Computer Science

A literature review is a survey and critical analysis of what has been written on a particular topic, theory, question or method.

What is its purpose?

• justify your research
• provide context for your research
• ensure that the research has not been done before
• highlight flaws in previous research
• identify new ways, to interpret and highlight gaps in previous research
• signpost a way forward for further research
• show where your research fits into the existing literature

Books and other resources for approaches and methods on doing a literature review. See the Literature reviews guide.

Original research

Original research articles are based on an experiment or a study of a topic. They include a methodology section if an experiment was set up and conducted, a results or discussion section, and a conclusion.

A “Review Article"

Review articles are written to bring together and summarise the results or conclusions from many original research articles or studies. They do not usually contain a methodology section, but they will contain very extensive bibliographies.

An annotated bibliography provides:

• a list of references presenting a brief summary of the main arguments or ideas of each resource.
• a critique or evaluation of the resource's usefulness, reliability, objectivity or bias
• a reflection on how the resource fits into your research.