Literature review - Summary note taking

METHOD 2 (Lee-Piggott)

Use the following step-by-step method to create notes that will help you develop a critical,
comprehensive literature review.

Step 1 - Starting with the key words from your research questions, list in a word document
possible headings and subheadings that will form the argument of your literature review.

Step 2- Between each heading/sub-heading leave a significant amount of space

Step 3 - As you read each article, fill in information related to the heading/sub-heading in
those spaces. This can be done by copying & pasting the exact text from articles OR by
paraphrasing a summary of the information. NOTE – This is not your literature review!!!

Step 4 - Ensure that you note in brackets following the information, the author, publication
year and page number on which the information was retrieved.

Step 5 - Immediately begin to develop a reference list at the end of your notes document,
using correct APA formatting, for every article/chapter you read. Add the context of the
study and aspects of the research design, such as type of study, type and number of
participants in brackets.

Step 6 - When you determine that you have reached saturation on the topics of your
headings and subheadings, begin to work on each by reading through the information from
various authors, looking for: patterns, agreements/similarities, differences/inconsistencies,
claims/arguments & supporting evidence, information you can use, ways to synthesize the
information, gaps in the literature. Take note of these for writing your critical literature
review!

Step 7 - Take note of any thought that comes to mind regarding the information retrieved
from the literature. Place your thoughts near to the notes made on a topic heading/sub-
heading, using some way to distinguish summary notes from thoughts, e.g. using a
different font colour for all your recorded thoughts.

This method can also be used to develop other sections in a research paper, such as
introduction/background to the study section, methodology and possible discussion points
for your study discussion.