Literature review & evidence synthesis
A literature review is an argument about what is known, not a list of studies. These guides show how to identify a genuine research gap and how to organise evidence by theme so your review builds towards your research question.
Move from reading study by study to synthesising evidence around themes and gaps.
- What counts as a real research gap?
- How do I organise evidence across many studies?
- How do I turn a synthesis into a problem statement?
Start here
Stop Writing One Paragraph Per Study: How to Synthesize a Literature Review
Learn how to synthesize a literature review instead of summarizing one study at a time, with a synthesis matrix and before-and-after example.
Read guideKey guides
What Is a Research Gap? Six Types Researchers Commonly Miss
A research gap is more than “no study has been done here.” Learn six practical types of gaps and how to turn missing evidence into a defensible research question.
9 min readHow to Write a Research Problem Statement Without Starting With “Globally…”
Stop taking readers on a global-to-local statistics tour. Learn how to write a research problem statement that shows what is happening, why it matters and what remains unknown.
8 min readHow to Check Whether the References in Your Thesis Are Real
A plausible-looking citation can still be fabricated, corrupted or irrelevant. Use this reference audit to verify that every source exists and supports the claim you made.
8 min read
Tools and templates
See everything for this stage: what to learn, use, download and check.