It is often useful to focus a literature review by means of review questions. At the early stages of your research the questions might be quite broad. As you become more familiar with your topic you can begin to ask more specific and detailed questions. The following list of questions, adapted from Hart (1998) may provide you with a useful starting point:

1. What is the topic of interest?
2. What are the origins and definitions of the topic?
3. What are major issues and debates about the topic?
4. What are the key sources?
5. What are the key concepts, models, perspectives, theories?
6. What are the epistemological and ontological grounds for the discipline? 
7. What are the main questions and problems that have been addressed to date?
8. What methods have been used to study these questions and problems?
9. How has knowledge in the topic been structured and organized?
10. How have approaches to these questions increased our understanding and knowledge?

It can be useful to create and maintain a table relating to these questions.  The table can help you capture crucial information from each paper that you review. 

 

	What aspect of the topic does this paper address?	How does this paper define the topic?	what issues or debates are raised?	Is this a core or peripheral source? Why?	What concepts, models, Perspectives, theories are presented?	What is the  epistemological and ontological position?	What questions and problems does the Paper address?	What methods (if any) are employed in the paper?	In what ways does this paper relate to other papers in this field?	How has The paper helped to develop my understanding of the topic?
paper1
paper2
paper3
paper4
etc

 

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Reference

Hart, C. (1998). 'Doing a literature review: releasing the social science research imagination'. London: SAGE Publications

The text on this page was created by Professor David Denyer, Professor of Organizational Change, Cranfield School of Management.