Free Download:
Literature Review Catalogue Excel Template
By: Derek Jansen | May 2017
Completing the literature review is a lot of work. Failure to keep track of the literature you consume can result in you wasting precious time on double or triple work at best – and misquoting, incorrectly referencing or misinterpreting key literature at worst. You need to get (and stay) organised – in other words, you need a literature review catalogue.
We developed a template just for you.
Now you can keep on top of your literature using our intuitive literature review spreadsheet-based catalogue template. The spreadsheet will not only keep everything organised; it will also provide a summary of key metrics. Best of all, it’s free.
How to use the Excel template effectively.
A quick overview. The first tab (labelled “Literature”) is where you’ll record specific details of all the reading you’ll do. The second tab (labelled “Literature Summary”) will auto-populate with descriptive statistics of the input as you enter data.
The last two tabs are simply scratchpads for you to dump any additional resources you find along the way. In particular, I’ve made a tab for theoretical frameworks (you can simply dump screengrabs here and caption them) and a tab for measures and scales (the same principle applies). Measures and scales are specific to quantitative methodologies, but you could just as easily use this tab to jot down existing questionnaires if you’re taking a qualitative approach. Ultimately, you are free to customise however you like!
Getting started.
The process is straightforward. For every piece of literature that you read, you log it as a line item. I’d encourage you to record everything you read. Something might seem irrelevant at first read, but you’ll be surprised how the focus of your research can change over time, leading you to inevitably ask the dreaded question, “where did I see that article again?”. Therefore, log every piece of reading, regardless of perceived relevance at the time of reading. You’ll thank yourself later.
While you’re doing this, I’d encourage you to simultaneously capture the literature piece in your reference manager. I usually recommend Mendeley, but any of the popular reference management tools will do the trick. The key thing is to capture the references while you’re reading (and not when you’re writing, as this breaks your flow).
What goes where.
For every piece of literature you read, you’ll need to capture the following details:
- Author – Enter the author(s) surname(s). The format you use here is up to you – just be consistent.
- Year – Straightforward. Enter the year of publication only – no month is required.
- Title – Enter the title exactly as it is shown on the book cover, journal article front page, presentation deck, etc. If you can copy and paste, do so. It’s easy to make mistakes on the long titles.
- Category 1, 2 and 3 – Here, you’ll create categories and subcategories, which you can use at a later stage to help you find relevant literature. It is up to you what categories you want to use and how much detail you want to add here. At the very least, your choice of categories should be logical, comprehensive and mutually exclusive.
- Document type – Click the drop-down arrow next to the cell and select an appropriate document type, for example, journal article, blog post, etc. If nothing matches your document type, you can use the “Other” field.
- Publication setting – the two main options here are academic and practitioner. Academic refers to the classic academic sources such as textbooks and journal articles, while practitioner refers to publications such as industry reports, company reports, industry magazines, etc. There is also a mixed option here.
- Knowledge type – You can choose from two main options here – empirical and theoretical:
- Theoretical refers to situations where an author is proposing a hypothetical theory or concept, but not testing it.
- Empirical refers to situations where an author is testing the said theory by using some form of real-world observation.
- Naturally, some literature will feature both of these (i.e. a model is hypothesised and then tested empirically).
- Key arguments – Here you need to note the key takeaways of the respective piece of literature in relation to your research question(s) and objective(s). This is the most important column, so spend some time to provide rich, detailed notes here. Keep in mind that you will be able to search and filter this column at a later stage, so use keywords that make sense.
- Context – Here you should briefly note the context of the specific literature piece. For example, what industry, country, competitive context, etc. did it take place in? When it comes time to justify why your research is worth undertaking, you will likely need to draw on this column’s contents to demonstrate that research has not been undertaken within your specific context (i.e. is it unique?).
- Methodology – Use this drop-down to note the primary methodology (qualitative, quantitative or mixed) used within the specific literature piece. As with the previous item (context), you will likely draw on this when you justify the choice of methodology for your research (i.e. which methodology is commonly used in the field?).
- Key quotes – If there are any specific author quotations that you feel might be useful in your dissertation, add them here. Remember to include the page number if you’re using the Harvard referencing system.
- My notes – Lastly, if there is anything else you feel might be useful, drop it here. You can also create additional columns if you need.
Finding what you need.
Over time, you will build up a substantial list of literature. When you need to find something, whether it’s a specific piece of literature, a collection of literature within a category, or a summary of a specific author’s publication, you can use the following Excel features:
- Find (Ctrl + F) – good for searching for specific keywords
- Filter – good for filtering groups (for example, categories 1- 3, methodology or publication setting)
- Sort – good for arranging numerical data (for example, publication year)
Once you’ve completed your reading, remember to have a look at the second tab (“Literature Summary”) for an overview of key statistics. As mentioned previously, some of these statistics can help you justify your choice of topic or methodology. Additionally, a review here may reveal that your literature is aged, or that you need to improve your balance of academic and practitioner literature.
Wrapping up.
In this post, I’ve presented a straightforward approach to managing the literature throughout your literature review process. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please do leave a comment below.
Hi, I can’t open the excel file, can you please check it?
Thank you so much for your helpful contents!
Sure, no problem. We’ve checked the file and it is opening correctly. Please give it another go.
The Theoretical Framework of the Excel File is empty, sir…
Hi Maria
This document is a template for you to populate with the relevant literature, models and frameworks from your reading. As such, it doesn’t contain any literature.
Thank you for such a useful video tutorial. Learnt a lot!
Pleasure, Zhanna!
Very useful! Thanks.
Pleasure, Maureen 🙂
Hello, I am trying to download the excel but I am not receiving the email. Can it be that there is a technical problem or does it take some time to send it?
Hi Nina
Thanks for your comment. It can take a few minutes for the email to go through. Please also check your spam box.
Thanks,
Thanks for this very nice explanation
Great to hear that 🙂
very useful
Glad to hear that 🙂
Thanks for the template. It helped in organizing my literature review and writing process
You’re welcome
Hi, thanks for sharing this file, very helpful! I’d like to share it with my students. Could you please advise on how to give proper credits (reference) to your work?
Cheers,
G
Hi Gianpiero
That’s great. Here’s the Harvard reference:
Jansen, D., 2019. Literature Review Excel Template (Spreadsheet/Matrix) – Grad Coach. [online] Grad Coach. Available at: <https://gradcoach.com/how-to-manage-the-literature-review/> [Accessed 6 April 2020].
Kind regards,
Derek
I’m so glad I came across this website. Thank you Derek !!!
You’re welcome, Rabia 🙂
Dear Derek,
Thanks for your extremely useful video tutorials. Please can you send me a link to open your Lit Review Excel Templates.
Thanks
Hi Ajamu
Thanks for your feedback. You can download the template following the instructions in the orange box.
All the best with your studies!
great effort
Thank you!
Thank you for this document. I am in the beginning stages of the dissertation process.
You’re welcome, Jerry 🙂
The video on literature review was very useful. I especially like the cataloging suggestion.
Great to hear that, Rishi. All the best for your research!
I`m busy writing my minor dissertation my master’s in engineering. I’m following your videos on youtube for writing a literature review. I’m looking for the excel sheet to save a list of references.
The literature video was helpful. Thank you. I haven’t received the excel template its been a week now . Please assist me .
Hi Morakane
That’s very unusual. At most, it should take a few minutes. Please re-attempt the download (use an alternative address if need be).
Thanks!
Thank you for the template. it seems useful to organize my literature review.
You’re very welcome.
Thank you for this informative site and all the tips. Very useful for my research.
You’re welcome, Feyi.
Currently writing a dissertation for a masters in social sciences. Found the youtube videos which are of great help.
Thanks. 🙂
You’re most welcome 🙂 Good luck with your literature review.
Thank you very much for the support!!
your videos are great helpful.
Thanks
Glad to hear that! Good luck with your lit review.
You are the BEST
Thanks for the feedback, Annie. I wish you best of luck with your literature review.
where is the download link for the excel template?
Hi Lebogang
The download is below the first image. Good luck with your literature review!
Your videos literally saved me!!!! Due to recent issues, most of my classes were cancelled and i was completely lost.
No words can explain how much grateful i am to you!!
Glad to hear we helped you! Good luck with your literature review.
You guys are the kinds of people who should survive covid-19. You are the type of people we really need in this planet. You are a star. You really saved me from many headaches. Thank you very much for the useful videos and the literature organisation spreadsheet.
Thanks for the kind words, Abel. All the best for your literature review!
Thanks so much for your video. I have consistently received comments that my arguments don’t flow well and I could never figure out how to successfully fix this issue. Now I feel I have a plan and someone to help me and provide feedback if I still don’t get it quite well. Looking forward to getting an improved mark on my next Lit review
Thank you
Great to hear that, Helen. Good luck with your future literature reviews!
Excellent lecture
Thanks Biren – good luck with your literature review
i have watched your video on three steps to write a literature review and i found it very useful. thank you for sharing. keep it up.
Thanks again
Thank you for providing such excellent information and sources. Your videos helped me so much. I was on the verge of quitting. Thank you again for your videos and recommended tools.
Great to hear that, Tanya. All the best for your literature review, and for your research.
The video was very informative and timely for me. I am about to start, so Gradcoach is a source I will be revisiitng
Thanks, Nina – glad to hear that. Good luck with your literature review 🙂
hey your video is awesome I had to make an assignment on literature Review and it helped me to get an outline on how I should start ! i was fed of reading books and online articles. Your video served as a boon and clarified my thought process – how I should move forward .Thank you so much!
Great to hear that, Kavita. All the best with your literature review!
Hi Derek, I have tried unsuccessfully to download the Excel template but it keeps bringing me back to this comment section. Is it a technical issue? Kindly help.
Hi Nina
Sorry about that. Can you please send me a screenshot of what you’re seeing – [email protected]. I will send you the template as well.
Best of luck with your literature review.
This is so very helpful!! I am writing my first lit review within a proposal (rather last minute, yikes) and this is so helpful to stay organized!
Pleasure. Good luck with your lit review 🙂
Hi i like the video,it is very helpful especially now that I am working on my proposal for thesis project….Hope I will be able to use the excel template to organize for my literature review
Great to hear that, Faith. All the best with your literature review!
hey Derek this video is absolutely amazing. One problem though I’m one of the few that are struggling to download excel. I keep clicking on it and nothing happens.
Hi Rainy
Thanks for letting us know. Please email me a screenshot of your error and I’ll sort you out – [email protected]
Thanks, Derek
Thanks a lot! Very well explained and easy to follow…now I guess I have no excuse to actually do the work 😉
Hi Laura
Thanks for your comment! Good luck with your literature review.
Derek
Your video is very informative and useful. Thanks a lot. I also want to try the template but I can’t the find the download link…
Hi Abegail
The download button is below the main image.
Best of luck with your literature review.
Derek
Very helpful thank you
Hi! It is a big help for beginners, such as me. Thanks a lot for sharing!
Excellent!
Thank you. All the best with your literature review.
This is brilliant,
Pls sir, in writing a review article, how deep can u go.
Is it necessary to go down to the inception of your area of research?
How do I know the country/region of research article?
Hi Abdul
This will usually be covered somewhere in the article itself.
Best of luck with your literature review.
I would like this free resource
You’re welcome to download it. The download button is below the main image.
Good luck with your literature review 🙂
I’d love to have this resource pls. Thank you so much
You’re welcome to download it. The download button is below the main image.
Thanks for the you tube videos. they are very informative
Thank you so much for the full tutorial with so much detailed information. I’m a Ph.D. Candidate in China. The whole syllabus of the Ph.D. program sucks. Thanks again for sharing all this helpful information. I hope your team will getting better in the future!
It’s such a big help for me. Thank you!
I’ve watched your video on writing a research proposal. I am interested in the lit review excel template.