Your literature review may be organised around the wrong thing
A quick test for better literature synthesis — plus two funding opportunities worth checking.
Your literature review may be organised around the wrong thing
A literature review becomes more useful when it moves beyond reporting studies one by one and starts showing the patterns, disagreements and unanswered questions across the evidence.
“Remove the author names and citations from a paragraph. Does an argument remain?”
Your citations should support the argument. They should not be the argument.
We have put together a practical guide on how to move from study-by-study summaries to real synthesis, including examples and a synthesis matrix.
Funding Watch
SGCI STISA-2034 Multilateral Research CallScience Granting Councils Initiative · Up to UGX 500 million for the Ugandan consortium member · Deadline: 25 September 2026An Africa-led collaborative research call, with Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania among the participating countries. • Areas: Health, agriculture, AI & digital technologies, energy and environment • Who: Multi-country consortia from participating African countries • Deadline: 25 September 2026View the opportunity →Wellcome Early-Career AwardsWellcome · Salary + up to £400,000 in research expenses · Deadline: 10 November 2026For early-career researchers developing an independent research identity. Researchers based at eligible institutions in low- and middle-income countries can apply. • Areas: Research advancing understanding of human life, health or wellbeing • Duration: Usually 5 years • Deadline: 10 November 2026View the opportunity →One thing to try this week
Pick one paragraph from your literature review and ask:
What do I know after reading these studies together that I would not know from reading each study separately?
If you can answer that clearly, you are getting closer to synthesis.
Methods Bench
Make research easier, one useful email at a time.
Practical methods, tools and new Methods Bench resources.