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• How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates

How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates

Published on January 2, 2023 by Shona McCombes . Revised on September 11, 2023.

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 that you can later apply to your paper, thesis, or dissertation topic .

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 summarize sources—it analyzes, synthesizes , and critically evaluates to give a clear picture of the state of knowledge on the subject.

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Table of contents

What is the purpose of 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, free lecture slides, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions, introduction.

• Quick Run-through
• Step 1 & 2

When you write a thesis , dissertation , or research paper , you will likely 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 its scholarly context
• Develop a theoretical framework and methodology for your research
• Position your work in relation to other researchers and theorists
• Show how your research addresses a gap or contributes to a debate
• Evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your knowledge of the scholarly debates around your topic.

Writing literature reviews is a particularly important skill if you want to apply for graduate school or pursue a career in research. We’ve written a step-by-step guide that you can follow below.

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See an example

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 problem and questions .

Make a list of keywords

Start by creating a list of keywords related to your research question. 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 as 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 useful 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 also use boolean operators to help narrow down your search.

Make sure to 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.

You likely won’t be able to read absolutely everything that has been written on your topic, so it will be necessary to evaluate which sources are most relevant to your research question.

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?
• 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 use our template to summarize and evaluate sources you’re thinking about using. Click on either button below to download.

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 is important to keep track of your sources with citations to avoid plagiarism . It can be helpful to make an annotated bibliography , where you compile full citation 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.

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To begin organizing your literature review’s argument and structure, be sure you 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 organizing the body of a literature review. 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 summarizing sources in order.

Try to analyze 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 organize 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.

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, you can follow these tips:

• 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 sentences to draw connections, comparisons and contrasts

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

When you’ve finished writing and revising your literature review, don’t forget to proofread thoroughly before submitting. Not a language expert? Check out Scribbr’s professional proofreading services !

This article has been adapted into lecture slides that you can use to teach your students about writing a literature review.

Scribbr slides are free to use, customize, and distribute for educational purposes.

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If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Sampling methods
• Simple random sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
• Likert scales
• Reproducibility

 Statistics

• Null hypothesis
• Statistical power
• Probability distribution
• Effect size
• Poisson distribution

Research bias

• Optimism bias
• Cognitive bias
• Implicit bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Anchoring bias
• Explicit bias

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 thesis, dissertation , or research paper , in order to situate your work in relation to existing knowledge.

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

• To familiarize 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 thesis or dissertation . After the introduction , it grounds your research in a scholarly field and leads directly to your theoretical framework or methodology .

A literature review is a survey of credible sources on a topic, often used in dissertations , theses, and research papers . Literature reviews give an overview of knowledge on a subject, helping you identify relevant theories and methods, as well as gaps in existing research. Literature reviews are set up similarly to other  academic texts , with an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion .

An  annotated bibliography is a list of  source references that has a short description (called an annotation ) for each of the sources. It is often assigned as part of the research process for a  paper .  

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What exactly is a Concept Paper, and how do you write one?

Learn why a concept paper is important, what the main elements of a research concept paper are, and how to create an excellent one.

Prior to submitting a formal proposal (business proposal, product, or research proposal), many private organizations have historically asked for the submission of a concept paper for review. 

Recently, organizations have begun to advocate for the usage of concept papers as a way for applicants to obtain informal input on their ideas and projects before submitting a proposal. Several of these organizations now demand a concept paper as part of the official application process. 

Simply described, a concept paper is a preliminary document that explains the purpose of research, why it is being conducted, and how it will be performed. It examines a concept or idea and offers an outline of the topic that a researcher wants to pursue. Continue reading to learn more about concept papers and how to create a good one. 

What a concept paper is and its purpose

A concept paper is a brief paper that outlines the important components of a research or project before it is carried out. Its purpose is to offer an overview. Entrepreneurs working on a business idea or product, as well as students and researchers, frequently write concept papers .  

Researchers may be required to prepare a concept paper when submitting a project proposal to a funding authority to acquire the required grants.

As a consequence, the importance is based on the fact that it should help the examiner determine whether the research is relevant, practicable, and useful . 

If not, they may suggest looking into a different research area. It also allows the examiner to assess your comprehension of the research and, as a result, if you are likely to require assistance in completing the research.

Illustrate your Concept Paper with infographics 

Infographics are very useful to explain complex subjects in a very short time. Use Mind the Graph to create beautiful infographics for your Concept Paper with scientifically accurate illustrations, icons, arrows and many other design tools.

Concept paper’s elements for an academic research 

To produce an effective concept paper, you must first comprehend the essential elements of academic research:

• Title page: Mention the applicant’s name, institution, project title, and submission date.
• Background for the research: The second section should be the purpose section, which should be able to clear out what has already been stated about the subject, any gaps in information that need to be filled or problems to be solved, as well as the reason why you wish to examine the issue.
• Literature review: In this section, you should provide a theoretical basis and supporting material for your chosen subject.
• State the problem and your goals: Describe the overall problems, including the research questions and objectives. State your research’s unique and original aspects, concentrate on providing and clearly discussing your goals towards the problem.
• Methodology: Provide the data analysis system to be utilized, data collecting method, tools to be used, and research participants in this section.
• Timeline: Include a realistic timeline estimate that is defined in months and years.
• References: Add a list of all sources cited in your concept paper , such as books, journals, and other resources.

Tips on writing an effective concept paper

A concept paper is extremely crucial for a project or research, especially if it requires funding. Check out these simple tips to ensure your concept paper is successful and simple.

• Choose a research topic that truly piques your curiosity
• Create a list of research questions. The more, the merrier.
• When describing the project’s reasoning, use data and numbers. 
• Use no more than 5 single-spaced pages. 
• Tailor your speech to the appropriate audience.
• Make certain that the basic format elements, such as page numbers, are included. 
• Spend additional time on your timeline as this section is critical for funding.
• Give specific examples of how you plan to measure your progress toward your goals.
• Provide an initial budget when seeking funds. Sponsors will want to obtain an idea of how much funds are required.

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About Jessica Abbadia

Jessica Abbadia is a lawyer that has been working in Digital Marketing since 2020, improving organic performance for apps and websites in various regions through ASO and SEO. Currently developing scientific and intellectual knowledge for the community's benefit. Jessica is an animal rights activist who enjoys reading and drinking strong coffee.

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How To Write An A-Grade Literature Review

3 straightforward steps (with examples) + free template.

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) | Expert Reviewed By: Dr. Eunice Rautenbach | October 2019

Quality research is about building onto the existing work of others , “standing on the shoulders of giants”, as Newton put it. The literature review chapter of your dissertation, thesis or research project is where you synthesise this prior work and lay the theoretical foundation for your own research.

Long story short, this chapter is a pretty big deal, which is why you want to make sure you get it right . In this post, I’ll show you exactly how to write a literature review in three straightforward steps, so you can conquer this vital chapter (the smart way).

Overview: The Literature Review Process

• Understanding the “ why “
• Finding the relevant literature
• Cataloguing and synthesising the information
• Outlining & writing up your literature review
• Example of a literature review

But first, the “why”…

Before we unpack how to write the literature review chapter, we’ve got to look at the why . To put it bluntly, if you don’t understand the function and purpose of the literature review process, there’s no way you can pull it off well. So, what exactly is the purpose of the literature review?

Well, there are (at least) four core functions:

• For you to gain an understanding (and demonstrate this understanding) of where the research is at currently, what the key arguments and disagreements are.
• For you to identify the gap(s) in the literature and then use this as justification for your own research topic.
• To help you build a conceptual framework for empirical testing (if applicable to your research topic).
• To inform your methodological choices and help you source tried and tested questionnaires (for interviews ) and measurement instruments (for surveys ).

Most students understand the first point but don’t give any thought to the rest. To get the most from the literature review process, you must keep all four points front of mind as you review the literature (more on this shortly), or you’ll land up with a wonky foundation.

Okay – with the why out the way, let’s move on to the how . As mentioned above, writing your literature review is a process, which I’ll break down into three steps:

• Finding the most suitable literature
• Understanding , distilling and organising the literature
• Planning and writing up your literature review chapter

Importantly, you must complete steps one and two before you start writing up your chapter. I know it’s very tempting, but don’t try to kill two birds with one stone and write as you read. You’ll invariably end up wasting huge amounts of time re-writing and re-shaping, or you’ll just land up with a disjointed, hard-to-digest mess . Instead, you need to read first and distil the information, then plan and execute the writing.

Step 1: Find the relevant literature

Naturally, the first step in the literature review journey is to hunt down the existing research that’s relevant to your topic. While you probably already have a decent base of this from your research proposal , you need to expand on this substantially in the dissertation or thesis itself.

Essentially, you need to be looking for any existing literature that potentially helps you answer your research question (or develop it, if that’s not yet pinned down). There are numerous ways to find relevant literature, but I’ll cover my top four tactics here. I’d suggest combining all four methods to ensure that nothing slips past you:

Method 1 – Google Scholar Scrubbing

Google’s academic search engine, Google Scholar , is a great starting point as it provides a good high-level view of the relevant journal articles for whatever keyword you throw at it. Most valuably, it tells you how many times each article has been cited, which gives you an idea of how credible (or at least, popular) it is. Some articles will be free to access, while others will require an account, which brings us to the next method.

Method 2 – University Database Scrounging

Generally, universities provide students with access to an online library, which provides access to many (but not all) of the major journals.

So, if you find an article using Google Scholar that requires paid access (which is quite likely), search for that article in your university’s database – if it’s listed there, you’ll have access. Note that, generally, the search engine capabilities of these databases are poor, so make sure you search for the exact article name, or you might not find it.

Method 3 – Journal Article Snowballing

At the end of every academic journal article, you’ll find a list of references. As with any academic writing, these references are the building blocks of the article, so if the article is relevant to your topic, there’s a good chance a portion of the referenced works will be too. Do a quick scan of the titles and see what seems relevant, then search for the relevant ones in your university’s database.

Method 4 – Dissertation Scavenging

Similar to Method 3 above, you can leverage other students’ dissertations. All you have to do is skim through literature review chapters of existing dissertations related to your topic and you’ll find a gold mine of potential literature. Usually, your university will provide you with access to previous students’ dissertations, but you can also find a much larger selection in the following databases:

• Open Access Theses & Dissertations
• Stanford SearchWorks

Keep in mind that dissertations and theses are not as academically sound as published, peer-reviewed journal articles (because they’re written by students, not professionals), so be sure to check the credibility of any sources you find using this method. You can do this by assessing the citation count of any given article in Google Scholar. If you need help with assessing the credibility of any article, or with finding relevant research in general, you can chat with one of our Research Specialists .

Alright – with a good base of literature firmly under your belt, it’s time to move onto the next step.

Need a helping hand?

Step 2: Log, catalogue and synthesise

Once you’ve built a little treasure trove of articles, it’s time to get reading and start digesting the information – what does it all mean?

While I present steps one and two (hunting and digesting) as sequential, in reality, it’s more of a back-and-forth tango – you’ll read a little , then have an idea, spot a new citation, or a new potential variable, and then go back to searching for articles. This is perfectly natural – through the reading process, your thoughts will develop , new avenues might crop up, and directional adjustments might arise. This is, after all, one of the main purposes of the literature review process (i.e. to familiarise yourself with the current state of research in your field).

As you’re working through your treasure chest, it’s essential that you simultaneously start organising the information. There are three aspects to this:

• Logging reference information
• Building an organised catalogue
• Distilling and synthesising the information

I’ll discuss each of these below:

2.1 – Log the reference information

As you read each article, you should add it to your reference management software. I usually recommend Mendeley for this purpose (see the Mendeley 101 video below), but you can use whichever software you’re comfortable with. Most importantly, make sure you load EVERY article you read into your reference manager, even if it doesn’t seem very relevant at the time.

2.2 – Build an organised catalogue

In the beginning, you might feel confident that you can remember who said what, where, and what their main arguments were. Trust me, you won’t. If you do a thorough review of the relevant literature (as you must!), you’re going to read many, many articles, and it’s simply impossible to remember who said what, when, and in what context . Also, without the bird’s eye view that a catalogue provides, you’ll miss connections between various articles, and have no view of how the research developed over time. Simply put, it’s essential to build your own catalogue of the literature.

I would suggest using Excel to build your catalogue, as it allows you to run filters, colour code and sort – all very useful when your list grows large (which it will). How you lay your spreadsheet out is up to you, but I’d suggest you have the following columns (at minimum):

• Author, date, title – Start with three columns containing this core information. This will make it easy for you to search for titles with certain words, order research by date, or group by author.
• Categories or keywords – You can either create multiple columns, one for each category/theme and then tick the relevant categories, or you can have one column with keywords.
• Key arguments/points – Use this column to succinctly convey the essence of the article, the key arguments and implications thereof for your research.
• Context – Note the socioeconomic context in which the research was undertaken. For example, US-based, respondents aged 25-35, lower- income, etc. This will be useful for making an argument about gaps in the research.
• Methodology – Note which methodology was used and why. Also, note any issues you feel arise due to the methodology. Again, you can use this to make an argument about gaps in the research.
• Quotations – Note down any quoteworthy lines you feel might be useful later.
• Notes – Make notes about anything not already covered. For example, linkages to or disagreements with other theories, questions raised but unanswered, shortcomings or limitations, and so forth.

If you’d like, you can try out our free catalog template here (see screenshot below).

2.3 – Digest and synthesise

Most importantly, as you work through the literature and build your catalogue, you need to synthesise all the information in your own mind – how does it all fit together? Look for links between the various articles and try to develop a bigger picture view of the state of the research. Some important questions to ask yourself are:

• What answers does the existing research provide to my own research questions ?
• Which points do the researchers agree (and disagree) on?
• How has the research developed over time?
• Where do the gaps in the current research lie?

To help you develop a big-picture view and synthesise all the information, you might find mind mapping software such as Freemind useful. Alternatively, if you’re a fan of physical note-taking, investing in a large whiteboard might work for you.

Step 3: Outline and write it up!

Once you’re satisfied that you have digested and distilled all the relevant literature in your mind, it’s time to put pen to paper (or rather, fingers to keyboard). There are two steps here – outlining and writing:

3.1 – Draw up your outline

Having spent so much time reading, it might be tempting to just start writing up without a clear structure in mind. However, it’s critically important to decide on your structure and develop a detailed outline before you write anything. Your literature review chapter needs to present a clear, logical and an easy to follow narrative – and that requires some planning. Don’t try to wing it!

Naturally, you won’t always follow the plan to the letter, but without a detailed outline, you’re more than likely going to end up with a disjointed pile of waffle , and then you’re going to spend a far greater amount of time re-writing, hacking and patching. The adage, “measure twice, cut once” is very suitable here.

In terms of structure, the first decision you’ll have to make is whether you’ll lay out your review thematically (into themes) or chronologically (by date/period). The right choice depends on your topic, research objectives and research questions, which we discuss in this article .

Once that’s decided, you need to draw up an outline of your entire chapter in bullet point format. Try to get as detailed as possible, so that you know exactly what you’ll cover where, how each section will connect to the next, and how your entire argument will develop throughout the chapter. Also, at this stage, it’s a good idea to allocate rough word count limits for each section, so that you can identify word count problems before you’ve spent weeks or months writing!

PS – check out our free literature review chapter template…

3.2 – Get writing

With a detailed outline at your side, it’s time to start writing up (finally!). At this stage, it’s common to feel a bit of writer’s block and find yourself procrastinating under the pressure of finally having to put something on paper. To help with this, remember that the objective of the first draft is not perfection – it’s simply to get your thoughts out of your head and onto paper, after which you can refine them. The structure might change a little, the word count allocations might shift and shuffle, and you might add or remove a section – that’s all okay. Don’t worry about all this on your first draft – just get your thoughts down on paper.

Once you’ve got a full first draft (however rough it may be), step away from it for a day or two (longer if you can) and then come back at it with fresh eyes. Pay particular attention to the flow and narrative – does it fall fit together and flow from one section to another smoothly? Now’s the time to try to improve the linkage from each section to the next, tighten up the writing to be more concise, trim down word count and sand it down into a more digestible read.

Once you’ve done that, give your writing to a friend or colleague who is not a subject matter expert and ask them if they understand the overall discussion. The best way to assess this is to ask them to explain the chapter back to you. This technique will give you a strong indication of which points were clearly communicated and which weren’t. If you’re working with Grad Coach, this is a good time to have your Research Specialist review your chapter.

Finally, tighten it up and send it off to your supervisor for comment. Some might argue that you should be sending your work to your supervisor sooner than this (indeed your university might formally require this), but in my experience, supervisors are extremely short on time (and often patience), so, the more refined your chapter is, the less time they’ll waste on addressing basic issues (which you know about already) and the more time they’ll spend on valuable feedback that will increase your mark-earning potential.

Literature Review Example

In the video below, we unpack an actual literature review so that you can see how all the core components come together in reality.

Let’s Recap

In this post, we’ve covered how to research and write up a high-quality literature review chapter. Let’s do a quick recap of the key takeaways:

• It is essential to understand the WHY of the literature review before you read or write anything. Make sure you understand the 4 core functions of the process.
• The first step is to hunt down the relevant literature . You can do this using Google Scholar, your university database, the snowballing technique and by reviewing other dissertations and theses.
• Next, you need to log all the articles in your reference manager , build your own catalogue of literature and synthesise all the research.
• Following that, you need to develop a detailed outline of your entire chapter – the more detail the better. Don’t start writing without a clear outline (on paper, not in your head!)
• Write up your first draft in rough form – don’t aim for perfection. Remember, done beats perfect.
• Refine your second draft and get a layman’s perspective on it . Then tighten it up and submit it to your supervisor.

Psst… there’s more!

This post is an extract from our bestselling short course, Literature Review Bootcamp . If you want to work smart, you don't want to miss this .

38 Comments

Thank you very much. This page is an eye opener and easy to comprehend.

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I wish I come across GradCoach earlier enough.

But all the same I’ll make use of this opportunity to the fullest.

Thank you for this good job.

Keep it up!

You’re welcome, Yinka. Thank you for the kind words. All the best writing your literature review.

Thank you for a very useful literature review session. Although I am doing most of the steps…it being my first masters an Mphil is a self study and one not sure you are on the right track. I have an amazing supervisor but one also knows they are super busy. So not wanting to bother on the minutae. Thank you.

You’re most welcome, Renee. Good luck with your literature review 🙂

This has been really helpful. Will make full use of it. 🙂

Thank you Gradcoach.

Really agreed. Admirable effort

thank you for this beautiful well explained recap.

Thank you so much for your guide of video and other instructions for the dissertation writing.

It is instrumental. It encouraged me to write a dissertation now.

Thank you the video was great – from someone that knows nothing thankyou

an amazing and very constructive way of presetting a topic, very useful, thanks for the effort,

It is timely

It is very good video of guidance for writing a research proposal and a dissertation. Since I have been watching and reading instructions, I have started my research proposal to write. I appreciate to Mr Jansen hugely.

I learn a lot from your videos. Very comprehensive and detailed.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge. As a research student, you learn better with your learning tips in research

I was really stuck in reading and gathering information but after watching these things are cleared thanks, it is so helpful.

Really helpful, Thank you for the effort in showing such information

This is super helpful thank you very much.

Thank you for this whole literature writing review.You have simplified the process.

I’m so glad I found GradCoach. Excellent information, Clear explanation, and Easy to follow, Many thanks Derek!

You’re welcome, Maithe. Good luck writing your literature review 🙂

Thank you Coach, you have greatly enriched and improved my knowledge

Great piece, so enriching and it is going to help me a great lot in my project and thesis, thanks so much

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I am doing two papers on my final year thesis, and I must stay I feel very confident to face both headlong after reading this article.

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if anyone is to get a paper done on time and in the best way possible, GRADCOACH is certainly the go to area!

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Thank you excellent piece of work and great mentoring

Thanks, it was useful

Thank you very much. the video and the information were very helpful.

Good morning scholar. I’m delighted coming to know you even before the commencement of my dissertation which hopefully is expected in not more than six months from now. I would love to engage my study under your guidance from the beginning to the end. I love to know how to do good job

Thank you so much Derek for such useful information on writing up a good literature review. I am at a stage where I need to start writing my one. My proposal was accepted late last year but I honestly did not know where to start

Like the name of your YouTube implies you are GRAD (great,resource person, about dissertation). In short you are smart enough in coaching research work.

This is a very well thought out webpage. Very informative and a great read.

Very timely.

I appreciate.

Very comprehensive and eye opener for me as beginner in postgraduate study. Well explained and easy to understand. Appreciate and good reference in guiding me in my research journey. Thank you

Thank you. I requested to download the free literature review template, however, your website wouldn’t allow me to complete the request or complete a download. May I request that you email me the free template? Thank you.

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How to Write a PhD Concept Paper

A concept paper – or concept note – is one of the initial requirements of a PhD programme. It is normally written during the PhD application process as well as early on in the programme once a student has been admitted.

A concept paper is basically a shorter version of a research proposal – in most cases between 2,000 and 2,500 words – that expresses the research ideas of the potential PhD student.

Besides being short, it should be concise yet have adequate details to convince the Department the student is applying to that he/she is worth being admitted to the programme.

Example of a title with a sub-title

References/bibliography, why do phd programmes require applicants to submit a concept paper.

A concept paper serves four main purposes:

• It gives the Department the student is applying to an idea of the student’s research interests.
• Based on point one, it informs the Department whether the student will be a good fit to the Department or not. To be a good fit, the research interests of the applicant should match those of the Department’s faculty.
• Based on the two points above, it enables the Department to offer support to the student throughout his/her PhD studies in the form of supervision and mentorship.
• Because the concept paper is written – and must be accepted – before the full proposal, it saves the student time and effort that would otherwise be spent on topics that may end up being rejected by the Department. A concept paper is therefore the first step to writing the PhD thesis/dissertation (see the figure below).

Format of a PhD Concept Paper

The format of a concept paper might vary from one university to another. A PhD student should therefore read the guidelines provided by his/her University of interest before writing a concept paper.

In general, the following is a common format of a concept paper:

Title of proposed study

The title of the proposed study is the first element of a concept paper.

The title should describe what the study is about by highlighting the variables of the study and the relationship between the variables if applicable.

The title should be short and specific: it is best to have a title that is not more than 15 words’ long.

Example of a title:

Use of Mobile Phone Applications for Weight Management in the United States

In order to add more specificity to the title, you can add a subtitle to the main title. The title and subtitle should be separated by a full colon.

Use of Mobile Phone Applications for Weight Management in the United States:

A Behavioural Economics’ Analysis

Background to the study

The background to the study contains the following elements:

• The history of the topic, both globally and in the proposed location of your study.
• What other researchers have found out from their own studies.
• What the gaps in the existing literature are, that is, what the other researchers have not addressed.
• What your study will contribute towards filling the identified gaps.

The implication of the above is that one must have conducted some literature review prior to writing the background to the study.

Statement of the problem

The statement of the problem is a clear description of the issue that the study will address, the relevance of the issue, the importance (benefits) of addressing the issue, and the method the researcher will use to address the issue.

Goal and objectives of the study

Once you have identified the problem of your study, the next step is to write the goal and objectives of the study. There is a difference between these two:

The goal of the study is a broad statement of what the researcher hopes to accomplish at the end of the study. The goal should also be related to the problem statement.

Any given project should have one goal because having many goals would lead to confusion. However, that one goal can have multiple elements in it, which would be accomplished through the project’s objectives.

The objectives of the study, on the other hand, are specific and detailed statements of how the researcher will go about accomplishing the stated goal.

The objectives should:

• Support the accomplishment of the goal.
• Follow a sequence, that is, like a step-by-step order. This will help you frame the activities needed to be undertaken in a logical manner so that the goal is achieved.
• Be stated using action verbs, for instance, “to identify”, “to create”, “to establish”, “to measure”, etc.
• Be about 3-4: having too few of objectives will limit the scope of your PhD dissertation, while having too many objectives may complicate the dissertation.
• Be SMART, that is, Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound.

The video below clearly explains how to set SMART goals and objectives:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAhs-m6cNzY

Important tip 1: depending on your PhD programme, you may be required to have at least 3 journal papers to qualify for graduation. Each of your objectives can be converted into a separate journal paper on its own.

Research questions and hypotheses

Every PhD dissertation needs research questions. Research questions will help the student stay focused on his/her research.

The aim of the research is to provide answers to the research questions. The answers to the questions will form the thesis statement.

Examples of research questions:

In the title example given earlier about use of mobile phone applications for weight management in the United States, a student may be interested in the following questions:

• To what extent do adults in the United States use mobile phone applications to manage their weight?
• Is there any gender disparity in the use of mobile phone apps for weight management in the United States?
• How effective are mobile apps for weight management in the United States?

Good research questions are those that can be explored deeply and widely as well as defended using evidence. Questions with ‘yes” or “no” responses are not academic-worthy.

When developing research questions, you also need to think about the data that will be required to answer the questions. Do you have access to that data? If no, will your time and financial resources allow you to collect that data?

Important tip 2: Your PhD study is time-limited therefore data requirement issues need to be thought through at the initial stages of your concept paper writing so that you don’t waste too much time either collecting the data in the future or trying to access the data if it already exists elsewhere.

Preliminary literature review

At the concept paper stage, a preliminary literature review serves three main purposes:

• It shows whether you have knowledge of the current state of debate about your chosen topic.
• It shows whether you are familiar with the experts in your chosen topic.
• It also helps you identify the research gaps.

Proposed research design, methods and procedures

This sections provides a brief overview of the research methodology that you will adopt in your study. Some issues to consider include:

• Will your study use quantitative, qualitative or mixed-methods approach?
• Will you use secondary or primary data?
• What will be the sources of your data? Will you need any ethical clearance from your university before collecting data?
• Will the data sources be readily accessible?
• Will you use external assistance for data collection? Or will you do all the data collection yourself?
• How will the data be analysed? Which softwares will you use? Are you competent in those softwares?

While the above issues are important to think through, please note that the research design and methods will be informed by your research objectives and research questions. As an illustration:

A research question that aims to measure the effect of one (or more) variable(s) on another variable will definitely require quantitative research methods.

On the other hand, a research question that aims to explain the existence of a phenomenon will render itself to the use of qualitative research methods.

Contribution to knowledge

This is perhaps the most important aspect of a PhD dissertation. Your concept note needs to briefly highlight how your project will add value to knowledge.

Making significant contribution to knowledge at the PhD level does not mean a Nobel prize standard of knowledge (this you can do after your PhD when you’ll have all the time in the world to do so). You can achieve this in various ways:

• New applications of existing ideas.
• New interpretations of previous ideas.
• Investigating an existing issue in a new location.
• Development of a new theory.
• Coming up with a new technique, among others.

The last section of the concept paper is the reference list or bibliography. This is the section that lists the literatures that you have reviewed and cited in your paper.

There is a slight difference between a reference list and a bibliography:

A reference list includes all those studies that have been directly cited in the paper.

A bibliography, on the other hand, includes all those studies that have been directly cited in the paper as well as those that were reviewed and consulted but not cited in the paper.

When creating the reference list/bibliography, one should be mindful of the referencing style that is required by their PhD department (that is, whether APA, MLA, Chicago, Havard, etc).

Final Thoughts on Writing a PhD Concept Paper

The concept paper is the first step to writing the PhD dissertation. Once accepted, the student will proceed to writing the proposal, which will then be defended before proceeding with writing the full dissertation.

The concept paper is a mini-proposal and has most of the components expected in the proposal.

However, the concept paper should be short and precise while at the same time have adequate information to enable the PhD Committee of the PhD Programme the student is applying to judge if the student will be a good fit to the programme or not.

Related posts

How To Choose a Research Topic For Your PhD Thesis (7 Key Factors to Consider)

Comprehensive Guidelines for Writing a PhD Thesis Proposal (+ free checklist for PhD Students)

Grace Njeri-Otieno

Grace Njeri-Otieno is a Kenyan, a wife, a mom, and currently a PhD student, among many other balls she juggles. She holds a Bachelors' and Masters' degrees in Economics and has more than 7 years' experience with an INGO. She was inspired to start this site so as to share the lessons learned throughout her PhD journey with other PhD students. Her vision for this site is "to become a go-to resource center for PhD students in all their spheres of learning."

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What Is A Preliminary Literature Review

Embarking on a research journey requires careful planning and a solid foundation of knowledge about the existing body of work related to the chosen topic. One crucial step in this process is the preliminary literature review, a comprehensive examination of previously published research that lays the groundwork for a successful study. 

Table of Contents

This blog will help you understand what is a preliminary literature review, its purpose, and how to write one. 

What Is A Preliminary Literature Review – Definition

A preliminary literature review is a comprehensive survey of existing scholarly works, articles, books, and other sources that are relevant to a particular research topic or question. This type of literature review is conducted at the beginning of a research project to gain an understanding of the existing knowledge in the field and to identify gaps, trends, and key concepts that will inform the researcher’s own study.

Purpose Of A Preliminary Literature Review

The purpose of a preliminary literature review is to:

Establish A Foundation

It helps researchers familiarize themselves with the existing literature related to their research topic and thesis statement . This foundation is crucial for understanding the context and background of the subject.

Identify Gaps And Trends

By reviewing existing literature, researchers can identify gaps in current knowledge or areas where further research is needed. They can also identify trends, controversies, and debates within the field.

Refine Research Questions And Objectives

The information gathered from the literature review in a thesis or a dissertation helps researchers refine their research questions and objectives. It allows them to tailor their study to contribute meaningfully to the existing body of knowledge.

Avoid Duplication

Researchers can ensure they are not duplicating efforts by conducting a preliminary literature review. This step helps them understand what has already been studied and published.

Build A Theoretical Framework

The literature review aids in constructing a theoretical framework for the study by highlighting relevant theories and concepts that will guide the research.

Support Methodological Choices

It provides insights into the methodologies used in previous studies, helping researchers make informed decisions about their own research methods.

Structure Of A Preliminary Literature Review

The structure of a preliminary literature review generally follows a systematic and organized approach. While specific requirements may vary based on academic disciplines or the nature of the research paper , here is a general structure that can be adapted:

Introduction

• Introduce the research topic or question.
• Provide context for the importance of the topic.
• State the purpose of the literature review.

Scope And Objectives

• Define the scope of the literature review (e.g., specific time frame, geographic area, key concepts).
• Clearly state the objectives of the literature review.

Search Strategy

• Describe the methods used to search for relevant literature (databases, keywords, inclusion/exclusion criteria).
• Explain the rationale for the chosen search strategy.

Selection Criteria

Specify the criteria used to select the literature for review (e.g., peer-reviewed journals, recent publications, relevance to research questions).

Organization Of The Review

• Group literature by themes, concepts, or methodologies.
• Provide a rationale for the chosen organizational structure.

Synthesis Of Key Findings

• Summarize the main findings from each selected source to further strengthen your hypothesis .
• Highlight key concepts, theories, methodologies, and gaps in the literature.

Critical Evaluation

• Critically assess the strengths and weaknesses of each source.
• Consider the credibility, reliability, and validity of the research presented.

Identification Of Gaps And Trends

• Identify gaps or limitations in the existing meta synthesis literature .
• Highlight trends, patterns, or recurring themes across different studies.

Theoretical Framework

• Integrate relevant theories and frameworks that emerge from the literature.
• Discuss how existing theories inform the research question.

Methodological Insights

• Summarize the methodologies employed in previous studies.
• Discuss the implications of these methodologies for the current research.

Implications For Research

• Discuss how the literature review findings inform the current research’s design and objectives.
• Highlight potential contributions to the field.
• Summarize the key points of the literature review.
• Emphasize the significance of the literature review in guiding the current research paper format .

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Tips For Effectively Writing A Preliminary Literature Review

Now that you are familiar with what is a preliminary literature review and its structure, here are some tips to help you write a literature review that is informative, well-organized, and contributes to the overall success of your research:

Tip 1: Define Clear Objectives

Clearly articulate the objectives of your literature review. What are you trying to achieve? What questions do you want to answer? Defining clear objectives will guide your literature search and organization.

Tip 2: Create A Well-Defined Scope

Clearly define the scope of your literature review. Consider factors such as the time frame, geographic focus, and specific concepts or variables you are interested in. A well-defined scope helps you manage the breadth of your review.

Tip 3: Organize Your Review Logically

Organize the literature logically by themes, concepts, or methodologies. Consider whether a chronological, thematic, or methodological organization best suits your research objectives.

Tip 4: Use A Systematic Search Strategy

Develop a systematic search strategy to find relevant literature. Use appropriate databases, keywords, and inclusion/exclusion criteria. Document your search process to enhance transparency and reproducibility.

Tip 5: Keep Detailed Records

Keep detailed records of the sources you consult. Include bibliographic information, summaries of key findings, and notes on the methodology. This will save time and help you keep track of your sources.

Tip 6: Critically Evaluate Each Source

Provide a critical evaluation of each source. Assess the credibility, reliability, and validity of the research presented. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each study.

Tip 7: Synthesize Key Findings

Synthesize key findings from each source. Summarize the main concepts, theories, and methodologies. Identify common themes and patterns across different studies.

Tip 8: Highlight Gaps And Trends

Clearly identify gaps or limitations in the existing literature. Highlight trends, patterns, or recurring themes. Discuss how these gaps and trends inform your research objectives.

Tip 9: Connect Sources And Concepts

Show how different sources and concepts connect to each other. Demonstrate the relationships between studies and how they contribute to the overall understanding of the research topic.

Tip 10: Build A Theoretical Framework

Integrate relevant theories and frameworks that emerge from the literature. Discuss how existing theories inform your research questions and objectives.

Tip 11: Maintain Cohesiveness

Ensure that your literature review maintains a cohesive and logical flow. Each section should contribute to an understanding of the existing knowledge related to your research topic.

Tip 12: Use Clear And Concise Language

Write in clear and concise language. Avoid unnecessary jargon and ensure that your writing is accessible to a broad audience. Clearly communicate your ideas and findings.

Tip 13: Revise And Edit

Review, revise, and edit your literature review. Check for clarity, coherence, and consistency. Ensure that your review meets the requirements of your academic or research context.

Tip 14: Seek Feedback

Seek feedback from peers, mentors, or colleagues. Getting input from others can help you identify areas for improvement and ensure the quality of your literature review.

What Is A Preliminary Literature Review Example

Title: The Impact of Social Media on Mental Health: A Preliminary Literature Review

Social media has become an integral part of daily life, transforming the way individuals communicate, share information, and connect with others. As this digital landscape continues to evolve, there is a growing concern about its potential impact on mental health. This literature review aims to explore existing research on the relationship between social media use and mental health outcomes.

Social Media Use and Mental Health

Several studies have highlighted a positive correlation between excessive social media use and increased levels of anxiety and depression (Smith, 2018; Jones et al., 2019). The constant exposure to curated content and social comparisons on platforms like Instagram and Facebook may contribute to heightened feelings of inadequacy and stress.

Research indicates a strong association between cyberbullying on social media and adverse psychological outcomes in both adolescents and adults (Williams & Johnson, 2020; Wang et al., 2017). The anonymity and widespread reach of social media platforms amplify the negative impact of online harassment.

Social Media Addiction and Mental Health

The concept of social media addiction has gained attention in recent years, with studies suggesting a link between excessive social media use and addictive behaviours (Kuss & Griffiths, 2017; Andreassen et al., 2019). The constant need for validation and engagement may contribute to a cycle of dependency, adversely affecting mental well-being.

Positive Aspects and Moderators

Contrary to the negative associations, some studies emphasize the positive role of social media in fostering social support and connection (Primack et al., 2020; Ellison et al., 2014). Platforms like Twitter and online support groups may enhance social ties and provide emotional support, thereby positively influencing mental health.

Research suggests that the way individuals use social media may be a crucial factor in determining its impact on mental health (Verduyn et al., 2017; Twenge & Campbell, 2018). Passive consumption and excessive scrolling may contribute to negative outcomes, while active engagement and meaningful interactions could have a protective effect.

While existing literature presents a nuanced picture of the relationship between social media use and mental health, it is clear that further research is needed to understand the underlying mechanisms and potential moderating factors. This preliminary review highlights the need for a comprehensive examination of both the positive and negative aspects of social media in shaping mental health outcomes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a preliminary literature review.

A preliminary literature review is an initial survey of existing academic sources on a specific topic to identify key themes, gaps, and debates. It provides a foundation for further research and helps researchers understand the current state of knowledge on the subject.

How to write a preliminary literature review?

To write a preliminary literature review, define your research topic, search for relevant academic sources, summarize key findings, and identify patterns or gaps. Organize the information coherently, highlighting existing debates and areas requiring further exploration.

How to write a preliminary literature review example?

When writing a preliminary literature review, begin by introducing the research topic. Summarize key findings from relevant sources, highlighting themes and gaps. Conclude with a brief assessment of the existing knowledge, paving the way for future research.

What is the meaning of preliminary literature review?

A preliminary literature review is an early-stage examination of existing academic works on a specific topic. It helps researchers understand current scholarship, identify gaps or trends, and lay the groundwork for a more comprehensive review in the later stages of the research process.

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What is a literature review?

A literature review is an integrated analysis -- not just a summary-- of scholarly writings and other relevant evidence related directly to your research question.  That is, it represents a synthesis of the evidence that provides background information on your topic and shows a association between the evidence and your research question.

A literature review may be a stand alone work or the introduction to a larger research paper, depending on the assignment.  Rely heavily on the guidelines your instructor has given you.

Why is it important?

A literature review is important because it:

• Explains the background of research on a topic.
• Demonstrates why a topic is significant to a subject area.
• Discovers relationships between research studies/ideas.
• Identifies major themes, concepts, and researchers on a topic.
• Identifies critical gaps and points of disagreement.
• Discusses further research questions that logically come out of the previous studies.

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1. Choose a topic. Define your research question.

Your literature review should be guided by your central research question.  The literature represents background and research developments related to a specific research question, interpreted and analyzed by you in a synthesized way.

• Make sure your research question is not too broad or too narrow.  Is it manageable?
• Begin writing down terms that are related to your question. These will be useful for searches later.
• If you have the opportunity, discuss your topic with your professor and your class mates.

2. Decide on the scope of your review

How many studies do you need to look at? How comprehensive should it be? How many years should it cover? 

• This may depend on your assignment.  How many sources does the assignment require?

3. Select the databases you will use to conduct your searches.

Make a list of the databases you will search. 

Where to find databases:

• use the tabs on this guide
• Find other databases in the Nursing Information Resources web page
• More on the Medical Library web page
• ... and more on the Yale University Library web page

4. Conduct your searches to find the evidence. Keep track of your searches.

• Use the key words in your question, as well as synonyms for those words, as terms in your search. Use the database tutorials for help.
• Save the searches in the databases. This saves time when you want to redo, or modify, the searches. It is also helpful to use as a guide is the searches are not finding any useful results.
• Review the abstracts of research studies carefully. This will save you time.
• Use the bibliographies and references of research studies you find to locate others.
• Check with your professor, or a subject expert in the field, if you are missing any key works in the field.
• Ask your librarian for help at any time.
• Use a citation manager, such as EndNote as the repository for your citations. See the EndNote tutorials for help.

Review the literature

Some questions to help you analyze the research:

• What was the research question of the study you are reviewing? What were the authors trying to discover?
• Was the research funded by a source that could influence the findings?
• What were the research methodologies? Analyze its literature review, the samples and variables used, the results, and the conclusions.
• Does the research seem to be complete? Could it have been conducted more soundly? What further questions does it raise?
• If there are conflicting studies, why do you think that is?
• How are the authors viewed in the field? Has this study been cited? If so, how has it been analyzed?

Tips: 

• Review the abstracts carefully.  
• Keep careful notes so that you may track your thought processes during the research process.
• Create a matrix of the studies for easy analysis, and synthesis, across all of the studies.
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Concept Papers in Research: Deciphering the blueprint of brilliance

Concept papers hold significant importance as a precursor to a full-fledged research proposal in academia and research. Understanding the nuances and significance of a concept paper is essential for any researcher aiming to lay a strong foundation for their investigation.

Table of Contents

What Is Concept Paper

A concept paper can be defined as a concise document which outlines the fundamental aspects of a grant proposal. It outlines the initial ideas, objectives, and theoretical framework of a proposed research project. It is usually two to three-page long overview of the proposal. However, they differ from both research proposal and original research paper in lacking a detailed plan and methodology for a specific study as in research proposal provides and exclusion of the findings and analysis of a completed research project as in an original research paper. A concept paper primarily focuses on introducing the basic idea, intended research question, and the framework that will guide the research.

Purpose of a Concept Paper

A concept paper serves as an initial document, commonly required by private organizations before a formal proposal submission. It offers a preliminary overview of a project or research’s purpose, method, and implementation. It acts as a roadmap, providing clarity and coherence in research direction. Additionally, it also acts as a tool for receiving informal input. The paper is used for internal decision-making, seeking approval from the board, and securing commitment from partners. It promotes cohesive communication and serves as a professional and respectful tool in collaboration.

These papers aid in focusing on the core objectives, theoretical underpinnings, and potential methodology of the research, enabling researchers to gain initial feedback and refine their ideas before delving into detailed research.

Key Elements of a Concept Paper

Key elements of a concept paper include the title page , background , literature review , problem statement , methodology, timeline, and references. It’s crucial for researchers seeking grants as it helps evaluators assess the relevance and feasibility of the proposed research.

Writing an effective concept paper in academic research involves understanding and incorporating essential elements:

How to Write a Concept Paper?

To ensure an effective concept paper, it’s recommended to select a compelling research topic, pose numerous research questions and incorporate data and numbers to support the project’s rationale. The document must be concise (around five pages) after tailoring the content and following the formatting requirements. Additionally, infographics and scientific illustrations can enhance the document’s impact and engagement with the audience. The steps to write a concept paper are as follows:

1. Write a Crisp Title:

Choose a clear, descriptive title that encapsulates the main idea. The title should express the paper’s content. It should serve as a preview for the reader.

2. Provide a Background Information:

Give a background information about the issue or topic. Define the key terminologies or concepts. Review existing literature to identify the gaps your concept paper aims to fill.

3. Outline Contents in the Introduction:

Introduce the concept paper with a brief overview of the problem or idea you’re addressing. Explain its significance. Identify the specific knowledge gaps your research aims to address and mention any contradictory theories related to your research question.

4. Define a Mission Statement:

The mission statement follows a clear problem statement that defines the problem or concept that need to be addressed. Write a concise mission statement that engages your research purpose and explains why gaining the reader’s approval will benefit your field.

5. Explain the Research Aim and Objectives:

Explain why your research is important and the specific questions you aim to answer through your research. State the specific goals and objectives your concept intends to achieve. Provide a detailed explanation of your concept. What is it, how does it work, and what makes it unique?

6. Detail the Methodology:

Discuss the research methods you plan to use, such as surveys, experiments, case studies, interviews, and observations. Mention any ethical concerns related to your research.

7. Outline Proposed Methods and Potential Impact:

Provide detailed information on how you will conduct your research, including any specialized equipment or collaborations. Discuss the expected results or impacts of implementing the concept. Highlight the potential benefits, whether social, economic, or otherwise.

8. Mention the Feasibility

Discuss the resources necessary for the concept’s execution. Mention the expected duration of the research and specific milestones. Outline a proposed timeline for implementing the concept.

9. Include a Support Section:

Include a section that breaks down the project’s budget, explaining the overall cost and individual expenses to demonstrate how the allocated funds will be used.

10. Provide a Conclusion:

Summarize the key points and restate the importance of the concept. If necessary, include a call to action or next steps.

Although the structure and elements of a concept paper may vary depending on the specific requirements, you can tailor your document based on the guidelines or instructions you’ve been given.

Here are some tips to write a concept paper:

Example of a Concept Paper

Here is an example of a concept paper. Please note, this is a generalized example. Your concept paper should align with the specific requirements, guidelines, and objectives you aim to achieve in your proposal. Tailor it accordingly to the needs and context of the initiative you are proposing.

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Importance of a Concept Paper

Concept papers serve various fields, influencing the direction and potential of research in science, social sciences, technology, and more. They contribute to the formulation of groundbreaking studies and novel ideas that can impact societal, economic, and academic spheres.

A concept paper serves several crucial purposes in various fields:

In summary, a well-crafted concept paper is essential in outlining a clear, concise, and structured framework for new ideas or proposals. It helps in assessing the feasibility, viability, and potential impact of the concept before investing significant resources into its implementation.

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Role of AI in Writing Concept Papers

The increasing use of AI, particularly generative models, has facilitated the writing process for concept papers. Responsible use involves leveraging AI to assist in ideation, organization, and language refinement while ensuring that the originality and ethical standards of research are maintained.

AI plays a significant role in aiding the creation and development of concept papers in several ways:

1. Idea Generation and Organization

AI tools can assist in brainstorming initial ideas for concept papers based on key concepts. They can help in organizing information, creating outlines, and structuring the content effectively.

2. Summarizing Research and Data Analysis

AI-powered tools can assist in conducting comprehensive literature reviews, helping writers to gather and synthesize relevant information. AI algorithms can process and analyze vast amounts of data, providing insights and statistics to support the concept presented in the paper.

3. Language and Style Enhancement

AI grammar checker tools can help writers by offering grammar, style, and tone suggestions, ensuring professionalism. It can also facilitate translation, in case a global collaboration.

4. Collaboration and Feedback

AI platforms offer collaborative features that enable multiple authors to work simultaneously on a concept paper, allowing for real-time contributions and edits.

5. Customization and Personalization

AI algorithms can provide personalized recommendations based on the specific requirements or context of the concept paper. They can assist in tailoring the concept paper according to the target audience or specific guidelines.

6. Automation and Efficiency

AI can automate certain tasks, such as citation formatting, bibliography creation, or reference checking, saving time for the writer.

7. Analytics and Prediction

AI models can predict potential outcomes or impacts based on the information provided, helping writers anticipate the possible consequences of the proposed concept.

8. Real-Time Assistance

AI-driven chat-bots can provide real-time support and answers to specific questions related to the concept paper writing process.

AI’s role in writing concept papers significantly streamlines the writing process, enhances the quality of the content, and provides valuable assistance in various stages of development, contributing to the overall effectiveness of the final document.

Concept papers serve as the stepping stone in the research journey, aiding in the crystallization of ideas and the formulation of robust research proposals. It the cornerstone for translating ideas into impactful realities. Their significance spans diverse domains, from academia to business, enabling stakeholders to evaluate, invest, and realize the potential of groundbreaking concepts.

Frequently Asked Questions

A concept paper can be defined as a concise document outlining the fundamental aspects of a grant proposal such as the initial ideas, objectives, and theoretical framework of a proposed research project.

A good concept paper should offer a clear and comprehensive overview of the proposed research. It should demonstrate a strong understanding of the subject matter and outline a structured plan for its execution.

Concept paper is important to develop and clarify ideas, develop and evaluate proposal, inviting collaboration and collecting feedback, presenting proposals for academic and research initiatives and allocating resources.

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Research Concept Paper

What is a research concept paper.

The Concept Paper lays the foundation for the applied dissertation process, providing an introductory form of communication between the doctoral student and the doctoral committee. Essentially, the Concept Paper acts as a tentative proposal; it allows the doctoral student the opportunity to define a research focus and obtain early feedback on the research idea. A well-planned Concept Paper will capture the interest of the dissertation committee and establish a clear plan for the student’s dissertation.

When is the Research Concept Paper Written?

The Research Concept Paper is completed prior to the dissertation proposal and serves as a development tool and summary of the planned dissertation. The Concept paper is a brief document. Depending upon the requirements of the specific school or academic program, the Concept Paper may range from as few as 2-3 pages to as many as 10-20 pages. The essential point of the Concept Paper is to explain the importance of a particular research project.

The Concept Paper initiates the dissertation phase of a doctoral degree, which follows the completion of necessary coursework and training and represents a culmination of the student’s learning. The dissertation is a student’s final academic effort to synthesize course material by applying their learning to a research project. The project is expected to add new information to the field of study.  The Concept Paper acts as a summary of this project.

The Concept Paper, although highly abridged, is comprised of many of the same items found in a dissertation. The specific elements of the Concept Paper may vary depending upon the academic program and the chosen degree. Programs typically provide a grading rubric that serves as an outline for the required components, and students are encouraged to follow those rubrics closely in developing their Concept Paper.

What are the Main Elements of a Research Concept Paper?

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Title page  — provides a tentative title for the dissertation.  The title of the Concept Paper should be a stand-alone statement that can fully describe the project by summarizing the main idea of the manuscript.  The title should concisely identify the variables being investigated and the relationship among those variables (American Psychological Association , 2010).  Words should serve a useful purpose; avoid words that do not add substance or words that are misleading.  The title of the Concept Paper may become the title of the dissertation.

Statement of the Problem — provides the purpose for the research.  This section of the Concept Paper introduces the problem under investigation, addresses why the researcher wants to investigate this problem, and how the research findings may help address the problem.  Supporting documentation, including statistical data if available, should be used to emphasize the need for this research.  This section is one of the most important sections of the Concept Paper; it serves to gain the reader’s attention and support.  You care about the research, but the reader may need some convincing.  The first few sentences of the Concept Paper should intrigue the reader to pique his or her interest and encourage further reading.

As you begin to write the problem statement of your Concept Paper, consider your research.  First consider why the problem is important.  Consider how your study relates to previous work in the field, how you will link your hypotheses and objectives to theory, and how the hypotheses relate to the research design.  Finally, consider the theoretical and practical implications involved in your research project (APA, 2010).  A well-developed, concise, and clear problem statement will lay the foundation for a strong Concept Paper and the dissertation that follows. Preliminary Literature Review — provides identification of major literature that supports and validates the topic.  The literature review focuses on areas that offer support for new research and offers the student an opportunity to analyze and synthesize past research in the context of their present problem.  For the Concept Paper, the student should connect their research project to a theoretical model reported in the literature.  The most successful research projects have been based on the research of predecessors, and this section of the Concept Paper provides enough of a description of previous research to plant seeds in the mind of the reader suggesting more information is needed.  A strong Concept Paper is based on a wide-range literature review that is condensed into a summary of key points. Goal Statement — provides a broad or abstract intention, including the research goals and objectives.  This part of the Concept Paper tells the reader “who, what, and when” regarding the research goal.

Research Questions  — provides a preliminary view of the questions the student will investigate.  Questions are based on theory, past research, and need.  These questions will direct the research methodology; their inclusion in the Concept Paper links the research problem with the methodology.  For some, composing the research questions may be the most difficult part of the research project, or possibly the most difficult aspect of writing the Concept Paper.  The questions will direct everything that will be done; therefore, it is important that they are focused to the main research problem.  These research questions will specifically direct the research and the type of analyses conducted; as such, their compatibility is essential. An Abridged Methodology  — provides the student’s best idea on how to conduct the research and analyze the data. The goals identified in previous sections of the Concept Paper should relate to the research methods described in this section.  For the Concept Paper, the methodology is simplified or summarized, serving as a general outline of the methods that will be employed.

Timeline — provides a range of time for completion of the project, highlighting key elements for each stage of the project.  This element is unique to the Concept Paper and provides the student structure for managing sections of the project within a realistic time frame. References — provides references to the material cited in the literature review and elsewhere in the Concept Paper.

Academic Writing

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How to Build a Literature Review

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• What is a Lit Review?
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Structure of a Literature Review

Preliminary steps for literature review.

• Basic Example
• More Examples

What is a Literature Review?

A literature review is a comprehensive summary and analysis of previously published research on a particular topic. Literature reviews should give the reader an overview of the important theories and themes that have previously been discussed on the topic, as well as any important researchers who have contributed to the discourse. This review should connect the established conclusions to the hypothesis being presented in the rest of the paper.

What a Literature Review Is Not:

• Annotated Bibliography: An annotated bibliography summarizes and assesses each resource individually and separately. A literature review explores the connections between different articles to illustrate important themes/theories/research trends within a larger research area. 
• Timeline: While a literature review can be organized chronologically, they are not simple timelines of previous events. They should not be a list of any kind. Individual examples or events should be combined to illustrate larger ideas or concepts.
• Argumentative Paper: Literature reviews are not meant to be making an argument. They are explorations of a concept to give the audience an understanding of what has already been written and researched about an idea. As many perspectives as possible should be included in a literature review in order to give the reader as comprehensive understanding of a topic as possible.

Why Write a Literature Review?

After reading the literature review, the reader should have a basic understanding of the topic. A reader should be able to come into your paper without really knowing anything about an idea, and after reading the literature, feel more confident about the important points.

A literature review should also help the reader understand the focus the rest of the paper will take within the larger topic. If the reader knows what has already been studied, they will be better prepared for the novel argument that is about to be made.

A literature review should help the reader understand the important history, themes, events, and ideas about a particular topic. Connections between ideas/themes should also explored. Part of the importance of a literature review is to prove to experts who do read your paper that you are knowledgeable enough to contribute to the academic discussion. You have to have done your homework.

A literature review should also identify the gaps in research to show the reader what hasn't yet been explored. Your thesis should ideally address one of the gaps identified in the research. Scholarly articles are meant to push academic conversations forward with new ideas and arguments. Before knowing where the gaps are in a topic, you need to have read what others have written.

As mentioned in other tabs, literature reviews should discuss the big ideas that make up a topic. Each literature review should be broken up into different subtopics. Each subtopic should use groups of articles as evidence to support the ideas. There are several different ways of organizing a literature review. It will depend on the patterns one sees in the groups of articles as to which strategy should be used. Here are a few examples of how to organize your review:

Chronological

If there are clear trends that change over time, a chronological approach could be used to organize a literature review. For example, one might argue that in the 1970s, the predominant theories and themes argued something. However, in the 1980s, the theories evolved to something else. Then, in the 1990s, theories evolved further. Each decade is a subtopic, and articles should be used as examples. 

Themes/Theories

There may also be clear distinctions between schools of thought within a topic, a theoretical breakdown may be most appropriate. Each theory could be a subtopic, and articles supporting the theme should be included as evidence for each one. 

If researchers mainly differ in the way they went about conducting research, literature reviews can be organized by methodology. Each type of method could be a subtopic,  and articles using the method should be included as evidence for each one.

• Define your research question
• Compile a list of initial keywords to use for searching based on question
• Search for literature that discusses the topics surrounding your research question
• Assess and organize your literature into logical groups
• Identify gaps in research and conduct secondary searches (if necessary)
• Reassess and reorganize literature again (if necessary)
• Write review

Here is an example of a literature review, taken from the beginning of a research article. You can find other examples within most scholarly research articles. The majority of published scholarship includes a literature review section, and you can use those to become more familiar with these reviews.

Source:  Perceptions of the Police by LGBT Communities

There are many books and internet resources about literature reviews though most are long on how to search and gather the literature. How to literally organize the information is another matter.

Some pro tips:

• Be thoughtful in naming the folders, sub-folders, and sub, sub-folders.  Doing so really helps your thinking and concepts within your research topic.
• Be disciplined to add keywords under the tabs as this will help you search for ALL the items on your concepts/topics.
• Use the notes tab to add reminders, write bibliography/annotated bibliography
• Your literature review easily flows from your statement of purpose (SoP).  Therefore, does your SoP say clearly and exactly the intent of your research?  Your research assumption and argument is obvious?
• Begin with a topic outline that traces your argument. pg99: "First establish the line of argumentation you will follow (the thesis), whether it is an assertion, a contention, or a proposition.
• This means that you should have formed judgments about the topic based on the analysis and synthesis of the literature you are reviewing."
• Keep filling it in; flushing it out more deeply with your references

Other Resources/Examples

• ISU Writing Assistance The Julia N. Visor Academic Center provides one-on-one writing assistance for any course or need. By focusing on the writing process instead of merely on grammar and editing, we are committed to making you a better writer.
• University of Toronto: The Literature Review Written by Dena Taylor, Health Sciences Writing Centre
• Purdue OWL - Writing a Lit Review Goes over the basic steps
• UW Madison Writing Center - Review of Literature A description of what each piece of a literature review should entail.
• USC Libraries - Literature Reviews Offers detailed guidance on how to develop, organize, and write a college-level research paper in the social and behavioral sciences.
• Creating the literature review: integrating research questions and arguments Blog post with very helpful overview for how to organize and build/integrate arguments in a literature review
• Understanding, Selecting, and Integrating a Theoretical Framework in Dissertation Research: Creating the Blueprint for Your “House” Article focusing on constructing a literature review for a dissertation. Still very relevant for literature reviews in other types of content.

A note that many of these examples will be far longer and in-depth than what's required for your assignment. However, they will give you an idea of the general structure and components of a literature review. Additionally, most scholarly articles will include a literature review section. Looking over the articles you have been assigned in classes will also help you.

• Understanding, Selecting, and Integrating a Theoretical Framework in Dissertation Research: Creating the Blueprint for Your “House” Excellent article detailing how to construct your literature review.
• Sample Literature Review (Univ. of Florida) This guide will provide research and writing tips to help students complete a literature review assignment.
• Sociology Literature Review (Univ. of Hawaii) Written in ASA citation style - don't follow this format.
• Sample Lit Review - Univ. of Vermont Includes an example with tips in the footnotes.

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Ten Simple Rules for Writing a Literature Review

Marco pautasso.

1 Centre for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology (CEFE), CNRS, Montpellier, France

2 Centre for Biodiversity Synthesis and Analysis (CESAB), FRB, Aix-en-Provence, France

Literature reviews are in great demand in most scientific fields. Their need stems from the ever-increasing output of scientific publications [1] . For example, compared to 1991, in 2008 three, eight, and forty times more papers were indexed in Web of Science on malaria, obesity, and biodiversity, respectively [2] . Given such mountains of papers, scientists cannot be expected to examine in detail every single new paper relevant to their interests [3] . Thus, it is both advantageous and necessary to rely on regular summaries of the recent literature. Although recognition for scientists mainly comes from primary research, timely literature reviews can lead to new synthetic insights and are often widely read [4] . For such summaries to be useful, however, they need to be compiled in a professional way [5] .

When starting from scratch, reviewing the literature can require a titanic amount of work. That is why researchers who have spent their career working on a certain research issue are in a perfect position to review that literature. Some graduate schools are now offering courses in reviewing the literature, given that most research students start their project by producing an overview of what has already been done on their research issue [6] . However, it is likely that most scientists have not thought in detail about how to approach and carry out a literature review.

Reviewing the literature requires the ability to juggle multiple tasks, from finding and evaluating relevant material to synthesising information from various sources, from critical thinking to paraphrasing, evaluating, and citation skills [7] . In this contribution, I share ten simple rules I learned working on about 25 literature reviews as a PhD and postdoctoral student. Ideas and insights also come from discussions with coauthors and colleagues, as well as feedback from reviewers and editors.

Rule 1: Define a Topic and Audience

How to choose which topic to review? There are so many issues in contemporary science that you could spend a lifetime of attending conferences and reading the literature just pondering what to review. On the one hand, if you take several years to choose, several other people may have had the same idea in the meantime. On the other hand, only a well-considered topic is likely to lead to a brilliant literature review [8] . The topic must at least be:

• interesting to you (ideally, you should have come across a series of recent papers related to your line of work that call for a critical summary),
• an important aspect of the field (so that many readers will be interested in the review and there will be enough material to write it), and
• a well-defined issue (otherwise you could potentially include thousands of publications, which would make the review unhelpful).

Ideas for potential reviews may come from papers providing lists of key research questions to be answered [9] , but also from serendipitous moments during desultory reading and discussions. In addition to choosing your topic, you should also select a target audience. In many cases, the topic (e.g., web services in computational biology) will automatically define an audience (e.g., computational biologists), but that same topic may also be of interest to neighbouring fields (e.g., computer science, biology, etc.).

Rule 2: Search and Re-search the Literature

After having chosen your topic and audience, start by checking the literature and downloading relevant papers. Five pieces of advice here:

• keep track of the search items you use (so that your search can be replicated [10] ),
• keep a list of papers whose pdfs you cannot access immediately (so as to retrieve them later with alternative strategies),
• use a paper management system (e.g., Mendeley, Papers, Qiqqa, Sente),
• define early in the process some criteria for exclusion of irrelevant papers (these criteria can then be described in the review to help define its scope), and
• do not just look for research papers in the area you wish to review, but also seek previous reviews.

The chances are high that someone will already have published a literature review ( Figure 1 ), if not exactly on the issue you are planning to tackle, at least on a related topic. If there are already a few or several reviews of the literature on your issue, my advice is not to give up, but to carry on with your own literature review,

The bottom-right situation (many literature reviews but few research papers) is not just a theoretical situation; it applies, for example, to the study of the impacts of climate change on plant diseases, where there appear to be more literature reviews than research studies [33] .

• discussing in your review the approaches, limitations, and conclusions of past reviews,
• trying to find a new angle that has not been covered adequately in the previous reviews, and
• incorporating new material that has inevitably accumulated since their appearance.

When searching the literature for pertinent papers and reviews, the usual rules apply:

• be thorough,
• use different keywords and database sources (e.g., DBLP, Google Scholar, ISI Proceedings, JSTOR Search, Medline, Scopus, Web of Science), and
• look at who has cited past relevant papers and book chapters.

Rule 3: Take Notes While Reading

If you read the papers first, and only afterwards start writing the review, you will need a very good memory to remember who wrote what, and what your impressions and associations were while reading each single paper. My advice is, while reading, to start writing down interesting pieces of information, insights about how to organize the review, and thoughts on what to write. This way, by the time you have read the literature you selected, you will already have a rough draft of the review.

Of course, this draft will still need much rewriting, restructuring, and rethinking to obtain a text with a coherent argument [11] , but you will have avoided the danger posed by staring at a blank document. Be careful when taking notes to use quotation marks if you are provisionally copying verbatim from the literature. It is advisable then to reformulate such quotes with your own words in the final draft. It is important to be careful in noting the references already at this stage, so as to avoid misattributions. Using referencing software from the very beginning of your endeavour will save you time.

Rule 4: Choose the Type of Review You Wish to Write

After having taken notes while reading the literature, you will have a rough idea of the amount of material available for the review. This is probably a good time to decide whether to go for a mini- or a full review. Some journals are now favouring the publication of rather short reviews focusing on the last few years, with a limit on the number of words and citations. A mini-review is not necessarily a minor review: it may well attract more attention from busy readers, although it will inevitably simplify some issues and leave out some relevant material due to space limitations. A full review will have the advantage of more freedom to cover in detail the complexities of a particular scientific development, but may then be left in the pile of the very important papers “to be read” by readers with little time to spare for major monographs.

There is probably a continuum between mini- and full reviews. The same point applies to the dichotomy of descriptive vs. integrative reviews. While descriptive reviews focus on the methodology, findings, and interpretation of each reviewed study, integrative reviews attempt to find common ideas and concepts from the reviewed material [12] . A similar distinction exists between narrative and systematic reviews: while narrative reviews are qualitative, systematic reviews attempt to test a hypothesis based on the published evidence, which is gathered using a predefined protocol to reduce bias [13] , [14] . When systematic reviews analyse quantitative results in a quantitative way, they become meta-analyses. The choice between different review types will have to be made on a case-by-case basis, depending not just on the nature of the material found and the preferences of the target journal(s), but also on the time available to write the review and the number of coauthors [15] .

Rule 5: Keep the Review Focused, but Make It of Broad Interest

Whether your plan is to write a mini- or a full review, it is good advice to keep it focused 16 , 17 . Including material just for the sake of it can easily lead to reviews that are trying to do too many things at once. The need to keep a review focused can be problematic for interdisciplinary reviews, where the aim is to bridge the gap between fields [18] . If you are writing a review on, for example, how epidemiological approaches are used in modelling the spread of ideas, you may be inclined to include material from both parent fields, epidemiology and the study of cultural diffusion. This may be necessary to some extent, but in this case a focused review would only deal in detail with those studies at the interface between epidemiology and the spread of ideas.

While focus is an important feature of a successful review, this requirement has to be balanced with the need to make the review relevant to a broad audience. This square may be circled by discussing the wider implications of the reviewed topic for other disciplines.

Rule 6: Be Critical and Consistent

Reviewing the literature is not stamp collecting. A good review does not just summarize the literature, but discusses it critically, identifies methodological problems, and points out research gaps [19] . After having read a review of the literature, a reader should have a rough idea of:

• the major achievements in the reviewed field,
• the main areas of debate, and
• the outstanding research questions.

It is challenging to achieve a successful review on all these fronts. A solution can be to involve a set of complementary coauthors: some people are excellent at mapping what has been achieved, some others are very good at identifying dark clouds on the horizon, and some have instead a knack at predicting where solutions are going to come from. If your journal club has exactly this sort of team, then you should definitely write a review of the literature! In addition to critical thinking, a literature review needs consistency, for example in the choice of passive vs. active voice and present vs. past tense.

Rule 7: Find a Logical Structure

Like a well-baked cake, a good review has a number of telling features: it is worth the reader's time, timely, systematic, well written, focused, and critical. It also needs a good structure. With reviews, the usual subdivision of research papers into introduction, methods, results, and discussion does not work or is rarely used. However, a general introduction of the context and, toward the end, a recapitulation of the main points covered and take-home messages make sense also in the case of reviews. For systematic reviews, there is a trend towards including information about how the literature was searched (database, keywords, time limits) [20] .

How can you organize the flow of the main body of the review so that the reader will be drawn into and guided through it? It is generally helpful to draw a conceptual scheme of the review, e.g., with mind-mapping techniques. Such diagrams can help recognize a logical way to order and link the various sections of a review [21] . This is the case not just at the writing stage, but also for readers if the diagram is included in the review as a figure. A careful selection of diagrams and figures relevant to the reviewed topic can be very helpful to structure the text too [22] .

Rule 8: Make Use of Feedback

Reviews of the literature are normally peer-reviewed in the same way as research papers, and rightly so [23] . As a rule, incorporating feedback from reviewers greatly helps improve a review draft. Having read the review with a fresh mind, reviewers may spot inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and ambiguities that had not been noticed by the writers due to rereading the typescript too many times. It is however advisable to reread the draft one more time before submission, as a last-minute correction of typos, leaps, and muddled sentences may enable the reviewers to focus on providing advice on the content rather than the form.

Feedback is vital to writing a good review, and should be sought from a variety of colleagues, so as to obtain a diversity of views on the draft. This may lead in some cases to conflicting views on the merits of the paper, and on how to improve it, but such a situation is better than the absence of feedback. A diversity of feedback perspectives on a literature review can help identify where the consensus view stands in the landscape of the current scientific understanding of an issue [24] .

Rule 9: Include Your Own Relevant Research, but Be Objective

In many cases, reviewers of the literature will have published studies relevant to the review they are writing. This could create a conflict of interest: how can reviewers report objectively on their own work [25] ? Some scientists may be overly enthusiastic about what they have published, and thus risk giving too much importance to their own findings in the review. However, bias could also occur in the other direction: some scientists may be unduly dismissive of their own achievements, so that they will tend to downplay their contribution (if any) to a field when reviewing it.

In general, a review of the literature should neither be a public relations brochure nor an exercise in competitive self-denial. If a reviewer is up to the job of producing a well-organized and methodical review, which flows well and provides a service to the readership, then it should be possible to be objective in reviewing one's own relevant findings. In reviews written by multiple authors, this may be achieved by assigning the review of the results of a coauthor to different coauthors.

Rule 10: Be Up-to-Date, but Do Not Forget Older Studies

Given the progressive acceleration in the publication of scientific papers, today's reviews of the literature need awareness not just of the overall direction and achievements of a field of inquiry, but also of the latest studies, so as not to become out-of-date before they have been published. Ideally, a literature review should not identify as a major research gap an issue that has just been addressed in a series of papers in press (the same applies, of course, to older, overlooked studies (“sleeping beauties” [26] )). This implies that literature reviewers would do well to keep an eye on electronic lists of papers in press, given that it can take months before these appear in scientific databases. Some reviews declare that they have scanned the literature up to a certain point in time, but given that peer review can be a rather lengthy process, a full search for newly appeared literature at the revision stage may be worthwhile. Assessing the contribution of papers that have just appeared is particularly challenging, because there is little perspective with which to gauge their significance and impact on further research and society.

Inevitably, new papers on the reviewed topic (including independently written literature reviews) will appear from all quarters after the review has been published, so that there may soon be the need for an updated review. But this is the nature of science [27] – [32] . I wish everybody good luck with writing a review of the literature.

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to M. Barbosa, K. Dehnen-Schmutz, T. Döring, D. Fontaneto, M. Garbelotto, O. Holdenrieder, M. Jeger, D. Lonsdale, A. MacLeod, P. Mills, M. Moslonka-Lefebvre, G. Stancanelli, P. Weisberg, and X. Xu for insights and discussions, and to P. Bourne, T. Matoni, and D. Smith for helpful comments on a previous draft.

Funding Statement

This work was funded by the French Foundation for Research on Biodiversity (FRB) through its Centre for Synthesis and Analysis of Biodiversity data (CESAB), as part of the NETSEED research project. The funders had no role in the preparation of the manuscript.

What is a Literature Review? How to Write It (with Examples)

A literature review is a critical analysis and synthesis of existing research on a particular topic. It provides an overview of the current state of knowledge, identifies gaps, and highlights key findings in the literature. 1 The purpose of a literature review is to situate your own research within the context of existing scholarship, demonstrating your understanding of the topic and showing how your work contributes to the ongoing conversation in the field. Learning how to write a literature review is a critical tool for successful research. Your ability to summarize and synthesize prior research pertaining to a certain topic demonstrates your grasp on the topic of study, and assists in the learning process. 

Table of Contents

• What is the purpose of literature review? 
• a. Habitat Loss and Species Extinction: 
• b. Range Shifts and Phenological Changes: 
• c. Ocean Acidification and Coral Reefs: 
• d. Adaptive Strategies and Conservation Efforts: 

How to write a good literature review 

• Choose a Topic and Define the Research Question: 
• Decide on the Scope of Your Review: 
• Select Databases for Searches: 
• Conduct Searches and Keep Track: 
• Review the Literature: 
• Organize and Write Your Literature Review: 
• How to write a literature review faster with Paperpal? 
• Frequently asked questions 

What is a literature review?

A well-conducted literature review demonstrates the researcher’s familiarity with the existing literature, establishes the context for their own research, and contributes to scholarly conversations on the topic. One of the purposes of a literature review is also to help researchers avoid duplicating previous work and ensure that their research is informed by and builds upon the existing body of knowledge.

What is the purpose of literature review?

A literature review serves several important purposes within academic and research contexts. Here are some key objectives and functions of a literature review: 2  

1. Contextualizing the Research Problem: The literature review provides a background and context for the research problem under investigation. It helps to situate the study within the existing body of knowledge. 

2. Identifying Gaps in Knowledge: By identifying gaps, contradictions, or areas requiring further research, the researcher can shape the research question and justify the significance of the study. This is crucial for ensuring that the new research contributes something novel to the field. 

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3. Understanding Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks: Literature reviews help researchers gain an understanding of the theoretical and conceptual frameworks used in previous studies. This aids in the development of a theoretical framework for the current research. 

4. Providing Methodological Insights: Another purpose of literature reviews is that it allows researchers to learn about the methodologies employed in previous studies. This can help in choosing appropriate research methods for the current study and avoiding pitfalls that others may have encountered. 

5. Establishing Credibility: A well-conducted literature review demonstrates the researcher’s familiarity with existing scholarship, establishing their credibility and expertise in the field. It also helps in building a solid foundation for the new research. 

6. Informing Hypotheses or Research Questions: The literature review guides the formulation of hypotheses or research questions by highlighting relevant findings and areas of uncertainty in existing literature. 

Literature review example

Let’s delve deeper with a literature review example: Let’s say your literature review is about the impact of climate change on biodiversity. You might format your literature review into sections such as the effects of climate change on habitat loss and species extinction, phenological changes, and marine biodiversity. Each section would then summarize and analyze relevant studies in those areas, highlighting key findings and identifying gaps in the research. The review would conclude by emphasizing the need for further research on specific aspects of the relationship between climate change and biodiversity. The following literature review template provides a glimpse into the recommended literature review structure and content, demonstrating how research findings are organized around specific themes within a broader topic. 

Literature Review on Climate Change Impacts on Biodiversity:

Climate change is a global phenomenon with far-reaching consequences, including significant impacts on biodiversity. This literature review synthesizes key findings from various studies: 

a. Habitat Loss and Species Extinction:

Climate change-induced alterations in temperature and precipitation patterns contribute to habitat loss, affecting numerous species (Thomas et al., 2004). The review discusses how these changes increase the risk of extinction, particularly for species with specific habitat requirements. 

b. Range Shifts and Phenological Changes:

Observations of range shifts and changes in the timing of biological events (phenology) are documented in response to changing climatic conditions (Parmesan & Yohe, 2003). These shifts affect ecosystems and may lead to mismatches between species and their resources. 

c. Ocean Acidification and Coral Reefs:

The review explores the impact of climate change on marine biodiversity, emphasizing ocean acidification’s threat to coral reefs (Hoegh-Guldberg et al., 2007). Changes in pH levels negatively affect coral calcification, disrupting the delicate balance of marine ecosystems. 

d. Adaptive Strategies and Conservation Efforts:

Recognizing the urgency of the situation, the literature review discusses various adaptive strategies adopted by species and conservation efforts aimed at mitigating the impacts of climate change on biodiversity (Hannah et al., 2007). It emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary approaches for effective conservation planning. 

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Writing a literature review involves summarizing and synthesizing existing research on a particular topic. A good literature review format should include the following elements. 

Introduction: The introduction sets the stage for your literature review, providing context and introducing the main focus of your review. 

• Opening Statement: Begin with a general statement about the broader topic and its significance in the field. 
• Scope and Purpose: Clearly define the scope of your literature review. Explain the specific research question or objective you aim to address. 
• Organizational Framework: Briefly outline the structure of your literature review, indicating how you will categorize and discuss the existing research. 
• Significance of the Study: Highlight why your literature review is important and how it contributes to the understanding of the chosen topic. 
• Thesis Statement: Conclude the introduction with a concise thesis statement that outlines the main argument or perspective you will develop in the body of the literature review. 

Body: The body of the literature review is where you provide a comprehensive analysis of existing literature, grouping studies based on themes, methodologies, or other relevant criteria. 

• Organize by Theme or Concept: Group studies that share common themes, concepts, or methodologies. Discuss each theme or concept in detail, summarizing key findings and identifying gaps or areas of disagreement. 
• Critical Analysis: Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each study. Discuss the methodologies used, the quality of evidence, and the overall contribution of each work to the understanding of the topic. 
• Synthesis of Findings: Synthesize the information from different studies to highlight trends, patterns, or areas of consensus in the literature. 
• Identification of Gaps: Discuss any gaps or limitations in the existing research and explain how your review contributes to filling these gaps. 
• Transition between Sections: Provide smooth transitions between different themes or concepts to maintain the flow of your literature review. 

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Conclusion: The conclusion of your literature review should summarize the main findings, highlight the contributions of the review, and suggest avenues for future research. 

• Summary of Key Findings: Recap the main findings from the literature and restate how they contribute to your research question or objective. 
• Contributions to the Field: Discuss the overall contribution of your literature review to the existing knowledge in the field. 
• Implications and Applications: Explore the practical implications of the findings and suggest how they might impact future research or practice. 
• Recommendations for Future Research: Identify areas that require further investigation and propose potential directions for future research in the field. 
• Final Thoughts: Conclude with a final reflection on the importance of your literature review and its relevance to the broader academic community. 

Conducting a literature review

Conducting a literature review is an essential step in research that involves reviewing and analyzing existing literature on a specific topic. It’s important to know how to do a literature review effectively, so here are the steps to follow: 1  

Choose a Topic and Define the Research Question:

• Select a topic that is relevant to your field of study. 
• Clearly define your research question or objective. Determine what specific aspect of the topic do you want to explore? 

Decide on the Scope of Your Review:

• Determine the timeframe for your literature review. Are you focusing on recent developments, or do you want a historical overview? 
• Consider the geographical scope. Is your review global, or are you focusing on a specific region? 
• Define the inclusion and exclusion criteria. What types of sources will you include? Are there specific types of studies or publications you will exclude? 

Select Databases for Searches:

• Identify relevant databases for your field. Examples include PubMed, IEEE Xplore, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. 
• Consider searching in library catalogs, institutional repositories, and specialized databases related to your topic. 

Conduct Searches and Keep Track:

• Develop a systematic search strategy using keywords, Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT), and other search techniques. 
• Record and document your search strategy for transparency and replicability. 
• Keep track of the articles, including publication details, abstracts, and links. Use citation management tools like EndNote, Zotero, or Mendeley to organize your references. 

Review the Literature:

• Evaluate the relevance and quality of each source. Consider the methodology, sample size, and results of studies. 
• Organize the literature by themes or key concepts. Identify patterns, trends, and gaps in the existing research. 
• Summarize key findings and arguments from each source. Compare and contrast different perspectives. 
• Identify areas where there is a consensus in the literature and where there are conflicting opinions. 
• Provide critical analysis and synthesis of the literature. What are the strengths and weaknesses of existing research? 

Organize and Write Your Literature Review:

• Literature review outline should be based on themes, chronological order, or methodological approaches. 
• Write a clear and coherent narrative that synthesizes the information gathered. 
• Use proper citations for each source and ensure consistency in your citation style (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.). 
• Conclude your literature review by summarizing key findings, identifying gaps, and suggesting areas for future research. 

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How to write a literature review faster with Paperpal?

Paperpal, an AI writing assistant, integrates powerful academic search capabilities within its writing platform. With the Research feature, you get 100% factual insights, with citations backed by 250M+ verified research articles, directly within your writing interface with the option to save relevant references in your Citation Library. By eliminating the need to switch tabs to find answers to all your research questions, Paperpal saves time and helps you stay focused on your writing.   

Here’s how to use the Research feature:  

• Ask a question: Get started with a new document on paperpal.com. Click on the “Research” feature and type your question in plain English. Paperpal will scour over 250 million research articles, including conference papers and preprints, to provide you with accurate insights and citations. 
• Review and Save: Paperpal summarizes the information, while citing sources and listing relevant reads. You can quickly scan the results to identify relevant references and save these directly to your built-in citations library for later access. 
• Cite with Confidence: Paperpal makes it easy to incorporate relevant citations and references into your writing, ensuring your arguments are well-supported by credible sources. This translates to a polished, well-researched literature review. 

The literature review sample and detailed advice on writing and conducting a review will help you produce a well-structured report. But remember that a good literature review is an ongoing process, and it may be necessary to revisit and update it as your research progresses. By combining effortless research with an easy citation process, Paperpal Research streamlines the literature review process and empowers you to write faster and with more confidence. Try Paperpal Research now and see for yourself.  

Frequently asked questions

A literature review is a critical and comprehensive analysis of existing literature (published and unpublished works) on a specific topic or research question and provides a synthesis of the current state of knowledge in a particular field. A well-conducted literature review is crucial for researchers to build upon existing knowledge, avoid duplication of efforts, and contribute to the advancement of their field. It also helps researchers situate their work within a broader context and facilitates the development of a sound theoretical and conceptual framework for their studies.

Literature review is a crucial component of research writing, providing a solid background for a research paper’s investigation. The aim is to keep professionals up to date by providing an understanding of ongoing developments within a specific field, including research methods, and experimental techniques used in that field, and present that knowledge in the form of a written report. Also, the depth and breadth of the literature review emphasizes the credibility of the scholar in his or her field.  

Before writing a literature review, it’s essential to undertake several preparatory steps to ensure that your review is well-researched, organized, and focused. This includes choosing a topic of general interest to you and doing exploratory research on that topic, writing an annotated bibliography, and noting major points, especially those that relate to the position you have taken on the topic. 

Literature reviews and academic research papers are essential components of scholarly work but serve different purposes within the academic realm. 3 A literature review aims to provide a foundation for understanding the current state of research on a particular topic, identify gaps or controversies, and lay the groundwork for future research. Therefore, it draws heavily from existing academic sources, including books, journal articles, and other scholarly publications. In contrast, an academic research paper aims to present new knowledge, contribute to the academic discourse, and advance the understanding of a specific research question. Therefore, it involves a mix of existing literature (in the introduction and literature review sections) and original data or findings obtained through research methods. 

Literature reviews are essential components of academic and research papers, and various strategies can be employed to conduct them effectively. If you want to know how to write a literature review for a research paper, here are four common approaches that are often used by researchers.  Chronological Review: This strategy involves organizing the literature based on the chronological order of publication. It helps to trace the development of a topic over time, showing how ideas, theories, and research have evolved.  Thematic Review: Thematic reviews focus on identifying and analyzing themes or topics that cut across different studies. Instead of organizing the literature chronologically, it is grouped by key themes or concepts, allowing for a comprehensive exploration of various aspects of the topic.  Methodological Review: This strategy involves organizing the literature based on the research methods employed in different studies. It helps to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of various methodologies and allows the reader to evaluate the reliability and validity of the research findings.  Theoretical Review: A theoretical review examines the literature based on the theoretical frameworks used in different studies. This approach helps to identify the key theories that have been applied to the topic and assess their contributions to the understanding of the subject.  It’s important to note that these strategies are not mutually exclusive, and a literature review may combine elements of more than one approach. The choice of strategy depends on the research question, the nature of the literature available, and the goals of the review. Additionally, other strategies, such as integrative reviews or systematic reviews, may be employed depending on the specific requirements of the research.

The literature review format can vary depending on the specific publication guidelines. However, there are some common elements and structures that are often followed. Here is a general guideline for the format of a literature review:  Introduction:   Provide an overview of the topic.  Define the scope and purpose of the literature review.  State the research question or objective.  Body:   Organize the literature by themes, concepts, or chronology.  Critically analyze and evaluate each source.  Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the studies.  Highlight any methodological limitations or biases.  Identify patterns, connections, or contradictions in the existing research.  Conclusion:   Summarize the key points discussed in the literature review.  Highlight the research gap.  Address the research question or objective stated in the introduction.  Highlight the contributions of the review and suggest directions for future research.

Both annotated bibliographies and literature reviews involve the examination of scholarly sources. While annotated bibliographies focus on individual sources with brief annotations, literature reviews provide a more in-depth, integrated, and comprehensive analysis of existing literature on a specific topic. The key differences are as follows: 

References 

• Denney, A. S., & Tewksbury, R. (2013). How to write a literature review.  Journal of criminal justice education ,  24 (2), 218-234. 
• Pan, M. L. (2016).  Preparing literature reviews: Qualitative and quantitative approaches . Taylor & Francis. 
• Cantero, C. (2019). How to write a literature review.  San José State University Writing Center . 

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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.

• Research Guides

Literature Review: A Self-Guided Tutorial

Using concept maps.

• Literature Reviews: A Recap
• Peer Review
• Reading the Literature
• Developing Research Questions
• Considering Strong Opinions
• 2. Review discipline styles
• Super Searching
• Finding the Full Text
• Citation Searching This link opens in a new window
• When to stop searching
• Citation Management
• Annotating Articles Tip
• 5. Critically analyze and evaluate
• How to Review the Literature
• Using a Synthesis Matrix
• 7. Write literature review

Concept maps or mind maps visually represent relationships of different concepts. In research, they can help you make connections between ideas. You can use them as you are formulating your research question, as you are reading a complex text, and when you are creating a literature review. See the video and examples below.

How to Create a Concept Map

Credit: Penn State Libraries ( CC-BY ) Run Time: 3:13

• Bubbl.us Free version allows 3 mind maps, image export, and sharing.
• MindMeister Free version allows 3 mind maps, sharing, collaborating, and importing. No image-based exporting.

Mind Map of a Text Example

Credit: Austin Kleon. A map I drew of John Berger’s Ways of Seeing in 2008. Tumblr post. April 14, 2016. http://tumblr.austinkleon.com/post/142802684061#notes

Literature Review Mind Map Example

This example shows the different aspects of the author's literature review with citations to scholars who have written about those aspects.

Credit: Clancy Ratliff, Dissertation: Literature Review. Culturecat: Rhetoric and Feminism [blog]. 2 October 2005. http://culturecat.net/node/955 .

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Home » Literature Review – Types Writing Guide and Examples

Literature Review – Types Writing Guide and Examples

Table of Contents

Literature Review

Definition:

A literature review is a comprehensive and critical analysis of the existing literature on a particular topic or research question. It involves identifying, evaluating, and synthesizing relevant literature, including scholarly articles, books, and other sources, to provide a summary and critical assessment of what is known about the topic.

Types of Literature Review

Types of Literature Review are as follows:

• Narrative literature review : This type of review involves a comprehensive summary and critical analysis of the available literature on a particular topic or research question. It is often used as an introductory section of a research paper.
• Systematic literature review: This is a rigorous and structured review that follows a pre-defined protocol to identify, evaluate, and synthesize all relevant studies on a specific research question. It is often used in evidence-based practice and systematic reviews.
• Meta-analysis: This is a quantitative review that uses statistical methods to combine data from multiple studies to derive a summary effect size. It provides a more precise estimate of the overall effect than any individual study.
• Scoping review: This is a preliminary review that aims to map the existing literature on a broad topic area to identify research gaps and areas for further investigation.
• Critical literature review : This type of review evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the existing literature on a particular topic or research question. It aims to provide a critical analysis of the literature and identify areas where further research is needed.
• Conceptual literature review: This review synthesizes and integrates theories and concepts from multiple sources to provide a new perspective on a particular topic. It aims to provide a theoretical framework for understanding a particular research question.
• Rapid literature review: This is a quick review that provides a snapshot of the current state of knowledge on a specific research question or topic. It is often used when time and resources are limited.
• Thematic literature review : This review identifies and analyzes common themes and patterns across a body of literature on a particular topic. It aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the literature and identify key themes and concepts.
• Realist literature review: This review is often used in social science research and aims to identify how and why certain interventions work in certain contexts. It takes into account the context and complexities of real-world situations.
• State-of-the-art literature review : This type of review provides an overview of the current state of knowledge in a particular field, highlighting the most recent and relevant research. It is often used in fields where knowledge is rapidly evolving, such as technology or medicine.
• Integrative literature review: This type of review synthesizes and integrates findings from multiple studies on a particular topic to identify patterns, themes, and gaps in the literature. It aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the current state of knowledge on a particular topic.
• Umbrella literature review : This review is used to provide a broad overview of a large and diverse body of literature on a particular topic. It aims to identify common themes and patterns across different areas of research.
• Historical literature review: This type of review examines the historical development of research on a particular topic or research question. It aims to provide a historical context for understanding the current state of knowledge on a particular topic.
• Problem-oriented literature review : This review focuses on a specific problem or issue and examines the literature to identify potential solutions or interventions. It aims to provide practical recommendations for addressing a particular problem or issue.
• Mixed-methods literature review : This type of review combines quantitative and qualitative methods to synthesize and analyze the available literature on a particular topic. It aims to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the research question by combining different types of evidence.

Parts of Literature Review

Parts of a literature review are as follows:

Introduction

The introduction of a literature review typically provides background information on the research topic and why it is important. It outlines the objectives of the review, the research question or hypothesis, and the scope of the review.

Literature Search

This section outlines the search strategy and databases used to identify relevant literature. The search terms used, inclusion and exclusion criteria, and any limitations of the search are described.

Literature Analysis

The literature analysis is the main body of the literature review. This section summarizes and synthesizes the literature that is relevant to the research question or hypothesis. The review should be organized thematically, chronologically, or by methodology, depending on the research objectives.

Critical Evaluation

Critical evaluation involves assessing the quality and validity of the literature. This includes evaluating the reliability and validity of the studies reviewed, the methodology used, and the strength of the evidence.

The conclusion of the literature review should summarize the main findings, identify any gaps in the literature, and suggest areas for future research. It should also reiterate the importance of the research question or hypothesis and the contribution of the literature review to the overall research project.

The references list includes all the sources cited in the literature review, and follows a specific referencing style (e.g., APA, MLA, Harvard).

How to write Literature Review

Here are some steps to follow when writing a literature review:

• Define your research question or topic : Before starting your literature review, it is essential to define your research question or topic. This will help you identify relevant literature and determine the scope of your review.
• Conduct a comprehensive search: Use databases and search engines to find relevant literature. Look for peer-reviewed articles, books, and other academic sources that are relevant to your research question or topic.
• Evaluate the sources: Once you have found potential sources, evaluate them critically to determine their relevance, credibility, and quality. Look for recent publications, reputable authors, and reliable sources of data and evidence.
• Organize your sources: Group the sources by theme, method, or research question. This will help you identify similarities and differences among the literature, and provide a structure for your literature review.
• Analyze and synthesize the literature : Analyze each source in depth, identifying the key findings, methodologies, and conclusions. Then, synthesize the information from the sources, identifying patterns and themes in the literature.
• Write the literature review : Start with an introduction that provides an overview of the topic and the purpose of the literature review. Then, organize the literature according to your chosen structure, and analyze and synthesize the sources. Finally, provide a conclusion that summarizes the key findings of the literature review, identifies gaps in knowledge, and suggests areas for future research.
• Edit and proofread: Once you have written your literature review, edit and proofread it carefully to ensure that it is well-organized, clear, and concise.

Examples of Literature Review

Here’s an example of how a literature review can be conducted for a thesis on the topic of “ The Impact of Social Media on Teenagers’ Mental Health”:

• Start by identifying the key terms related to your research topic. In this case, the key terms are “social media,” “teenagers,” and “mental health.”
• Use academic databases like Google Scholar, JSTOR, or PubMed to search for relevant articles, books, and other publications. Use these keywords in your search to narrow down your results.
• Evaluate the sources you find to determine if they are relevant to your research question. You may want to consider the publication date, author’s credentials, and the journal or book publisher.
• Begin reading and taking notes on each source, paying attention to key findings, methodologies used, and any gaps in the research.
• Organize your findings into themes or categories. For example, you might categorize your sources into those that examine the impact of social media on self-esteem, those that explore the effects of cyberbullying, and those that investigate the relationship between social media use and depression.
• Synthesize your findings by summarizing the key themes and highlighting any gaps or inconsistencies in the research. Identify areas where further research is needed.
• Use your literature review to inform your research questions and hypotheses for your thesis.

For example, after conducting a literature review on the impact of social media on teenagers’ mental health, a thesis might look like this:

“Using a mixed-methods approach, this study aims to investigate the relationship between social media use and mental health outcomes in teenagers. Specifically, the study will examine the effects of cyberbullying, social comparison, and excessive social media use on self-esteem, anxiety, and depression. Through an analysis of survey data and qualitative interviews with teenagers, the study will provide insight into the complex relationship between social media use and mental health outcomes, and identify strategies for promoting positive mental health outcomes in young people.”

Reference: Smith, J., Jones, M., & Lee, S. (2019). The effects of social media use on adolescent mental health: A systematic review. Journal of Adolescent Health, 65(2), 154-165. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2019.03.024

Reference Example: Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number(issue number), page range. doi:0000000/000000000000 or URL

Applications of Literature Review

some applications of literature review in different fields:

• Social Sciences: In social sciences, literature reviews are used to identify gaps in existing research, to develop research questions, and to provide a theoretical framework for research. Literature reviews are commonly used in fields such as sociology, psychology, anthropology, and political science.
• Natural Sciences: In natural sciences, literature reviews are used to summarize and evaluate the current state of knowledge in a particular field or subfield. Literature reviews can help researchers identify areas where more research is needed and provide insights into the latest developments in a particular field. Fields such as biology, chemistry, and physics commonly use literature reviews.
• Health Sciences: In health sciences, literature reviews are used to evaluate the effectiveness of treatments, identify best practices, and determine areas where more research is needed. Literature reviews are commonly used in fields such as medicine, nursing, and public health.
• Humanities: In humanities, literature reviews are used to identify gaps in existing knowledge, develop new interpretations of texts or cultural artifacts, and provide a theoretical framework for research. Literature reviews are commonly used in fields such as history, literary studies, and philosophy.

Role of Literature Review in Research

Here are some applications of literature review in research:

• Identifying Research Gaps : Literature review helps researchers identify gaps in existing research and literature related to their research question. This allows them to develop new research questions and hypotheses to fill those gaps.
• Developing Theoretical Framework: Literature review helps researchers develop a theoretical framework for their research. By analyzing and synthesizing existing literature, researchers can identify the key concepts, theories, and models that are relevant to their research.
• Selecting Research Methods : Literature review helps researchers select appropriate research methods and techniques based on previous research. It also helps researchers to identify potential biases or limitations of certain methods and techniques.
• Data Collection and Analysis: Literature review helps researchers in data collection and analysis by providing a foundation for the development of data collection instruments and methods. It also helps researchers to identify relevant data sources and identify potential data analysis techniques.
• Communicating Results: Literature review helps researchers to communicate their results effectively by providing a context for their research. It also helps to justify the significance of their findings in relation to existing research and literature.

Purpose of Literature Review

Some of the specific purposes of a literature review are as follows:

• To provide context: A literature review helps to provide context for your research by situating it within the broader body of literature on the topic.
• To identify gaps and inconsistencies: A literature review helps to identify areas where further research is needed or where there are inconsistencies in the existing literature.
• To synthesize information: A literature review helps to synthesize the information from multiple sources and present a coherent and comprehensive picture of the current state of knowledge on the topic.
• To identify key concepts and theories : A literature review helps to identify key concepts and theories that are relevant to your research question and provide a theoretical framework for your study.
• To inform research design: A literature review can inform the design of your research study by identifying appropriate research methods, data sources, and research questions.

Characteristics of Literature Review

Some Characteristics of Literature Review are as follows:

• Identifying gaps in knowledge: A literature review helps to identify gaps in the existing knowledge and research on a specific topic or research question. By analyzing and synthesizing the literature, you can identify areas where further research is needed and where new insights can be gained.
• Establishing the significance of your research: A literature review helps to establish the significance of your own research by placing it in the context of existing research. By demonstrating the relevance of your research to the existing literature, you can establish its importance and value.
• Informing research design and methodology : A literature review helps to inform research design and methodology by identifying the most appropriate research methods, techniques, and instruments. By reviewing the literature, you can identify the strengths and limitations of different research methods and techniques, and select the most appropriate ones for your own research.
• Supporting arguments and claims: A literature review provides evidence to support arguments and claims made in academic writing. By citing and analyzing the literature, you can provide a solid foundation for your own arguments and claims.
• I dentifying potential collaborators and mentors: A literature review can help identify potential collaborators and mentors by identifying researchers and practitioners who are working on related topics or using similar methods. By building relationships with these individuals, you can gain valuable insights and support for your own research and practice.
• Keeping up-to-date with the latest research : A literature review helps to keep you up-to-date with the latest research on a specific topic or research question. By regularly reviewing the literature, you can stay informed about the latest findings and developments in your field.

Advantages of Literature Review

There are several advantages to conducting a literature review as part of a research project, including:

• Establishing the significance of the research : A literature review helps to establish the significance of the research by demonstrating the gap or problem in the existing literature that the study aims to address.
• Identifying key concepts and theories: A literature review can help to identify key concepts and theories that are relevant to the research question, and provide a theoretical framework for the study.
• Supporting the research methodology : A literature review can inform the research methodology by identifying appropriate research methods, data sources, and research questions.
• Providing a comprehensive overview of the literature : A literature review provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge on a topic, allowing the researcher to identify key themes, debates, and areas of agreement or disagreement.
• Identifying potential research questions: A literature review can help to identify potential research questions and areas for further investigation.
• Avoiding duplication of research: A literature review can help to avoid duplication of research by identifying what has already been done on a topic, and what remains to be done.
• Enhancing the credibility of the research : A literature review helps to enhance the credibility of the research by demonstrating the researcher’s knowledge of the existing literature and their ability to situate their research within a broader context.

Limitations of Literature Review

Limitations of Literature Review are as follows:

• Limited scope : Literature reviews can only cover the existing literature on a particular topic, which may be limited in scope or depth.
• Publication bias : Literature reviews may be influenced by publication bias, which occurs when researchers are more likely to publish positive results than negative ones. This can lead to an incomplete or biased picture of the literature.
• Quality of sources : The quality of the literature reviewed can vary widely, and not all sources may be reliable or valid.
• Time-limited: Literature reviews can become quickly outdated as new research is published, making it difficult to keep up with the latest developments in a field.
• Subjective interpretation : Literature reviews can be subjective, and the interpretation of the findings can vary depending on the researcher’s perspective or bias.
• Lack of original data : Literature reviews do not generate new data, but rather rely on the analysis of existing studies.
• Risk of plagiarism: It is important to ensure that literature reviews do not inadvertently contain plagiarism, which can occur when researchers use the work of others without proper attribution.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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What are the Main Elements of a Research Concept Paper

Title page-provides a tentative title for the dissertation. The title of the Concept Paper should be a stand-alone statement that can fully describe the project by summarizing the main idea of the manuscript. The title should concisely identify the variables being investigated and the relationship among those variables (American Psychological Association [APA], 2010). Words should serve a useful purpose; avoid words that do not add substance or words that are misleading. The title of the Concept Paper may become the title of the dissertation. Statement of the Problem — provides the purpose for the research. This section of the Concept Paper introduces the problem under investigation, addresses why the researcher wants to investigate this problem, and how the research findings may help. Supporting documentation, including statistical data if available, should be used to emphasize the need for this research. This section is one of the most important sections of the Concept Paper; its serves to gain the reader's attention and support. You care about the research, but the reader may need some convincing. The first few sentences of the Concept Paper should intrigue the reader to spike his or her interest and encourage further reading. As you begin to write the problem statement of your Concept Paper, consider your research. First consider why you feel the problem is important. Consider how your study relates to previous work in the field, how you will link your hypotheses and objectives to theory, and how the hypotheses relate to the research design. Finally, consider the theoretical and practical implications involved in your research project (APA, 2010). A well-developed, concise, and clear problem statement will lay the foundation for a strong Concept Paper and the dissertation that follows. Preliminary Literature Review — provides identification of major literature that supports and validates the topic; focuses on areas that offer support for new research, and offers the student an opportunity to analyze and synthesize past research in the context of their present problem. For the Concept Paper, the student should connect their research project to a theoretical model reported in the literature. The most successful research projects have been based on the research of predecessors, and this section of the Concept Paper provides enough of a description of previous research to plant seeds in the mind of the reader suggesting more information is needed. A strong Concept Paper is based on a wide-range literature review that is condensed into a summary of key points. Goal Statement-provides a broad or abstract intention, including the research goals and objectives. This part of the Concept Paper tells the reader " who, what and when " regarding the research goal. Research Questions-provides a preliminary view of the questions the student will investigate. Questions are based on theory, past research, experience, and need. These questions will direct the research methodology; their inclusion in the Concept Paper links the research problem with the methodology. For some, composing the research questions may be the most difficult part of the research project, or possibly the most difficult aspect of writing the Concept Paper. The questions will direct everything that will be done; therefore, it is important that they are accurate and focused to the main research problem. These research questions will specifically direct the research and the type of analyses conducted, as such their compatibility is essential. An Abridged Methodology-provides the student's best idea on how to conduct the research and analyze the data. The goals and objects identified in previous sections of the Concept Paper should relate to the research methods described in this section. For the Concept Paper, the methodology is simplified or summarized, serving as a general outline of the methods that will be employed. Timeline-provides a range of time for completion of the project, highlighting key elements for each stage of the project. This element is unique to the Concept Paper and provides the student structure for managing sections of the project within a realistic time frame. References-provides references to the material cited in the literature review and elsewhere in the Concept Paper.

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Navigating Spatial Ability for Mathematics Education: a Review and Roadmap

• REVIEW ARTICLE
• Open access
• Published: 17 August 2024
• Volume 36 , article number  90 , ( 2024 )

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• Kelsey E. Schenck   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3777-2085 1 &
• Mitchell J. Nathan   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2058-7016 2  

Spatial skills can predict mathematics performance, with many researchers investigating how and why these skills are related. However, a literature review on spatial ability revealed a multiplicity of spatial taxonomies and analytical frameworks that lack convergence, presenting a confusing terrain for researchers to navigate. We expose two central challenges: (1) many of the ways spatial ability is defined and subdivided are often not based in well-evidenced theoretical and analytical frameworks, and (2) the sheer variety of spatial assessments. These challenges impede progress in designing spatial skills interventions for improving mathematics thinking based on causal principles, selecting appropriate metrics for documenting change, and analyzing and interpreting student outcome data. We offer solutions by providing a practical guide for navigating and selecting among the various major spatial taxonomies and instruments used in mathematics education research. We also identify current limitations of spatial ability research and suggest future research directions.

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Introduction

Spatial ability can be broadly defined as imagining, maintaining, and manipulating spatial information and relations. Over the past several decades, researchers have found reliable associations between spatial abilities and mathematics performance (e.g., Newcombe, 2013 ; Young et al., 2018a ). However, the sheer plurality of spatial taxonomies and analytical frameworks that scholars use to describe spatial skills, the lack of theoretical spatial taxonomies, and the variety of spatial assessments available makes it very difficult for education researchers to make the appropriate selection of spatial measures for their investigations. Education researchers also face the daunting task of selecting the ideal spatial skills to design studies and interventions to enhance student learning and the development of reasoning in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) more broadly. To address these needs, we have provided a review that focuses on the relationship between spatial skills and mathematical thinking and learning. Our specific contribution is to offer a guide for educational researchers who recognize the importance of measuring spatial skills but who are themselves not spatial skills scholars. This guide will help researchers navigate and select among the various major taxonomies on spatial reasoning and among the various instruments for assessing spatial skills for use in mathematics education research.

We offer three central objectives for this paper. First, we aim to provide an updated review of the ways spatial ability is defined and subdivided. Second, we list some of the currently most widely administered instruments used to measure subcomponents of spatial ability. Third, we propose an organizational framework that acknowledges this complex picture and — rather than offer overly optimistic proposals for resolving long-standing complexities — offers ways for math education researchers to operate within this framework from an informed perspective. This review offers guidance through this complicated state of the literature to help STEM education researchers select appropriate spatial measures and taxonomies for their investigations, assessments, and interventions. We review and synthesize several lines of the spatial ability literature and provide researchers exploring the link between spatial ability and mathematics education with a guiding framework for research design. To foreshadow, this framework identifies three major design decisions that can help guide scholars and practitioners seeking to use spatial skills to enhance mathematics education research. The framework provides a theoretical basis to select: (1) a spatial ability taxonomy, (2) corresponding analytical frameworks, and (3) spatial tasks for assessing spatial performance (Fig.  1 ). This guiding framework is intended to provide educational researchers and practitioners with a common language and decision-making process for conducting research and instruction that engages learners’ spatial abilities. The intent is that investigators’ use of this framework may enhance their understanding of the associative and causal links between spatial and mathematical abilities, and thereby improve the body of mathematics education research and practice.

Major elements of an investigation into the role of spatial reasoning

The Importance of Spatial Reasoning for Mathematics and STEM Education

Spatial ability has been linked to the entrance into, retention in, and success within STEM fields (e.g., Shea et al., 2001 ; Wolfgang et al., 2003 ), while deficiencies in spatial abilities have been shown to create obstacles for STEM education (Harris et al., 2013 ; Wai et al., 2009 ). Although spatial skills are not typically taught in the general K-16 curriculum, these lines of research have led some scholars to make policy recommendations for explicitly teaching children about spatial thinking as a viable way to increase STEM achievement and retention in STEM education programs and career pathways (Sorby, 2009 ; Stieff & Uttal, 2015 ). Combined, the findings suggest that spatial ability serves as a gateway for entry into STEM fields (Uttal & Cohen, 2012 ) and that educational institutions should consider the importance of explicitly training students’ spatial thinking skills as a way to further develop students’ STEM skills.

Findings from numerous studies have demonstrated that spatial ability is critical for many domains of mathematics education, including basic numeracy and arithmetic (Case et al., 1996 ; Gunderson et al., 2012 ; Hawes et al., 2015 ; Tam et al., 2019 ) and geometry (Battista et al., 2018 ; Davis, 2015 ), as well as more advanced topics such as algebra word problem-solving (Oostermeijer et al., 2014 ), calculus (Sorby et al., 2013 ), and interpreting complex quantitative relationships (Tufte, 2001 ). For example, scores on the mathematics portion of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) are significantly positively correlated with scores on tests of spatial cognition (Sorby & Panther, 2020 ). Broadly, studies have found evidence of the connections between success on spatial tasks and mathematics tasks in children and adults. For example, first grade girls’ spatial skills were correlated with the frequency of retrieval and decomposition strategies when solving arithmetic problems (Laski et al., 2013 ), and these early spatial ability scores were the strongest predictors of their sixth-grade mathematics reasoning abilities (Casey et al., 2015 ). In adults ( n  = 101), spatial ability scores were positively associated with mathematics abilities measured through PISA mathematics questions (Schenck & Nathan, 2020 ).

Though there is a clear connection between spatial and mathematical abilities, understanding the intricacies of this relationship is difficult. Some scholars have sought to determine which mathematical concepts engage spatial thinking. For example, studies on specific mathematical concepts found spatial skills were associated with children’s one-to-one mapping (Gallistel & Gelman, 1992 ), missing-term problems (Cheng & Mix, 2014 ), mental computation (Verdine et al., 2014 ), and various geometry concepts (Hannafin et al., 2008 ). Schenck and Nathan ( 2020 ) identified associations between several specific sub-components of spatial reasoning and specific mathematics skills of adults. Specifically, adults’ mental rotation skills correlated with performance on questions about change and relationships, spatial orientation skills correlated with quantity questions, and spatial visualization skills correlated with questions about space and shape. Burte and colleagues ( 2017 ) proposed categories of mathematical concepts such as problem type, problem context, and spatial thinking level to target math improvements following spatial invention training. Their study concluded that mathematics problems that included visual representations, real-world contexts, and that involved spatial thinking are more likely to show improvement after embodied spatial training.

However, these lines of work are complicated by the variety of problem-solving strategies students employ when solving mathematics problems and issues with generalizability. While some students may rely on a specific spatial ability to solve a particular mathematics problem, others may use non-spatial approaches or apply spatial thinking differently for the same assessment item. For example, some students solving graphical geometric problem-solving tasks utilized their spatial skills by constructing and manipulating mental images of the problem, while others created external representations such as isometric sketches, alleviating the need for some aspects of spatial reasoning (Buckley et al., 2019 ). Though this difference could be attributed to lower spatial abilities in the students who used external representations, it could also be attributed to high levels of discipline-specific knowledge seen in domains such as geoscience (Hambrick et al., 2012 ), physics (Kozhevnikov & Thorton, 2006 ), and chemistry (Stieff, 2007 ). Though some amount of generalization is needed in spatial and mathematics education research, investigators should take care not to overgeneralize findings of specific spatial ability and mathematic domain connections.

This selective review shows ample reasons to attend to spatial abilities in mathematics education research and the design of effective interventions. However, studies across this vast body of work investigating the links between spatial abilities and mathematics performance use different spatial taxonomies, employ different spatial measures, and track improvement across many different topics of mathematics education. This variety makes it difficult for mathematics education scholars to draw clear causal lines between specific spatial skills interventions and specific mathematics educational improvements and for educators to follow clear guidance as to how to improve mathematical reasoning through spatial skills development.

The Varieties of Approaches to Explaining the Spatial-Mathematics Connection

Meta-analyses have suggested that domain-general reasoning skills such as fluid reasoning and verbal skills may mediate the relationships between spatial and mathematical skills (Atit et al., 2022 ), and that the mathematical domain is a moderator with the strongest association between logical reasoning and spatial skills (Xie et al., 2020 ). Despite these efforts, the specific nature of these associations remains largely unknown. Several lines of research have suggested processing requirements shared among mathematical and spatial tasks could account for these associations. Brain imaging studies have shown similar brain activation patterns in both spatial and mathematics tasks (Amalric & Dehaene, 2016 ; Hawes & Ansari, 2020 ; Hubbard et al., 2005 ; Walsh, 2003 ). Hawes and Ansari’s ( 2020 ) review of psychology, neuroscience, and education spatial research described four possible explanatory accounts (spatial representations of numbers, shared neuronal processing, spatial modeling, and working memory) for how spatial visualization was linked to numerical competencies. They suggest integrating the four accounts to explain an underlying singular mechanism to explain lasting neural and behavioral correlations between spatial and numerical processes. In a study of spatial and mathematical thinking, Mix et al. ( 2016 ) showed a strong within-domain factor structure and overlapping variance irrespective of task-specificity. They proposed that the ability to recognize and decompose objects (i.e., form perception ), visualize spatial information, and relate distances in one space to another (i.e., spatial scaling ) are shared processes required when individuals perform a range of spatial reasoning and mathematical reasoning tasks.

Efforts to date to document the relationship between mathematics performance and spatial skills or to enhance mathematics through spatial skills interventions show significant limitations in their theoretical framing. One significant issue is theory-based. Currently, there is no commonly accepted definition of spatial ability or its exact sub-components in the literature (Carroll, 1993 ; Lohman, 1988 ; McGee, 1979 ; Michael et al., 1957 ; Yilmaz, 2009 ). For example, many studies designed to investigate and improve spatial abilities have tended to focus on either a particular spatial sub-component or a particular mathematical skill. Much of the research has primarily focused on measuring only specific aspects of object-based spatial ability, such as mental rotation. Consequently, there is insufficient guidance for mathematics and STEM education researchers to navigate the vast landscape of spatial taxonomies and analytical frameworks, select the most appropriate measures for documenting student outcomes, design potential interventions targeting spatial abilities, select appropriate metrics, and analyze and interpret outcome data.

One notable program of research that has been particularly attentive to the spatial qualities of mathematical reasoning is the work by Battista et al. ( 2018 ). They collected think-aloud data about emerging spatial descriptions from individual interviews and teaching experiments with elementary and middle-grade students to investigate the relationship between spatial reasoning and geometric reasoning. Across several studies, the investigators seldom observed the successful application of generalized object-based spatial skills of the type typically measured by psychometric instruments of spatial ability. Rather, they found that students’ geometric reasoning succeeded when “spatial visualization and spatial analytic reasoning [were] based on operable knowledge of relevant geometric properties of the spatial-geometric objects under consideration” (Battista et al., p 226; emphasis added). By highlighting the ways that one’s reasoning aligns with geometric properties, Battista and colleagues shifted the analytic focus away from either general, psychological constructs that can be vague and overly broad, and away from a narrow set of task-specific skills, to a kind of intermediate-level that are relevant for describing topic and task-specific performance while identifying forms of reasoning that may generalize beyond the specific tasks and objects at hand. For example, property-based spatial analytic reasoning might focus on an invariant geometric property, such as the property of rectangles that their diagonals always bisect each other, to guide the decomposition and transformation of rectangles and their component triangles in service of a geometric proof. Establishing bridges and analytic distinctions between education domain-centric analyses of this sort and traditional psychometric accounts about domain-general spatial abilities is central to our review and broader aims to relate mathematical reasoning processes to spatial processes.

Selecting a Spatial Taxonomy

As noted, a substantial body of empirical evidence indicates that students’ spatial abilities figure into their mathematical reasoning, offering promising pathways toward interventions designed to improve math education. To capitalize on this association, one of the first decisions mathematics education researchers must make is selecting a spatial taxonomy that suits the data collected and analyzed. A spatial taxonomy is an organizational system for classifying spatial abilities and, thus, serves an important role in shaping the theoretical framework for any inquiry as well as interpreting and generalizing findings from empirical investigations. However, the manner in which spatial abilities are subdivided, defined, and named has changed over the decades of research on this topic. In practice, the decision for how to define and select spatial abilities is often difficult for researchers who are not specialists due to the expansive literature in this area.

In an attempt to make the vast number of spatial definitions and subcomponents more navigable for mathematics researchers and educators, we describe three general types of spatial taxonomies that are reflected in the current literature: Those that (1) classify according to different specific spatial abilities, (2) distinguish between different broad spatial abilities, and (3) those that treat spatial abilities as derived from a single, or unitary, factor structure. Although this is not a comprehensive account, these spatial taxonomies were chosen to highlight the main sub-factor dissociations in the literature.

Specific-Factor Structures

Since the earliest conceptualization (e.g., Galton, 1879 ), the communities of researchers studying spatial abilities have struggled to converge on one all-encompassing definition or provide a complete list of its subcomponents. Though the literature provides a variety of definitions of spatial ability that focus on the capacity to visualize and manipulate mental images (e.g., Battista, 2007 ; Gaughran, 2002 ; Lohman, 1979 ; Sorby, 1999 ), some scholars posit that it may be more precise to define spatial ability as a constellation of quantifiably measurable skills based on performance on tasks that load on specific individual spatial factors (Buckley et al., 2018 ). Difficulties directly observing the cognitive processes and neural structures involved in spatial reasoning have, in practice, spurred substantive research focused on uncovering the nature of spatial ability and its subcomponents. Historically, scholars have used psychometric methods to identify a variety of specific spatial subcomponents, including closure flexibility/speed (Carroll, 1993 ), field dependence/independence (McGee, 1979 ; Witkin, 1950 ), spatial relations (Carroll, 1993 ; Lohman, 1979 ), spatial orientation (Guilford & Zimmerman, 1948 ), spatial visualization (Carroll, 1993 ; McGee, 1979 ), and speeded rotation (Lohman, 1988 ). However, attempts to dissociate subfactors were often met with difficulty due to differing factor analytic techniques and variations in the spatial ability tests that were used (D'Oliveira, 2004 ). The subsequent lack of cohesion in this field of study led to different camps of researchers adopting inconsistent names for spatial subcomponents (Cooper & Mumaw, 1985 ; McGee, 1979 ) and divergent factorial frameworks (Hegarty & Waller, 2005 ; Yilmaz, 2009 ). Such a lack of convergence is clearly problematic for the scientific study of spatial ability and its application to mathematics education research.

In the last few decades, several attempts have been made to dissociate subcomponents of spatial ability further. Yilmaz ( 2009 ) combined aspects of the models described above with studies identifying dynamic spatial abilities and environmental spatial abilities to divide spatial ability into eight factors, which acknowledge several spatial skills (e.g., environmental ability and spatiotemporal ability) needed in real-life situations. More recently, Buckley et al. ( 2018 ) proposed an extended model for spatial ability. This model combines many ideas from the previously described literature and the spatial factors identified in the Cattell-Horn-Carroll theory of intelligence (see Schneider & McGrew, 2012 ). It currently includes 25 factors that can also be divided into two broader categories of static and dynamic, with the authors acknowledging that additional factors may be added as research warrants. It is unclear how a dissociation of this many subfactors could be practically applied in empirical research, which we regard as an important goal for bridging theory and research practices.

Dissociation Between Spatial Orientation and Rotational Spatial Visualization

Though specific definitions vary, many authors of the models discussed above agree on making a dissociation between spatial orientation and visualization skills. While performing perspective-taking (a subfactor of spatial orientation) and rotational spatial visualization tasks often involve a form of rotation, several studies have indicated that these skills are psychometrically separable. Measures for these skills often ask participants to anticipate the appearance of arrays of objects after either a rotation (visualization) of the objects or a change in the objects’ perspective (perspective-taking). Findings show that visualization and perspective-taking tasks have different error patterns and activate different neural processes (e.g., Huttenlocher & Presson, 1979 ; Kozhevnikov & Hegarty, 2001 ; Wraga et al., 2000 ). Perspective rotation tasks often lead to egocentric errors such as reflection errors when trying to reorient perspectives, while object rotation task errors are not as systematic (Kozhevnikov & Hegarty, 2001 ; Zacks et al., 2000 ). For example, to solve a spatial orientation/perspective-taking task (Fig.  2 A), participants may imagine their bodies moving to a new position or viewpoint with the objects of interest remaining stationary. In contrast, the objects in a spatial visualization task are often rotated in one’s imagination (Fig.  2 B). Behavioral and neuroscience evidence is consistent with these findings, suggesting a dissociation between an object-to-object representational system and a self-to-object representational system (Hegarty & Waller, 2004 ; Kosslyn et al., 1998 ; Zacks et al., 1999 ). Thus, within the specific-factor structure of spatial ability, spatial orientation/perspective-taking can be considered a separate factor from spatial visualization/mental rotation (Thurstone, 1950 ).

Exemplars of spatial orientation, mental rotation, and non-rotational spatial visualization tasks. The spatial orientation task ( A ) is adapted from Hegarty and Waller’s ( 2004 ) Object Perception/Spatial Orientation Test. The mental rotation task ( B ) is adapted from Vandenberg and Kuse’s ( 1978 ) Mental Rotation Test. The non-rotational spatial visualization task ( C ) is adapted from Ekstrom et al.’s ( 1976 ) Paper Folding Task

Dissociation Between Mental Rotation and Non-rotational Spatial Visualization

The boundaries between specific factors of spatial ability are often blurred and context dependent. To address this, Ramful and colleagues ( 2017 ) have created a three-factor framework that clarifies the distinctions between spatial visualization and spatial orientation (see the “Dissociation Between Spatial Orientation and Rotational Spatial Visualization” section) by treating mental rotation as a separate factor. Their framework is unique in that they used mathematics curricula, rather than solely basing their analysis on a factor analysis, to identify three sub-factors of spatial ability: (1) mental rotation, (2) spatial orientation, and (3) spatial visualization. Mental rotation describes how one imagines how a two-dimensional or three-dimensional object would appear after it has been turned (Fig.  2 B). Mental rotation is a cognitive process that has received considerable attention from psychologists (Bruce & Hawes, 2015 ; Lombardi et al., 2019 ; Maeda & Yoon, 2013 ). Spatial orientation , in contrast, involves egocentric representations of objects and locations and includes the notion of perspective-taking (Fig.  2 A). Spatial visualization in their classification system (previously an umbrella term for many spatial skills that included mental rotation) describes mental transformations that do not require mental rotation or spatial orientation (Linn & Peterson, 1985 ) and can be measured through tasks like those shown in Fig.  2 C that involve operations such as paper folding and unfolding. Under this definition, spatial visualization may involve complex sequences in which intermediate steps may need to be stored in spatial working memory (Shah & Miyake, 1996 ). In mathematics, spatial visualization skills often correlate with symmetry, geometric translations, part-to-whole relationships, and geometric nets (Ramful et al., 2017 ).

Summary and Implications

As described above , decades of research on spatial ability have involved scholars using factor-analytic methods to identify and define various spatial sub-components. The results of these effects have created a multitude of specific-factor structures, with models identifying anywhere from two to 25 different spatial subcomponents. However, there are two dissociations that may be particularly important for mathematics education research. The first is the dissociation between spatial orientation and spatial visualization abilities. Spatial orientation tasks typically involve rotating one’s perspective for viewing an object or scene, while spatial visualization tasks require imagining object rotation. The second dissociation is between mental rotation and non-rotational spatial visualization. While this distinction is relatively recent, it separates the larger spatial visualization sub-component into tasks that either involve rotating imagined objects or a sequence of visualization tasks that do not require mental rotation or spatial orientation. The historical focus on psychometric accounts of spatial ability strove to identify constructs that could apply generally to various forms of reasoning, yet it has contributed to a complex literature that may be difficult for scholars who are not steeped in the intricacies of spatial reasoning research to parse and effectively apply to mathematics education.

Studies of mathematical reasoning and learning that rely on specific-factor structures can yield different results and interpretations depending on their choices of factors. For example, Schenck et al. ( 2022 ) fit several models using different spatial sub-factors to predict undergraduates’ production of verbal mathematical insights. The authors demonstrated that combining mental rotation and non-rotational spatial visualization into a single factor (per McGee, 1979 ) rather than separating them (per Ramful et al., 2017 ) can lead to conflicting interpretations on the relevance of these skills for improving mathematics. Some scholars argue that a weakness of many traditional specific-factor structures of spatial ability is that they rely on exploratory factor analysis rather than confirmatory factor analyses informed by a clear theoretical basis of spatial ability (Uttal et al., 2013 ; Young et al., 2018b ). Finding differing results based on small and reasonable analytic choices presents a serious problem for finding convergence of the role of particular spatial abilities on particular mathematics concepts.

Broad-Factor Structures

Alternative approaches to factor-analytic methods rely on much broader distinctions between spatial ability subcomponents. We refer to these alternatives as broad-factor structure approaches since their categorizations align with theoretically motivated combinations of specific spatial ability subfactors. Some scholars who draw on broad-factor structures have argued for a partial dissociation (Ferguson et al., 2015 ; Hegarty et al., 2006 , 2018 ; Jansen, 2009 ; Potter, 1995 ). Large-scale spatial abilities involve reasoning about larger-scale objects and space, such as physical navigation and environmental maps. Small-scale spatial abilities are defined as those that predominantly rely on mental transformations of shapes or objects (e.g., mental rotation tasks). A meta-analysis (Wang et al., 2014 ) examining the relationship between small- and large-scale abilities provided further evidence that these two factors should be defined separately. Hegarty et al. ( 2018 ) recommend measuring large-scale abilities through sense-of-direction measures and navigation activities. These scholars suggest that small-scale abilities, such as mental rotation, may be measured through typical spatial ability tasks like those discussed in the “Choosing Spatial Tasks in Mathematics Education Research” section of this paper.

Other lines of research that use broad-factor structures have drawn on linguistic, cognitive, and neuroscientific findings to develop a 2 × 2 classification system that distinguishes between intrinsic and extrinsic information along one dimension, and static and dynamic tasks another an orthogonal dimension (Newcombe & Shipley, 2015 ; Uttal et al., 2013 ). Intrinsic spatial skills involve attention to a single object's spatial properties, while extrinsic spatial skills predominately rely on attention to the spatial relationships between objects. The second dimension in this classification system defines static tasks as those that involve recognizing and thinking about objects and their relations. In contrast, dynamic tasks often move beyond static coding of the spatial features of an object and its relations to imagining spatial transformations of one or more objects.

Uttal and colleagues ( 2013 ) describe how this 2 × 2 broad-factor classification framework can be mapped onto Linn and Peterson’s ( 1985 ) three-factor model, breaking spatial ability into spatial perception, mental rotation, and spatial visualization sub-factors. Spatial visualization tasks fall into the intrinsic classification and can address static and dynamic reasoning depending on whether the objects are unchanged or require spatial transformations. The Embedded Figures Test (Fig.  3 A; Witkin et al., 1971 ) is an example of an intrinsic-static classification, while Ekstrom and colleagues’ ( 1976 ) Form Board Test and Paper Folding Test (Fig.  3 B) are two examples of spatial visualization tasks that measure the intrinsic-dynamic classification. Mental rotation tasks (e.g., the Mental Rotations Test of Vandenberg & Kuse, 1978 ) also represent the intrinsic-dynamic category. Spatial perception tasks (e.g., water level tasks; Fig.  3 C; see Inhelder & Piaget, 1958 ) capture the extrinsic-static category in the 2 × 2 because they require coding spatial position information between objects or gravity without manipulating them. Furthermore, Uttal et al. ( 2013 ) address a limitation of Linn and Peterson’s ( 1985 ) model by including the extrinsic/dynamic classification, which they note can be measured through spatial orientation and navigation instruments such as the Guilford-Zimmerman Spatial Orientation Task (Fig.  3 D; Guilford & Zimmerman, 1948 ).

Exemplar tasks that map to Uttal and colleagues’ ( 2013 ) framework . The intrinsic-static task ( A ) is adapted from Witkin and colleagues’ ( 1971 ) Embedded Figures Test. The intrinsic-dynamic task ( B ) is adapted from Ekstrom and colleagues’ ( 1976 ) Paper Folding Task. The extrinsic-static task ( C ) is adapted from Piaget and Inhelder’s ( 1956 ) water level tasks. The extrinsic-dynamic task ( D ) is adapted from Guilford and Zimmerman’s ( 1948 ) Spatial Orientation Survey Test

Though Uttal et al.’s ( 2013 ) classification provides a helpful framework for investigating spatial ability and its links to mathematics (Young et al., 2018b ), it faces several challenges. Some critics posit that spatial tasks often require a combination of spatial subcomponents and cannot be easily mapped onto one domain in the framework (Okamoto et al., 2015 ). For example, a think-aloud task might ask students to describe a different viewpoint of an object. The student may imagine a rotated object (intrinsic-dynamic), imagine moving their body to the new viewpoint (extrinsic-dynamic), use a combination of strategies, or employ a non-spatial strategy such as logical deduction. Additionally, an experimental study by Mix et al. ( 2018 ) testing the 2 × 2 classification framework using confirmatory factor analysis on data from children in kindergarten, 3rd, and 6th grades failed to find evidence for the static-dynamic dimension at any age or for the overall 2 × 2 classification framework. This study demonstrates that there are limitations to this framework in practice. It suggests that other frameworks with less dimensionality may be more appropriate for understanding children's spatial abilities.

Even in light of these challenges, broad-factor taxonomies can benefit researchers who do not expect specific sub-factors of spatial ability to be relevant for their data or those controlling for spatial ability as part of an investigation of a related construct. Currently, no validated and reliable instruments have been explicitly designed to assess these broad-factor taxonomies. Instead, the scholars proposing these broad-factor taxonomies suggest mapping existing spatial tasks, which are usually tied to specific sub-factors of spatial ability, to the broader categories.

Unitary-Factor Structure

Many scholars understand spatial ability to be composed of a set of specific or broad factors. Neuroimaging studies have even provided preliminary evidence of a distinction between object-based abilities such as mental rotation and orientation skills (e.g., Kosslyn & Thompson, 2003 ). However, there is also empirical support for considering spatial ability as a unitary construct . Early studies (Spearman,  1927 ; Thurstone,  1938 ) identified spatial ability as one factor separate from general intelligence that mentally operates on spatial or visual images. Evidence for a unitary model of spatial ability proposes a common genetic network that supports all spatial abilities (Malanchini et al., 2020 ; Rimfeld et al., 2017 ). When a battery of 10 gamified measures of spatial abilities was given to 1,367 twin pairs, results indicated that tests assessed a single spatial ability factor and that the one-factor model of spatial ability fit better than the two-factor model, even when controlling for a common genetic factor (Rimfeld et al., 2017 ). In another study, Malanchini et al. ( 2020 ) administered 16 spatial tests clustered into three main sub-components: Visualization , Navigation , and Object Manipulation . They then conducted a series of confirmatory factor analyses to fit one-factor (Spatial Ability), two-factor (Spatial Orientation and Object Manipulation), and three-factor models (Visualization, Navigation, and Object Manipulation). The one-factor model gave the best model fit, even when controlling for general intelligence.

A unitary structure is beneficial for researchers interested in questions about general associations between mathematics and spatial ability or for those using spatial ability as a moderator in their analyses. However, to date, no valid and reliable instruments have been created to fit within the unitary taxonomy, such as those that include various spatial items. Instead, researchers who discuss spatial ability as a unitary construct often choose one or multiple well-known spatial measures based on a particular sub-factor of spatial ability (e.g., Boonen et al., 2013 ; Burte et al., 2017 ). This issue motivates the need for an evidence-based, theory-grounded task selection procedure as well as the need to develop a unitary spatial cognition measure. In the absence of a single spatial cognition measure designed to assess spatial ability from a unitary perspective, researchers will need to think critically about selecting measures and analytic frameworks for their studies to cover a range of spatial ability sub-factors and address the limitations of such decisions.

This section reviewed ways spatial abilities have been historically defined and subdivided, with a focus on three of the most widely reported taxonomies: specific-factor structure, broad-factor structure, and unitary structure. The specific-factor structure taxonomy includes subcomponents, such as spatial orientation and rotational and non-rotational spatial visualization, that primarily arise using factor-analytic methods such as exploratory factor analyses. However, discrepancies in factor analytic techniques and test variations led to divergent nomenclature and factorial frameworks. A few dissociations in spatial skills arose from these well-supported methods, such as the distinction between spatial orientation and perspective-taking. The broad-factor structures taxonomy dissociates spatial abilities based on theoretically motivated categories, such as large-scale and small-scale spatial abilities. While these classifications may be helpful for investigating the links between spatial abilities and mathematics, there is currently no empirical evidence to support using these frameworks in practice. The unitary structure taxonomy is based on factor-analytic evidence for a single, overarching spatial ability factor that is separate from general intelligence. Despite the potential advantages of simplicity, there are currently no valid and reliable instruments for measuring a single spatial factor, so this must be based on performance using instruments that measure performance for a specific factor or are imputed across multiple instruments. Additional complexities of directly applying existing measures to mathematics education research include the awareness that mathematical task performance often involves the use of a variety of spatial and non-spatial skills.

Choosing Spatial Tasks in Mathematics Education Research

The context of mathematical reasoning and learning often leads to scenarios where the choice of spatial sub-components influences interpretations. Given the complex nature of spatial ability and the reliance on exploratory rather than confirmatory analyses, there is a need for dissociation approaches with clearer theoretical foundations. Due to the absence of comprehensive spatial cognition measures that address the possible broad-factor and unitary structure of spatial ability, researchers often resort to well-established spatial measures focusing on specific sub-factors, necessitating critical consideration in task selection and analytical frameworks. Thus, there is a need for evidence-based, theory-grounded task selection procedures to help address the current limitations in spatial ability as it relates to mathematics education research.

With so many spatial ability taxonomies to choose from, education researchers must carefully select tasks and surveys that match their stated research goals and theoretical frameworks, the spatial ability skills of interest, and the populations under investigation. As mentioned, mathematics education researchers often select spatial tasks based on practical motivations, such as access or familiarity, rather than theoretical ones. These decisions can be complicated by the vast number of spatial tasks, with little guidance for which ones best align with the various spatial taxonomies. In recent years, there has been a concerted effort by groups such as the Spatial Intelligence and Learning Center (spatiallearning.org) to collect and organize a variety of spatial measurements in one place. However, there is still work to be done to create a list of spatial instruments that researchers can easily navigate. To help guide researchers with these decisions, we have compiled a list of spatial instruments referenced in this paper and matched them with their associated spatial sub-components and intended populations (Table  1 ). These instruments primarily consist of psychometric tests initially designed to determine suitability for occupations such as in the military before being adapted for use with university and high school students (Hegaryt & Waller, 2005 ). As such, the majority of instruments are intended to test specific spatial sub-components derived from factor-analytic methods and were created by psychologists for use in controlled laboratory-based studies rather than in classroom contexts (Atit et al., 2020 ; Lowrie et al., 2020 ). Therefore, we have organized Table  1 by specific spatial sub-components described in the “Specific-Factor Structures” section that overlap with skills found in mathematics curricula as proposed by Ramful and colleagues ( 2017 ).

Comparing the instruments in these ways reveals several vital gaps that must be addressed to measure spatial cognition in a way that correlates with mathematics and spatial abilities across the lifespan. In particular, this analysis reveals an over-representation of certain spatial sub-components, such as mental rotation and spatial visualization, which also map to quadrants of the 2 × 2 (intrinsic-extrinsic/static-dynamic) classification system described in the “Broad-Factor Structures” section. It shows a pressing need for more tasks explicitly designed for other broad sub-components, such as the extrinsic-static classifications. It also reveals that the slate of available instruments is dominated by tasks that have only been tested on adults and few measures that test more than one subcomponent. These disparities are essential for educational considerations and are taken up in the final section.

Due to the sheer number of spatial tasks, the observations that these tasks may not load consistently on distinct spatial ability factors and the lack of tasks that address broad and unitary factor structures, it is not possible in the scope of this review to discuss every task-factor relationship. As a practical alternative, we have grouped spatial ability tasks into three aggregated categories based on their specific-factor dissociations, as discussed in the previous section: Spatial orientation tasks, non-rotational spatial visualization tasks, and mental rotation tasks (for examples, see Fig.  2 ). We have chosen these three categories for two reasons: (1) there is empirical evidence linking these spatial sub-categories to mathematical thinking outcomes, and (2) these categories align with Ramful et al.’s ( 2017 ) three-factor framework, which is one of the only spatial frameworks that was designed with links to mathematical thinking in mind. We acknowledge that other scholars may continue to identify different aggregations of spatial reasoning tasks, including those used with mechanical reasoning and abstract reasoning tasks (e.g., Tversky, 2019 ; Wai et al., 2009 ). In our aggregated categories, mechanical reasoning tasks would align with either mental rotation or non-rotational tasks depending on the specific task demands. In contrast, abstract reasoning tasks would align most closely with non-rotational spatial visualization tasks.

As there are no universally accepted measures of spatial ability for each spatial factor, we have narrowed our discussion to include exemplars of validated, cognitive, pen-and-pencil spatial ability tasks. These tasks have been historically associated with various spatial ability factors rather than merely serving as measures of general intelligence or visuospatial working memory (Carroll, 1993 ) and are easily implemented and scored by educators and researchers without specialized software or statistical knowledge. Notably, this discussion of spatial ability tasks and instruments excludes self-report questionnaires such as the Navigational Strategy Questionnaire (Zhong & Kozhevnikov, 2016 ) and the Santa Barbara Sense of Direction Scale (Hegarty et al., 2002 ); navigation simulations such as the Virtual SILC Test of Navigation (Weisberg et al., 2014 ) and SOIVET-Maze (da Costa et al., 2018 ); and tasks that involve physical manipulation such as the Test of Spatial Ability (Verdine et al., 2014 ). As such, we were unable to find any published, validated instruments for large-scale spatial orientation, a sub-factor of spatial orientation, that meet our inclusion criteria.

Additionally, we would like to highlight one instrument that does not fit into the categories presented in the following sections but may be of use to researchers. The Spatial Reasoning Instrument (SRI; Ramful et al., 2017 ) is a multiple-choice test that consists of three spatial subscales (spatial orientation, spatial visualization, and mental rotation). Notably, the questions that measure spatial visualization are specifically designed not to require mental rotation or spatial orientation. Unlike previously mentioned instruments, the SRI is not a speed test, though students are given a total time limit. This instrument targets middle school students and was designed to align more closely with students’ mathematical curricular experiences rather than a traditional psychological orientation. Mathematical connections in the SRI include visualizing lines of symmetry, using two-dimensional nets to answer questions about corresponding three-dimensional shapes, and reflecting objects.

In the next sections, we detail the types of tasks and instruments commonly used to measure spatial orientation, non-rotational spatial visualization, and mental rotation. Ultimately, these help form a guide for navigating and selecting among the various instruments for assessing spatial skills in relation to mathematical reasoning.

Spatial Orientation Tasks

Much like spatial ability more generally, spatial orientation skills fit into the broad distinctions of large-scale (e.g., wayfinding, navigation, and scaling abilities) and small-scale (e.g., perspective-taking and directional sense) skills, with small-scale spatial orientation skills being shown to be correlated with larger-scale spatial orientation skills (Hegarty & Waller, 2004 ; Hegarty et al., 2002 ). Aspects of mathematical thinking that may involve spatial orientation include scaling, reading maps and graphs, identifying orthogonal views of objects, and determining position and location. Although few empirical studies have attempted to determine statistical associations between spatial orientation and mathematics, spatial orientation has been correlated with some forms of scholastic mathematical reasoning. One area of inquiry showed associations between spatial orientation and early arithmetic and number line estimation (Cornu et al., 2017 ; Zhang & Lin, 2015 ). In another, spatial orientation skills were statistically associated with problem-solving strategies and flexible strategy use during high school-level geometric and non-geometric tasks (Tartre, 1990 ). Studies of disoriented children as young as three years old show that they reorient themselves based on the Euclidean geometric properties of distance and direction, which may contribute to children's developing abstract geometric intuitions (Izard et al., 2011 ; Lee et al., 2012 ; Newcombe et al., 2009 ).

Historically, the Guilford-Zimmerman (GZ) Spatial Orientation Test ( 1948 ) was used to measure spatial orientation. Critics have shown that this test may be too complicated and confusing for participants (Kyritsis & Gulliver, 2009 ) and that the task involves both spatial orientation and spatial visualization (Lohman, 1979 ; Schultz, 1991 ). To combat the GZ Spatial Orientation Test problems, Kozhevnikov and Hegarty ( 2001 ) developed the Object Perspective Taking Test, which was later revised into the Object Perspective/Spatial Orientation Test (see Fig.  2 A; Hegarty & Waller, 2004 ). Test takers are prevented from physically moving the test booklet, and all items involved an imagined perspective change of at least 90°. Unlike previous instruments, results from the Object Perspective/Spatial Orientation Test showed a dissociation between spatial orientation and spatial visualization factors (though they were highly correlated) and correlated with self-reported judgments of large-scale spatial cognition. A similar instrument, the Perspective Taking Test for Children, has been developed for younger children. (Frick et al., 2014a , 2014b ). Additionally, simpler versions of these tasks that asked participants to match an object to one that has been drawn from an alternative point of view have also been used, such as those in the Spatial Reasoning Instrument (Ramful et al., 2017 ).

Non-Rotational Spatial Visualization Tasks

With differing definitions of spatial visualization, measures of this spatial ability sub-component often include tasks that evaluate other spatial ability skills, such as cross-sectioning tasks (e.g., Mental Cutting Test; CEEB, 1939 , and Santa Barbara Solids Test; Cohen & Hegarty, 2012 ), that may require elements of spatial orientation or mental rotation. Though these tasks may be relevant for mathematical thinking, this section focuses on tasks that do not overtly require mental rotation. Non-rotational spatial visualization may be involved in several aspects of mathematical thinking, including reflections (Ramful et al., 2015 ) and visual-spatial geometry (Hawes et al., 2017 ; Lowrie et al., 2019 ), visualizing symmetry (Ramful et al., 2015 ), symbolic comparison (Hawes et al., 2017 ), and imagining problem spaces (Fennema & Tarte, 1985 ). A recent study by Lowrie and Logan ( 2023 ) posits that developing students’ non-rotational spatial visualization abilities may be related to better mathematics scores by improving students generalized mathematical reasoning skills and spatial working memory.

The three tests for non-rotational spatial visualization come from the Kit of Factor-Referenced Cognitive Tests developed by Educational Testing Services (Ekstrom et al., 1976 ). These instruments were developed for research on cognitive factors in adult populations. The first instrument is the Paper Folding Test (PFT), one of the most commonly used tests for measuring spatial visualization (see Fig.  2 C). In this test, participants view diagrams of a square sheet of paper being folded and then punched with a hole. They are asked to select the picture that correctly shows the resulting holes after the paper is unfolded. Though this task assumes participants imagine unfolding the paper without the need to rotate, studies have shown that problem attributes (e.g., number and type of folds and fold occlusions) impact PFT accuracy and strategy use (Burte et al., 2019a ).

The second instrument is the Form Board Test. Participants are shown an outline of a complete geometric figure with a row of five shaded pieces. The task is to decide which of the shaded pieces will make the complete figure when put together. During the task, participants are told that the pieces can be turned but not flipped and can sketch how they may fit together.

The third instrument, the Surface Development Test, asks participants to match the sides of a net of a figure to the sides of a drawing of a three-dimensional figure. Like the PFT, strategy use may also impact accuracy on these two measures. This led to the development of a similar Make-A-Dice test (Burte et al., 2019b ), which relies on the number of squares in a row and consecutive folding in different directions rather than just increasing the number of folds to increase difficulty. Additionally, none of these three instruments were explicitly designed to test non-rotational spatial visualization but rather a broader definition of spatial visualization that includes mental rotation. Thus, it is possible that some participants’ strategies may include mental rotation or spatial orientation.

Other common types of spatial visualization tasks include embedded figures adapted from the Gottschaldt Figures Test (Gottschaldt, 1926 ). These tasks measure spatial perception, field-independence, and the ability to disembed shapes from a background, which may be a necessary problem-solving skill (Witkin et al., 1977 ). One instrument, the Embedded Figures Test, originally consisted of 24 trials during which a participant is presented with a complex figure, then a simple figure, and then shown the complex figure again with instructions to locate the simple figure within it (Witkin, 1950 ). Others have used Witkin’s ( 1950 ) stimuli as a basis to develop various embedded figures tests, including the Children’s Embedded Figures Test (Karp & Konstadt, 1963 ) and the Group Embedded Figure Test (Oltman et al., 1971 ).

Mental Rotation Tasks

Mental rotation can be broadly defined as a cognitive operation in which a mental image is formed and rotated in space. Though mental rotation skills are often subsumed under spatial visualization or spatial relations sub-components, they can be treated as a separate skill from spatial orientation and spatial visualization (Linn & Peterson, 1985 ; Shepard & Metzler, 1971 ). As many definitions of general spatial ability include a “rotation” aspect, several studies have investigated the links between mental rotation and mathematics. For young children, cross-sectional studies have shown mixed results. In some studies, significant correlations were found between mental rotation and both calculation and arithmetic skills (Bates et al., 2021 ; Cheng & Mix, 2014 ; Gunderson et al., 2012 ; Hawes et al., 2015 ). Conversely, Carr et al. ( 2008 ) found no significant associations between mental rotation and standardized mathematics performances in similar populations. In middle school-aged children (11–13 years), mental rotation skill was positively associated with geometry knowledge (Battista, 1990 ; Casey et al., 1999 ) and problem-solving (Delgado & Prieto, 2004 ; Hegarty & Kozhevnikov, 1999 ). Studies of high school students and adults have indicated that mental rotation is associated with increased accuracy on mental arithmetic problems (Geary et al., 2000 ; Kyttälä & Lehto, 2008 ; Reuhkala, 2001 ).

Behavioral and imaging evidence suggests that mental rotation tasks invoke visuospatial representations that correspond to object rotation in the physical world (Carpenter et al., 1999 ; Shepard & Metzler, 1971 ). This process develops from 3 to 5 years of age with large individual differences (Estes, 1998 ) and shows varying performance across individuals irrespective of other intelligence measures (Borst et al., 2011 ). Several studies have also demonstrated significant gender differences, with males typically outperforming females (e.g., Voyer et al., 1995 ). However, this gap may be decreasing across generations (Richardson, 1994 ), suggesting it is due at least in part to sociocultural factors such as educational experiences rather than exclusively based on genetic factors. Historically, three-dimensional mental rotation ability has fallen under the spatial visualization skill, while two-dimensional mental rotation occasionally falls under a separate spatial relations skill (e.g., Carroll, 1993 ; Lohman, 1979 ). Thus, mental rotation measures often include either three-dimensional or two-dimensional stimuli rather than a mixture of both.

Three-Dimensional Mental Rotation Tasks

In one of the earliest studies of three-dimensional mental rotation, Shepard and Metzler ( 1971 ) presented participants with pictures of pairs of objects and asked them to answer as quickly as possible whether the two objects were the same or different, regardless of differences in orientation. The stimuli showed objects that were either the same, differing in orientation, or mirror images of those objects. This design provided a nice control since the mirror images had comparable visual complexity but could not be rotated to match the original. Results revealed a positive linear association between reaction time and the angular difference in the orientation of objects. In combination with participant post-interviews, this finding illustrated that in order to make an accurate comparison between the object and the answer questions, participants first imagined the object as rotated into the same orientation as the target object and that participants perceived the two-dimensional pictures as three-dimensional objects in order to complete the imagined rotation. Additional studies have replicated these findings over the last four decades (Uttal et al., 2013 ). Shepard and Metzler-type stimuli have been used in many different instruments, including the Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Rotations (Guay, 1976 ) and the Mental Rotation Test (see Fig.  2 B; Vandenberg & Kuse, 1978 ). However, recent studies have shown that some items on the Mental Rotation Test can be solved using analytic strategies such as global-shape strategy to eliminate answer choices rather than relying on mental rotation strategies (Hegarty, 2018 ).

One common critique of the Shepard and Metzler-type stimuli is that the classic cube configurations’ complex design is not appropriate for younger populations, leading to few mental rotation studies on this population. Studies have shown that children under 5 years of age have severe difficulties solving standard mental rotation tasks, with children between the ages of 5 and 9 solving such tasks at chance (Frick et al., 2014a , 2014b ). To combat this, studies with pre-school age children often lower task demands by reducing the number of answer choices, removing mirrored and incongruent stimuli, and using exclusively images of two-dimensional objects (Krüger, 2018 ; Krüger et al., 2013 ). In response, some scholars have begun developing appropriate three-dimensional mental rotation instruments for elementary school students, such as the Rotated Colour Cube Test (Lütke & Lange-Küttner, 2015 ). In this instrument, participants are presented with a stimulus consisting of a single cube with different colored sides and are asked to identify an identical cube that has been rotated. However, studies on both three-dimensional and two-dimensional rotation have found that cognitive load depends more on the stimulus angle orientation than the object’s complexity or dimensionality (Cooper, 1975 ; Jolicoeur et al., 1985 ).

Two-Dimensional Mental Rotation Tasks

To measure two-dimensional mental rotation, tasks for all populations feature similar stimuli. These tasks, often referred to as spatial relations or speeded rotation tasks, typically involve single-step mental rotation (Carroll, 1993 ). One common instrument for two-dimensional mental rotation is the Card Rotation Test (Ekstrom et al., 1976 ). This instrument presents an initial figure and asks participants to select the rotated but not reflected items. Importantly, these tasks can be modified for various populations (Krüger et al., 2013 ). One standardized instrument for pre-school and early primary school-age children, the Picture Rotation Test, demonstrates how easily these two-dimensional stimuli can be modified (Quaiser-Pohl, 2003 ).

This section aims to provide an updated review of the various ways in which spatial ability has been historically measured and critically evaluates these assessment tools. As the majority of these measures were designed based on specific-factor structures outlined in the “Specific-Factor Structures” section, we chose to organize our discussion by grouping assessments based on the specific factor it was intended to capture. We also decided to focus on the spatial sub-components that have been suggested to be linked to mathematical thinking, including spatial orientation, spatial visualization, and mental rotation. Ultimately, we found that although there are many spatial measures that researchers can choose from, there is a need for additional measures that address gaps in population and include more than one spatial subcomponent. Additionally, there is a critical need for spatial assessments that can be used in contexts outside of controlled laboratory and one-on-one settings to more deeply understand the complex connections between spatial ability and mathematics education in more authentic learning settings such as classrooms.

A Guiding Framework

We contend that the decisions made regarding the choice of spatial subdivisions, analytical frameworks, and spatial measures will impact both the results and interpretations of findings from studies on the nature of mathematical reasoning in controlled studies. One way these decisions affect the outcomes of a study is that they may change the specific spatial ability sub-components that reliably predict mathematics performance. This is because some factors of spatial ability have been shown to be more strongly associated with certain sub-domains of mathematics than with others (Delgado & Prieto, 2004 ; Schenck & Nathan, 2020 ), but it is unclear how generalizable these findings are as students may use a variety of spatial and non-spatial strategies. Additionally, some models and classifications of spatial ability, such as Uttal et al.’s ( 2013 ) classification and the unitary model of spatial ability, currently do not have validated instruments. Thus, selecting a spatial skills instrument poorly suited to the mathematical skills or population under investigation may fail to show a suitable predictive value. This can lead to an overall weaker model of the dependent variable and lead the research team to conclude that spatial reasoning overall is not relevant to the domain of mathematical reasoning interest. These limitations are often not discussed in the publications we reviewed and, perhaps, may not even be realized by many education researchers. However, as noted, it can be difficult for education researchers to select an appropriate framework among the many alternatives that match their specific domains of study.

Due to the various spatial taxonomies and the assumptions and design decisions needed for choosing the accompanying analytical frameworks, we assert that it is beneficial for most education researchers who do not identify as spatial cognition researchers to avoid attempts to create a specific, universal taxonomy of spatial ability. The evidence of the ways individuals interact with spatial information through the various spatial subcomponents may be based on a particular scholar's perspective of spatial ability, which should inform their choices of spatial taxonomies and analytical frameworks and measures based on their goals.

To help education researchers who may be unfamiliar with the vast literature on spatial ability navigate this large and potentially confusing landscape in service of their study objectives, we have designed a guide in the form of a flowchart that enables them to match spatial taxonomies to analytic frameworks (Fig.  4 ). Our guide, understandably, does not include every possible spatial taxonomy or study aim. Instead, it offers a helpful starting point for incorporating spatial skills into an investigation of mathematical reasoning by focusing on how researchers can draw on specific factor taxonomies and current validated measures of spatial ability in controlled studies.

Flowchart for selecting the appropriate spatial taxonomy and analytic framework for one’s investigation

The first question in the flowchart, Q1, asks researchers to decide how spatial ability will be used in their investigation: either as a covariate or as the main variable of interest. If spatial ability is a covariate, the most appropriate taxonomy would be the unitary model to capture the many possible ways participants could utilize spatial thinking during mathematical reasoning. However, as mentioned in the above section, this model has no validated measure. Thus, we recommend researchers select several measures that cover a variety of specific spatial subcomponents, or a measure designed to test more than one spatial subcomponent, such as the Spatial Reasoning Instrument (Ramful et al., 2017 ). We would then suggest using an analytical framework with a single composite score across multiple tasks to combat issues such as task-related biases (Moreu & Weibels, 2021 ).

If spatial ability is the main variable of interest, answering Q2 in the flowchart directs the researcher to consider whether they are interested in investigating the role of spatial ability as a general concept or as one or more specific sub-components. For example, suppose the researcher is interested in understanding links between spatial ability and a specific mathematic domain. In that case, we recommend using the unitary model of spatial ability and following the recommendations outlined above for using spatial ability as a covariate. For example, Casey et al. ( 2015 ) found that children’s early spatial skills were long-term predictors of later math reasoning skills. In their analysis, the authors identified two key spatial skills, mental rotation, and spatial visualization, that previous work by Mix and Cheng ( 2012 ) found to be highly associated with mathematics performance. To measure these constructs, Casey and colleagues administered three spatial tasks to participants: a spatial visualization measure, a 2-D mental rotation measure, and a 3-D mental rotation measure. The authors were interested in the impact of overall spatial ability on analytical math reasoning and in partially replicating previous findings rather than whether these two factors impacted mathematics performance. Thus, they combined these three spatial scores into a single composite score.

For investigations centering around one or more specific spatial sub-components, we recommend novice researchers use sub-components from specific factor taxonomies (e.g., mental rotation, spatial visualization, spatial orientation). Specific-factor taxonomies are used in a variety of lines of research, including mathematics education. Studies exploring the association between spatial ability and mathematics often focus on a particular sub-factor. For example, some studies have focused on the association between mental rotation and numerical representations (e.g., Rutherford et al., 2018 ; Thompson et al., 2013 ), while others have focused on spatial orientation and mathematical problem solving (e.g., Tartre, 1990 ). Similarly, scholars investigating spatial training efficacy often use spatial tasks based on a single factor or a set of factors as pre- and post-test measures and in intervention designs (e.g., Bruce & Hawes, 2015 ; Gilligan et al., 2019 ; Lowrie et al., 2019 ; Mix et al., 2021 ).

The third question in the flowchart, Q3, asks researchers to select whether their investigation will focus on one particular spatial sub-component or several to provide guidance for analytic frames. In new studies, the sub-components of interest may be selected based on prior studies for confirmatory analyses or on a theoretical basis for exploratory studies. If only a single spatial sub-component is of interest to the investigation, we suggest an analytic approach that includes a single score from one task. If multiple spatial sub-components are relevant to the investigation, we recommend using a single score from one task for each sub-component of interest.

Task selection, the final step in the flow chart, will depend on practical considerations such as which spatial sub-components are relevant, population age, and time constraints. Though thousands of spatial tasks are available, the tasks listed in Table  1 , which also identifies corresponding broad and specific spatial sub-components, can be a useful starting point for designing a study. We recommend that researchers acknowledge that students may solve mathematical problems in various spatial and non-spatial ways and, thus, their results may not generalize to all students or all mathematical tasks and domains. We also remind researchers that the majority of the measures described in the “Choosing Spatial Tasks in Mathematics Education Research” section are designed as psychometric instruments for use in tightly controlled studies. The guidance above is not intended for studies that involve investigating spatial ability in classrooms or other in situ contexts.

Conclusions and Lingering Questions

Researchers largely agree that spatial ability is essential for mathematical reasoning and success in STEM fields (National Research Council, 2006 ). The two goals of this review were, first, to summarize the relevant spatial ability literature, including the various factor structures and measures, in an attempt to more clearly understand the elements of spatial ability that may relate most closely to mathematics education; and second, to provide recommendations for education researchers and practitioners for selecting appropriate theoretical taxonomies, analytical frameworks, and specific instruments for measuring, interpreting, and improving spatial reasoning for mathematics education. Our review exposed a wide array of spatial taxonomies and analytical frameworks developed by spatial ability scholars for understanding and measuring spatial reasoning. However, this review shows no convergence on a definition of spatial ability or agreement regarding its sub-components, no universally accepted set of standardized measures to assess spatial skills, and, most importantly, no consensus on the nature of the link between mathematical reasoning and spatial ability. Thus, this review exposes several challenges to understanding the relationship between spatial skills and performance in mathematics. One is that the connections between mathematical reasoning and spatial skills, while supported, are complicated by the divergent descriptions of spatial taxonomies and analytical frameworks, the sheer volume of spatial measures one encounters as a potential consumer, and a lack of a universally accepted means of mapping spatial measures to mathematical reasoning processes. These challenges should be seen as the responsibility of the educational psychology research communities. The lack of progress on these issues impedes progress in designing effective spatial skills interventions for improving mathematics thinking and learning based on clear causal principles, selecting appropriate metrics for documenting change, and for analyzing and interpreting student outcome data.

Our primary contribution in the context of these challenges is to provide a guide, well situated in the research literature, for navigating and selecting among the various major spatial taxonomies and validated instruments for assessing spatial skills for use in mathematics education research and instructional design. In order to anchor our recommendations, we first summarized much of the history and major findings of spatial ability research as it relates to education (“Selecting a Spatial Taxonomy” section). In this summary, we identified three major types of spatial taxonomies: specific, broad, and unitary, and provided recommendations for associated analytical frameworks. We then discussed the plethora of spatial ability tasks that investigators and educators must navigate (“Choosing Spatial Tasks in Mathematics Education Research” section). To make the landscape more tractable, we divided these tasks into three categories shown to be relevant to mathematics education — spatial orientation, mental rotation, and non-rotational spatial visualization (see Table  1 ) — and mapped these tasks to their intended populations. We acknowledge that researchers and educators often select spatial tasks and analytic frameworks for practical rather than theoretical reasons, which can undermine the validity of their own research and assessment efforts. To provide educators with a stronger evidence-based foundation, we then offered a guiding framework (“A Guiding Framework” section) in the form of a flowchart to assist investigators in selecting appropriate spatial taxonomies and analytic frameworks as a precursor to making well-suited task sections to meet their particular needs. A guide of this sort provides some of the best steps forward to utilizing the existing resources for understanding and improving education through the lens of spatial abilities. We focused on providing a tool to guide the decision-making of investigators seeking to relate spatial skills with mathematics performance based on the existing resources, empirical findings, and the currently dominant theoretical frameworks.

Several limitations remain, however. One is that the vast majority of published studies administered spatial skills assessments using paper-and-pencil instruments. In recent years, testing has moved online, posing new challenges regarding the applicability and reliability of past instruments and findings. Updating these assessments will naturally take time until research using online instruments and new immersive technologies catches up (see Uttal et al., 2024 , for discussion). A second limitation is that studies investigating the associations between spatial ability and mathematics have often focused on a particular spatial ability or particular mathematical skill. There are many unknowns about which spatial abilities map to which areas of mathematics performance. This limitation can only be addressed through careful, systematic, large-scale studies. A third limitation is that many of the instruments in the published literature were developed for and tested on adult populations. This greatly limits their applicability to school-aged populations. Again, this limitation can only be addressed through more research that extends this work across a broader developmental range. Fourth, many spatial ability instruments reported in the literature include tasks that may be solved using various strategies, some that are non-spatial, thus calling into question their construct validity of whether they measure the specific spatial skills they claim to measure. For example, some tasks in assessments, such as the Paper Folding Test may be effectively solved through non-spatial methods such as logic or counting rather than pure spatial visualization. Thus, there is a pressing need for process-level data, such as immediate retrospective reports and eye tracking (cf. Just & Carpenter, 1985 ), to accurately describe the various psychological processes involved and how they vary by age, individual differences, and assessment context. A fifth limitation relates to the 2 × 2 classification system using intrinsic and extrinsic information along one dimension and static and dynamic tasks along the other (Newcombe & Shipley, 2015 ; Uttal et al., 2013 ). In mapping existing tasks to this system, it became clear that there is a need for more development of extrinsic-static tasks and instruments. We found no studies investigating the link between mathematical reasoning and extrinsic-static spatial abilities, perhaps because of the lack of appropriate assessments. The sixth, and arguably greatest limitation is that scholarly research on spatial ability still lacks a convergent taxonomy and offers no clear picture as to which aspects of spatial thinking are most relevant to STEM thinking and learning. More research is needed to test additional models of spatial ability, such as the unitary model, and to expand spatial ability assessment tools to capture the complex and multifaceted nature of spatial thinking needed in mathematics education environments.

The objectives of this paper were to provide researchers with an updated review of spatial ability and its measures and to provide a guide for researchers new to spatial cognition to help navigate this vast literature when making study design decisions. Overall, research to understand the structure of spatial ability more deeply is at a crossroads. Spatial ability is demonstrably relevant for the development of mathematics reasoning and offers a malleable factor that may have a profound impact on the design of future educational interventions and assessments. Synthesizing these lines of research highlighted several areas that remain unexplored and in need of future research and development. STEM education and workforce development remain essential for scientific and economic advancements, and spatial skills are an important aspect of success and retention in technical fields. Thus, it is critical to further understand the connections between spatial and mathematical abilities as ways to increase our understanding of the science of learning and inform the design of future curricular interventions that transfer skills for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

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We thank Dr. Martha W. Alibali and Dr. Edward M. Hubbard for their extensive and valuable feedback as part of the preliminary examination committee. We also thank Dr. Michael I. Swart for his feedback on initial and subsequent drafts and for lending graphic design knowledge. Last, we thank Dr. Mary Hegarty and Monica Mendoza for their feedback on the initial drafts of this work.

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Schenck, K.E., Nathan, M.J. Navigating Spatial Ability for Mathematics Education: a Review and Roadmap. Educ Psychol Rev 36 , 90 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-024-09935-5

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Analysing near-miss incidents in construction: a systematic literature review.

1. Introduction

• Q 1 —Are near-miss events in construction industry the subject of scientific research?
• Q 2 —What methods have been employed thus far to obtain information on near misses and systems for recording incidents in construction companies?
• Q 3 —What methods have been used to analyse the information and figures obtained?
• Q 4 —What are the key aspects of near misses in the construction industry that have been of interest to the researchers?

2. Definition of Near-Miss Events

3. research methodology, 4.1. a statistical analysis of publications, 4.2. methods used to obtain information about near misses, 4.2.1. traditional methods.

• Traditional registration forms
• Computerized systems for the recording of events
• Surveys and interviews

4.2.2. Real-Time Monitoring Systems

• Employee-tracking systems
• Video surveillance systems
• Wearable technology
• Motion sensors

4.3. Methods Used to Analyse the Information and Figures That Have Been Obtained

4.3.1. quantitative and qualitative statistical methods, 4.3.2. analysis using artificial intelligence (ai), 4.3.3. building information modelling, 4.4. key aspects of near-miss investigations in the construction industry, 4.4.1. occupational risk assessment, 4.4.2. causes of hazards in construction, 4.4.3. time series of near misses, 4.4.4. material factors of construction processes, 4.5. a comprehensive overview of the research questions and references on near misses in the construction industry, 5. discussion, 5.1. interest of researchers in near misses in construction (question 1), 5.2. methods used to obtain near-miss information (question 2), 5.3. methods used to analyse the information and data sets (question 3), 5.4. key aspects of near-miss investigations in the construction industry (question 4), 6. conclusions.

• A quantitative analysis of the Q 1 question has revealed a positive trend, namely that there is a growing interest among researchers in studying near misses in construction. The greatest interest in NM topics is observed in the United States of America, China, the United Kingdom, Australia, Hong Kong, and Germany. Additionally, there has been a recent emergence of interest in Poland. The majority of articles are mainly published in journals such as Safety Science (10), Journal of Construction Engineering and Management (8), and Automation in Construction (5);
• The analysis of question Q 2 illustrates that traditional paper-based event registration systems are currently being superseded by advanced IT systems. However, both traditional and advanced systems are subject to the disadvantage of relying on employee-reported data, which introduces a significant degree of uncertainty regarding in the quality of the information provided. A substantial proportion of the data and findings presented in the studies was obtained through surveys and interviews. The implementation of real-time monitoring systems is becoming increasingly prevalent in construction sites. The objective of such systems is to provide immediate alerts in the event of potential hazards, thereby preventing a significant number of near misses. Real-time monitoring systems employ a range of technologies, including ultrasonic technology, radio frequency identification (RFID), inertial measurement units (IMUs), real-time location systems (RTLSs), industrial cameras, wearable technology, motion sensors, and advanced IT technologies, among others;
• The analysis of acquired near-miss data is primarily conducted through the utilisation of quantitative and qualitative statistical methods, as evidenced by the examination of the Q 3 question. In recent years, research utilising artificial intelligence (AI) has made significant advances. The most commonly employed artificial intelligence techniques include text mining, machine learning, and artificial neural networks. The growing deployment of Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology has precipitated a profound transformation in the safety management of construction sites, with the advent of sophisticated tools for the identification and management of hazardous occurrences;
• In response to question Q 4 , the study of near misses in the construction industry has identified several key aspects that have attracted the attention of researchers. These include the utilisation of both quantitative and qualitative methodologies for risk assessment, the analysis of the causes of hazards, the identification of accident precursors through the creation of time series, and the examination of material factors pertaining to construction processes. Researchers are focusing on the utilisation of both databases and advanced technologies, such as real-time location tracking, for the assessment and analysis of occupational risks. Techniques such as Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and clustering facilitate a comprehensive assessment and categorisation of incidents, thereby enabling the identification of patterns and susceptibility to specific types of accidents. Moreover, the impact of a company’s safety climate and organisational culture on the frequency and characteristics of near misses represents a pivotal area of investigation. The findings of this research indicate that effective safety management requires a holistic approach that integrates technology, risk management and safety culture, with the objective of reducing accidents and enhancing overall working conditions on construction sites.

7. Gaps and Future Research Directions, Limitations

• Given the diversity and variability of construction sites and the changing conditions and circumstances of work, it is essential to create homogeneous clusters of near misses and to analyse the phenomena within these clusters. The formation of such clusters may be contingent upon the direct causes of the events in question;
• Given the inherently dynamic nature of construction, it is essential to analyse time series of events that indicate trends in development and safety levels. The numerical characteristics of these trends may be used to construct predictive models for future accidents and near misses;
• The authors have identified potential avenues for future research, which could involve the development of mathematical models using techniques such as linear regression, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. The objective of these models is to predict the probable timing of occupational accidents within defined incident categories, utilising data from near misses. Moreover, efforts are being made to gain access to the hazardous incident recording systems of different construction companies, with a view to facilitating comparison of the resulting data;
• One significant limitation of near-miss research is the lack of an integrated database that encompasses a diverse range of construction sites and construction work. A data resource of this nature would be of immense value for the purpose of conducting comprehensive analyses and formulating effective risk management strategies. This issue can be attributed to two factors: firstly, the reluctance of company managers to share their databases with researchers specialising in risk assessment, and secondly, the reluctance of employees to report near-miss incidents. Such actions may result in adverse consequences for employees, including disciplinary action or negative perceptions from managers. This consequently results in the recording of only a subset of incidents, thereby distorting the true picture of safety on the site.

Author Contributions

Institutional review board statement, informed consent statement, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

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Woźniak, Z.; Hoła, B. Analysing Near-Miss Incidents in Construction: A Systematic Literature Review. Appl. Sci. 2024 , 14 , 7260. https://doi.org/10.3390/app14167260

Woźniak Z, Hoła B. Analysing Near-Miss Incidents in Construction: A Systematic Literature Review. Applied Sciences . 2024; 14(16):7260. https://doi.org/10.3390/app14167260

Woźniak, Zuzanna, and Bożena Hoła. 2024. "Analysing Near-Miss Incidents in Construction: A Systematic Literature Review" Applied Sciences 14, no. 16: 7260. https://doi.org/10.3390/app14167260

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• Systematic Review
• Open access
• Published: 17 August 2024

Direct and indirect effects of economic sanctions on health: a systematic narrative literature review

• Vahid Yazdi-Feyzabadi 1 ,
• Atefeh Zolfagharnasab 2 ,
• Soheila Naghavi 3 ,
• Anahita Behzadi 1 ,
• Maysam Yousefi 4 &
• Mohammad Bazyar   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2543-1862 5  

BMC Public Health volume  24 , Article number:  2242 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

Metrics details

Economic sanctions are defined as restrictions imposed by other countries against individuals, groups, or governments of other countries. These sanctions have a detrimental impact on the economies of countries and can also limit access to healthcare services for people as a secondary consequence. This study aims to systematically review the literature to examine the direct and indirect effects of economic sanctions on health through a narrative synthesis.

This systematic literature review was limited to papers published between January 1990 and July 2023. Relevant documents published in English and Persian were searched for in databases including Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, SID, Magiran, and Irandoc. The direct and indirect effects of sanctions on health were classified using two frameworks proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO): the Health System Building Blocks and “Social Determinants of Health”.

Out of a total of 18,219 articles, 59 were selected based on inclusion criteria. The effects of sanctions were divided into direct and indirect groups. Direct effects encompassed seven main themes: access to essential medicine, medical products, vaccines and technologies; financing; health workforce; service delivery; research and health information systems; health outcomes; and financial risk protection. Indirect effects also were classified into six main themes: socioeconomic status; food and agricultural products; stress; early life conditions; high-risk behaviors and addiction; and transport. Most studies focused on the access to medicines, food, economic and social status.

Conclusions

Economic sanctions have had profoundly negative impacts on all aspects of the healthcare system. The international community must address these effects on health and take necessary measures to prevent or mitigate them, particularly in ensuring the provision of basic and essential healthcare needs for individuals and communities.

Peer Review reports

Sanctions are purposeful and determined restrictions imposed by one or more countries against another individual, group or countries’ government. Sanctions are usually imposed by international organizations as a pressure tool for responding to the course of actions of any country that opposes them [ 1 ].

Economic sanctions are the most common type of these restrictions. The two main types of these sanctions are trade and financial restrictions. Trade sanctions restrict imports to and exports from the countries under sanctions while financial sanctions are closely related to economic ones, but their focus is on banning the money flows and financial resources into or out of the country. These sanctions can include blocking government assets, restricting access to financial markets, loans and credits limitations, restricting international financial exchange, and also sales and trade abroad [ 2 ].

Economic sanctions reduce people’s access to basic necessities of life by debilitating the economic situation, decreasing welfare and weakening the functions of the target country’s social systems. One of the most important areas affected through these boycotts is health. Due to the expansion of health scope, these limitations affect different parts of health system itself and as a result endanger people’s life [ 3 , 4 ].

Studies in various countries, including Iran, Iraq, Cuba, Yugoslavia and Haiti, discussed the effects of sanctions on health. In Haiti, economic sanctions have reduced incomes, increased unemployment and poverty along with mortality by 1 to 4 years, and destroyed families [ 5 ]. In Iran, especially in healthcare area, sanctions have resulted in increasing the cost of essential procedures and drugs such as diagnostic procedures for cancers and chemotherapy drugs. The difficulties in getting required licenses for financial transactions and transportation insurance due to sanctions has left the country with a shortage of drugs and health equipment [ 6 ].

Sanctions have devastating effects on the health of vulnerable patients or health systems customers too. Patients who are suffering from diseases such as asthma, thalassemia, hemophilia, chronic diseases, blood disorders, multiple sclerosis and HIV/AIDS have limited access to drugs [ 7 ]. While comparing, in developed countries mortality rates decreased using appropriate drugs [ 8 , 9 ].

Different countries may use broad policies to prevent or adjust the negative effects of economic problems on health systems, although these policies may not be successful in ensuring continued access to health services [ 10 , 11 ].

Although sanctions may be designed for excluding medical products from the list, they can still have an inevitable impact on access to health services. Thus, the imposition of economic sanctions can threaten public health directly [ 12 ].

Furthermore, economic sanctions suppress the health indirectly by adversely impacting on other related parts known as social determinants of health (SDH) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Economic sanctions impact all aspects of the social determinants of health (SDH) framework, leading to negative effects on health equity and well-being. Sanctions can alter social and political systems, such as governance, labor markets, education, trade, housing, and redistributive policies, influencing people’s health. Structural determinants like income, education, and occupation are affected by sanctions, changing health opportunities and status, especially for the economically disadvantaged. Intermediary determinants, including material and psychosocial circumstances, are also influenced negatively by sanctions. For instance, housing quality declines post-sanctions due to increased costs of land and materials, while food consumption patterns shift towards cheaper, less nutritious options. Sanctions create psychosocial stressors like job insecurity and uncertainty, leading to frustration and stress [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ].

Continued sanctions may hinder countries’ progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG-3 for healthy lives and well-being. Economic stability is crucial for meeting health-related SDGs, and any failures in this regard would disproportionately impact citizens in targeted countries. In the context of developing countries, where progress toward SDGs is often hindered by limited resources and systemic disparities, the impact of economic sanctions on health systems and overall well-being is profound. SDGs, with their emphasis on health (Goal 3) and the overarching aim of leaving no one behind, seek to address disparities and ensure equitable access to healthcare services. Economic sanctions, however, disrupt this delicate balance, exacerbating existing inequalities and impeding the ability of nations to meet the health-related targets outlined in the SDGs [ 13 ].

Given that, the effects of sanctions depend on the situation of countries and vary from one to another, there is no complete evidence of a comprehensive impact of sanctions on different part of society’s system especially in health despite of its importance. To comprehensively address these issues, a rigorous examination of evidence through narrative systematic reviews becomes imperative. This study aims to provide a detailed narrative synthesis of the direct and indirect effects of economic sanctions on health system building blocks and public health focusing on social determinants of health, thereby contributing to a better understanding of the broader consequences of such measures.

The following steps were taken to review literature systematically [ 17 , 18 ].

Research question

The main question that we wanted to answer in this study was to investigate and categorize the effects that economic sanctions impose on health directly and indirectly.

Search strategy and identifying literature

This systematic review was carried out according to the latest version of PRISMA guidelines [ 19 , 20 ]. For the purposes of the study, following databases were searched by one of the authors experienced in systematic research: Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, SID, Magiran, Irandoc. The search strategy (see Additional file 1 for an example) was first devised for use in PubMed and subsequently adapted for the other databases. The search was limited to papers published between January 1990 and July 2023 and to studies involving economic sanctions independently as a hard power exercise. Other hard power exercises to achieve foreign policy goals such as war and conflicts were excluded. We selected the appropriate keywords from studying similar studies, discussion among research team and intended frameworks for extracting the data. The search term “sanctions” and “public health” were used for PubMed; terms associated with “economic sanctions” and “public health” were used for the title or abstract in the other databases if required (MeSH term; major focus and/or exploded depending on the database). In brief the following terms were searched using Boolean operators: sanction, embargo, health, human resource, medical instrument, medicine, pharmaceutics, disease, mortality, medical equipment, medical devices, drug, health care, Taskforce, health personnel, health workers, morbidity, illness, and food.

Screening and article selection criteria

Duplicate results were removed after searching the databases using Endnote software version X8. After removing the duplications, a screening of publications, based on titles and abstracts was performed by two researchers independently. In second screening, then, the suspected documents were re-examined by a third person from the research team to decide whether to enter or not.

As the final step of screening, the full texts of the remaining publications were independently assessed for inclusion by pairs of reviewers once more and any potential disagreements were resolved through consensus and if necessary by the third opinion from the research team.

The articles not meeting the below criteria were excluded:

Articles published in languages other than English and Persian.

Articles available in preprint servers.

Articles did not match the question and objectives of the research like those related to the effects of wars and conflict on health.

Conference abstracts, books, reports and dissertations.

Records not in line with the quantitative, qualitative and mixed-method original articles including letter to Editor, commentary, opinion/viewpoint/perspective.

Articles published before 1990.

After reaching the final list of studies to be reviewed thoroughly, we supplemented our database search by screening bibliographic of chosen articles to identify any additional relevant publications. The bibliographic of other relevant systematic articles were also searched actively for retrieving other missing articles.

Data extraction

After finalizing the final list of articles, the full text of the selected articles were studied precisely and required information was extracted. In order to capture the maximum available evidence regarding the effects of economic sanctions, no quality assessment was employed in our systematic literature review. This approach allowed us to include a wide range of studies, regardless of their methodological quality, thus providing a comprehensive overview of the existing literature. This method is consistent with approaches used in narrative synthesis where the primary aim is to summarize broad evidence on a topic rather than critically appraise each study’s quality. The extracted information was divided into two sections. The first one, consisting the bibliographic information included the title of article, the year of publication, the first author, and the title of the journal and the second section reports the frequency of articles according to the main topics addressed in their results.

Data analysis and presenting results

For identifying key concepts and main themes, each of selected articles studied carefully. After completing the data extraction table, the researchers shared the concepts with other members of the research team, and agreement was reached. As many other factors outside the borders of health system affects the health, generally known as social determinants of health (SDH), we applied two common popular frameworks to categorize the direct and indirect effects impacts of sanctions on health system and public health. To address the direct impact of sanctions on health, Health System Building Blocks framework proposed by World Health Organization (WHO) was proposed which consists of six key components including “service delivery”, “health workforce”, “health information systems”, “access to essential medicines”, “financing” and “government/ leadership”. This framework also covers intermediate (e.g. access, coverage, quality and safety) and four final goals including Improved health (level and equity), Responsiveness, Social and financial risk protection, and Improved efficiency [ 21 , 22 ].

To cover other effects of sanctions occurring in other sections beyond the health system but affecting health indirectly, the approach of “Social Determinants of Health” was applied which comprises of the following 10 elements, “The social gradient”, “Stress”, “Early life conditions”, “Social exclusion”, “Work”, “Unemployment”, “Social support”, “Addiction”, “Food”, and “Transport“ [ 23 ].

Search process

A total number of 18,219 articles were identified, which after removing the overlaps, 12,838 articles remained. Following the initial review of the title and abstract of all retrieved articles, a further 12,439 articles were excluded. Out of 399 records, the full text of 390 articles were retrieved and evaluated for eligibility.

After a final review, 331 articles were excluded due to not intended study design or not addressing the question and aims of the current research. Finally 59 research articles were included in the study (Fig.  1 ). A summary of included studies’ features is reported in Table  1 .

The PRISMA algorithm of study selection process

Study features

The study information collected from 11 countries which included Iran, Iraq, Cuba, Syria, Haiti, Yugoslavia, Lebanon, Serbia, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Russia and South Africa. Iraq [ 4 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ] and Iran [ 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 ] had the maximum number of studies. Most of the studies were descriptive or analytical. Four were qualitative and also three studies were designed as a mix-method. The share of different regions from economic sanctions studies is shown in Fig.  2 .

The different regions share of economic sanctions studies

Study areas

Included studies have examined the impact of sanctions in various areas. The amount of available and accessible information about the effect of sanctions varied from one area to another. Most studies addressed the impact of economic sanctions on access to medicine or food and also socioeconomic status.

Almost half of studies mentioned the effect of sanctions on access to drugs, these studies covered approximately all countries targeted by sanctions. More than a quarter, discussed the socioeconomic situation. Food access and malnutrition were also explained in about another quarter of the articles. According to studies, the vulnerable groups which affected most by sanctions were the poor, patients, women and children. The proportion of different parts of health system and different social health determinants affected by economic sanctions is reported in Table  2 ; Fig.  3 .

The proportion of different parts of health system and social determinants of health mentioned in retrieved studies which are affected by economic sanctions

The Table  2 provides an overview of the frequency of direct and indirect effects of sanctions on health, based on findings from 59 selected articles. The data is categorized into direct effects on the health system and indirect effects on population/public health, highlighting both the immediate and broader consequences of sanctions. The most frequently mentioned direct effect was the impact on access to essential medicine, medical products, vaccines, and technologies, with 22 documents, accounting for 37.3% of the papers. On the other hand, the most frequently cited indirect effect was on the socioeconomic situation, mentioned in 9 documents (15.2%).

Themes and sub-themes

The effects of sanctions on health were categorized into two broad direct and indirect groups. Following the WHO’ Health System Building Blocks, direct effects include 7 main themes as followed: access to essential medicine, medical products, vaccines and technologies; financing; health workforce; service delivery; research and health information systems; health outcomes; and financial risk protection (Table  3 ). Indirect effects also were summarized in 6 main themes consisting: socioeconomic status; food and agricultural products; stress; early life conditions; high-risk behaviors and addiction; and transportation (Table  4 ).

Direct effects

Access to medicines, medical products, vaccines, and technologies.

Access to medicine is one of the main goals of health systems. Numerous studies have been reported on drug shortages and public concerns about patients’ difficulties for getting their essential’s [ 46 ]. The findings related to access to medicine were divided further into three sub-themes: reduced access to imported raw materials, decreased access to imported or foreign drugs, and increased drug prices.

There are some findings indicated that sanctions prevent the import of essential medical supplies [ 29 , 36 , 44 , 47 , 48 ]. Therefore, the manufacture of local drugs is affected and access to them is reduced.

For example, Iran experienced a significant decrease in access to asthma drugs which produced locally in Iran, because of local producers relied on imported raw materials [ 36 ]. In Yugoslavia, as a result of imposing restrictions on pharmaceutical industry, the available essential drugs decreased by more than 50% [ 47 ]. Syria also faced a shortage of raw materials for producing domestic drugs for heart disease, cancer and diabetes [ 48 ]. In a similar way, in Iraq, the provision of laboratory services reduced because of raw chemicals shortage [ 29 ].

Limited access to imported drugs was another direct effect [ 49 ]. The shortage of essential medicines in countries suffering from sanctions was a main concern and access to such medicines including chemotherapy, chronically illness treatments, psychiatric services, MS and antiepileptic drugs was limited considerably [ 29 , 31 , 36 , 37 , 40 , 42 , 44 , 47 , 50 ]. Access to hemophilia and thalassemia drugs was severely affected too [ 39 ]. Problems caused by economic sanctions also affected the pharmaceutical market which as a result, lead to an sharp increase in the prices [ 5 , 42 , 51 ].

Studies showed that economic sanctions reduced the import of and access to medical equipment to great extent [ 3 , 24 , 29 , 52 ]. In Cuba, the number of X-rays decreased by 75% [ 3 ]. Many American companies refused to sell drugs or medical equipment assigned for Nicaragua. Severe shortage of medical products in health system became apparent in 1985 and worsened in 1986 [ 24 ].

Also, studies revealed that economic sanctions have reduced access to vaccines and caused less immunization against infectious diseases [ 25 , 53 ].

In case of Cuba, the country’s ability to produce chlorine decreased and the number of populations with no access to safe drinking water increased, therefore population covered by chlorine water systems decreased from 98% in 1988 to 26% in 1994 [ 3 ].

Health financing

Health financing counts as essential ability of health systems to maintain and improve the community well-being. The economic crisis is affecting the financial capacity of health care system and has hampered the financial support for providing health services [ 52 , 54 ]. During the economic sanctions, budget constraints also prevented some health care programs from being fully implemented [ 31 ].

Health workforce

A study done in Iraq showed that economic sanctions resulted in widespread expulsions of health care professionals, while many of them were belong to foreign nationals. Also, physicians had to do a lot of extra work, along with increasing pressures which caused them.

leave their jobs behind [ 29 , 31 ].

Health services delivery

The imposition of economic sanctions, resulted in labor shortages, limited access to medical equipment, affecting the process of providing health services and made it worse. This imposed much more pressure on the ability of health system as whole particularly during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic [ 55 ]. Meanwhile various studies showed a reduction in quantity and quality of provided services too [ 5 , 29 , 31 , 52 , 56 , 57 ]. A study in Iran showed that due to economic sanctions, from 18 brachytherapy centers in 2018, only two centers were usable since 2015 and also the gap between Iran’s available facilities for radiation therapy and international standards deepened [ 58 ]. According to the Program of Action for Cancer Therapy, sanctions have disrupted Iran’s National Cancer Control Program (NCCP) as they have influenced all phases of treatment from prevention, to diagnosis/treatment, palliative care, monitoring, and also technology and drug availability [ 59 ].

Research and health information systems

The effects of economic sanctions on research and health information systems were divided into three sub-themes: reduced access to scientific resources and virtual sites, disruption of international interactions and conferences, and restricted research activities. Sanctions also limited access to scientific magazines and books [ 29 , 52 ]. Specialists were unable to get visas and travel abroad to attend international conferences, which reduced scientific exchanges [ 52 ].

The severe financial pressure of sanctions intensified restrictions of scientific travels and communications with the outside world led to a lack of access to educational materials and global medical advances [ 31 ].

Economic sanctions also had negative effects on both research and science production activities, including smaller scientific communication, difficulties in research processes, and consequently, decline in the quality along with quantity of research and science development activities [ 14 , 45 , 60 ].

Health outcomes and financing risk protection

International evidence about the UN sanctions indicates that they reduces life expectancy by about 1.2–1.4 years on average. It was also shown that this reduction is much more severe in vulnerable groups of society like women. This lower life expectancy in the studied countries occurred to great extent due to higher child mortality and Cholera deaths and also spending less amount of public budget on health care [ 61 , 62 ]. Studies from Iran show that multiple sclerosis patients faced higher out-of-pocket payments, catastrophic health expenditures and the poverty index [ 63 ]. Similarly, studies from other countries show higher mortality rate from infectious diseases and more difficulties for optic and neuropathic patients [ 64 , 65 ]. Physical rehabilitation experts in Iran also concern about high price that people with physical problems have to pay for prostheses which in turn have negative consequences for practitioners themselves [ 66 ].

Indirect effects

The effects of economic sanctions are not targeted and they also influence sectors other than health which can affect general health indirectly. These effects can be categorized under a general concept as social determinants of health (SDH). The main SDHs extracted from the retrieved studies are as follows:

Economic and social status

The main target of economic sanctions is the economy and money flows of countries which had negative consequences for countries’ economy themselves and other related areas [ 67 ]. The indirect outcomes in the area of Economic and Social Status were categorized into 6 sub-themes including: rising unemployment, decreasing income, declining welfare, increasing poverty, trade barriers, rising prices and decreasing purchasing power.

Majority of studies in Iran, Iraq, Cuba, Haiti, Syria, South Africa addressed the effects of sanctions on the socioeconomic situation [ 4 , 5 , 29 , 44 , 47 , 48 , 52 , 68 ]. These sanctions banned and reduced the exports of products which in turn caused unemployment among those who relied on importing such products to make money. Unemployment rose sharply in Haiti with the cessation of mango exports, on which many poor people depended [ 47 ]. Also, in this country some of factories such as clothing, sports and assembly, reduced the number of workers, which was accompanied by rising the rate of job loss [ 5 ].

Continuing this situation, economic problems became more and more prevalent. In Haiti, many people lost their main source of income [ 5 ]. In Iraq, wage fell and there was hardly enough to buy the necessities of daily life [ 29 ]. A review of studies during this period revealed that the reason of increasing social problems and the disintegration of many family structures was the fall in incomes [ 5 , 44 ].

On the other hand, poverty increased as soon as economic problems intensified. Some of the middle classes’ families were forced to sell their houses and apartments [ 29 ]. Also, school enrollment declined due to the poverty [ 5 ].

Another important effect was trade barriers so that reduced the rate of investment and the number of foreign companies. The number of active American companies in South Africa fell from 267 in 1986 to 104 in 1991 [ 47 ]. Loss of markets, credits, and favorable trade conditions, devaluation of the national currency against the US dollar, the oil exports stoppage, alongside the reduction of basic goods imports were among the other effects [ 29 , 47 , 48 ]. On the other hand, prices increased while purchasing power decreased [ 4 , 5 , 48 , 52 ].

Food and agriculture

Numerous studies in Iran, Cuba, Iraq, and Haiti have shown that economic sanctions reduced food imports while increased their prices, and restricted proper diet 41) [ 3 , 5 , 24 , 29 , 47 ]. In Cuba, food imports decreased by almost 50% from 1989 to 1993 as a result of falling rate of imports while shifting to low-quality protein products which posed serious threats on population’s health. In Haiti, staple food prices increased fivefold from 1991 to 1993 [ 47 ]. Likewise, the prices of all food groups increased significantly in Iran in 2018 due to the limitations in international financial exchanges, right after the re-imposition of sanctions. The price increase was higher in vegetable, meat, and fruit groups which made it nearly impossible to follow a healthy diet [ 69 ].

Prices of basic commodities such as wheat, rice and sugar rose in Iraq, too [ 29 ]. On the other hand, the lack of foods containing B vitamins group in Cuba led to the epidemic of neuropathy [ 47 ]. Poor nutrition among pregnant women in Iraq increased anemia [ 24 ]. Meal and per capita protein intake decreased [ 3 , 5 ]. At the same time malnutrition also increased during restrictions [ 5 , 35 , 47 , 70 ] and furthermore caused reduction in crop production and agricultural support [ 5 , 71 ]. Other studies also revealed that availability and stability were the most affected dimensions of food security following imposing economic sanctions [ 72 ]. A study about the impact of the UN and US economic sanctions on the environment in Iran found that while these sanctions initially improved Iran’s environment in the short term, they had long-term damaging effects [ 73 ].

Economic sanctions exacerbate stressful conditions. According to studies, increased fear and uncertainty, and increased mental health problems are among the negative effects of sanctions in this category [ 5 , 31 , 48 , 53 , 74 ].

Early life conditions

A good start in life means supporting mothers and young children. A study found the exposure to adverse economic conditions in infancy and early childhood was effective in long-term negative health outcomes [ 75 ].

High-risk and addictive behaviors

People turning to high-risk behaviors and addiction along with their consumption patterns can be affected and intensified by economic and social conditions. According to the findings, the effects of economic sanctions in case of risky and addictive behavior were categorized into two sub-groups consist of increasing high-risk behaviors and addiction.

As evidences revealed, economic sanctions increased suicide and violence. Studies shown that the rate of deaths caused by violence and suicides have increased in Yugoslavia and Cuba during limitation periods [ 3 , 47 ]. In Haiti, charges against children, criminal conspiracy, robbery, and drug use were much more serious [ 5 ] and this happened along with another important result which was changing in drug use patterns and increased drug abuse problems.

The common use of syringes for drug injection has increased, posing a risk to abusers. Due to economic problems, people entered mass drug distribution networks and drug trafficking to make money; tried steal or other illegal ways to earn money for buying or supplying drugs. Rising drug prices have led to the neglect family economic basket and reduced attention to the factors such as education and health care, which have resulted in low quality of life for consumers and their families [ 41 ].

According to the studies, economic sanctions in different countries affected communities’ health in different ways. Economic sanctions are supposed to force a country’s government to reconsider its policies by putting and imposing economic pressure. Although they should not target humanitarian goods, studies in various countries have revealed their direct and indirect effects on community’s health and threats for people’s right to health. The most important effects were found in the access to medicine and change in socio-economic conditions, while ensuring access to medicines for people who needed them, is one of the most emphasized goals of health systems all around the world [ 76 ]. Clearly economic sanctions suppress economic growth of the targeted countries in different ways and the lower economic situation can influence all aspects of the whole community and people’ life including their health status directly and indirectly. The World Bank data confirm that sanctions reduced Iran’s economic growth by 38% within three years, as GDP per capita dropped from US$ 7833 in 2012 to US$ 4862 in 2015. Moreover, unemployment increased from 10.4% in 2013 to 13.1% in 2017, and the economic inequality in household expenditure, measured by Gini coefficient, increased from 37 to 41%, since 2012, due to economic sanction. Clearly this economic inequality can lead to health inequity in population [ 77 ]. When the economic situation worsens in general, the financial capacity of health system and also the financial power of people will be affected. Evidence from different studies proved that the general budget of health decreased and out-of-pocket payments increased especially for those patients who depend on foreign and imported drugs [ 54 , 63 ].

In the present study, surveys in different countries showed that economic sanctions through devaluing the national currency, affected access to health goods and services, including drugs and medical equipment. Countries depending on drug technology, requiring the imported raw materials, experienced a severe restriction for accessing to medicine and drugs. On the other hand, these limitations caused a sudden increase or inflation in the prices of medicine and equipment. This effect would be worse for people who suffer from chronic diseases and are unable to purchase or use health care services [ 16 ]. For example, sanctions in 2011 caused a 14 times increase in the price of formula in Iran for infants suffering from food allergies. Besides that, uncertainty about the availability of drugs following sanctions also changes the behavior of people as the stored formula for infants not needing a specific formula which was enough for 2 months was distributed only within 4 days in September, 2018 [ 78 ].

This is while the economic sanctions reducing the power of supporting health services by limiting budgets and funds. Health financing is essential for the ability of health systems to maintain and improve human health through keeping them capable to fund and provide health services. Without the necessary funding, no health workers will be hired, no medication will be available, and as the same way, no health promotion or prevention will take place [ 23 ]. As a result, considering the negative impact of sanctions, the financing system faces serious problems in three main functions of resource collection, pooling, and purchasing. The ability of countries to achieve health system’s goals largely depends on the knowledge, skills, motivation and deployment of individuals to organize and provide health services [ 23 ]. Numerous studies showed evidence of a direct relationship between health human resource and population outcomes [ 79 , 80 ].

Sanctions made it impossible to strengthen service delivery for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) related to health by reducing the rate of occupied health workforce and forcing them to migrate. Studies assessed the impact of economic crises shown that these restrictions affected the health sector by increasing public vulnerability as same as the inability to meet public needs and expectations due to limited resources [ 81 , 82 , 83 ]. The findings from Iran show that sanctions can influence health care delivery adversely during health pandemics like COVID-19 disease in various direct and indirect ways [ 55 ]. Therefore, if sanctions continue, the reduction of inputs will hinder the improvement of service delivery and access to them. On the other hand, they disrupt access to health services even though with minimum quality standards.

About the research, sanctions limited and disqualified research activities by banning the access to most scientific and valid resources and disrupting international interactions and conferences. The small and isolated scientific communication has slowed down the health promotion progresses and limited the access to standards and protocols for promoting public health based on scientific evidence [ 31 , 45 ].

At the same time, economic sanctions affected on social determinants of health in various dimensions. Loss of markets, credits and favorable trading conditions reduces the value of the national currency and the ability to import goods. While, the cost of basic goods is strongly affected and prices increased [ 47 , 48 ]. Thus, sanctions forced severe negative effects on people’s health status by reduction of income, welfare, along with increasing unemployment and poverty [ 5 , 29 , 84 ]. This negative impact is more evident on the poor. These people cannot access or buy high or even sometimes low quality health care services.

Another effect of sanctions is reducing access to the food. Sanctions will restrict access to enough food for countries which import their agricultural products. Countries producing their own food products have better resilience. Limitation on access to basic material and food, as well as the economic pressures and declining incomes, affect the pattern of food consumption. Increasing the price of all kinds of food, turning to poor quality and unhealthy foods, as well as buying cheaper, low-nutrient ones, exacerbate malnutrition and make following a healthy diet impossible [ 69 , 70 , 85 ]. It should be noted that imposing sanctions are not always bad and sometimes they force countries to redesign their internal processes. The experience of Russian shows that although sanctions adversely influence agriculture to some extent but instead they played as the new momentum and help its dairy and milk sector to devise positive changes and increase the volume of inter-regional trade in milk and dairy products [ 86 ].

From a psychological point of view, the poor and fragile economic situation reduces the value of assets as same as the loss of purchasing power, which leads to increased frustration and stress in people. Frustration and despair cause and exacerbate various diseases [ 87 ]. Stressful situations also make people feel anxious, worried and unable to cope with. Psychosocial risks accumulate throughout life and increase the likelihood of poor mental health and premature death [ 23 ]. Findings from Iran proved that sanctions also affect mental health adversely. According to the WHO’ data, sanctions led to an increase in death due to self-harm and interpersonal violence in Iran (from 5.9 to 6.1 and from an average of 2.0 to 2.7 per 100,000 persons respectively) during the 2011–2014 period. Interestingly the self-harm related death reduced again in 2016, a year after lifting the sanctions [ 77 ].

Risky behaviors and addiction are taking as new behaviors patterns as a result of economic hardships and raised prices. Drug abuse has devastating effects on human health, while increase the rates of crime and mortality [ 88 ]. The highest incidence rate of HIV is among drug abusers and their sexual partners [ 89 ]. Thus, sanctions intensify these behaviors and patterns with a growing trend, which counts as a great threat to society and especially health system. A review of literature provides many evidence of sanctions effects on health while evidence was provided for most affected areas.

Many studies looked at the effects on access to medicines and medical equipment, research and health information systems, the socioeconomic situation, food and agriculture, and provided a clear picture of consequences. Although some others, focused on one specific area, the others discussed about the issues such as government or leadership, early life conditions, social isolation, social support, transportation which were less in number with no complete and clear evidence that needs further investigation. The most studies in our review examined the effects of sanctions using data and their analysis, or the pre- and post-sanctions situation. Therefore, according to our methodology and included studies, the extracted evidence is very valuable and reliable.

Understanding the impact of economic sanctions on health systems and social determinants of health is crucial for policymakers, highlighting the importance of collaborative global health governance. To address these challenges, a comprehensive approach is needed to minimize harm to vulnerable populations and promote a more equitable and resilient global health environment. Policymakers must reevaluate the effectiveness and unintended consequences of sanctions on health systems, prioritizing humanitarian concerns and ensuring that public health is not disproportionately affected. It is essential to explore alternative diplomatic strategies that allow for humanitarian exemptions within sanctions to guarantee the continued access to essential medical supplies for affected populations. Global health diplomacy should be leveraged to advocate for the removal or modification of sanctions hindering progress towards health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Dialogue and negotiation should be prioritized to address underlying tensions while safeguarding the health and well-being of impacted communities. Establishing robust monitoring systems to track the impact of sanctions on health outcomes and social determinants is crucial. Strengthening multilateral collaborations and partnerships to address the health effects of sanctions is imperative, with international organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations (UN) playing a pivotal role in promoting global cooperation and finding solutions.

Strengths and limitations of the study

One of our limitations was the lack of access to the full text of some articles due to their publication time. Other studies may have been published in other languages about sanctions are excluded because of inclusion criteria. Other limitations may include losing articles about the impact of sanctions on various aspects of the health system that have lost their chance to be published due to political reasons.

Although the present study examined the impact of sanctions on the health system based on the Health System Building Blocks framework of the World Health Organization and using the approach of European SDH, it seems that in some areas the effects are not clear and further studies need to be done. However, given that the impact of sanctions varies from one country to another, the study has provided comprehensive evidence of the impacts along with consequences on health. The present evidence provides guide and helps with the adoption of international policies considering the goals of the WHO and the promotion of peace all around the world.

The results showed that economic sanctions imposed on different countries, directly and indirectly have strong negative impacts on health. Escalation of sanctions will be a severe threat and barrier for achieving the goal of global health coverage for everyone and everywhere. The international communities must work and focus on reducing the negative effects of these restrictions. They must anticipate the human effects and use whatever means are needed to prevent them. Some of these negative effects like disability and death, are irreversible. Therefore, it seems better for decision makers to recommend an international prescriptive to prevent such irreparable effects on the population of target countries before imposing sanctions.

Data availability

All data generated during the current study would be available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

Social Determinants of Health

Sustainable Development Goals

World Health Organization

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Acknowledgements

We are thankful to Kerman University of medical Sciences for preparing the required fund to do the study.

This study was supported financially by Institute for Futures Studies in Health, affiliated with Vice-Chancellery for Research and Technology of Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

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Health Services Management Research Center, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman City, Iran

Vahid Yazdi-Feyzabadi & Anahita Behzadi

Faculty of Management and Medical Information Sciences, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman City, Iran

Atefeh Zolfagharnasab

Soheila Naghavi

Research Center of Tropical and Infectious Diseases, Kerman University of medical sciences, Kerman, Iran

Maysam Yousefi

Faculty of Health, Health Management and Economics Department, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam City, Iran

Mohammad Bazyar

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VYF proposed the topic, VYF and MB designed the study; AZ did the search strategy and identified articles. MB and SN screened the articles and extracted and classified the data; AB and MY supervised and contributed in classifications of findings. VYF and AB supervised the whole process of study from literature review to data extraction. MB and AB prepared and finalized the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript for submission.

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Yazdi-Feyzabadi, V., Zolfagharnasab, A., Naghavi, S. et al. Direct and indirect effects of economic sanctions on health: a systematic narrative literature review. BMC Public Health 24 , 2242 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-19750-w

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Received : 22 February 2024

Accepted : 09 August 2024

Published : 17 August 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-19750-w

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