Writing the Literature Review
Second Edition
A Practical Guide
Sara Efrat Efron and Ruth Ravid
HardcoverPaperbacke-bookprint + e-book
Hardcover
pre-orderOctober 16, 2026
ISBN 9781462564163
Price: $75.00 308 Pages
Size: 7" x 10"
Paperback
pre-orderSeptember 18, 2026
ISBN 9781462564156
Price: $50.00308 Pages
Size: 7" x 10"
Digital professor copy available on VitalSource once published ?Taking the stress out of a challenging process, the first book to focus on crafting different types of literature reviews (systematic, traditional–narrative, and hermeneutic–phenomenological) is now in a revised and updated second edition. Sara Efrat Efron and Ruth Ravid explain the integral role of the literature review in a thesis, dissertation, term paper, or grant proposal, and guide writers to develop reviews that reflect their research questions, methodological choices (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods), and approaches to knowledge. The text provides a roadmap for each step of searching for, evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing prior studies. It features examples of student work; excerpts from peer-reviewed articles; software suggestions for locating, organizing, and arranging sources; templates, checklists, vignettes, and group activities; and writing and organizational tips.
New to This Edition
Pedagogical Features
The first edition won the American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award, Nursing Research Category (First Place).
New to This Edition
- Chapter-opening vignettes that draw readers in to each chapter's content.
- New section on using AI in literature searches and expanded guidance for using electronic sources, such as EBSCO and Google Scholar.
- New or expanded discussions of constant comparative analysis, qualitative comparative analysis, finding and using grey literature, differences between literature reviews for class papers and research papers versus dissertations, the literature review across different dissertation formats, and more.
- New and updated literature examples throughout the book.
- Updated guidance for reference lists and in-text citations.
Pedagogical Features
- Chapter-opening vignettes that serve as advance organizers for each chapter.
- Checklists and “To Do” activities that break down key steps to take.
- Boxed examples, graphics that organize and visually illustrate key concepts, summary tables comparing techniques, and software suggestions.
- Group activities to further explore and apply the methods discussed in each chapter.
- Detailed directions for using four different organizing strategies: synthesis matrix, summary table, mapping, and topic outline.
- End-of-chapter summaries and “What's Next” sections.
- Assessment matrices for evaluating and refining the completed review.
The first edition won the American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award, Nursing Research Category (First Place).
About the Authors
Sara Efrat Efron, EdD, is Professor Emerita of Education at National Louis University. Her areas of interest include teacher research, mentoring, and moral and democratic education in times of crisis. Dr. Efron is coauthor with Ruth Ravid of Action Research in Education, Second Edition, andRuth Ravid, PhD, is Professor Emerita of Education at National Louis University. Her areas of interest include educational research, action research, assessment, and school–university collaboration. Dr. Ravid has authored or edited eight books, including
Audience
Advanced undergraduates and graduate students in education, psychology, geography, sociology, social work, nursing and allied health, business, information systems, and other behavioral, social, and health sciences.Course Use
Serves as a text in dissertation or master's thesis courses and in advanced undergraduate-level methods courses that require students to write formal research papers.Previous editions published by Guilford:
First Edition, © 2019
ISBN: 9781462536894
New to this edition:
- Chapter-opening vignettes that draw readers in to each chapter's content.
- New section on using AI in literature searches and expanded guidance for using electronic sources, such as EBSCO and Google Scholar.
- New or expanded discussions of constant comparative analysis, qualitative comparative analysis, finding and using grey literature, differences between literature reviews for class papers and research papers versus dissertations, the literature review across different dissertation formats, and more.
- New and updated literature examples throughout the book.
- Updated guidance for reference lists and in-text citations.