Literature Review Catalogue

The literature review catalogue template is provided as a Google Sheet (spreadsheet). You can download it in MS Excel format or make a copy to your Google Drive. You’re also welcome to convert it to whatever format works best for you.

The catalogue can be used for pretty much any type of literature review, including a standard (unsystematic) literature review, SLR, etc.

This template can be used for a literature review at any level of study. Doctoral-level projects typically require the literature review to be more extensive/comprehensive, but the structure will typically remain the same.

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 hypothesized 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 providing 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 them.

Of course, you’re welcome to add/delete columns as you see fit.

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:

1. Find (Ctrl + F) – good for searching for specific keywords
2. Filter – good for filtering groups (for example, categories 1- 3, methodology or publication setting)
3. 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.

Absolutely. While the template provides a general structure, you should adapt it to fit the specific requirements and focus of your literature review.

This depends on your university’s specific requirements, so it’s best to check with them. As a general ballpark, literature reviews for Masters-level projects are usually 2,000 – 3,000 words in length, while Doctoral-level projects can reach multiples of this.

Yes, it’s important to acknowledge and discuss literature that presents different viewpoints or contradicts your hypothesis. So, don’t shy away from existing research that takes an opposing view to yours.

Yes, you’re welcome to share this template in its original format (no editing allowed). If you want to post about it on your blog or social media, all we ask is that you reference this page as your source.

Yes, we do. You can find our full collection of templates here.

Yes, you’re welcome to get in touch with us to discuss our private coaching services, where we can help you work through the literature review chapter (and any other chapters).