Literature Review Writing: Select a Topic

Ideas for literature review topics come from a number of sources - such as interest in a particular area of work, by discussing issues with peers and by reading the literature. 

Choose a topic you are interested in and one that has been researched by others so you have articles to review.

When thinking about a topic, it is important to consider the following: 

• What are your interests and will this interest be maintained for the duration of the research?
• Who will be interested in this research?
• Is the scope wide enough to be able to ascertain a particular niche?
• Is the scope so broad that it will lose direction?

• Assistance with developing or refining your topic
• Identifying existing literature on a topic
• Recommend appropriate research databases to search
• Review search strategies to ensure relevant studies are identified
• Advice or reference management strategy
• Advice on locating the fulltext (PDFs) of articles