Literature Review - A Step-By-Step Guide for Students

Mastering literature reviews is crucial for academic success. This updated edition of Diana Ridley's bestselling book is your essential guide. It offers step-by-step instructions for conducting literature searches and reviews, helping you to streamline the process.

Presenting a clear and detailed roadmap to ensure you don't miss a step, the book will:

·       Equip you with practical strategies for conducting a systematic search of the available literature.

·       Help you critically assess the quality of digital literature to enhance your practical skills and critical thinking.

·       Test your understanding and help you monitor your progress with updated checklists, tasks, and end-of-chapter exercises.

·       Demonstrate best practices by drawing on expanded examples from a wide range of disciplines.

·       Help you develop your citation practices to present a powerful argument in your literature review.

Ideal for undergraduate, Masters, and PhD students, this book is a must-have for anyone tackling a literature review as part of their research project.

List of contents

1. Introduction
2. The multiple purposes of a literature review
3. Sources of information and conducting searches
4. Reading and note-taking strategies
5. Reference management: keeping records and organising information
6. Structuring the literature review
7. In-text citations
8. Being critical
9. Foregrounding writer voice
10. The continuing process
11. A systematic literature review

About the author

Diana Ridley is a Senior Lecturer at the TESOL Centre, Sheffield Hallam University, UK where she supervises research students in the fields of English language teaching and academic literacies.

Summary

The complete guide to doing a literature review, step-by-step.

Product details

• Authors: Diana Ridley, Ridley Diana
• Publisher: Sage Publications Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 13.12.2025
• EAN: 9781036209582
• ISBN: 978-1-0-3620958-2
• No. of pages: 208
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Education > General, dictionaries; Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Natural sciences (general); Social sciences, law, business > Media, communication > Communication science; STUDY AIDS / General, REFERENCE / Research, Study & learning skills: general, Study and learning skills: general, Research methods: general, For higher / tertiary / university education, Research methods / methodology