The purpose of a literature review is to summarize and synthesize the information published on
the topic. The annotated bibliography, as noted previously, summarizes each publication with no
comparing and contrasting of the information. The literature review, however, compares and
contrasts the information by topic, similarities, differences, etc. It is not the recanting of what
one author said on the topic followed by the views of another, but rather a critical analysis of the
major research on your narrow topic.
A minimum of 10 scholarly sources should be included in this section. These sources may or
may not have been included in the annotated bibliography.
The literature review is composed of the following 3 sections: introduction, body and
conclusion. The introduction begins by introducing the topic and presenting the various ways
that the topic is viewed in the literature. The body gives the opportunity to summarize, evaluate,
and interpret the information located on the topic, thus arranging the sources and discussions by
various perspectives. The conclusion is a summary that provides the reader with an overview of
what they have already read.
