Registration of the list of used literature

Date of publication

Whether it is a book or article, the year of publication should be included in the bibliographic post. If there are several editions and prints, the year of the source that has been referred to is to be used. Some references styles ask for edition information too ('2nd ed.', for instance). If the source is a journal article, volume number (and sometimes also issue number) should be included in the reference list. Depending on style, these are written in different ways; some reference styles give the volume number in bold typeface, whereas other use italics or no emphasis at all.
Many sources are retrieved electronically and some reference styles require the url (the Internet address) from which the source was retrieved. To avoid complicated web addresses in bibliographic posts a DOI (document object identifier) is nowadays usually preferred if available.

What is a literature review

The literature review is a written overview of major writings and other sources on a selected topic. Sources covered in the review may include scholarly journal articles, books, government reports, Web sites, etc. The literature review provides a description, summary and evaluation of each source. It is usually presented as a distinct section of a graduate thesis or dissertation.

Purpose of the literature review

The purpose of the literature review is to provide a critical written account of the current state of research on a selected topic:

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  Identifies areas of prior scholarship
  
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  Places each source in the context of its contribution to the understanding of the specific issue, area of research, or theory under review.
  
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  Describes the relationship of each source to the others that you have selected
  
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  Identifies new ways to interpret, and shed light on any gaps in, previous research
  
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  Points the way forward for further research.