11 Theming the literature
A strong review of the literature is not achieved simply by finding and reading relevant articles and knowing how to reference them properly. Instead, students need to:
- present or write a critical overview of concepts and ideas;
- synthesize key themes;
- identify contradictions and areas of agreement amongst scholars; and,
- identify gaps in the literature for further study.
With limited practical help, students often produce a review that is simply an annotated list of the major articles on their topic. This has led to accusations of “brief catalogues of previous research” or “article-by-article reports” rather than an analysis of the themes, patterns, and gaps in the literature.
Thematic Analysis Grid
Anderson et al. (2015) designed a helpful technique for organizing the literature called the Thematic Analysis Grid. The Grid helps you record ideas from different articles and connect or contrast them with others.
The Grid is a matrix with articles listed in the rows (in date order: most recent to oldest) and themes in the columns. Within the cells of the Grid, make notes about the article’s contribution to each of the themes. The notes could be your own summary of the ideas discussed or a direct quotation from the article (note: with direct quotes, make sure to include the page number). Additional columns in the Grid can help you think critically about the sources and their relevance to your topic. For example, one column is used to describe the type of source (e.g., empirical research, theoretical paper, dissertation, government report) and one column is used to describe the context of the source, including the geographic location and details about the study participants.
Because the main ideas from each source you read will be recorded on the Grid, you don’t need to remember where ideas came from or spend hours searching and re–reading – the information is all in one place!
If you are unsure what makes a good” theme, start with the content that you would normally highlight as you are reading an article and come up with words or short phrases to describe the highlighted content – if it’s important enough to highlight, it might just be important enough to be a theme; however, you need to be comfortable changing or deleting themes as you continue reading. After reading a few articles, if you only have one quote on your Grid under a theme and none of the other sources relate to that theme, then it’s unlikely an important theme in the literature. Try to find at least three pieces of evidence (i.e., quotes from different articles) that relate to the theme.
As you continue reading articles, you will add to existing theme columns, but you will also introduce new ones as you go. You might decide that one theme has in fact become so heavily covered by several studies that there are several sub-themes emerging. In this case, you can introduce new headings and columns on your Grid.
For your Grid, you will want to include 10 to 12 articles. This number will give you a good sense of important themes in the literature related to your topic.
Once the reading is finished, it is time to start making decisions about what themes you will write about in your literature review. By looking back at the content of the columns, it may become apparent that some themes are so heavily researched that we can confidently say that the knowledge is widely accepted whereas some themes may still be developing. There is not a perfect number of themes as it will depend on how much literature exists on your topic; however, we suggest that you aim for a range of 6 to 12 themes.
Activity: Use the Thematic Analysis Grid template to create your Grid with sources listed in rows and themes listed in columns. The first three columns of your Grid should include:
- Sources ordered by publication date (oldest to most recent).
- The type of publication (e.g., theoretical/conceptual, empirical research, government report).
- The context, including where the study was conducted and information about study participants (e.g., Canada, India, China; high school, primary school).
Thematic Analysis Grid Template (excel spreadsheet)
The remaining columns will be where you identify themes in the literature – recurring concepts, ideas, or patterns that are consistently explored and discussed across multiple sources within a particular field of study.
Within the cells of the Grid include notes about the sources’ contributions to the theme. This lets you see the topic’s evolution over time and different perspectives, including consensus and contradictions among authors. You can choose to summarize main ideas or include direct quotes: (1) notes summarizing author’s main ideas , and (2) direct quotes (include page #s).
As you read articles and build your Grid, you are also starting to make sense of what the literature says about your topic. Keep in mind the following as your build your Grid:
- Identifying Patterns and Themes: Look for common themes, trends, and patterns. Pay attention to what has been studied extensively and what has not.
- Look for Inconsistencies and Conflicts: Identify areas where studies disagree or where findings are inconsistent. These inconsistencies can point to gaps in understanding or areas that need further investigation.
- Note Methodological Limitations: Examine the methodologies used in the studies you review. Identify any limitations or biases in these methods. Gaps can exist where certain populations, variables, or contexts have not been adequately studied. For example, if you are studying the impact of wildfires on students in rural schools but all of the studies have been conducted in urban contexts, then you have identified a gap in the literature.
- Pay Attention to Recommendations for Future Research: Researchers often suggest areas for future study in their discussion or conclusion sections. These suggestions can be valuable clues for identifying gaps in the literature.
- Consider Emerging Topics and Trends: Stay updated with recent publications and trends in your field. Emerging topics might not yet be fully explored, representing potential gaps.
- Synthesize and Reflect: Once you’ve completed your Grid, you will have a good understanding of what is known and what is still unknown about your topic. Reflect on how these gaps align with your research interests and how addressing them can contribute to the field.
Example
Consider the following example where a student identified gaps in climate change and wildfire research.
- Research Topic: The impact of climate change on wildfires.
- Patterns and Themes: Most studies focus on North America and Australia, with fewer studies on wildfires in Europe and Asia.
- Inconsistencies: Some studies suggest climate change increases wildfire frequency, while others find no significant correlation.
- Methodological Limitations: Many studies rely on historical data but lack predictive models.
- Future Research: Researchers recommend studying the long-term ecological impact of increased wildfire frequency.
- Emerging Trends: New technologies like remote sensing and AI for wildfire prediction are emerging but not widely studied yet.
- Synthesize and Reflect: Gaps in the literature include the need for predictive models, more geographic diversity in studies, and exploration of new technologies.
As you are building your Grid, consider using different colours to highlight emerging trends, or add notes at the bottom of your Grid to record methodological limitations and inconsistencies in your Research Journal.
If you are working in teams to review the literature, we recommend that each person create their own Grid and then, as a team, meet to discuss the themes.
Team Activity: Take turns describing the themes you identified and the evidence from the articles (i.e., direct quotes or brief summaries) that you included in the cells to support the theme. Once everyone has shared their Grid, look for common themes across all of your Grids. Did multiple people come up with the same or similar theme? If so, merge these into one theme. As a team, determine 4 or 5 key themes common across all your Grids. Eventually you will turn these themes into arguments and recommendations for a Literature Review poster or Paper. At the end of your meeting, aim to create one Grid for your team.
