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Here's a guide on how to create a Review of Related
Literature (RRL) and how to do citations in APA format.
How to Create a Review of Related Literature (RRL)
1. Define Your Research Topic:
o Clearly state the topic or research question you are investigating.
2. Search for Relevant Literature:
o Use academic databases, journals, books, and other scholarly sources to
find literature related to your topic.
o Take notes and organize your sources.
3. Evaluate and Select Sources:
o Assess the credibility, relevance, and quality of the sources.
o Select the most pertinent studies that contribute to your understanding of
the topic.
4. Identify Themes, Debates, and Gaps:
o Group the literature into themes or categories.
o Identify key debates, trends, and gaps in the existing research.
5. Outline the Structure:
o Create an outline for your RRL. Common structures include chronological,
thematic, methodological, or theoretical.
6. Write the Literature Review:
o Introduction: Introduce the topic and explain the purpose of the RRL.
o Body: Summarize and synthesize the selected literature. Discuss the
findings, methodologies, and theoretical approaches. Highlight gaps and
inconsistencies.
o Conclusion: Summarize the main findings and their implications. Suggest
areas for future research.
How to Do Citations in APA Format
In-Text Citations
1. Basic Format:
o Author's last name and year of publication, e.g., (Smith, 2020).
2. Direct Quotes:
o Include the page number, e.g., (Smith, 2020, p. 15).
3. Multiple Authors:
o Two authors: (Smith & Jones, 2020).
o Three or more authors: (Smith et al., 2020).
Reference List
1. Books:
o Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for
subtitle. Publisher.
2. Journal Articles:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume
o
number(issue number), pages. DOI
3. Websites:
o Author, A. A. (Year, Month Date). Title of web page. Site Name. URL
Example References
Book: Smith, J. A. (2020). Understanding Psychology. Pearson.
Journal Article: Brown, L. B. (2019). The impact of social media on youth. Journal
of Social Research, 45(2), 123-145. [Link]
Website: Johnson, M. (2021, April 5). How to write a literature review. Research
Guide. [Link]
For more detailed guidelines, you can refer to the Purdue OWL APA Formatting and
Style Guide[1].
Books
Single Author:
Smith, J. A. (2020). Understanding Psychology. Pearson.
Multiple Authors:
Brown, L. B., & Green, M. K. (2019). Social Media and Mental Health. Sage
Publications.
Edited Book:
Johnson, M. (Ed.). (2018). Advances in Cognitive Science. Oxford University Press.
Journal Articles
Single Author:
White, R. T. (2021). The effects of climate change on coastal
ecosystems. Environmental Research, 67(3), 234-
250. [Link]
Multiple Authors:
Lee, H. J., Kim, S. Y., & Park, J. H. (2020). Machine learning applications in
healthcare. Journal of Medical Informatics, 45(4), 345-
360. [Link]
Websites
Web Page with Author:
Johnson, M. (2021, April 5). How to write a literature review. Research
Guide. [Link]
Web Page without Author:
How to cite sources in APA format. (2020, June 15). APA
Style. [Link]
Reports
Government Report:
National Institute of Mental Health. (2020). Annual report on mental health
statistics. U.S. Government Printing Office.
Corporate Report:
World Health Organization. (2019). Global health observatory data. WHO Press.
Conference Papers
Published Conference Paper:
Davis, R. (2018). The future of artificial intelligence. In S. Thompson
(Ed.), Proceedings of the International Conference on AI (pp. 45-60). Springer.
Dissertations and Theses
Unpublished Dissertation:
Clark, P. R. (2017). The impact of social media on adolescent
behavior (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of California, Berkeley.
Published Dissertation:
Miller, T. J. (2019). Exploring the effects of climate change on agriculture (Doctoral
dissertation). ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.
References
[1] APA Formatting and Style Guide (7th Edition) - Purdue OWL®
In-Text Citations in APA Format
Basic Format
1. Author-Date Citation:
Include the author's last name and the year of publication.
Example: (Smith, 2020)
Direct Quotes
1. Short Quotations (fewer than 40 words):
Include the author's last name, year of publication, and page number.
Example: (Smith, 2020, p. 15)
If the author's name is part of the narrative, include only the year and page
number in parentheses.
Example: Smith (2020) noted that "..." (p. 15).
2. Long Quotations (40 words or more):
Place the quotation in a free-standing block of text without quotation marks.
Indent the entire quotation 0.5 inches from the left margin.
Example:
Smith (2020) found the following:
This is a long quotation that is indented from the left margin. It does
not use quotation marks and is followed by the citation at the end. (p.
15)
Paraphrasing
1. Paraphrased Information:
Include the author's last name and year of publication.
Example: (Smith, 2020)
If the author's name is part of the narrative, include only the year in parentheses.
Example: Smith (2020) found that...
Multiple Authors
1. Two Authors:
Use an ampersand (&) between the authors' last names.
Example: (Smith & Jones, 2020)
2. Three or More Authors:
Use the first author's last name followed by "et al."
Example: (Smith et al., 2020)
No Author
1. Citing a Work with No Author:
Use the title of the work and the year of publication.
Italicize the title of books and reports; use quotation marks for articles, chapters,
and web pages.
Example: ("Study Finds," 2020)
Multiple Works
1. Citing Multiple Works in One Parenthesis:
List the citations in alphabetical order and separate them with semicolons.
Example: (Smith, 2020; Johnson, 2019; Brown, 2018)
Secondary Sources
1. Citing a Secondary Source:
Mention the original work and the secondary source.
Example: (Smith, 2020, as cited in Johnson, 2021)
Examples
Single Author: (Smith, 2020)
Two Authors: (Smith & Jones, 2020)
Three or More Authors: (Smith et al., 2020)
Direct Quote: (Smith, 2020, p. 15)
Paraphrasing: Smith (2020) found that...
No Author: ("Study Finds," 2020)
Multiple Works: (Smith, 2020; Johnson, 2019; Brown, 2018)
Secondary Source: (Smith, 2020, as cited in Johnson, 2021)