To find books about doing/writing literature reviews, try a search in the library catalog. See also the resources in the page about "Writing Literature Reviews" in this guide. 

Below are examples of library guides about doing literature reviews.

The boxes below this one address these steps for doing a literature review.

• create a consolidated spreadsheet to record and track the tasks, resources, search statements, and  background information sources, and email alerts for new literate, all associated with your literature review
• identify background information sources that can help you focus your search, plus explain terminology you encounter along the way
• identify relevant bibliographic databases and learn how to make full use of their search capabilities
• search for literature that discloses specific research findings, but also search various types of review literature (see the sub-page "Searching for Review Literature" below)
• use citation management software 
• develop strategies for sifting through articles quickly, selecting only those that merit a deeper reading.

Before embarking on your literature review, you may want to download the Excel spreadsheet template below. It has worksheets corresponding to the steps of doing a literature review. At the top of each worksheet is a description of its purpose.

Tips:

• Instead of using this Excel spreadsheet, you may prefer another software such as Google Docs or Word; see the online tutorial in this guide about how to use Word headers
• You can expand the spreadsheet to help organize the mechanics and logistics for an entire writing project, if it extends to aspects of your writing that go beyond a literature review, such as writing additional chapters of a dissertation.

Before you start your literature search, find background information sources such as:  encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, books and ebooks, open web resources (used judiciously), scholarly review articles, and even popular articles in magazines, newspapers, and society member publications.

This creates a mental map for focused searching using bibliographic databases. These sources can you understand technical jargon.

See library guides and talk to your subject librarian for assistance in identifying background information resources.

Lehigh's library guides to help identify relevant bibliographic databases on the library database list. These databases enable you to find journal articles, books, dissertations, technical reports, preprints, and other literature relating to your topic.

Tips:

• To do focused and structured searching of a database: request an overview by a librarian; read the database's documentation; or view online tutorials.
• As part of your search, look for literature reviews. These contain  bibliography and provide models for your own writing of a review. (See the page "Search for Review Literature" below.)
• Consider recording searches as you do them so that you don't retrace searches. You can use the "Literature Review Central" idea mentioned earlier to maintain these records. When you done searching a bibliographic database, click search history and copy the history into your spreadsheet. Another option, if the databases you use allow it, is to save search histories so you can come back to them. 

Consider using a citation management software. Lehigh supports RefWorks. Other softwares of this type are available, for example Zotero.

What is RefWorks?    

RefWorks is a research management tool designed to help users store, organize, annotate, and share information sources by centrally managing all the resources you interact with over the course of a research project. Working on a dissertation, thesis, or long-term study? RefWorks can help you streamline your research process by creating a personal library of your resources, storing the full text of articles, and generating citations and bibliographies [from the first guide below].

Tips relating to use of RefWorks in Literature Reviews  

• only put items into RefWorks that are definitely items you may use; otherwise, you will find yourselves having to delete lots of items
• put RefWorks records into subject folders, plus use the projects folder if you are working on distinct projects
• if you want to create print copies of articles, you can put them into numbered file folders and then cross-reference the folders in the RefWorks records. Then you can search RefWorks to find the corresponding print folder
• you can also upload electronic copies of papers to RefWorks
• Lehigh Links are available out of RefWorks so that you can access full text or order an item via ILLiad.
• try out  the pdf annotation tools. 

Library guides about RefWorks  

As a matter of time management, first read those sections of a scholarly paper sufficient to tell you whether a deeper reading of the article is worth your time. If so, put the paper into a citation management software. If not, move on.

Resources about how to read journal papers follow.  

Humanities   

• How to Read an Academic Journal Article For humanities papers, click on the button labeled "non-standard"  under "Stages of Reading an Academic Journal" 
• Reading in the Humanities and Social Sciences

Sciences & Engineering  

• This guide (U. of Texas Libraries), which has a tutorial, suggests the order in which to read sections of a paper:
• How to read a scientific paper Michael Fosmire, Purdue University Libraries
• How to Read a Paper S. Keshav
• How to (seriously) read a scientific paper Elisabeth Pain    ScienceMag.org
• How to read mathematics (Alet Roux, University of Hull)
• How to Read a Scientific Paper  American Society of Plant Biologists
• Art of reading a journal article: Methodically and effectively RV Subramanyam, Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology
• How to read and understand a scientific paper: a guide for non-scientists Jennifer Raff,, LSE blog
• Ten simple rules for reading a scientific paper. PLOS Computational Biology.

Social Sciences  

• Reading a Scientific Paper for Psychology and the Social Sciences: A Critical Guide (Pedro Cordeiro, et al.)
• Reading in the Humanities and Social Sciences