This guide brings together all the resources you will need to understand what a literature review is (and isn't), and to conduct and write your own literature review.
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A literature review is a "systematic, explicit, and reproducible method for identifying, evaluating, and synthesizing the existing body of completed and recorded work produced by researchers, scholars, and practitioners."
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Why is it important?
A literature review can be a short introduction to an article, an article by itself, or the first chapter of a thesis or dissertation.
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Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions by
The revised edition of the Handbook offers the only guide on how to conduct, report and maintain a Cochrane Review 
 The second edition of The Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions contains essential guidance for preparing and maintaining Cochrane Reviews of the effects of health interventions. Designed to be an accessible resource, the Handbook will also be of interest to anyone undertaking systematic reviews of interventions outside Cochrane, and many of the principles and methods presented are appropriate for systematic reviews addressing research questions other than effects of interventions. This fully updated edition contains extensive new material on systematic review methods addressing a wide-range of topics including network meta-analysis, equity, complex interventions, narrative synthesis, and automation. Also new to this edition, integrated throughout the Handbook, is the set of standards Cochrane expects its reviews to meet. Written for review authors, editors, trainers and others with an interest in Cochrane Reviews, the second edition of The Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions continues to offer an invaluable resource for understanding the role of systematic reviews, critically appraising health research studies and conducting reviews.
A Practical Guide to Dissertation and Thesis Writing 1st Edition by 
Writing the Successful Thesis and Dissertation by
A complete, step-by-step, practical overview of the process of writing successful theses and dissertations Every year thousands of graduate students face the daunting-sometimes terrifying- challenge of writing a thesis or dissertation. But most of them have received little or no instruction on doing it well. This book shows them how in ways no other book does. It combines the practical guidance and theoretical understanding students need to complete their theses or dissertations with maximum insight and minimum stress. Drawing on her extensive research and experience advising hundreds of graduate students, Dr. Irene Clark presents a solid overview of the writing process. Clark shows how to apply innovative theories of process and genre and understand the writing process for what it is: your entrance into a conversation with the scholarly community that will determine your success or failure. This book offers useful strategies for each phase of the process, from choosing advisors and identifying topics through writing, revision, and review. Coverage includes * Getting started: overcoming procrastination and writer's block * Understanding the genre of the thesis or dissertation * Speaking the "language of the academy" * Writing compelling proposals * Developing and revising drafts * Constructing effective literature reviews * Working with tables, graphs, and other visual materials * Working with advisors and dissertation committees * Avoiding inadvertent plagiarism Experience based, theoretically grounded, jargon free, and practical, Writing the Successful Thesis and Dissertation will help you become a more effective writer-and a more meaningful contributor to the scholarly conversation. Preface xi Introduction: Writing a Thesis or Dissertation: An Overview of the Process xix Chapter 1: Getting Started 1 Chapter 2: So What? Discovering Possibilities 17 Chapter 3: The Proposal as an Argument: A Genre Approach to the Proposal 33 Chapter 4: Mapping Texts: The Reading/Writing Connection 63 Chapter 5: Writing and Revising 83 Chapter 6: Writing the Literature Review 103 Chapter 7: Using Visual Materials 125 Chapter 8: The Advisor and Thesis/Dissertation Committee 139 Chapter 9: Working with Grammar and Style 155 Chapter 10: Practical Considerations 175 Index: 193
