How can you combine multiple sources for a literature review?

2 Search and select relevant sources

To find relevant sources for your literature review, you need to use effective search strategies and tools. Depending on your topic and discipline, you can use databases, search engines, libraries, catalogs, bibliographies, or other sources to locate books, articles, reports, dissertations, or other types of publications. You should use keywords, filters, operators, and other features to refine your search results and identify the most relevant and credible sources for your topic. You should also keep track of your sources and their details, such as authors, titles, dates, and URLs.

3 Read and analyze your sources

Once you have selected your sources, you need to read and analyze them critically. You should not just summarize what each source says, but evaluate its strengths, weaknesses, assumptions, methods, results, implications, and contributions to the literature. You should also compare and contrast different sources, and identify their similarities, differences, agreements, disagreements, gaps, and controversies. You should take notes of your analysis and use quotes, paraphrases, or summaries to support your points.

4 Synthesize and integrate your sources

After you have read and analyzed your sources, you need to synthesize and integrate them into a coherent and logical structure. You should not just list your sources one by one, but group them according to themes, concepts, methods, or other criteria that relate to your research question or problem. You should also show how your sources connect to each other, and how they support or challenge your argument or perspective. You should use transitions, headings, subheadings, and topic sentences to guide your reader and create a clear flow of ideas.

5 Cite and reference your sources

The final step of combining multiple sources for a literature review is to cite and reference them properly. You should follow the citation and referencing style that is required by your discipline, institution, or journal. You should also use consistent and accurate formatting, punctuation, and capitalization for your citations and references. You should avoid plagiarism by giving credit to the original authors of your sources, and by using quotation marks, in-text citations, and reference lists or bibliographies.

By following these tips, you can combine multiple sources for a literature review in a systematic and effective way. You can demonstrate your understanding of the existing literature, and show how your research question or problem fits into the larger context of your field or discipline.