Literature reviews can be used in all disciplines, either as the article or paper itself, or as part of a larger research article. Here, we look at how literature reviews may look within art and art history.
The first example is an article that is entirely a literature review. That is, the authors selected a topic (how visual artists seek information) and then found the "literature," or other articles, that speak to the topic. This is useful for readers to find other article on a related topic. A more advanced version of a literature review is a systematic review. A systematic review uses more systematic or methodical strategies for picking a topic and selecting the resources (literature) to review.
The second example is a scholarly article where the literature review ia a smaller portion of the whole article. In this case, the literature review provides some background information as well as a foundation for the research done in the rest of the article. You will see definitions and context in a literature review within a larger article. They are toward the beginning of the article because of this.
Literature Reviews are NOT Annotated Bibliographies
An Annotated Bibliography is a list of sources giving a summary and evaluation of each source.
A Literature Review is an overview of the previously published works on a given topic; the sources cited in the literature review are summarized and synthesized.
Sources cited in a Literature Review are not evaluated in the written text -- it is assumed that all sources included in the review have been evaluated already and have been judged to be important to the conversation.
Start by developing a Research Question
Once you have your research question, follow these steps: