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Literature Review: Examples of literature reviews

A brief guide on the process of creating a literature review.

 

 

 

 

Borer, Tristan Anne, and Kurt Mills. “Explaining Postapartheid South African Human Rights Foreign Policy: Unsettled Identity and Unclear Interests.” Journal of Human Rights vol. 10, no. 1 (January 2011): 76–98.

Notice that the main literature review section of this essay is not called "literature review." Rather it blends in with the focus of the paper and can be found in a section called, "Identities and Interests: The Theoretical Debates." 

 

 

 

 

Flores, Ronald J. O., and Arun Peter Lobo. 2013. “The Reassertion of a Black/Non-Black Color Line: The Rise in Integrated Neighborhoods without Blacks in New York City, 1970-2010.” Journal of Urban Affairs vol. 35, no. 3 (August 2013): 255–82.

Notice the article contains a traditional literature review section, after the introduction, before the data and methods sections.

 

 

 

 

Melo, Daniela F. “Women’s Mobilisation in the Portuguese Revolution: Context and Framing Strategies.” Social Movement Studies vol. 15, no. 4 (July 2016): 403–16.

Notice there is literature reviewed near the end of the first, untitled section, as well as in the next sections.

 

 

 

 

Stelzner, Mark. “Slavery and Capitalism.” Labor History vol. 61, no. 3-4 (2020): 335–347.

Notice the second section of this article is called "The Literature" and it offers an assessment of recent works that address the connection between slavery and capitalism, while also identifying other recent works that argue against the connection thesis.

 

 

 

 

Campos, Belinda, Anthony P. Graesch, Rena Repetti, Thomas Bradbury, and Elinor Ochs. “Opportunity for Interaction? A Naturalistic Observation Study of Dual-Earner Families after Work and School.” Journal of Family Psychology vol. 23, no. 6 (December 2009): 798–807. 

Notice that the main literature review section of this essay is not called "literature review," but rather is situated in a section called "Family, Children, and Work."

 

 

 

 

Klein, Wendy, Anthony P. Graesch, and Carolina Izquierdo. "Children and Chores: A Mixed‐Methods Study of Children's Household Work in Los Angeles Families." Anthropology of Work Review vol. 30, no. 3 (2009): 98-109.

Notice the literature review in this essay is located in a section called, "Background."

 

 

 

 

Melo, Daniela F., and Daniel Stockemer. "Age and Political Participation in Germany, France and the UK: A Comparative Analysis." Comparative European Politics vol. 12, no. 1 (2014): 33-53.

Notice there is literature reviewed throughout the first several sections of the essay.

 

 

 

Waldfogel, Jane, Terry-Ann Craigie, and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn. "Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing." The Future of Children vol. 20, no. 2 (2010): 87-112.

Notice there are literature review sections in two areas of this paper: the section "Explaining the Links between Fragile Families and Poorer Child Well-Being," and the section "Past Research on the Links between Family Structure and Child Outcomes."

 

 

 

 

Craigie, Terry-Ann L. "Multipartner Fertility and Child Support." Eastern Economic Journal vol. 41, no. 4 (2015): 571-591.

Notice there is literature review work done in both the "Introduction" and the "Background" sections of this article. 

 

 

 

 

 

Lobo, Arun Peter, Ronald J. O. Flores, and Joseph J. Salvo. "Racial Differentials in the Components of Population Change and Neighborhood Transitions in New York City, 1980–2010: The Distinct Role of Asian Net Inflows in the Age of Net Outflows of Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics."  Urban Affairs Review (2018): 1-31.

Notice this article contains a traditional literature review section, after the overview section, before the data and methods section.

 

 

 

 

 


Noble, Lilly, and Ann Sloan Devlin. “Perceptions of Psychotherapy Waiting Rooms: Design Recommendations.” HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal (2021): 19375867211001885–19375867211001885. 

Notice there is literature reviewed throughout the first several sections of the essay.