Literature reviews play multiple roles at multiple stages in scholarly work. A review establishes the foundation of a project and can support the construction of hypotheses and selection of methods. It should also outline a project's scholarly contribution and help contextualize findings. A systematic review seeks to answer a focused research question using a search strategy spanning relevant databases.

This on-line course is divided into two sections. The first section will summarize the goals of a literature or systematic review and explore techniques to support the search, organization, and synthesis of peer-reviewed and technical literature. This section will introduce tools to guide your search (e.g., PICO, SPIDER, and SPICE) and delve into the issues around audience, disciplinary styles, and inclusion and exclusion standards. The second section will focus on the use of technology and different software packages at multiple stages: search, organization, and analysis.