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Annotated Bibliography vs. Literature Review

What's the big deal.

There are fundamental differences between an annotated bibliography and a literature review that are crucial to completing the assignment correctly. The chart below is provides an overview of the biggest differences between the two types of assignments in a side-by-side comparison. However, if you need more specific information about either assignment, visit our Annotated Bibliography and/or Literature Review pages for more detailed information on how to complete them. 

Differences between an annotated bibliography and literature review

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Annotated Bibliography vs Literature Review

• By Prof M Lambert
• November 12, 2020

If you’re undertaking a research project or writing a thesis in the US, be it at undergraduate, postgraduate, or PhD level, you may be wondering what the difference between an annotated bibliography and a literature review is.

Both are important sections of a research paper and aim to give context to the sources cited around a particular research problem. A literature review places a stronger emphasis on the importance of the findings of a paper, whilst an annotated bibliography focuses on the quality, validity, and relevance of the source of information itself.

What is a Literature Review?

A literature review summarises the research findings of others in a specific topic (this can be from a range of publications including scholarly journal articles, textbooks, interviews, and magazines), critically appraises their work, and uses this information to develop the research project at hand. The purpose of this section is also to identify any gaps in knowledge that exist in the research topic and how your research project can help address them. The literature review also allows you to question the research carried out, for example: does one author’s argument conflict with another’s?, or are a particular author’s conclusions valid?

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

Firstly, a bibliography is the list of sources referred to in a body of work. You should be familiar with this for any essay you have written – think of the APA style references you normally include. This includes important information about the source such as the author name, document title, date of publication, and page number (if applicable). The exact information differs depending on the source type – for example, a scholarly journal article may require a DOI ( Digital Object Identifier ) to be included in the citation, whilst a website will require a URL. The bibliography has several uses, primarily it serves as a reference point for readers who wish to read further into the statements made in a body of work. It also allows readers to question statements and verify the information provided in the body of work.

An annotated bibliography is a list of sources used in your body of work, which includes a brief summary for each source. These summary annotations evaluate the sources of information with regards to their accuracy and quality and identify any potential reasons for bias. As with a standard bibliography, an annotated bibliography should present sources alphabetically in a list-style format. The source summaries are typically around 150 words, though this can vary depending on the nature of the source.

Annotated Bibliography vs Literature Review – What are the differences?

The literature review is presented in a more conversational tone (essay format), as it looks to relate the findings of the source to the research question under review. In comparison, the annotated bibliography is much more structured and factual. It may evaluate sources that only have an indirect relevance to the current project.

Another difference is the length. As mentioned earlier, the annotation summaries are around 150 words per source. The literature review, on the other hand, is typically somewhere between 6,000 – 12,000 words. This reinforces the fact that the annotated bibliography is a concise assessment of the source, whilst the literature review is a comprehensive appraisal of the current knowledge and contributions around a particular topic. For example, the annotated bibliography may comment on a research paper which conducted a similar study and note information such as the scale of the experiments, how they were conducted, and which parameters were controlled. In the literature review this same source of information may be discussed further: what were the limitations of this type of experiment, how does the methodology compare to other studies, do the findings support your argument, and was the scale big enough to draw valid conclusions.

Students preparing a dissertation or thesis should use their annotation summaries to help develop their literary review. This can be done by using the information provided in the bibliography as a reference point to help paint the bigger picture in the literature review.

The Thurstone Scale is used to quantify the attitudes of people being surveyed, using a format of ‘agree-disagree’ statements.

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• How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography
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• Literature Reviews
• What is an Annotated Bibliography?
• Examples of Annotated Bibliographies

Difference between Annotated Bibliography and Literature Review

Although both types of writing involve examining sources, a literature review attempts to correlate the information and draw connections between the sources.

Examples of Literature Reviews

• Student Example
• Journal Example

Citation Help

• MLA Center The Modern Language Association website can help you cite sources in MLA style.
• APA Style Blog The American Psychology Association can help you cite sources in APA style.
• Chicago Manual of Style Use this site to help you site sources in Chicago Manual of Style.
• Purdue's Online Writing Lab (OWL) Purdue's Online Language Writing Lab contains up-to-date information on MLA and APA styles.

What is a Literature Review?

Literature Review - from The Writing Center at UNC Chapel Hill

A literature review discusses published information in a particular subject area, and sometimes information in a particular subject area within a certain time period. It usually has an organizational pattern and combines both summary and synthesis. A summary is a recap of the important information of the source, but a synthesis is a re-organization, or a reshuffling, of that information. It might give a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations. Or it might trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates.

Organizing a Literature Review

There is not one "standard" for literature reviews but they should include the following:

• Introduction: Gives a quick idea of the topic of the literature review, such as the central theme or organizational pattern.
• Body: Contains your discussion of sources and is organized either chronologically, thematically, or methodologically (see below for more information on each).
• Conclusions/Recommendations: Discuss what you have drawn from reviewing literature so far. Where might the discussion proceed?

Organizing your literature review:

• Chronological: If your review follows the chronological method, you write about your materials according to when they were published. The oldest date is first and the most recent publication date is last.
• By publication: Order your sources by publication chronology, then, only if the order demonstrates a more important trend.
• By trend: A better way to organize sources chronologically is to examine the sources under another trend, such as the history of whaling. Then your review would have subsections according to eras within this period.
• Thematic: Thematic reviews of literature are organized around a topic or issue, rather than the progression of time. However, progression of time may still be an important factor in a thematic review. For instance, a thematic review of material on sperm whales might examine how they are portrayed as "evil" in cultural documents. The subsections might include how they are personified, how their proportions are exaggerated, and their behaviors misunderstood. A review organized in this manner would shift between time periods within each section according to the point made.
• Methodological: A methodological approach differs from the two above in that the focusing factor usually does not have to do with the content of the material. Instead, it focuses on the "methods" of the researcher or writer. A methodological scope will influence either the types of documents in the review or the way in which these documents are discussed.
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Things to remember.

Be Selective

Summarize and Synthesize

Keep Your Own Voice

Use Caution When Paraphrasing

Revise, Revise, Revise

Source: Literature Reviews - The Writing Center at UNC Chapel Hill

Things to Clarify

Items to clarify if not in assignment:

• How many sources should be included?
• What types of sources should be included? (scholarly articles, books, websites, etc.)
• Should information be reviewed by a common theme or issue?
• Should subheadings and background information be provided? (i.e. definitions and/or a history?)
• Should the review be in chronological or publication order?
• Last Updated: Aug 14, 2023 10:48 AM
• URL: https://libraries.etsu.edu/guides/howto/lib101annotatedbibliographies

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• What is a Literature Review? | Guide, Template, & Examples

What is a Literature Review? | Guide, Template, & Examples

Published on 22 February 2022 by Shona McCombes . Revised on 7 June 2022.

What is a literature review? A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources on a specific topic. It provides an overview of current knowledge, allowing you to identify relevant theories, methods, and gaps in the existing research.

There are five key steps to writing a literature review:

• Search for relevant literature
• Evaluate sources
• Identify themes, debates and gaps
• Outline the structure
• Write your literature review

A good literature review doesn’t just summarise sources – it analyses, synthesises, and critically evaluates to give a clear picture of the state of knowledge on the subject.

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Table of contents

Why write a literature review, examples of literature reviews, step 1: search for relevant literature, step 2: evaluate and select sources, step 3: identify themes, debates and gaps, step 4: outline your literature review’s structure, step 5: write your literature review, frequently asked questions about literature reviews, introduction.

• Quick Run-through
• Step 1 & 2

When you write a dissertation or thesis, you will have to conduct a literature review to situate your research within existing knowledge. The literature review gives you a chance to:

• Demonstrate your familiarity with the topic and scholarly context
• Develop a theoretical framework and methodology for your research
• Position yourself in relation to other researchers and theorists
• Show how your dissertation addresses a gap or contributes to a debate

You might also have to write a literature review as a stand-alone assignment. In this case, the purpose is to evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your knowledge of scholarly debates around a topic.

The content will look slightly different in each case, but the process of conducting a literature review follows the same steps. We’ve written a step-by-step guide that you can follow below.

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Writing literature reviews can be quite challenging! A good starting point could be to look at some examples, depending on what kind of literature review you’d like to write.

• Example literature review #1: “Why Do People Migrate? A Review of the Theoretical Literature” ( Theoretical literature review about the development of economic migration theory from the 1950s to today.)
• Example literature review #2: “Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines” ( Methodological literature review about interdisciplinary knowledge acquisition and production.)
• Example literature review #3: “The Use of Technology in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Thematic literature review about the effects of technology on language acquisition.)
• Example literature review #4: “Learners’ Listening Comprehension Difficulties in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Chronological literature review about how the concept of listening skills has changed over time.)

You can also check out our templates with literature review examples and sample outlines at the links below.

Download Word doc Download Google doc

Before you begin searching for literature, you need a clearly defined topic .

If you are writing the literature review section of a dissertation or research paper, you will search for literature related to your research objectives and questions .

If you are writing a literature review as a stand-alone assignment, you will have to choose a focus and develop a central question to direct your search. Unlike a dissertation research question, this question has to be answerable without collecting original data. You should be able to answer it based only on a review of existing publications.

Make a list of keywords

Start by creating a list of keywords related to your research topic. Include each of the key concepts or variables you’re interested in, and list any synonyms and related terms. You can add to this list if you discover new keywords in the process of your literature search.

• Social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok
• Body image, self-perception, self-esteem, mental health
• Generation Z, teenagers, adolescents, youth

Search for relevant sources

Use your keywords to begin searching for sources. Some databases to search for journals and articles include:

• Your university’s library catalogue
• Google Scholar
• Project Muse (humanities and social sciences)
• Medline (life sciences and biomedicine)
• EconLit (economics)
• Inspec (physics, engineering and computer science)

You can use boolean operators to help narrow down your search:

Read the abstract to find out whether an article is relevant to your question. When you find a useful book or article, you can check the bibliography to find other relevant sources.

To identify the most important publications on your topic, take note of recurring citations. If the same authors, books or articles keep appearing in your reading, make sure to seek them out.

You probably won’t be able to read absolutely everything that has been written on the topic – you’ll have to evaluate which sources are most relevant to your questions.

For each publication, ask yourself:

• What question or problem is the author addressing?
• What are the key concepts and how are they defined?
• What are the key theories, models and methods? Does the research use established frameworks or take an innovative approach?
• What are the results and conclusions of the study?
• How does the publication relate to other literature in the field? Does it confirm, add to, or challenge established knowledge?
• How does the publication contribute to your understanding of the topic? What are its key insights and arguments?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research?

Make sure the sources you use are credible, and make sure you read any landmark studies and major theories in your field of research.

You can find out how many times an article has been cited on Google Scholar – a high citation count means the article has been influential in the field, and should certainly be included in your literature review.

The scope of your review will depend on your topic and discipline: in the sciences you usually only review recent literature, but in the humanities you might take a long historical perspective (for example, to trace how a concept has changed in meaning over time).

Remember that you can use our template to summarise and evaluate sources you’re thinking about using!

Take notes and cite your sources

As you read, you should also begin the writing process. Take notes that you can later incorporate into the text of your literature review.

It’s important to keep track of your sources with references to avoid plagiarism . It can be helpful to make an annotated bibliography, where you compile full reference information and write a paragraph of summary and analysis for each source. This helps you remember what you read and saves time later in the process.

You can use our free APA Reference Generator for quick, correct, consistent citations.

Prevent plagiarism, run a free check.

To begin organising your literature review’s argument and structure, you need to understand the connections and relationships between the sources you’ve read. Based on your reading and notes, you can look for:

• Trends and patterns (in theory, method or results): do certain approaches become more or less popular over time?
• Themes: what questions or concepts recur across the literature?
• Debates, conflicts and contradictions: where do sources disagree?
• Pivotal publications: are there any influential theories or studies that changed the direction of the field?
• Gaps: what is missing from the literature? Are there weaknesses that need to be addressed?

This step will help you work out the structure of your literature review and (if applicable) show how your own research will contribute to existing knowledge.

• Most research has focused on young women.
• There is an increasing interest in the visual aspects of social media.
• But there is still a lack of robust research on highly-visual platforms like Instagram and Snapchat – this is a gap that you could address in your own research.

There are various approaches to organising the body of a literature review. You should have a rough idea of your strategy before you start writing.

Depending on the length of your literature review, you can combine several of these strategies (for example, your overall structure might be thematic, but each theme is discussed chronologically).

Chronological

The simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time. However, if you choose this strategy, be careful to avoid simply listing and summarising sources in order.

Try to analyse patterns, turning points and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred.

If you have found some recurring central themes, you can organise your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic.

For example, if you are reviewing literature about inequalities in migrant health outcomes, key themes might include healthcare policy, language barriers, cultural attitudes, legal status, and economic access.

Methodological

If you draw your sources from different disciplines or fields that use a variety of research methods , you might want to compare the results and conclusions that emerge from different approaches. For example:

• Look at what results have emerged in qualitative versus quantitative research
• Discuss how the topic has been approached by empirical versus theoretical scholarship
• Divide the literature into sociological, historical, and cultural sources

Theoretical

A literature review is often the foundation for a theoretical framework . You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts.

You might argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach, or combine various theoretical concepts to create a framework for your research.

Like any other academic text, your literature review should have an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion . What you include in each depends on the objective of your literature review.

The introduction should clearly establish the focus and purpose of the literature review.

If you are writing the literature review as part of your dissertation or thesis, reiterate your central problem or research question and give a brief summary of the scholarly context. You can emphasise the timeliness of the topic (“many recent studies have focused on the problem of x”) or highlight a gap in the literature (“while there has been much research on x, few researchers have taken y into consideration”).

Depending on the length of your literature review, you might want to divide the body into subsections. You can use a subheading for each theme, time period, or methodological approach.

As you write, make sure to follow these tips:

• Summarise and synthesise: give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole.
• Analyse and interpret: don’t just paraphrase other researchers – add your own interpretations, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole.
• Critically evaluate: mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources.
• Write in well-structured paragraphs: use transitions and topic sentences to draw connections, comparisons and contrasts.

In the conclusion, you should summarise the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasise their significance.

If the literature review is part of your dissertation or thesis, reiterate how your research addresses gaps and contributes new knowledge, or discuss how you have drawn on existing theories and methods to build a framework for your research. This can lead directly into your methodology section.

A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources (such as books, journal articles, and theses) related to a specific topic or research question .

It is often written as part of a dissertation , thesis, research paper , or proposal .

There are several reasons to conduct a literature review at the beginning of a research project:

• To familiarise yourself with the current state of knowledge on your topic
• To ensure that you’re not just repeating what others have already done
• To identify gaps in knowledge and unresolved problems that your research can address
• To develop your theoretical framework and methodology
• To provide an overview of the key findings and debates on the topic

Writing the literature review shows your reader how your work relates to existing research and what new insights it will contribute.

The literature review usually comes near the beginning of your  dissertation . After the introduction , it grounds your research in a scholarly field and leads directly to your theoretical framework or methodology .

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Annotated Bibliographies and Literature Reviews

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What is an Annotated Bibliography

What is a Literature Review - video

Michelle Early

Difference Between a Literature Review and an Annotated Bibliography

Literature review.

A literature review should not be confused with an annotated bibliography. A literature review is not simply a summary of information you have found on a topic. Literature reviews are more in depth and provides analysis of multiple works relating to a research question. An annotated bibliography is a list of the resources, that you consulted when working on a research project. Each citation is accompanied by a brief written analysis of its usefulness to your research.

Courtesy of Washington University Library

“Library Guides: Annotated Bibliographies: Overview.” Overview - Annotated Bibliographies - Library Guides at University of Washington Libraries , guides.lib.uw.edu/tacoma/annotated.

Purdue Owl Annotated Bibliographies

Purdue owl annotated bibliography information, annotated bibliography breakdown, stem cell research: an annotated bibliography.

Holland, Suzanne. The Human Embryonic Stem Cell Debate: Science, Ethics, and Public Policy . Boston: MIT P, 2001.

This is the annotation of the above source, which is formatted according to MLA 2016 (8 th ed.) guidelines for the bibliographic information listed above. If one were really writing an annotation for this source, one would offer a brief summary of what this book says about stem cell research.

After a brief summary, it would be appropriate to assess this source and offer some criticisms of it. Does it seem like a reliable and current source? Why? Is the research biased or objective? Are the facts well documented? Who is the author? Is she qualified in this subject? Is this source scholarly, popular, some of both?

The length of your annotation will depend on the assignment or on the purpose of your annotated bibliography. After summarizing and assessing, you can now reflect on this source. How does it fit into your research? Is this a helpful resource? Too scholarly? Not scholarly enough? Too general/specific? Since "stem cell research" is a very broad topic, has this source helped you to narrow your topic?

Senior, K. "Extending the Ethical Boundaries of Stem Cell Research." Trends in Molecular Medicine , vol. 7, 2001, pp. 5-6.

Not all annotations have to be the same length. For example, this source is a very short scholarly article. It may only take a sentence or two to summarize. Even if you are using a book, you should only focus on the sections that relate to your topic.

Not all annotated bibliographies assess and reflect; some merely summarize. That may not be the most helpful for you, but, if this is an assignment, you should always ask your instructor for specific guidelines.

Wallace, Kelly. "Bush Stands Pat on Stem Cell Policy." CNN . 13 Aug. 2001.

Using a variety of sources can help give you a broader picture of what is being said about your topic. You may want to investigate how scholarly sources are treating this topic differently than more popular sources. But again, if your assignment is to only use scholarly sources, then you will probably want to avoid magazines and popular web sites.

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Annotated Bibliographies & Literature Reviews

Writing an annotated bibliography, why do we write literature reviews, what are scholarly journals & peer review.

• Strategic Searching
• Locating Sources Online & At Pace
• Citing Your Sources

How are annotated bibliographies and literature reviews related? 

Annotated bibliographies collect sources and present citations along with a summary and analysis that connects the information to your research question. In a literature review , the author synthesizes multiple sources together to present the major themes, arguments and theories around a topic. 

Therefore, an annotated bibliography can provide an opportunity to review and analyze individual sources before o rganizing them around common denominators found across sources. 

Creating an annotated bibliography: 

• Review your assignment to determine how your professor would like your annotated bibliography to look.
• Search ! The "Strategic Searching" and "Locating Sources Online & At Pace" pages on this guide for assistance in locating potential sources. 
• Create the citations for your sources. 
• Write a paragraph for each citation summarizing, analyzing and determining the relevance of that source to your paper.                                                                       Icon by freepik

Examples: 

• University of Wisconsin: Annotated Bibliographies Research Guide This Research Guide page walks through the step by step process of creating an annotated bibliography.
• Rasmussen College: Annotated Bibliography Research Guide Watch the video and see an example of an annotated bibliography.

Literature reviews serve a purpose in research by: 

• Showing the writer's understanding of their topic area including key concepts, terminology, theories and definitions
• Identifying what research has been done in that area
• Finding gaps in the research or current areas of interest to help the writer tweak their own research question, if needed
• Identifying main areas of agreement, disagreement or controversy within the topic area
• Convincing the reader that your research question is significant, important and interesting

You are writing a MAP to the scholarly conversation on your topic.

• Planning and Creating a Literature Review Video Tips for searching, analyzing, and organizing sources for your literature review.

For your Literature Review you will summarize, evaluate, and synthesize, existing scholarship related to your research question. This "scholarship" is found in academic, scholarly, peer-reviewed journals. These differ from magazines and articles written for the general public because scholarly journals are written for researchers and experts in the discipline area. 

Click the link below titled, "Anatomy of a Scholarly Journal Article" to view an  interactive journal article and review what each section means.

You may need a few peer reviewed sources for your literature review. But what does that mean?

Peer-reviewed and refereed publications  include articles that are read and approved by an editor and one or more experts in that field to confirm accuracy of information and the contribution of that information to the scholarly conversation. 

• Anatomy of a Scholarly Journal Article Click to explore what makes up a "scholarly journal article." From the North Carolina State University Library.
• How to Read a Scholarly Article A visual demonstration, from Western Libraries.
• Example of a Scholarly Article
• Example #2 of a Scholarly Journal
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Annotated Bibliographies: A short guide

What is an annotated bibliography, what makes a good annotated bibliography, what is the difference between an annotated bibliography, a bibliography and an abstract and a literature review.

• How are annotated bibliographies arranged?
• Using EndNote Online to create an annotated bibliography

An annotated bibliography is a list of academic sources put together by a researcher or student. Each of the sources in the list has annotations which summarise and evaluate the content and main arguments of the source.

A good annotated bibliography will demonstrate that you know your subject and that you can:

• follow the instructions that have been set
• read widely
• identify useful and relevant sources
• identify arguments
• recognise important authors in the field
• see how the sources relate to each other
• see how you can use the information in the sources
• highlight sources that may be of interest to other readers and researchers
• use concise and clear language
• use the correct referencing style accurately and consistently 

Make sure you understand what you are being asked to do. Pay attention to the instructions you have been given. 

Use good sources. Depending on your assignment you may need a combination of journal articles, books, policy documents, and professional organisational publications. Search for them using Findit@Bham , Bibliographic Databases  appropriate to your discipline and Google Scholar .  To find the key academic sources for your discipline see our relevant   subject guide .

Read a range of your sources sources which have a variety of view points. Write a short summary and evaluation of each one. Your annotations could include the author's background and credentials, the scope, main argument, intended audience and comparisons to the other sources. See also our guide Evaluating information .

Make sure your citations are accurate, consistent and in the required style. For information on how to reference  and the  i-Cite Guide  and Good Academic Practice: A Guide   We recommend  Cite Them Right Online  as a good source of examples.

An annotated bibliography  

A bibliography or reference list.

The terms, ‘Reference List’ and  ‘Bibliography’ are often used interchangeably, giving the impression that they are the same thing. In reality they have different functions.

There are two main differences – the length and the purpose

A ‘Reference List’ tends to be shorter – it’s a detailed list of items that you have found, read and cited or quoted in your work

A ‘Bibliography’ is much longer - It is a systematic list that includes all the works that you have found or read that are cited in your text as well as those that you found but did not cite in your text. The citations that appear for inclusion in a Bibliography are for suggested or further reading. 

In this short video our academic skills team explain the key differences between Reference Lists and Bibliographies and how they relate to your university work.

An abstract 

An abstract is a concise description of an article written by the author of the article.

A literature review

In a literature review the sources are evaluated and discussed in relation to each other by themes instead of being listed alphabetically.

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• Last Updated: Mar 28, 2024 3:12 PM
• URL: https://libguides.bham.ac.uk/asc/bibliographies

McNair Scholars: Annotated Bibliographies vs. Literature Reviews

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What is the difference between an Annotated Bibliography and a Literature Review?

Annotated Bibliography - an annotated bibliography is a list of citations with brief notes added below each citation summarizing the content of the article cited (the annotation) included. The annotation accompanying a citation may also contain a short evaluation of the article in addition to a summary. 

Literature Review  - a systematic review of the published material, or scholarly writings, on a specific topic or research question that can be part of a scholarly work or a stand-alone product. The primary goal is analysis - and not simply summarization - of these scholarly writings. This analysis serves to provide background information on your topic and detail the connection between those writings and your research question. 

Learn More - Annotated Bibliographies

Annotated bibliographies are:

• Brief - about 150 words or so
• Summarize and evaluate a source
• Are located under the citation in a bibliography or works cited list
• Are distinct from abstracts, which are mostly a condensed description of an article
• Are distinct from literature reviews.
• Purdue OWL's Annotated Bibliography Page Purdue's Online Writing Lab's page on annotated bibliographies has examples of from the major citation styles and more.
• Writing Center's MLA Annotated Bibliography Handout This handout from the Writing Center is a guide to MLA format annotated bibliographies.

Learn More - Literature Reviews

A Literature Review will help you achieve the following:

• Provides background on research topic
• Guides you in detailing or focusing your own research question
• Provides a framework for research or future research - identifying major themes and concepts
• Offers insights on unexplored ideas related to a topic, gaps in the research
• Assists with avoiding repetition of earlier research
• Tests assumptions; may help counter preconceived ideas and remove unconscious bias
• Identifies points of disagreement, or potentially flawed methodology or theoretical approaches

Searching databases such as  Web of Science, Google Scholar,   and  Dissertations & Theses   is the way you are able to discover the research that has been done on any given subject.

There are many resources available to help you understand what a literature review is and how to write one. Here are a few:

• Literature Reviews: An Overview for Graduate Students. A video overview of what a literature review is.
• The Literature Review: A Few Tips On Conducting It Includes an overview and a set of questions to ask of each source included in the review. This guide is hosted on the University of Toronto's Writing Advice website.
• Writing A Literature Review and Using a Synthesis Matrix This tutorial describes a method of notetaking to help you organize the content of your literature review so you can synthesize a coherent presentation of what different authors have said about different parts of your topic. This method may be useful.

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• Last Updated: Feb 8, 2024 3:29 PM
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Understanding literature review vs annotated bibliography, bob cardens.

• November 30, 2023
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A literature review is kind of like an annotated bibliography because they both involve summarizing research about a specific topic. Because of this similarity, some students mix up these two different parts of a research paper. If you’re one of those students who gets them mixed up, don’t worry!

In this article, you’ll find out the main differences between a literature review and an annotated bibliography. Understanding these differences will clear up any confusion you might have about them.

Let’s dive in.

What You'll Learn

What Is an Annotated Bibliography?

An annotated bibliography is a valuable research tool that provides a list of sources along with concise annotations . These annotations offer a brief summary or analysis of the sources, highlighting their relevance and quality .

Annotations typically consist of a 150-250 word description or interpretation, allowing readers to quickly assess the value of each source. By including annotations, the annotated bibliography helps researchers delve deeper into the topic and gather information for their own research.

Annotated bibliographies play a vital role in academic writing by not only providing information for readers but also aiding writers in developing their thesis. Through the process of critically evaluating sources and creating annotations, students gain a better understanding of their subject matter.

They can assess the strengths and weaknesses of each source, identify key arguments, and make connections between different works. This comprehensive evaluation allows writers to present a well-rounded analysis in their own research and support their arguments effectively.

“An annotated bibliography is a valuable research tool that provides a list of sources along with concise annotations.”

When creating an annotated bibliography , it is important to remember that the quality of the annotations is just as important as the selection of sources. The descriptions or interpretations should be clear, concise, and focused on the main ideas of each source.

It’s also crucial to consider the relevance of the sources to your research topic and to evaluate their credibility . By including annotations that highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each source, the annotated bibliography serves as a guide for readers and a resource for researchers.

How to Write an Annotated Bibliography Step-by-Step

When writing an annotated bibliography, it is important to follow a step-by-step process to ensure that your annotations are informative, well-structured, and relevant. Here are the key steps to consider:

• Analysis of Sources: Begin by analyzing the sources you have collected for your bibliography. Evaluate the author’s qualifications , the credibility of the source, and consider the intended audience . Look for any errors or biases that may impact the reliability of the information.
• Evaluating Sources: Once you have analyzed the sources, evaluate their relevance and quality. Consider how each source contributes to your research topic and assess its significance. This critical analysis will help you determine which sources to include in your annotated bibliography.
• Writing Descriptive Annotations: When creating annotations, you can choose between different types, including descriptive, summary, or evaluation annotations . Descriptive annotations provide a quick summary of the source, highlighting the key points and main arguments.
• Writing Summary Annotations: Summary annotations go beyond a simple summary and provide a more detailed overview of the source. They highlight the main points, arguments, and findings, offering a comprehensive understanding of the source.
• Writing Evaluation Annotations: Evaluation annotations involve a critical analysis of the source. Here, you assess the reliability, bias , and credibility of the information presented. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the source and determine its relevance to your research.
• Choosing Writing Styles: It is important to use the appropriate writing style for your annotations. Depending on the length and complexity of the source, you can use short phrases, sentences, or even paragraphs to convey your analysis effectively.

By following these steps, you can ensure that your annotated bibliography provides a comprehensive and critical analysis of the sources, supporting your research and enhancing your understanding of the topic.

Remember, an annotated bibliography is not just a list of sources. It is an opportunity to engage with the materials, critically analyze them, and demonstrate your understanding of their relevance to your research. Take the time to carefully evaluate and write informative annotations that provide valuable insights into the sources you have chosen.

Related Article: Difference Between a Literature Review and an Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography Examples

When creating an annotated bibliography , there are different types of annotations and writing styles that can be used. Examples of annotated bibliographies can help illustrate these variations and provide guidance on how to effectively structure and format your own annotations. Below are three types of annotations commonly used in annotated bibliographies:

1. Indicative Annotations

Indicative annotations provide a brief summary of the source without going into too much detail. They give the reader a general idea of the content and focus of the source, helping them determine its relevance to their research. Here’s an example of an indicative annotation:

“This article explores the impact of climate change on biodiversity in coastal ecosystems. It discusses the various factors contributing to biodiversity loss, such as rising sea levels, habitat degradation, and pollution. The author also suggests potential conservation strategies to mitigate the negative effects of climate change on coastal biodiversity.”

2. Informative Annotations

Informative annotations provide a more detailed overview of the source, summarizing its main arguments, methodologies, and key findings. They offer a deeper understanding of the source’s content and help the reader assess its relevance and reliability. Here’s an example of an informative annotation:

“In this book, the author examines the role of social media in shaping political discourse and public opinion. The study analyzes the impact of platforms like Twitter and Facebook on political campaigns, discussing their potential to both facilitate democratic participation and spread misinformation. The author uses case studies and empirical evidence to support their arguments, providing valuable insights into the complex relationship between technology and politics.”

3. Evaluation Annotations

Evaluation annotations not only summarize the source but also critically assess its strengths, weaknesses, and overall quality. They provide an evaluation of the source’s reliability, credibility, and bias , helping the reader make informed decisions about its use in their research. Here’s an example of an evaluation annotation:

“This research article presents a novel approach to renewable energy generation using solar panels integrated into building facades. The study includes an in-depth analysis of the energy output, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of the proposed system. While the findings are promising, the author acknowledges certain limitations, such as the need for further testing and optimization. Overall, this article offers valuable insights into the potential of building-integrated solar panels as a sustainable energy solution.”

Remember to follow the appropriate citation style, such as APA, MLA, or Chicago, when formatting your annotated bibliography. Each annotation should be concise, informative, and relevant to your research topic, providing the reader with a clear understanding of the source’s content and its significance to your study.

What Is a Literature Review?

In the research process , a literature review plays a vital role in reviewing and tying together existing research on a specific topic. Unlike an annotated bibliography, a literature review goes beyond summarizing individual sources and focuses on analyzing and synthesizing the findings and theories of multiple studies.

By thoroughly examining the existing research, a literature review provides a comprehensive understanding of the current knowledge base and identifies any gaps in the literature.

A well-written literature review serves as the foundation for further research and thesis development . It not only defines the main ideas and concepts related to the topic but also helps in formulating the research methodology .

Through the synthesis of relevant literature, a literature review offers insights into the implications and potential directions for future research. By critically evaluating and analyzing existing studies, researchers can contribute to the knowledge base and advance understanding in their field.

Literature Review Key Points:

• A literature review reviews and ties together existing research.
• It goes beyond summarizing individual sources.
• A literature review identifies gaps in the existing literature.
• It lays the foundation for further research and thesis development .
• A literature review offers insights into implications and directions for future research.

Difference Between Literature Review and Annotated Bibliography

In the realm of academic research, two common tools used to analyze sources are literature reviews and annotated bibliographies. While they may seem similar at first glance, there are distinct differences between the two. Understanding these variances can help researchers effectively employ each method to enhance their study.

A literature review is a comprehensive analysis and synthesis of existing research on a specific topic. Its purpose is to examine the scope , depth , and relevance of the current body of knowledge. By delving into various studies and theories, a literature review not only identifies gaps in the research but also provides a foundation for thesis development . It goes beyond summarizing sources and explores methodologies, implications, and potential directions for future inquiry.

An annotated bibliography, on the other hand, primarily serves as a list of sources accompanied by brief summaries or evaluations known as annotations. While it also involves analyzing sources, its focus is on providing a resource for assessing the relevance and quality of the materials. An annotated bibliography is useful for researchers to quickly evaluate sources, but it does not offer the same depth of analysis and synthesis as a literature review.

Table: Comparison between Literature Review and Annotated Bibliography

In summary, while both literature reviews and annotated bibliographies involve source analysis, they serve different purposes and have distinct approaches. A literature review offers a comprehensive analysis of existing research, while an annotated bibliography provides a resource for evaluating sources . Understanding these differences is crucial for researchers to effectively utilize these tools in their academic endeavors.

Methods of Conducting a Literature Review and Creating an Annotated Bibliography

When conducting a literature review , there are several methods that can be employed to ensure a thorough and comprehensive analysis of existing research . The process starts with searching for relevant sources, using databases, academic journals, and other reputable scholarly sources to gather a wide range of studies and articles.

Once the sources are collected, the next step is to evaluate their relevance and quality. This involves assessing the author’s qualifications , the credibility of the publication or journal, and the intended audience . By critically evaluating the sources, researchers can ensure that they are using reliable and trustworthy information for their literature review.

After evaluating the sources, the next step is to select the most appropriate ones for inclusion in the literature review. This means choosing sources that are directly relevant to the research question or topic at hand. Once the sources are selected, they need to be organized in a coherent manner. This can be done by categorizing the sources based on their main themes or topics, allowing for a structured and logical presentation of the literature review.

Analyzing and synthesizing the information gathered from the sources is a crucial step in conducting a literature review . This involves critically evaluating the findings and theories presented in the research and identifying common themes or trends.

By synthesizing the existing research, researchers can provide a comprehensive overview of the current knowledge base and identify any gaps or areas for further investigation. The literature review should also highlight the implications of the findings and suggest directions for future research.

In conclusion, the literature review and annotated bibliography are essential components of the research process . While both involve analysis and synthesis, they serve different purposes in academic writing.

The literature review provides a comprehensive analysis of existing research on a specific topic, helping to identify gaps and contribute to the knowledge base. On the other hand, the annotated bibliography serves as a list of sources with brief summaries or evaluations, allowing readers to assess the relevance and quality of the sources.

By understanding the differences between these two tools and utilizing them effectively, researchers can enhance their understanding of a topic, develop their thesis, and contribute to the existing knowledge base. Both the literature review and annotated bibliography are valuable resources that can strengthen the research and writing process.

For more guidance and inspiration, StudyingHq.com offers a free Essays and Papers Database with thousands of essay examples, samples, guides, topics, and research papers. Additionally, if you need writing help within a short timeframe, you can rely on expert writers who can provide assistance in 2-3 hours.

What is the difference between a literature review and an annotated bibliography?

A literature review is a comprehensive analysis and synthesis of existing research on a specific topic, while an annotated bibliography is a list of sources with brief summaries or evaluations.

What is the purpose of an annotated bibliography?

The purpose of an annotated bibliography is to provide information for the reader and help the writer delve deeper into the topic by critically evaluating the sources and creating annotations.

How do you write an annotated bibliography?

Writing an annotated bibliography involves analyzing sources, evaluating their credibility, and creating annotations that can be descriptive, summary, or evaluation-based.

What are the different types of annotations in an annotated bibliography?

The different types of annotations in an annotated bibliography include  indicative annotations ,  informative annotations , and evaluation annotations, which provide different levels of summary and analysis.

What is the purpose of a literature review?

The purpose of a literature review is to  review and tie together  the findings and theories of various studies on a specific topic, demonstrating their importance and relevance and identifying gaps in the existing literature.

How do you conduct a literature review?

Conducting a literature review involves searching for relevant sources, evaluating their quality,  selecting  the most appropriate ones, and  organizing  and analyzing the information to provide a comprehensive analysis and synthesis of existing research.

What are the similarities between a literature review and an annotated bibliography?

Both involve evaluating and analyzing sources, gathering information on a topic, and organizing and synthesizing the findings. They are both tools used in the research and writing process.

How can literature reviews and annotated bibliographies enhance the research process?

By utilizing both tools effectively, researchers can enhance their understanding of a topic, identify research gaps, and contribute to the existing knowledge base.

Source Links

• https://www.bibliography.com/examples/annotated-bibliography-writing-guide-with-examples/
• https://edtechbooks.org/rapidwriting/lit_rev_intro
• https://open.byu.edu/rapidwriting/lit_rev_intro

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Literature Review vs. Annotated Bibliography vs. Research Paper... What's the difference?

Literature Review

The purpose of a literature review is to provide an overview of existing academic literature on a specific topic and an evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the author’s arguments. You are summarizing what research is available on a certain topic and then drawing conclusions about the topic. To make gathering your research easier, be sure to start with a narrow/specific topic and then widen your topic if necessary.

A literature review is helpful when determining what research has already been discovered through academic research and what further research still needs to be done. Are there gaps? Are there opportunities for further research? What is missing from my collection of resources? Are more resources needed?

It is important to note that the conclusions described in the literature you gather may contradict each other completely or in part.  A literature review gives the researcher an overview and understanding of research findings to date on a particular topic or issue.

Annotated Bibliography

An annotated bibliography is a list of resources that you have gathered on a topic that includes an annotation following the reference.  Like a References list, annotated bibliographies gather all resources discovered in the research process in one document. Each citation in the bibliography is followed by an annotation a 5-7 sentence paragraph consisting of a summary, an evaluation, and a reflection of that resource.

An annotated bibliography is different from a literature review because it serves a different purpose. Annotated bibliographies focus on sources gathered for a specific research project. A literature review attempts to take a comprehensive approach to evaluate all of the research available on a particular question or a topic to create the foundation for a research paper. 

For more information, please visit the annotated bibliography page of our APA guide.

Research Paper

A research paper presents a single argument/idea on a topic supported by research that you have gathered. Your own thoughts and opinions will be supported by research that you have gathered on your topic. The resources used in your research paper typically support the argument that you are making.

For more information on writing a research paper, check out our Writing guide .

Generally, either an annotated bibliography or a literature review are written first and set the framework for the final product: your research paper. 

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Q. What is a literature review? Is it the same thing as an annotated bibliography?

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Answered By: Ning Zou Last Updated: Mar 11, 2022     Views: 46

An annotated bibliography is a list of books, journals, and other citations typically accompanied by a short summary or evaluation of each source. A literature review summarizes the published material on a topic to address a specific research question and requires synthesizing evidence or critiquing the literature. For more details about this assignment type, check out our resource on literature reviews .

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Writing a Literature Review

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A literature review is a document or section of a document that collects key sources on a topic and discusses those sources in conversation with each other (also called synthesis ). The lit review is an important genre in many disciplines, not just literature (i.e., the study of works of literature such as novels and plays). When we say “literature review” or refer to “the literature,” we are talking about the research ( scholarship ) in a given field. You will often see the terms “the research,” “the scholarship,” and “the literature” used mostly interchangeably.

Where, when, and why would I write a lit review?

There are a number of different situations where you might write a literature review, each with slightly different expectations; different disciplines, too, have field-specific expectations for what a literature review is and does. For instance, in the humanities, authors might include more overt argumentation and interpretation of source material in their literature reviews, whereas in the sciences, authors are more likely to report study designs and results in their literature reviews; these differences reflect these disciplines’ purposes and conventions in scholarship. You should always look at examples from your own discipline and talk to professors or mentors in your field to be sure you understand your discipline’s conventions, for literature reviews as well as for any other genre.

A literature review can be a part of a research paper or scholarly article, usually falling after the introduction and before the research methods sections. In these cases, the lit review just needs to cover scholarship that is important to the issue you are writing about; sometimes it will also cover key sources that informed your research methodology.

Lit reviews can also be standalone pieces, either as assignments in a class or as publications. In a class, a lit review may be assigned to help students familiarize themselves with a topic and with scholarship in their field, get an idea of the other researchers working on the topic they’re interested in, find gaps in existing research in order to propose new projects, and/or develop a theoretical framework and methodology for later research. As a publication, a lit review usually is meant to help make other scholars’ lives easier by collecting and summarizing, synthesizing, and analyzing existing research on a topic. This can be especially helpful for students or scholars getting into a new research area, or for directing an entire community of scholars toward questions that have not yet been answered.

What are the parts of a lit review?

Most lit reviews use a basic introduction-body-conclusion structure; if your lit review is part of a larger paper, the introduction and conclusion pieces may be just a few sentences while you focus most of your attention on the body. If your lit review is a standalone piece, the introduction and conclusion take up more space and give you a place to discuss your goals, research methods, and conclusions separately from where you discuss the literature itself.

Introduction:

• An introductory paragraph that explains what your working topic and thesis is
• A forecast of key topics or texts that will appear in the review
• Potentially, a description of how you found sources and how you analyzed them for inclusion and discussion in the review (more often found in published, standalone literature reviews than in lit review sections in an article or research paper)
• Summarize and synthesize: Give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole
• Analyze and interpret: Don’t just paraphrase other researchers – add your own interpretations where possible, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole
• Critically Evaluate: Mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources
• Write in well-structured paragraphs: Use transition words and topic sentence to draw connections, comparisons, and contrasts.

Conclusion:

• Summarize the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasize their significance
• Connect it back to your primary research question

How should I organize my lit review?

Lit reviews can take many different organizational patterns depending on what you are trying to accomplish with the review. Here are some examples:

• Chronological : The simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time, which helps familiarize the audience with the topic (for instance if you are introducing something that is not commonly known in your field). If you choose this strategy, be careful to avoid simply listing and summarizing sources in order. Try to analyze the patterns, turning points, and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred (as mentioned previously, this may not be appropriate in your discipline — check with a teacher or mentor if you’re unsure).
• Thematic : If you have found some recurring central themes that you will continue working with throughout your piece, you can organize your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic. For example, if you are reviewing literature about women and religion, key themes can include the role of women in churches and the religious attitude towards women.
• Qualitative versus quantitative research
• Empirical versus theoretical scholarship
• Divide the research by sociological, historical, or cultural sources
• Theoretical : In many humanities articles, the literature review is the foundation for the theoretical framework. You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts. You can argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach or combine various theorical concepts to create a framework for your research.

What are some strategies or tips I can use while writing my lit review?

Any lit review is only as good as the research it discusses; make sure your sources are well-chosen and your research is thorough. Don’t be afraid to do more research if you discover a new thread as you’re writing. More info on the research process is available in our "Conducting Research" resources .

As you’re doing your research, create an annotated bibliography ( see our page on the this type of document ). Much of the information used in an annotated bibliography can be used also in a literature review, so you’ll be not only partially drafting your lit review as you research, but also developing your sense of the larger conversation going on among scholars, professionals, and any other stakeholders in your topic.

Usually you will need to synthesize research rather than just summarizing it. This means drawing connections between sources to create a picture of the scholarly conversation on a topic over time. Many student writers struggle to synthesize because they feel they don’t have anything to add to the scholars they are citing; here are some strategies to help you:

• It often helps to remember that the point of these kinds of syntheses is to show your readers how you understand your research, to help them read the rest of your paper.
• Writing teachers often say synthesis is like hosting a dinner party: imagine all your sources are together in a room, discussing your topic. What are they saying to each other?
• Look at the in-text citations in each paragraph. Are you citing just one source for each paragraph? This usually indicates summary only. When you have multiple sources cited in a paragraph, you are more likely to be synthesizing them (not always, but often
• Read more about synthesis here.

The most interesting literature reviews are often written as arguments (again, as mentioned at the beginning of the page, this is discipline-specific and doesn’t work for all situations). Often, the literature review is where you can establish your research as filling a particular gap or as relevant in a particular way. You have some chance to do this in your introduction in an article, but the literature review section gives a more extended opportunity to establish the conversation in the way you would like your readers to see it. You can choose the intellectual lineage you would like to be part of and whose definitions matter most to your thinking (mostly humanities-specific, but this goes for sciences as well). In addressing these points, you argue for your place in the conversation, which tends to make the lit review more compelling than a simple reporting of other sources.

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References & Further Reading

Manuals & guidelines, print books.

• Beyond PICO: the SPIDER tool for qualitative evidence synthesis Cooke, A., Smith, D., & Booth, A. (2012). Qualitative Health Research, 22(10), 1435-1443.
• Checking reference lists to find additional studies for systematic reviews Horsley, T., Dingwall, O., & Sampson, M. (2011). The Cochrane Library, 8.
• Domain Definition and Search Techniques in Meta-analyses of L2 Research (Or why 18 meta-analyses of feedback have different results) Plonsky, L., & Brown, D. (2015). Second Language Research, 31(2), 267–278.
• Effectiveness and Efficiency of Search Methods in Systematic Reviews of Complex Evidence: Audit of Primary Sources Greenhalgh, T., & Peacock, R. (2005). BMJ, 331(7524), 1064-1065. Only 30% of sources were obtained from the protocol defined at the outset of the study (that is, from the database and hand searches). Fifty one per cent were identified by “snowballing” (such as pursuing references of references), and 24% by personal knowledge or personal contacts. Conclusion: Systematic reviews of complex evidence cannot rely solely on protocol-driven search strategies.
• An Empirical Assessment of A Systematic Search Process for Systematic Reviews Zhang, H., Babar, M. A., Bai, X., Li, J., & Huang, L. (2011, April). In Evaluation & Assessment in Software Engineering (EASE 2011), 15th Annual Conference on (pp. 56-65). IET.
• The Impact of Limited Search Procedures for Systematic Literature Reviews – A Participant-Observer Case Study Kitchenham, B., Brereton, P., Turner, M., Niazi, M., Linkman, S., Pretorius, R., & Budgen, D. (2009, October). In Empirical Software Engineering and Measurement, 2009. ESEM 2009. 3rd International Symposium on (pp. 336-345). IEEE.
• Information retrieval in systematic reviews: Challenges in the public health arena Beahler, C. C., Sundheim, J. J., & Trapp, N. I. (2000). American Journal of Preventive Medicine, (18)4, 6-10.
• Literature Searching for Social Science Systematic Reviews: Consideration of a range of search techniques. Papaioannou, D. , Sutton, A. , Carroll, C. , Booth, A. and Wong, R. (2010). Health Information & Libraries Journal, 27, 114-122.
• Literature search strategies for conducting knowledge‐building and theory‐generating qualitative systematic reviews Finfgeld‐Connett, D., & Johnson, E. D. (2013). Journal of Advanced Nursing, 69(1), 194-204.
• Performing a Literature Review. Reed, L. E. (1998, November). In fie (pp. 380-383). IEEE.
• Searching for qualitative research for inclusion in Systematic Reviews: A Structured Methodological Review Booth, A. (2016). Systematic Reviews, (5)74, 1-23.
• Should We Exclude Inadequately Reported Studies From Qualitative Systematic Reviews? An Evaluation of Sensitivity Analyses in Two Case Study Reviews Carroll, C., Booth, A., & Lloyd-Jones, M. (2012). Qualitative Health Research, 22(10), 1425-1434.
• Systematic Literature Studies: Database Searches vs. Backward Snowballing Jalali, S., & Wohlin, C. (2012, September). In Proceedings of the ACM-IEEE international symposium on Empirical software engineering and measurement (pp. 29-38). ACM.
• Text-Mining Techniques and Tools for Systematic Literature Reviews: A Systematic Literature Review Feng, L., Chiam, Y. K., & Lo, S. K. (2017, December). In Asia-Pacific Software Engineering Conference (APSEC), 2017 24th (pp. 41-50). IEEE. Also available open access: http://eprints.um.edu.my/18515/1/All.pdf
• Use of information-seeking strategies for developing systematic reviews and engaging in evidence-based practice: the application of traditional and comprehensive Pearl Growing. A review Schlosser, R. W., Wendt, O., Bhavnani, S., & Nail‐Chiwetalu, B. (2006). International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 41(5), 567-582.
• What is your research question? An introduction to the PICOT format for clinicians. Riva, J. J., Malik, K. M., Burnie, S. J., Endicott, A. R., & Busse, J. W. (2012). The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association, 56(3), 167-71.
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For Conducting a Systematic Review or Meta-analysis

• Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions (Version 5.1.0) Higgins JPT, Green S (editors). The Cochrane Collaboration, 2011.
• Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses: The PRISMA Statement Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., & Altman, D. G. (2009). Annals of Internal Medicine, 151(4), 264-269.
• Standards for Systematic Reviews (Report) The National Academies of Science, Engineering, Medicine. Released 3/23/2011. Copyright © 2018 National Academy of Sciences.
• Systematic Reviews: CRD's guidance for undertaking reviews in health care Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, University of York (2008). York, UK: York Publishing Services Ltd.
• Procedures for Performing Systematic Reviews Kitchenham, B. (2004). Keele University, 33(2004), 1-26. Software Engineering Group, Department of Computer Science, Keele, UK.
• A Roadmap for Systematic Reviews & Meta-analyses Adapted from: Pai, M. et al. (2004). The National Medical Journal of India, 17(2):86-95.
• Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses: An Illustrated, Step-By-Step Guide. Pai, M., McCulloch, M., Gorman, J. D., Pai, N., Enanoria, W., Kennedy, G., ... & Colford, J. J. (2004). The National Medical Journal of India, 17(2), 86-95.
• Systematic Reviews of Health Promotion and Public Health Interventions (Version 2) July 2007. Armstrong, R., & Waters, E. on behalf of the Guidelines for Systematic Reviews in Health Promotion and Public Health Taskforce.
• A Guideline for Applying Systematic Reviews to Child Language Intervention Hargrove, P., Lund, B., & Griffer, M. (2005). Communication Disorders Quarterly, 26(4), 226–235.
• A Tutorial on Conducting Meta-Analyses of Clinical Outcome Research Robey, R. R., & Dalebout, S. D. (1998). Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research, 41(6), 1227-1241.
• Handbook of Meta-analysis in Ecology and Evolution Koricheva J., Gurevitch J., & Mengersen K. (Eds.). (2013). Princeton University Press.

Across Disciplines

• Qualitative Case Study Methodology: Study Design and Implementation for Novice Researchers Baxter, P., & Jack, S. (2008). The Qualitative Report, 13(4), 544-559. Discusses differences between exploratory and other types of case studies.
• Research Methods for Postgraduates Greenfield, Tony, and Sue Greener. Research Methods for Postgraduates. Third ed. 2016. Print.
• Case Study Research and Applications: Design and methods (3rd ed.). Summary Yin, R. K. (1994). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Summary only. 6th edition (2018) available in Chester Fritz Library. Discusses exploratory and other types of case studies.
• The Book Review: Scholarly and Editorial Responsibility Felber, L. (2002). Journal of Scholarly Publishing, 33(3), 166.
• Special Section on the Value of Scholarly Book Reviews. Gump, S. E. (2018). Journal of Scholarly Publishing, 50(1), 1-7. University of Toronto Press.
• Use of Scholarly Book Reviews: Implications for Electronic Publishing and Scholarly Communication Spink, A., Robins, D., & Schamber, L. (1998). Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 49(4), 364-374.
• What Synthesis Methodology Should I Use? A Review and Analysis of Approaches to Research Synthesis Schick-Makaroff, K., MacDonald, M., Plummer, M., Burgess, J., Neander, W. (2016). AIMS Public Health, 3(1), 172–215. From health and social sciences perspectives.
• Use of Content Analysis to Conduct Knowledge-Building and Theory-Generating Qualitative Systematic Reviews Finfgeld-Connett, D. (2014). Qualitative Research, 14(3), 341-352.
• HARKing: Hypothesizing After the Results are Known Kerr, N. L. (1998). Personality and Social Psychology Review, 2(3), 196–217.
• p-Curve and Effect Size: Correcting for Publication Bias Using Only Significant Results Simonsohn, U., Nelson, L. D., & Simmons, J. P. (2014). Perspectives on Psychological Science, 9(6), 666–681.

Medicine & Public Health

• How to Write a Scholarly Book Review for Publication in a Peer-reviewed Journal: A Review of the Literature Lee, A. D., Green, B. N., Johnson, C. D., & Nyquist, J. (2010). Journal of Chiropractic Education, 24(1), 57-69.
• Writing a Literature Review Steward, B. (2004). British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 67(11), 495–500.
• How to Read a Paper: Papers that Summarise other Papers: Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis. Greenalgh, T. (1997). British Medical Journal, 315, 672-675.
• A Typology of Reviews: An Analysis of 14 Review Types and Associated Methodologies Grant, M. J., & Booth, A. (2009). Health Information And Libraries Journal, 26(2), 91–108.
• Five Steps to Conducting a Systematic Review Khan, K. S., Kunz, R., Kleijnen, J., & Antes, G. (2003). Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 96(3), 118-121.
• Criteria for the Systematic Review of Health Promotion and Public Health Interventions Jackson, N. & Waters, E. for the Guidelines for Systematic Reviews in Health Promotion and Public Health Taskforce. (2005). Health Promotion International, Volume 20, Issue 4(1), Pages 367–374.
• Qualitative Research in Systematic Reviews -- Has established a place for itself Dixon-Woods, M., & Fitzpatrick, R. (2001). BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 323(7316), 765-6.
• A Brief History of Research Synthesis Chalmers, I., Hedges, L. V., & Cooper, H. (2002). Evaluation & the Health Professions, 25(1), 12–37.
• Methods for the Thematic Synthesis of Qualitative Research in Systematic Reviews Thomas, J., & Harden, A. (2008). BMC Medical Research Methodology, 8(1), 45.
• The Mass Production of Redundant, Misleading, and Conflicted Systematic Reviews and Meta‐analyses Ioannidis, J. P. (2016). The Milbank Quarterly, 94(3), 485-514.
• Methodologic Issues in Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses Montori, V. M., Swiontkowski, M. F., & Cook, D. J. (2003). Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research®, 413, 43-54.
• I Have the Answer, Now What's the Question?: Why Metaanalyses Do Not Provide Definitive Solutions Streiner, D. L. (2005). The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 50(13), 829–831.

Social Sciences

• Book Reviews and Scientist-Practitioner Currency: A Critical Lever. Jones RG, Fleenor JW, Summers L. (2004). The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist, 41, 22-25.
• All in the Family: Systematic Reviews, Rapid Reviews, Scoping Reviews, Realist Reviews, and More Moher, D., Stewart, L., & Shekelle, P. (2015). Systematic Reviews, 4(183), 1–2.
• Writing a Literature Review Baumeister, R. F. (2013). In M. J. Prinstein (Ed.), The Portable Mentor (pp. 119–132). New York, NY: Springer New York.
• Writing a Review Article for Psychological Bulletin Bem, D. J. (1995). Psychological Bulletin, 118(2), 172-177.
• Systematic Reviews in the Social Sciences: A Practical Guide [Book Review] Suri, H. (2009). Evaluation Journal of Australaisa, 9(1), 62-63. Book Reviewed: Petticrew, M. & Roberts, H. (2006). Malden, MA: Blackwell. ISBN: 978-1-4051-2110-1 Book in library collection: https://odin-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com:443/und:all:ODIN_ALEPH008277698
• Using Logic Models to Capture Complexity in Systematic Reviews Anderson, L. M., Petticrew, M. , Rehfuess, E., Armstrong, R. , Ueffing, E. , Baker, P. , Francis, D. and Tugwell, P. (2011). Research Synthesis Methods, (2), 33-42.
• Scoping Studies: Towards a Methodological Framework. Arksey, H., & O'Malley, L. (2005). International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 8(1), 19-32.
• Face Validity of Meta-Analyses in Emotional or Behavioral Disorders. Mostert, M. (2004). Behavioral Disorders, 29(2), 89-118.
• Meta-analytic Decisions and Reliability: A Serendipitous Case of Three Independent Telecommuting Meta-analyses. Nieminen, L., Nicklin, J., McClure, T., & Chakrabarti, M. (2011). Journal of Business and Psychology, 26(1), 105-121.
• Research Transparency in Psychological Science: How & Why? Gernsbacher, M. A. (2018a, October 26. [Video File]. Presented at the Northern Lights Psychology Conference 2018, UND, Grand Forks, ND, https://commons.und.edu/nlp-conference/2018/
• Rewarding Research Transparency Gernsbacher, M. A. (2018). Trends in Cognitive Sciences.
• Writing Empirical Articles: Transparency, Reproducibility, Clarity, and Memorability Gernsbacher, M. A. (2018). Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 1, 403-414.

Education & Public Policy

• Teaching the Literature Review: A Practical Approach for College Instructors Cisco, J. (2014). Teaching & Learning Inquiry: The ISSOTL Journal, 2(2), 41-57.
• Producing Policy Relevant Systematic Reviews: Navigating the Policy-Research Interface Oliver, S., Bangpan, M., & Dickson, K. (2018). Evidence & Policy: A Journal of Research, Debate and Practice, 14(2), 197-220.
• Use and Impacts of Campbell Systematic Reviews on Policy, Practice, and Research Maynard, B. R. & Dell, N. A. (2018). Research on Social Work Practice, 28(1), 13 -18.
• The Relevance of Systematic Reviews to Educational Policy and Practice. Davies, P. (2000). Oxford Review of Education, 26(3/4), 365-378.
• The Place of Systematic Reviews in Education Research Andrews, R. (2005). British Journal of Educational Studies, 53(4), 399-416.
• The Relationship Between Sample Sizes and Effect Sizes in Systematic Reviews in Education Slavin, R., & Smith, D. (2009). Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 31(4), 500-506.
• Application of Systematic Reviews in Speech‐and‐Language Therapy Marshall, J. (2011). International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 46(3), 261 -272.
• A Review of Meta-Analyses in Education: Methodological Strengths and Weaknesses. Ahn, S., Ames, A., & Myers, N. (2012). Review of Educational Research, 82(4), 436-476.
• Deficiencies of Reporting in Meta-Analyses and Some Remedies. Harwell, M., & Maeda, Y. (2008). The Journal of Experimental Education, 76(4), 403-428.
• Effect Sizes and Statistical Methods for Meta-Analysis in Higher Education. Bowman, N. (2012). Research in Higher Education, 53(3), 375-382.
• Meta-Analysis With Complex Research Designs: Dealing With Dependence From Multiple Measures and Multiple Group Comparisons. Scammacca, N., Roberts, G., & Stuebing, K. (2014). Review of Educational Research, 84(3), 328-364.
• Meta-Analysis in Higher Education: An Illustrative Example Using Hierarchical Linear Modeling Denson, N., & Seltzer, M. (2011). Research in Higher Education, 52(3), 215-244.

(Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics)

• The Evolving Practice of Scholarly Book Reviews. Jinfa Cai. (2015). Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 46(3), 250-252.
• Workshop in Conducting Integrative Literature Reviews Carliner, S. (2011, October). In Professional Communication Conference (IPCC), 2011 IEEE International (pp. 1-3). IEEE.
• Repeatability of Systematic Literature Reviews Kitchenham, B., Brereton, P., Li, Z., Budgen, D., & Burn, A. (2011). Proceedings of EASE 2011 (15th Annual Conference on Evaluation & Assessment in Software Engineering)
• Methodology for Systematic Literature Review Applied to Engineering and Education Torres-Carrión, P. V., González-González, C. S., Aciar, S., & Rodríguez-Morales, G. (2018, April). In Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON), 2018 IEEE (pp. 1364-1373). IEEE.
• Identifying Barriers to the Systematic Literature Review Process Carver, J. C., Hassler, E., Hernandes, E., & Kraft, N. A. (2013, October). In Empirical Software Engineering and Measurement, 2013 ACM/IEEE International Symposium on (pp. 203-212). IEEE.
• Visualizing Systematic Literature Reviews to Identify New Areas of Research Godwin, A. (2016, October). In Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), 2016 IEEE (pp. 1-8). IEEE.
• Review: Power and Information Technology Research: A Metatriangulation Review Jasperson, J., Carte, T. A., Saunders, C. S., Butler, B. S., Croes, H. J. P., & Zheng, W. (2002). MIS Quarterly, 26(4), 397–459.
• Statistical Issues in Ecological Meta-Analyses Gurevitch, J., & Hedges, L. (1999). Ecology, 80(4), 1142-1149.

Business & Management

• Extending a Provocative Tradition: Book Reviews and Beyond at AMR Bartunek, J. M., & Ragins, B. R. (2015). The Academy of Management Review, 40(3), 474–479
• Compliments and Criticisms in Book Reviews About Business Communication Mackiewicz, J. (2007). Journal of Business & Technical Communication, 21(2), 188–215.
• Writing Integrative Literature Reviews: Guidelines and Examples Torraco, R. J. (2005). Human Resource Development Review, 4(3), 356–367.
• Towards a Methodology for Developing Evidence‐informed Management Knowledge by Means of Systematic Review Tranfield, D., Denyer, D., & Smart, P. (2003). British Journal of Management, 14(3), 207-222.
• Shades of Grey: Guidelines for Working with the Grey Literature in Systematic Reviews for Management and Organizational Studies Adams, R. J., Smart, P., & Huff, A. S. (2017). International Journal of Management Reviews, 19(4), 432–454.
• Meta-Analysis in Advertising Research. Eisend, M. (2017). Journal of Advertising, 46(1), 21–35.
• Meta-analyses in Sales Research. Johnson, J. S., & Jaramillo, F. (2017). Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 37(2), 134–152.
• Qualitative Inquiry in Management: Methodological Dilemmas and Concerns in Meta-Analysis. Point, S., Fendt, J., & Jonsen, K. (2017). European Management Review, 14(2), 185–204.
• The Suitability of Simulations and Meta-Analyses for Submissions to Academy of Management Journal Shaw, J. D., & Ertug, G. (2017). Academy of Management Journal, 60(6), 2045–2049. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2017.4006
• The Scholarly Book Review in the Humanities: An Academic Cinderella? East, J. W. (2011). Journal of Scholarly Publishing 43(1), 52-67. University of Toronto Press.
• H-Net Book Reviews: Enhancing Scholarly Communication with Technology McGrath, E. L., Metz, W. F., & Rutledge, J. B. (2005). College & Research Libraries, 66(1), 8-19.
• Literature Reviews and the Hermeneutic Circle Boell, S. K., & Cecez-Kecmanovic, D. (2010) Australian Academic & Research Libraries, (41)2, 129-144.
• Meta-analysis in Second Language Research: Choices and Challenges Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (2010), 30, 85–110
• Publication Practices in Motion: The Benefits of Open Access Publishing for the Humanities. Adema, J., & Ferwerda, E. (2014). In Dávidházi P. (Ed.), New Publication Cultures in the Humanities: Exploring the Paradigm Shift (pp. 131-146). Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
• Going Open Smith, S. (2016). In Manifesto for the Humanities: Transforming Doctoral Education in Good Enough Times (pp. 67-84). ANN ARBOR: University of Michigan Press.
• Qualitative Research
• Journal of Scholarly Publishing
• Systematic Reviews
• International Journal of Social Research Methodology
• Campbell Systematic Reviews

Hover over the title for a brief overview and click on the title to be taken to the listing in the catalog where you can find more information such as location and call number. If you want to find additional print books on literature reviews, send me an email or ask a librarian around the clock using our  Ask Us 24/7  chat service!

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Annotated bibliographies are different from literature reviews

An annotated bibliography is a list of sources that includes a brief summary and evaluation of each source. It provides a list of sources related to a specific topic and a brief description of each source’s content and quality. An annotated bibliography is often used to help organize and keep track of sources for a research project.

On the other hand, a literature review is a comprehensive summary and evaluation of the existing research on a specific topic. A literature review aims to provide an overview of the current state of research on a topic, highlighting important findings, gaps, and controversies. It synthesizes the existing research and provides an analysis of the current state of knowledge on a topic.

So while both annotated bibliographies and literature reviews involve summarizing and evaluating sources, the main difference is that an annotated bibliography is a list of sources with brief summaries and evaluations, while a literature review is a comprehensive summary and evaluation of the existing research on a topic.

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Difference Between Annotated Bibliography and Literature Review

Main difference – annotated bibliography vs literature review.

Annotated bibliography and literature review summarize and analyze the information gathered from different sources. The difference between annotated bibliography and literature review lies in the way they present information. An annotated bibliography lists the sources separately, followed by short descriptions. But, literature review analyses all the sources together, examining the relationship between them. In addition, differences can also be observed in purpose, format, and components as well.

This article examines,

1. What is an Annotated Bibliography? – Structure, Components, and Purpose 

2. What is a Literature Review? – Structure, Components, and Purpose 

What is an Annotated Bibliography

An annotated bibliography is a bibliography (a list of resources) accompanied by annotations. Annotations are usually short descriptions and critical assessment of each word. The writer will evaluate whether the information from that particular source is relevant to the particular topic and examine the quality of the work. The annotations will contain about 100-200 words. The information about different sources are given separately in an annotated bibliography. The information is listed in alphabetical order. Moreover, each item in the list should use a formal citation style such as APA, MLA or Chicago.

Moreover, annotations may be classified into different types based on their purpose. Informative annotations summarize the source. Evaluative annotations evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the source. The following section is an example of the structure of an annotated bibliography. Here, you can see how different sources are analysed separately. Read more about Annotated Bibliography and how to write it.

What is a Literature Review

A literature review is an evaluative report of information found in the literature related to your selected area of study. It provides an overview of a particular topic or issue by summarizing and explaining the most significant sources in the field. In a literature review, the sources are integrated into paragraphs based on the relevance. Unlike in an annotated bibliography, the sources are not summarized individually. This method helps to establish relationships – similarities and difference – between the literature you have reviewed. In addition, the gaps in the knowledge are highlighted by this presentation of information as a whole. The structure of a literature review is similar to that of an essay or an article. The list of sources is given as a bibliography or reference list at the end of the text.

The following example indicates the structure of a literature review. In this example, you can observe how different sources are analysed to bring out the commonalities or differences. 

Annotated Bibliography: Sources are analyzed separately.

Literature Review: Information from different sources are analyzed together.

Listing Sources

Annotated Bibliography: The source is indicated at the beginning of each section.

Literature Review: The sources are listed at the end of the document, as a bibliography.

Annotated Bibliography: Annotated bibliography comments on the relevance and quality of the information.

Literature Review: Literature review establishes a relationship between different sources and highlights gaps in knowledge.

Annotated Bibliography : Sources are listed alphabetically.

Literature Review: Sources are integrated together according to relevance.

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The Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science has these definitions:

"A literature review is a text written by someone to consider the critical points of current knowledge. A comprehensive survey of the works published in a particular field of study or line of research, usually over a specific period of time, in the form of an in-depth, critical bibliographic essay or annotated list in which attention is drawn to the most significant works."

An annotated bibliography is "a brief explanatory or evaluative note is added to each reference or citation. An annotation can be helpful to the researcher in evaluating whether the source is relevant to a given topic or line of inquiry."

While a literature review and annotated bibliography share some similarities, they serve different purposes. A literature review answers a particular question about a particular subject (primarily:  what does the existing scholarly research have to say about my topic?). An annotated bibliography, by contrast, is more focused on the content and contribution of each individual source (and showcases your understanding of each).  

See also: 

• How do I write an annotated bibliography?
• How do I write a literature review?
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How do I Write a Literature Review?: #5 Writing the Review

• Step #1: Choosing a Topic
• Step #2: Finding Information
• Step #3: Evaluating Content
• Step #4: Synthesizing Content
• #5 Writing the Review
• Citing Your Sources

WRITING THE REVIEW 

You've done the research and now you're ready to put your findings down on paper. When preparing to write your review, first consider how will you organize your review.

The actual review generally has 5 components:

Abstract  -  An abstract is a summary of your literature review. It is made up of the following parts:

• A contextual sentence about your motivation behind your research topic
• Your thesis statement
• A descriptive statement about the types of literature used in the review
• Summarize your findings
• Conclusion(s) based upon your findings

Introduction :   Like a typical research paper introduction, provide the reader with a quick idea of the topic of the literature review:

• Define or identify the general topic, issue, or area of concern. This provides the reader with context for reviewing the literature.
• Identify related trends in what has already been published about the topic; or conflicts in theory, methodology, evidence, and conclusions; or gaps in research and scholarship; or a single problem or new perspective of immediate interest.
• Establish your reason (point of view) for reviewing the literature; explain the criteria to be used in analyzing and comparing literature and the organization of the review (sequence); and, when necessary, state why certain literature is or is not included (scope)  - 

Body :  The body of a literature review contains your discussion of sources and can be organized in 3 ways-

• Chronological -  by publication or by trend
• Thematic -  organized around a topic or issue, rather than the progression of time
• Methodical -  the focusing factor usually does not have to do with the content of the material. Instead, it focuses on the "methods" of the literature's researcher or writer that you are reviewing

You may also want to include a section on "questions for further research" and discuss what questions the review has sparked about the topic/field or offer suggestions for future studies/examinations that build on your current findings.

Conclusion :  In the conclusion, you should:

Conclude your paper by providing your reader with some perspective on the relationship between your literature review's specific topic and how it's related to it's parent discipline, scientific endeavor, or profession.

Bibliography :   Since a literature review is composed of pieces of research, it is very important that your correctly cite the literature you are reviewing, both in the reviews body as well as in a bibliography/works cited. To learn more about different citation styles, visit the " Citing Your Sources " tab.

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Difference Between Annotated Bibliography and Literature Review

• Categorized under Language | Difference Between Annotated Bibliography and Literature Review

Have you ever written an essay, a research paper, or a thesis?  If you have, then you must be familiar with what an annotated bibliography is and how to create and use it.  It will also follow that you will have experienced writing a literary review too.  Both are important parts of any thesis or research paper.

While both provide summaries of a specific topic, its content and sources, they differ in the way that these facts are presented.  Both the literary review and annotated bibliography can be about any topic, but literature reviews are usually made with the purpose of answering a particular question about a particular subject while annotated bibliographies are about the importance of the sources of information.

Every essay, research paper, or thesis contains a bibliography.  It is meant to let the people reading the essay know where you obtained the information stated in it and to check and verify the facts that are included therein.  It will also support the conclusions that you have made about a certain topic.

A bibliography contains the name of the author, title of the document, article, or book, date of publication, place of publication, publishing company, volume number, and the page number.  In the case of an online source, the name of the author and editor should be placed together with the URL and the last date that you visited the site.

In many cases, a simple bibliography will not do and you will be required to make an annotated bibliography; that is, a bibliography with annotations.  Annotations are brief summaries, evaluation, and analysis of the content included in your essay and about its sources of information.

An annotated bibliography therefore is an alphabetical list of all the sources of information that you have gathered and used in your essay together with 100-200 word descriptions of each source.  This will inform the readers of the accuracy, relevance, and quality of the sources of information that you have gathered.  It is simply a list of all the sources of information that you have included in your work with a short assessment of each source.

A literary review on the other hand is an essay in itself.  It serves as a guide to a specific topic.  It gives an overview of the topic, evaluates its sources and advices the readers as to what is admissible and important.  It can contain several sections or segments, each with a different subject or argument about the topic.  The arguments can either be contrary or similar to your analysis or thesis.

Literary reviews are meant to summarize and evaluate already published arguments about a certain topic.  It analyzes these arguments, revealing their regularities as well as the irregularities that are present.

Although the scope of literary reviews varies, literary reviews are oftentimes products of annotated bibliographies, providing a story-like use of the references cited in the annotated bibliography.  A good literary review is one which is derived from a good annotated bibliography and every literary review must always come with an annotated bibliography.

Summary: 1. A literary review is a summary about a specific topic while an annotated bibliography is an alphabetical list of the sources of information for the topic with a brief summary and analysis. 2. While an annotated bibliography contains facts about the sources of information, the literary review contains a summary, evaluation, and analysis of a particular topic or argument. 3. The annotated bibliography informs readers about the accuracy, relevance and quality of the source while the literary review informs the readers about the topic’s pros and cons and how the author’s insights differ from, and conform to, previous arguments about it. 4. The literary review mostly comes from an annotated bibliography but unlike it, it can be a literary work by itself.

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Cite APA 7 M, E. (2011, January 14). Difference Between Annotated Bibliography and Literature Review. Difference Between Similar Terms and Objects. http://www.differencebetween.net/language/difference-between-annotated-bibliography-and-literature-review/. MLA 8 M, Emelda. "Difference Between Annotated Bibliography and Literature Review." Difference Between Similar Terms and Objects, 14 January, 2011, http://www.differencebetween.net/language/difference-between-annotated-bibliography-and-literature-review/.

Thank you for sharing this wonderful article. I can now clearly differentiate between Annotated Bibliography and Literature Review.

Do you have any guide that elaborates on structuring a good essay. I feel like it would be a on demand writeup.

Thank You once again!

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Written by : Emelda M. and updated on 2011, January 14 Articles on DifferenceBetween.net are general information, and are not intended to substitute for professional advice. The information is "AS IS", "WITH ALL FAULTS". User assumes all risk of use, damage, or injury. You agree that we have no liability for any damages.

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Literature review vs research articles: how are they different.

Unlock the secrets of academic writing with our guide to the key differences between a literature review and a research paper! 📚 Dive into the world of scholarly exploration as we break down how a literature review illuminates existing knowledge, identifies gaps, and sets the stage for further research. 🌐 Then, gear up for the adventure of crafting a research paper, where you become the explorer, presenting your unique insights and discoveries through independent research. 🚀 Join us on this academic journey and discover the art of synthesizing existing wisdom and creating your own scholarly masterpiece! 🎓✨

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