When is my literature review done? When can I stop reviewing the literature?
Okay, so you’ve been reviewing the academic literature for a while now.
You know how to find the good stuff and how to review it using my three-step process.
But, where does it end? You are never going to have enough time to review every item of potentially relevant literature, so there comes a point where you need to let the Literature Review go!
How do you know when you’re done?
Essentially, when you've got enough literature to be able to demonstrate a confident and well-evidenced evaluation of the literature around your topic.
This doesn't mean reviewing all the literature around your topic! It means having reviewed enough of it to demonstrate the following six things:
A critical awareness of the key terms and definitions that are relevant to your topic;
A clear understanding of where your topic is located, and which areas of the literature come together around your research question;
An understanding of the main bodies of theory around your topic and an evaluation of them. Are you able to summarize the different explanations for why things are the way they are?
That you have thoroughly evaluated the evidence base for your topic. What does that mean? That you’ve really scrutinized the type of evidence that other researchers have presented to support their arguments.
That you are familiar with, and able to critically engage with, the debates and controversies that exist around your topic;
That you have applied what you have learned in the Literature Review to your question and can use this to convincingly argue why your proposed research is needed.
Think back to what you wanted to get from the Literature Review. What were the things you needed to know and find out? What questions did you have?
You will never have a Literature Review that is 100% comprehensive, but you can have a Literature Review that is comprehensive enough!
You will be able to tune into your instinct here too. As you go through your notes and look at what you've covered, are there areas you feel a bit shaky or uncertain about? Are there areas where you feel like you need a little bit more material?
Now is a good time to seek help from your thesis advisor or dissertation supervisor! They will be familiar with the level of breadth and depth that's appropriate for a Literature Review within your discipline, so show them what you've got. They might say, "Yes, that's plenty, move on", or they might say, "Do a little bit more here". If they say you should do a bit more, ask them specifically what they think you should read now. They'll likely recommend a couple more items, or suggest particular authors to look at.
To help you decide when you’re done with your Literature Review, I have a handy little PDF – The Literature Review Checklist, available in the Free Student Resource Zone now.
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