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 readPubMed Search Strategy: A Boolean Search Example
Build a PubMed search using concept blocks, synonyms and field tags, then test what your search retrieves and misses.
3 min readLiterature Search Log Template: What to Record
Create a search log that preserves exact queries, dates, platforms, exports and revisions without confusing search results with studies.
3 min readInclusion and Exclusion Criteria: Systematic Review Examples
Turn a broad review question into usable eligibility rules, with a worked example and a process for handling uncertain studies.
3 min readData Extraction Template for a Literature Review
Design and pilot a review extraction sheet with clear definitions, source locations and separate fields for reported facts and interpretation.
3 min readMultiple Reports of One Study: Avoid Double Counting
Learn to link multiple publications from one study, distinguish them from duplicate records and prevent double counting in a review.
3 min readSynthesis Without Meta-analysis: A Practical Guide
Use structured comparisons when results cannot be pooled, without counting significant findings or writing one paragraph per study.
3 min readPrimary vs Secondary Sources in Research: Examples
Distinguish primary and secondary sources by the claim you need to support, and learn when to trace a finding back to the original study.
3 min read
Tools and templates
See everything for this stage: what to learn, use, download and check.