How do you conduct a literature review in food science?

1 Define your topic

Before you start searching for relevant sources, you need to have a clear and focused research question or objective. This will help you narrow down your scope, keywords, and criteria for selecting and evaluating sources. You can use the PICOS framework to define your topic, which stands for Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, and Study design. For example, if you are interested in the effects of probiotics on gut health, you can specify the population (e.g., healthy adults), the intervention (e.g., type, dose, and duration of probiotic consumption), the comparison (e.g., placebo or control group), the outcome (e.g., biomarkers of gut health), and the study design (e.g., randomized controlled trials).

2 Search for sources

The next step is to find and retrieve relevant sources from various databases, journals, books, websites, and other sources. You can use different search strategies, such as Boolean operators, truncation, wildcards, and filters, to refine your results. You should also use citation tracking, reference mining, and snowballing techniques to find more sources related to your topic. You can use tools like Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed to search for sources in food science. You should also consult subject-specific databases, such as Food Science and Technology Abstracts, CAB Abstracts, and Agricola.

3 Evaluate sources

Once you have a list of potential sources, you need to evaluate their quality, relevance, and credibility. You can use the CRAAP test to assess each source, which stands for Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose. You should also check the methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion of each source to see how they address your research question or objective. You should also look for any biases, limitations, gaps, or inconsistencies in the sources. You should exclude any sources that do not meet your criteria or do not contribute to your literature review.

4 Organize sources

After you have selected the most relevant and reliable sources, you need to organize them in a logical and coherent way. You can use different methods to group and categorize your sources, such as thematic, chronological, methodological, or theoretical. You should also identify the main themes, patterns, relationships, and debates among your sources. You can use tools like Zotero, Mendeley, or EndNote to manage your references and citations. You should also create an outline for your literature review, based on your research question or objective and your organization method.

5 Synthesize sources

The next step is to synthesize your sources and write your literature review. You should not simply summarize each source, but rather analyze, compare, contrast, and integrate them. You should also critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the existing research, and identify any gaps, controversies, or implications for future research. You should also relate your sources to your research question or objective, and show how they support or challenge your argument or hypothesis. You should use your own words and avoid plagiarism, and cite your sources properly according to the required style.

6 Review and revise

The final step is to review and revise your literature review. You should check your literature review for clarity, coherence, consistency, and completeness. You should also proofread your literature review for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and formatting errors. You should also seek feedback from your supervisor, peers, or experts in the field, and incorporate their suggestions and comments. You should also update your literature review if you find any new or relevant sources that may affect your analysis or conclusion.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?