The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for Students

by Diana Ridley

Overview

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781036209599
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	01/19/2026
Edition description:	Third Edition
Pages:	200
Product dimensions:	7.44(w) x 9.68(h) x (d)

About the Author

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

Table of Contents

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

Editorial Reviews

'The Literature Review is a clearly written and easily accessible self-guided introduction packed with detailed examples. It's especially useful for budding researchers unfamiliar with crafting literature reviews that support strong theory development and empirical testing. I recommend it to every first-year doctoral student' -
Michael R. Hyman
Distinguished Achievement Professor, New Mexico State University

From the Publisher