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Literature Reviews for Undergraduate Research

This page helps you identify the typical expectations relating to literature reviews and undergraduate projects and points you to further resources depending on what you need.

What “literature review” usually means in undergraduate work

In many courses, a “literature review” means working with scholarly sources to understand what researchers have said about a topic and how the sources relate.

Most undergraduate assignments fall into one of these two types:

Narrative literature review

Summarizes and synthesizes what researchers have said about your topic.

Involves:
  • finding scholarly sources
  • grouping sources by themes or debates
  • showing how sources relate
Not:
  • a list of articles
  • an annotated bibliography

Annotated bibliography

Lists sources with short paragraphs that summarize and evaluate each one.

Involves:
  • a full citation
  • a brief descriptive/critical annotation
Not:
  • a literature review
  • a synthesis across sources

Doing something more advanced?

Terms like systematic review, scoping review, and meta-analysis describe structured review methods. These are different from most undergraduate literature review assignments.

If your assignment uses those terms, start with the MRU Evidence Synthesis guide.

Other clues: PRISMA; a protocol; inclusion/exclusion criteria; a documented (reproducible) search.

Want a big-picture explanation of what a literature review is?
This short video introduces how literature reviews help you understand and engage with scholarly conversations in your field.

Further resources

Optional: short videos on different review types (not required for most undergraduate assignments).

1. What is Evidence Synthesis?
An overview of how evidence syntheses are used in research and everyday contexts.

2. Conducting a Systematic Literature Review
Explains what systematic literature reviews are and how they differ from traditional narrative literature reviews.

Need assistance?

If you need assistance with your research project, please reach out to your subject librarian. They would be happy to help.

If you are not sure who to chat with, please contact Brian Jackson.