple Rules for Writing a Literature Review

Marco pautasso.

1 Centre for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology (CEFE), CNRS, Montpellier, France

2 Centre for Biodiversity Synthesis and Analysis (CESAB), FRB, Aix-en-Provence, France

Literature reviews are in great demand in most scientific fields. Their need stems from the ever-increasing output of scientific publications [1] . For example, compared to 1991, in 2008 three, eight, and forty times more papers were indexed in Web of Science on malaria, obesity, and biodiversity, respectively [2] . Given such mountains of papers, scientists cannot be expected to examine in detail every single new paper relevant to their interests [3] . Thus, it is both advantageous and necessary to rely on regular summaries of the recent literature. Although recognition for scientists mainly comes from primary research, timely literature reviews can lead to new synthetic insights and are often widely read [4] . For such summaries to be useful, however, they need to be compiled in a professional way [5] .

When starting from scratch, reviewing the literature can require a titanic amount of work. That is why researchers who have spent their career working on a certain research issue are in a perfect position to review that literature. Some graduate schools are now offering courses in reviewing the literature, given that most research students start their project by producing an overview of what has already been done on their research issue [6] . However, it is likely that most scientists have not thought in detail about how to approach and carry out a literature review.

Reviewing the literature requires the ability to juggle multiple tasks, from finding and evaluating relevant material to synthesising information from various sources, from critical thinking to paraphrasing, evaluating, and citation skills [7] . In this contribution, I share ten simple rules I learned working on about 25 literature reviews as a PhD and postdoctoral student. Ideas and insights also come from discussions with coauthors and colleagues, as well as feedback from reviewers and editors.

Rule 1: Define a Topic and Audience

How to choose which topic to review? There are so many issues in contemporary science that you could spend a lifetime of attending conferences and reading the literature just pondering what to review. On the one hand, if you take several years to choose, several other people may have had the same idea in the meantime. On the other hand, only a well-considered topic is likely to lead to a brilliant literature review [8] . The topic must at least be:

• interesting to you (ideally, you should have come across a series of recent papers related to your line of work that call for a critical summary),
• an important aspect of the field (so that many readers will be interested in the review and there will be enough material to write it), and
• a well-defined issue (otherwise you could potentially include thousands of publications, which would make the review unhelpful).

Ideas for potential reviews may come from papers providing lists of key research questions to be answered [9] , but also from serendipitous moments during desultory reading and discussions. In addition to choosing your topic, you should also select a target audience. In many cases, the topic (e.g., web services in computational biology) will automatically define an audience (e.g., computational biologists), but that same topic may also be of interest to neighbouring fields (e.g., computer science, biology, etc.).

Rule 2: Search and Re-search the Literature

After having chosen your topic and audience, start by checking the literature and downloading relevant papers. Five pieces of advice here:

• keep track of the search items you use (so that your search can be replicated [10] ),
• keep a list of papers whose pdfs you cannot access immediately (so as to retrieve them later with alternative strategies),
• use a paper management system (e.g., Mendeley, Papers, Qiqqa, Sente),
• define early in the process some criteria for exclusion of irrelevant papers (these criteria can then be described in the review to help define its scope), and
• do not just look for research papers in the area you wish to review, but also seek previous reviews.

The chances are high that someone will already have published a literature review ( Figure 1 ), if not exactly on the issue you are planning to tackle, at least on a related topic. If there are already a few or several reviews of the literature on your issue, my advice is not to give up, but to carry on with your own literature review,

The bottom-right situation (many literature reviews but few research papers) is not just a theoretical situation; it applies, for example, to the study of the impacts of climate change on plant diseases, where there appear to be more literature reviews than research studies [33] .

• discussing in your review the approaches, limitations, and conclusions of past reviews,
• trying to find a new angle that has not been covered adequately in the previous reviews, and
• incorporating new material that has inevitably accumulated since their appearance.

When searching the literature for pertinent papers and reviews, the usual rules apply:

• be thorough,
• use different keywords and database sources (e.g., DBLP, Google Scholar, ISI Proceedings, JSTOR Search, Medline, Scopus, Web of Science), and
• look at who has cited past relevant papers and book chapters.

Rule 3: Take Notes While Reading

If you read the papers first, and only afterwards start writing the review, you will need a very good memory to remember who wrote what, and what your impressions and associations were while reading each single paper. My advice is, while reading, to start writing down interesting pieces of information, insights about how to organize the review, and thoughts on what to write. This way, by the time you have read the literature you selected, you will already have a rough draft of the review.

Of course, this draft will still need much rewriting, restructuring, and rethinking to obtain a text with a coherent argument [11] , but you will have avoided the danger posed by staring at a blank document. Be careful when taking notes to use quotation marks if you are provisionally copying verbatim from the literature. It is advisable then to reformulate such quotes with your own words in the final draft. It is important to be careful in noting the references already at this stage, so as to avoid misattributions. Using referencing software from the very beginning of your endeavour will save you time.

Rule 4: Choose the Type of Review You Wish to Write

After having taken notes while reading the literature, you will have a rough idea of the amount of material available for the review. This is probably a good time to decide whether to go for a mini- or a full review. Some journals are now favouring the publication of rather short reviews focusing on the last few years, with a limit on the number of words and citations. A mini-review is not necessarily a minor review: it may well attract more attention from busy readers, although it will inevitably simplify some issues and leave out some relevant material due to space limitations. A full review will have the advantage of more freedom to cover in detail the complexities of a particular scientific development, but may then be left in the pile of the very important papers “to be read” by readers with little time to spare for major monographs.

There is probably a continuum between mini- and full reviews. The same point applies to the dichotomy of descriptive vs. integrative reviews. While descriptive reviews focus on the methodology, findings, and interpretation of each reviewed study, integrative reviews attempt to find common ideas and concepts from the reviewed material [12] . A similar distinction exists between narrative and systematic reviews: while narrative reviews are qualitative, systematic reviews attempt to test a hypothesis based on the published evidence, which is gathered using a predefined protocol to reduce bias [13] , [14] . When systematic reviews analyse quantitative results in a quantitative way, they become meta-analyses. The choice between different review types will have to be made on a case-by-case basis, depending not just on the nature of the material found and the preferences of the target journal(s), but also on the time available to write the review and the number of coauthors [15] .

Rule 5: Keep the Review Focused, but Make It of Broad Interest

Whether your plan is to write a mini- or a full review, it is good advice to keep it focused 16 , 17 . Including material just for the sake of it can easily lead to reviews that are trying to do too many things at once. The need to keep a review focused can be problematic for interdisciplinary reviews, where the aim is to bridge the gap between fields [18] . If you are writing a review on, for example, how epidemiological approaches are used in modelling the spread of ideas, you may be inclined to include material from both parent fields, epidemiology and the study of cultural diffusion. This may be necessary to some extent, but in this case a focused review would only deal in detail with those studies at the interface between epidemiology and the spread of ideas.

While focus is an important feature of a successful review, this requirement has to be balanced with the need to make the review relevant to a broad audience. This square may be circled by discussing the wider implications of the reviewed topic for other disciplines.

Rule 6: Be Critical and Consistent

Reviewing the literature is not stamp collecting. A good review does not just summarize the literature, but discusses it critically, identifies methodological problems, and points out research gaps [19] . After having read a review of the literature, a reader should have a rough idea of:

• the major achievements in the reviewed field,
• the main areas of debate, and
• the outstanding research questions.

It is challenging to achieve a successful review on all these fronts. A solution can be to involve a set of complementary coauthors: some people are excellent at mapping what has been achieved, some others are very good at identifying dark clouds on the horizon, and some have instead a knack at predicting where solutions are going to come from. If your journal club has exactly this sort of team, then you should definitely write a review of the literature! In addition to critical thinking, a literature review needs consistency, for example in the choice of passive vs. active voice and present vs. past tense.

Rule 7: Find a Logical Structure

Like a well-baked cake, a good review has a number of telling features: it is worth the reader's time, timely, systematic, well written, focused, and critical. It also needs a good structure. With reviews, the usual subdivision of research papers into introduction, methods, results, and discussion does not work or is rarely used. However, a general introduction of the context and, toward the end, a recapitulation of the main points covered and take-home messages make sense also in the case of reviews. For systematic reviews, there is a trend towards including information about how the literature was searched (database, keywords, time limits) [20] .

How can you organize the flow of the main body of the review so that the reader will be drawn into and guided through it? It is generally helpful to draw a conceptual scheme of the review, e.g., with mind-mapping techniques. Such diagrams can help recognize a logical way to order and link the various sections of a review [21] . This is the case not just at the writing stage, but also for readers if the diagram is included in the review as a figure. A careful selection of diagrams and figures relevant to the reviewed topic can be very helpful to structure the text too [22] .

Rule 8: Make Use of Feedback

Reviews of the literature are normally peer-reviewed in the same way as research papers, and rightly so [23] . As a rule, incorporating feedback from reviewers greatly helps improve a review draft. Having read the review with a fresh mind, reviewers may spot inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and ambiguities that had not been noticed by the writers due to rereading the typescript too many times. It is however advisable to reread the draft one more time before submission, as a last-minute correction of typos, leaps, and muddled sentences may enable the reviewers to focus on providing advice on the content rather than the form.

Feedback is vital to writing a good review, and should be sought from a variety of colleagues, so as to obtain a diversity of views on the draft. This may lead in some cases to conflicting views on the merits of the paper, and on how to improve it, but such a situation is better than the absence of feedback. A diversity of feedback perspectives on a literature review can help identify where the consensus view stands in the landscape of the current scientific understanding of an issue [24] .

Rule 9: Include Your Own Relevant Research, but Be Objective

In many cases, reviewers of the literature will have published studies relevant to the review they are writing. This could create a conflict of interest: how can reviewers report objectively on their own work [25] ? Some scientists may be overly enthusiastic about what they have published, and thus risk giving too much importance to their own findings in the review. However, bias could also occur in the other direction: some scientists may be unduly dismissive of their own achievements, so that they will tend to downplay their contribution (if any) to a field when reviewing it.

In general, a review of the literature should neither be a public relations brochure nor an exercise in competitive self-denial. If a reviewer is up to the job of producing a well-organized and methodical review, which flows well and provides a service to the readership, then it should be possible to be objective in reviewing one's own relevant findings. In reviews written by multiple authors, this may be achieved by assigning the review of the results of a coauthor to different coauthors.

Rule 10: Be Up-to-Date, but Do Not Forget Older Studies

Given the progressive acceleration in the publication of scientific papers, today's reviews of the literature need awareness not just of the overall direction and achievements of a field of inquiry, but also of the latest studies, so as not to become out-of-date before they have been published. Ideally, a literature review should not identify as a major research gap an issue that has just been addressed in a series of papers in press (the same applies, of course, to older, overlooked studies (“sleeping beauties” [26] )). This implies that literature reviewers would do well to keep an eye on electronic lists of papers in press, given that it can take months before these appear in scientific databases. Some reviews declare that they have scanned the literature up to a certain point in time, but given that peer review can be a rather lengthy process, a full search for newly appeared literature at the revision stage may be worthwhile. Assessing the contribution of papers that have just appeared is particularly challenging, because there is little perspective with which to gauge their significance and impact on further research and society.

Inevitably, new papers on the reviewed topic (including independently written literature reviews) will appear from all quarters after the review has been published, so that there may soon be the need for an updated review. But this is the nature of science [27] – [32] . I wish everybody good luck with writing a review of the literature.

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to M. Barbosa, K. Dehnen-Schmutz, T. Döring, D. Fontaneto, M. Garbelotto, O. Holdenrieder, M. Jeger, D. Lonsdale, A. MacLeod, P. Mills, M. Moslonka-Lefebvre, G. Stancanelli, P. Weisberg, and X. Xu for insights and discussions, and to P. Bourne, T. Matoni, and D. Smith for helpful comments on a previous draft.

Funding Statement

This work was funded by the French Foundation for Research on Biodiversity (FRB) through its Centre for Synthesis and Analysis of Biodiversity data (CESAB), as part of the NETSEED research project. The funders had no role in the preparation of the manuscript.

ABA, Health Admin, Social Work and More: How to Write a Literature Review

• Traditional or Narrative Literature Review

Getting started

1. start with your research question, 2. search the literature, 3. read & evaluate, 4. finalize results, 5. write & revise, brainfuse online tutoring and writing review.

• RESEARCH HELP

The best way to approach your literature review is to break it down into steps.  Remember, research is an iterative process, not a linear one.  You will revisit steps and revise along the way.  Get started with the handout below that provides an excellent overview.  Then move on to the specific steps recommended on this page.

• UNC-Chapel Hill Writing Center Literature Review Handout, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
• University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center Learn how to write a review of literature, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
• University of Toronto-- Writing Advice The Literature Review: A few tips on conducting it, from the University of Toronto.
• Begin with a topic.
• Understand the topic. 
• Familiarize yourself with the terminology.  Note what words are being used and keep track of these for use as database search keywords. 
• See what research has been done on this topic before you commit to the topic.  Review articles can be helpful to understand what research has been done .
• Develop your research question.  (see handout below)
• How comprehensive should it be? 
• Is it for a course assignment or a dissertation? 
• How many years should it cover?
• Developing a good research question Handout. Reviews PICO method and provides search tips. Nursing focus, but very relevant and helpful for other allied health fields!

Your next step is to construct a search strategy and then locate & retrieve articles.

•  There are often 2-4 key concepts in a research question.
• Search for primary sources (original research articles.)
• These are based on the key concepts in your research question.
• Remember to consider synonyms and related terms.
• Which databases to search?
• What limiters should be applied (peer-reviewed, publication date, geographic location, etc.)?

Review articles (secondary sources)

Use to identify literature on your topic, the way you would use a bibliography.  Then locate and retrieve the original studies discussed in the review article. Review articles are considered secondary sources.

• Once you have some relevant articles, review reference lists to see if there are any useful articles.
• Which articles were written later and have cited some of your useful articles?  Are these, in turn, articles that will be useful to you? 
• Keep track of what terms you used and what databases you searched. 
• Use database tools such as save search history in EBSCO to help.
• Keep track of the citations for the articles you will be using in your literature review. 
• Use RefWorks or another method of tracking this information. 
• Database Search Strategy Worksheet Handout. How to construct a search.
• TUTORIAL: How to do a search based on your research question This is a self-paced, interactive tutorial that reviews how to construct and perform a database search in CINAHL.

The next step is to read, review, and understand the articles.

• Start by reviewing abstracts. 
• Make sure you are selecting primary sources (original research articles).
• Note any keywords authors report using when searching for prior studies.
• You will need to evaluate and critique them and write a synthesis related to your research question.
• Consider using a matrix to organize and compare and contrast the articles . 
• Which authors are conducting research in this area?  Search by author.  
• Are there certain authors’ whose work is cited in many of your articles?  Did they write an early, seminal article that is often cited?
• Searching is a cyclical process where you will run searches, review results, modify searches, run again, review again, etc. 
• Critique articles.  Keep or exclude based on whether they are relevant to your research question.
• When you have done a thorough search using several databases plus Google Scholar, using appropriate keywords or subject terms, plus author’s names, and you begin to find the same articles over and over.
• Remember to consider the scope of your project and the length of your paper.  A dissertation will have a more exhaustive literature review than an 8 page paper, for example.
• What are common findings among each group or where do they disagree? 
• Identify common themes. Identify controversial or problematic areas in the research. 
• Use your matrix to organize this.
• Once you have read and re-read your articles and organized your findings, you are ready to begin the process of writing the literature review.

2. Synthesize.  (see handout below)

• Include a synthesis of the articles you have chosen for your literature review.
• A literature review is NOT a list or a summary of what has been written on a particular topic. 
• It analyzes the articles in terms of how they relate to your research question. 
• While reading, look for similarities and differences (compare and contrast) among the articles.  You will create your synthesis from this.
• Synthesis Examples Handout. Sample excerpts that illustrate synthesis.

Regis Online students have access to Brainfuse.  Brainfuse is an online tutoring service available through a link in Moodle.

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Citation Styles & Evaluation Guides: AMA 11 (AMA Manual of Style)

• APA 7 (American Psychological Association)
• MLA 9 (Modern Language Association)
• Chicago 17 (Chicago Manual of Style)
• ASA 7 (American Sociological Association)
• Citations During Public Speaking
• AMA 11 (AMA Manual of Style)
• IEEE Style (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)
• Citation Generators
• Evaluative Guides
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• BCC Library Home

AMA 11 Updates & Video

The Reference List

• AMA Citation uses a NUMBERED Reference List
• The Reference List is NOT Alphabetized
• For example, the first item in the Reference List should be 1.  This should also be the first item cited in the paper. 

AMA 11 How to...

• AMA Abstract Format
• AMA Paper Format
• AMA PDF Citation Examples

General Guidelines for an AMA Paper

• The AMA Manual of Style provides no specific preferences for font style or size; however, the following are good standards for a college-level paper  
• Font: 12-Point Times New Roman is mentioned for easy readability
• Double spaced
• 1" margins
• Title Page:
• In center: Title of Paper, Name, College, Course # and Name, Instructor, Due Date
• Page numbers in upper right corner
• Section headings
• References List (numbered, not alphabetical)
• NOTE:  A DOI (digital object identifier) is preferred over URL. If you use the DOI, you should NOT include the URL or date accessed. 
• NOTE:  If there is no date, put "date unknown" in place of the year
• NOTE: To ensure you are following assignment guidelines, check with your professor.

The abstract and 3-10 key words should be included on the title page following the title, author and institution information.

Most often, you will be writing a literature review or reporting original data, and therefore will use a structured abstract, limited to 250 words, that uses predetermined headings.

The AMA handbook recommends use of the following:

• Evidence acquisition
• Conclusions

However, this is a common variation asked for by professors:

• Methodology and/or Research Design
• Results (often reported quantitatively when appropriate)

Objective:  To investigate the effect of music therapy on overall recovery time in pediatric patients post-operation.  Methods:  We used data collected from previous literature to compare recovery times in the population of interest.  Results : Review of literature revealed a weak, negative correlation between exposure to music therapy and length of stay in recovery.  Conclusion:  While there appears to be a correlation between specialist administered music therapy and shorter recovery times in post-operation patients, more research is needed to objectively define any benefits such therapy can have in a pediatric population.

Key Words:  music therapy, auditory therapy, pediatrics, post-operation recovery, length of stay.

AMA does not outline specifics requirements for typeface (e.g. boldface, italicized) or alignment (e.g centered, left-justified) of headings; as long as they are consistent within the paper and distinguishable from each other they will be acceptable.

• May be centered or left-justified on the line above the text
• May be bolded or not
• Left-justified above the text or at the beginning of the text on the same line
• May be bolded, italicized, or not

The main sections in an AMA literature review are often the same as those found in an APA paper (Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, etc.).

Introduction

This is where your background information goes. After informing the reader about your topic, this section should also present your research question and reason for your research. Include information about why this research is important and/or why it’s a problem, as well as how it ties to previous research in the field.

This section details how you conducted your research. You should outline databases (e.g., Ebsco Host, PubMed, etc.) filters (e.g., academic/peer-reviewed sources, date limitations, etc.), and keywords used in your searches and describe trends in the outcomes of these searches. This is also the section in which you should describe and justify your inclusion and exclusion criteria – i.e., the details of a study’s publication, design, or population that either allow it to be included or excluded from your research (e.g., “only studies published after 2005 were included” or “studies including participants over the age of 16 years were not considered”).

In a report of original data, this section will most often summarize the collected data and include tables and figures used to analyze the results. If you are reporting on original research or quantitative data, this section will not provide any commentary or analysis of the results’ significance. In a literature review, this section will summarize and synthesize the major results and conclusions of the reviewed literature. It will often be structured with subheadings that organize your analysis by topic (e.g. “Music Therapy in Neurosurgery Recovery” or “Music Therapy in Addition to Pain Management via Pharmaceuticals”).

The interpretation of your results goes here. Possible biases and/or weaknesses of the study or studies may be discussed, such as how sample demographics, study design, or reporting methods may have biased the results to a particular conclusion. You should also identify any gaps in the literature that may lead to potential for future research. In addition to this, your discussion section should describe the significance of your research to the greater body of knowledge or its role in solving the presented problem.

The heading for this section should be “References,” bolded and left-justified at the top of the next page. The references should then be numbered down the page in the order they appear in the text. References should not be double-spaced.

AMA 11 Citation Examples

• In-Text Citations
• Books & eBooks
• Visual Sources

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Literature Review

• Steps for Conducting a Lit Review
• Finding "The Literature"
• Organizing/Writing
• Sample Literature Reviews
• FAMU Writing Center

Sample Lit Reviews from Communication Arts

• Literature Review Sample 1
• Literature Review Sample 2
• Literature Review Sample 3
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• Last Updated: Oct 20, 2022 11:24 AM
• URL: https://library.famu.edu/literaturereview

AMA Guide - 11th Edition: Paper Formatting

• Paper Formatting
• In-Text Citations
• Database Specific Formatting

Explicit instructions for paper format are not given in the AMA manual because publishers provide specific requirements for submitted manuscripts.  These research paper format guidelines have been chosen by faculty for South College students, and can be found in the official South College AMA Style Guide. 

Note:  Your instructor may have specific or additional requirements not listed in this guide.

AMA Paper Formatting Checklist

General format.

• Margins are 1 inch on all sides throughout. 
• Paper is double spaced throughout, including the title page, block quotes, and references.
• Use the serif typeface Times New Roman or Arial. 
• Use a 12pt font size throughout. 
• Pages are numbered consecutively, right aligned in the header, starting on the first page of text. Exclude the title page and, if required, the abstract page.
• All text is center aligned and double spaced.
• Full title of the paper begins a quarter down the page. 
• Authors' full name(s) including middle initials.
• Couse Number - Course Name
• Assignment: Assignment Name if required
• Affiliated institution

Abstract (If Required by Instructor)

• Separate page after the title page.
• Abstract is the section title, it is left aligned and not indented.
• Text is in a block under the section title, it is not indented. 
• Maximum 500 words.
• Does not include quotations or reference citations. 
• Keywords: 
• Introduction
• Body Paragraphs
• Section headings are bold and left aligned. 
• Subsection headings are italicized and left aligned. 
• The first line of each paragraph is indented 1/2 inch.
• There is no extra line space between paragraphs or headings. 
• Block quotes are double spaced, are not indented, and are 1/2 inch from the left margin. 
• Avoid starting a sentence with a number.  If unavoidable, write out the number instead of using Arabic numerals.

Reference List

• References  heading is bold and left aligned at the top of the page.
• References are left aligned. 
• References are numbered in the order they are first cited in the body of the paper. 
• A tab space separates the number and the first name or word of the reference. 

Tables & Figures

Each table is assigned a number based on the order it is used in the article. Following the table number (and just above the table itself) should be a clear but concise title in title case.  All elements in the table are in sentence case.

Footnotes are listed at the bottom of the table, each on its own line. However, to save space, tables with more than a few footnotes can use 2 columns for the footnotes.

For more information on formatting and when to use tables, see the Tables Components section of the AMA Manual online. 

• AMA Manual of Style - Ebook This link opens in a new window 11th edition ebook. May need to refresh page after logging in.

Similar to tables, each figure is assigned a number based on the order it is used in the article. Types of figures include, but are not limited to, graphs, charts, maps, drawings, and photographs. Some figures use symbols to represent data, and those figures use legends embedded in the graphic to explain those symbols. 

Following the figure number (and just above the figure itself) should be a clear but concise title.  All elements in the table are in sentence case.

For more examples and guidelines for how and when to use figures in a paper, see the Figures section of the AMA Manual online.

Do I use an appendix in AMA?

• What is an appendix?
• How do I use an appendix?
• How do I make an appendix?

Appendices are not regularly used in AMA. AMA formatting prefers that the information, if relevant to the article, be included in the body of the article as a table or figure.  If the appendix is important, AMA favors publishing them online as online only, supplemental materials.  

The AMA Manual of Style does note that an appendix may be used "on rare occasions...for data that cannot easily be represented as a table or figure and are too central to the article to be deposited elsewhere".  The appendix is included at the end of the paper but  before  the references. Sources for any materials in an appendix are then included in the reference list. 

When an appendix is included in an article, it is cited in the text like a table or figure.  

Example:  This kitchen is rated a 5 on the Hazard Scale (Appendix 1). 

Format an appendix the same way you would start a reference list, with "Appendix" at the top left of a new page. If there is more than one appendix, start each on a new page. Appendices are numbered and organized by the order they are referred to in the body of the article.

Example: 

Hazard Scale

• 1 - The room is completely safe and the likelihood of being injured is very low.
• 2 - The room is relatively safe, but injury is likely if one is inattentive to the environment.
• 3 - The room is completely unsafe and injury or illness is very likely.
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How to write a literature review introduction (+ examples)

The introduction to a literature review serves as your reader’s guide through your academic work and thought process. Explore the significance of literature review introductions in review papers, academic papers, essays, theses, and dissertations. We delve into the purpose and necessity of these introductions, explore the essential components of literature review introductions, and provide step-by-step guidance on how to craft your own, along with examples.

Why you need an introduction for a literature review

In academic writing , the introduction for a literature review is an indispensable component. Effective academic writing requires proper paragraph structuring to guide your reader through your argumentation. This includes providing an introduction to your literature review.

It is imperative to remember that you should never start sharing your findings abruptly. Even if there isn’t a dedicated introduction section .

When you need an introduction for a literature review

There are three main scenarios in which you need an introduction for a literature review:

What to include in a literature review introduction

It is crucial to customize the content and depth of your literature review introduction according to the specific format of your academic work.

Academic literature review paper

The introduction of an academic literature review paper, which does not rely on empirical data, often necessitates a more extensive introduction than the brief literature review introductions typically found in empirical papers. It should encompass:

Regular literature review section in an academic article or essay

In a standard 8000-word journal article, the literature review section typically spans between 750 and 1250 words. The first few sentences or the first paragraph within this section often serve as an introduction. It should encompass:

Introduction to a literature review chapter in thesis or dissertation

Some students choose to incorporate a brief introductory section at the beginning of each chapter, including the literature review chapter. Alternatively, others opt to seamlessly integrate the introduction into the initial sentences of the literature review itself. Both approaches are acceptable, provided that you incorporate the following elements:

Examples of literature review introductions

Example 1: an effective introduction for an academic literature review paper.

To begin, let’s delve into the introduction of an academic literature review paper. We will examine the paper “How does culture influence innovation? A systematic literature review”, which was published in 2018 in the journal Management Decision.

Example 2: An effective introduction to a literature review section in an academic paper

The second example represents a typical academic paper, encompassing not only a literature review section but also empirical data, a case study, and other elements. We will closely examine the introduction to the literature review section in the paper “The environmentalism of the subalterns: a case study of environmental activism in Eastern Kurdistan/Rojhelat”, which was published in 2021 in the journal Local Environment.

Thus, the author successfully introduces the literature review, from which point onward it dives into the main concept (‘subalternity’) of the research, and reviews the literature on socio-economic justice and environmental degradation.

Examples 3-5: Effective introductions to literature review chapters

Numerous universities offer online repositories where you can access theses and dissertations from previous years, serving as valuable sources of reference. Many of these repositories, however, may require you to log in through your university account. Nevertheless, a few open-access repositories are accessible to anyone, such as the one by the University of Manchester . It’s important to note though that copyright restrictions apply to these resources, just as they would with published papers.

Master’s thesis literature review introduction

Phd thesis literature review chapter introduction, phd thesis literature review introduction.

The last example is the doctoral thesis Metacognitive strategies and beliefs: Child correlates and early experiences Chan, K. Y. M. (Author). 31 Dec 2020 . The author clearly conducted a systematic literature review, commencing the review section with a discussion of the methodology and approach employed in locating and analyzing the selected records.

Steps to write your own literature review introduction

Master academia, get new content delivered directly to your inbox, the best answers to "what are your plans for the future", 10 tips for engaging your audience in academic writing, related articles, co-authorship guidelines to successfully co-author a scientific paper, minor revisions: sample peer review comments and examples, how to write effective cover letters for a paper submission, 10 things to do when you feel like your dissertation is killing you.

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References are found at the end of a manuscript and are titled “References,” and each item should be listed in numerical order (two references should not be combined under a single reference number) as opposed to alphabetically. Additionally, each item should be single-spaced.

Sample Reference

AuthorLastname FirstInitialMiddleInitial. Title in sentence case.  Abbreviated Journal Title in Title Case . Year;volume(Issue#):PP-PP. doi: ##

If you are citing an online article, you should include the day and month of publication as well in the format of Month Day, Year.

Use sentence case for all titles (capitalize only the first word of the title). Abbreviate and italicize names of journals according to the listing in the  National Library of Medicine database .

Author Names

When writing up your references list, be sure to always include the last name and the first and middle initial of the authors  without  punctuation. However, do use a comma to separate more than one author in a single bibliographic group (e.g., Wheeler T, Watkins PJ).

If the author's middle initial isn't available, omit it. The abbreviations "Jr" and "Sr" ("Junior" and "Senior") may follow authors' names when applicable (e.g., Jameson JJ Jr). Use Roman numerals to signify "2nd," "3rd," "4th," and so on (e.g., Doe JF III).

Use all authors’ names unless there are more than 6 authors. In that case, list the names of the initial 3 authors, followed by “et al” in place of the others.

Bibliographic Elements

Each reference is divided with periods into bibliographic groups; each bibliographic group contains bibliographic  elements , which may be separated using the following punctuation marks:

• A comma : if the items are sub-elements of a bibliographic element or a set of closely related elements (e.g., the authors’ names).
• A semicolon:  if the elements in the bibliographic group are different (e.g., between the publisher’s name and the copyright year) or if there are multiple occurrences of logically related elements within a group; also, before volume identification data.
• A colon:  before the publisher’s name, between the title and the subtitle, and after a connective phrase (e.g., “In,” “Presented at”).

See the following examples:

In-Text Citations

Each reference should be cited in the text using superscript arabic numerals. These superscript numbers should be outside periods and commas but inside colons and semicolons . Multiple references may be cited in the same instance. If you are citing sequential references, these should be indicated with a hyphen. Nonsequential references should be separated with commas. There should not be a space between numbers. For example: 

As Smith et al have reported, 1-3,5

Smith et al reported 1-3,5 :

AMA recommends that you do not place a superscript reference citation immediately following a number, and advises that you revise the sentence to prevent any possible confusion with an exponent.

Parenthetical citations should ONLY be used for items that do not occur in the references list, such as unpublished material, personal communications, and news articles. These citations may or may not include a title or author, but should include page numbers and, if possible, a DOI or URL.