The literature review is a vital part of the research process. Despite what many undergraduate students might think, the lit review's purpose is NOT to list as many sources like yours as you can. Instead, the lit review serves as a sort of timeline, a record of the work that led up to your own.
Literature reviews serve two major purposes:
When performing a literature review, it's important not to limit yourself too much in the beginning, or to expect "the perfect source" to come along. Do not expect to see a paper about "opioid abuse in rural Alabama among teenagers." Instead, as you are doing research, try to fill in the gaps among the data you need, by looking for information about each portion of this topic individually: "opioid abuse in rural communities," "drug abuse in rural Alabama," and "drug use by Alabama teens."
The University library has provided the guide linked below to help you through the literature review process:
Like a literature review, an annotated bibliography can help you organize your thoughts around a topic and provide valuable background information. In fact, many scholars recommend writing an annotated bibliography while forming a literature review because it can help you structure your thoughts about an article and its findings.
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