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Writing Resources

The matrix method for literature reviews.

This handout is available for download in DOCX format and PDF format .

What is the Matrix Method, and why should I use it?

Using a review matrix enables you to quickly compare and contrast articles in order to determine the scope of research across time. A review matrix can help you more easily spot differences and similarities between journal articles about a research topic. While they may be helpful in any discipline, review matrices are especially helpful for health sciences literature reviews covering the complete scope of a research topic over time. This guide focuses on the review matrix step in the literature review process and offers tips on how to use it effectively.

Organize your sources

Once you complete your research, organize your source by date in order to make it easier to see changes in research over time.

Begin by creating the blank matrix. The matrices can be easily constructed using table-making software such as Microsoft Excel, Word or OneNote, Google Sheets, or Numbers. Every review matrix should have the same first three column headings: (1) authors, title, and journal, (2) publication year, and (3) purpose.

Table headings and one sample entry showing "authors, title, and journal" in column A, "publication year" in column B, and "purpose" in column C.

Be aware that it may be difficult to determine purpose from just a cursory review of the article. In some cases, it may be necessary to first read the paper fully to identify its purpose.

Choose your remaining column topics

Next, carefully read all your articles. Note any important issues you identify. The following broad categories provide some suggestions for determining your own subject headings:

Methodological

Methodology is often an important question. For example, if you are looking at tests of an Ebola vaccine beyond human subjects, it will be important to note what type of animal the test was carried out on, i.e. macaques or mice.

Content-specific

Consider noting what was actually studied. For example, when looking at the effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of illnesses, it would be important to note what illness was being studied.

Geographical

It may be important to note where the research was completed. For example, if you want to compare the effects of the AIDS epidemic in different countries, you would use country as a column heading.

There are many ways to choose your column headings, and these are just a few suggestions. As you create your own matrix, choose column headings that support your research question and goals.

  • Do not include column headings that are explicit in your research question. For example, if you are looking at drug use in adolescents, do not include a column heading for age of study participants. If the answer will be the same for every study, it's generally a bad choice for a column heading.
  • Do not try to fully complete a review matrix before reading the articles. Reading the articles is an important way to discern the nuances between studies.

Credit: Adapted from David Nolfi, “Matrix Method for Literature Review: The Review Matrix,” Duquesne University, https://guides.library.duq.edu/matrix , 2020.

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Common Assignments: Literature Review Matrix

Literature review matrix.

As you read and evaluate your literature there are several different ways to organize your research. Courtesy of Dr. Gary Burkholder in the School of Psychology, these sample matrices are one option to help organize your articles. These documents allow you to compile details about your sources, such as the foundational theories, methodologies, and conclusions; begin to note similarities among the authors; and retrieve citation information for easy insertion within a document.

You can review the sample matrixes to see a completed form or download the blank matrix for your own use.

  • Literature Review Matrix 1 This PDF file provides a sample literature review matrix.
  • Literature Review Matrix 2 This PDF file provides a sample literature review matrix.
  • Literature Review Matrix Template (Word)
  • Literature Review Matrix Template (Excel)

Related Resources

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Get Organized

  • Lit Review Prep Use this template to help you evaluate your sources, create article summaries for an annotated bibliography, and a synthesis matrix for your lit review outline.

Synthesize your Information

Synthesize: combine separate elements to form a whole.

Synthesis Matrix

A synthesis matrix helps you record the main points of each source and document how sources relate to each other.

After summarizing and evaluating your sources, arrange them in a matrix or use a citation manager to help you see how they relate to each other and apply to each of your themes or variables.  

By arranging your sources by theme or variable, you can see how your sources relate to each other, and can start thinking about how you weave them together to create a narrative.

  • Step-by-Step Approach
  • Example Matrix from NSCU
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  • Literature Matrix

What is a literature matrix?

As defined by Judith Garrard in her handbook entitled  Health Sciences Literature Reviews Made Easy: The Matrix Method , a “Review of the literature consists of reading, analyzing, and writing a synthesis of scholarly materials about a specific topic. When reviewing scientific literature, the focus is on the hypotheses, the scientific methods, the strengths and weaknesses of the study, the results, and the authors’ interpretations and conclusions.” When reading materials for a literature review, you should critically evaluate the study’s major aims and results. 

The purpose of completing a literature matrix is to help you identify important aspects of the study. Literature matrixes contain a variety of headings, but frequent headings include: author surname and date, theoretical/ conceptual framework, research question(s)/ hypothesis, methodology, analysis & results, conclusions, implications for future research, and implications for practice. You can add additional columns as needed, and you might consider adding a “notes column” to proactively have important quotations and your thoughts already collected.  As you read journal articles, have your literature matrix ready. It is best to fill in the matrix directly after reading a work, rather than returning to the matrix later.  

Literature Matrix Files

You should use a literature matrix that best helps you to organize your reading and research. Excel workbooks can help to organize your research. Sample basic and complex literature matrixes are provided below: 

  • Literature Matrix Basic BLANK
  • Literature Matrix Basic SAMPLE
  • Literature Matrix Complex BLANK

Synthesize vs. Summarize

When writing your literature review, you will not simply summarize the materials that you found related to your topic. A summary is a recap of the information provided in research articles. Summaries provide basic information about the study, but the details provided in a summary are not enumerative or systematic. 

Synthesizing goes beyond summarizing to explore specific aspects of the research study. When synthesizing the literature, rely on your completed literature matrix to inform your writing. Do you see any tends across publications? Was one type of methodology used repeatedly, why or why not? Did separate teams of researchers come to the same conclusion, differing conclusions, or is the literature inconclusive? Synthesizing requires that you look at the current state of the research overall. 

When preparing to write a synthesis, you will read the literature available, tease apart individual findings and supporting evidence across different articles, and then reorganize this information in a way that presents your understanding of the current state of research in this field.  

  • << Previous: Primary & Secondary Sources
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Matrix Method for Literature Review

Introduction.

Using a review matrix enables you to quickly compare and contrast articles in order to determine the scope of research across time. A review matrix can help you more easily spot differences and similarities between journal articles about a given research topic. Review matrices are especially helpful for health sciences literature reviews covering the complete scope of a research topic over time.

Organizing your Sources

Once you complete your research, organize your source by date in order to make it easier to see changes in research over time.

Every review matrix should have the same first three column headings: (1) authors, title, and journal; (2) publication year; (3) purpose.

Example of matrix method table

It may be difficult to determine purpose from just a cursory review of the article. In some cases, it may be necessary to first read the paper fully to identify its purpose.

Choose your Remaining Column Topics

Next, carefully read all your articles. Note any important issues you identify. The following broad categories provide some suggestions for determining your own subject headings:

  • Methodological - Methodology is often an important question. For example, if you are looking at tests of an Ebola vaccine beyond human subjects, it will be important to note what type of animal the test was carried out on, i.e. macaques or mice.
  • Content-specific - Consider noting what was actually studied. For example, when looking at the effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of illnesses, it would be important to note what illness was being studied.
  • Geographical - It may be important to note where the research was completed. For example, if you want to compare the effects of the AIDS epidemic in different countries, you would use country as a column heading.

There are many ways to choose your column headings, and these are just a few suggestions. As you create your own matrix, choose column headings that support your research question and goals.

  • Do not include column headings that are explicit in your research question. For example, if you are looking at drug use in adolescents, do not include a column heading for age of study participants. If the answer will be the same for every study, it's generally a bad choice for a column heading.
  • Do not try to fully complete a review matrix before reading the articles. Reading the articles is an important way to discern the nuances between studies. 

Sample Review Matrix and Templates

  • Review Matrix Example: Ebola Vaccine Clinical Studies This document includes a review matrix of two Ebola vaccine clinical reviews done on humans published by the National Institute of Health.
  • Review Matrix Word Template A review matrix template in Microsoft Word.
  • Review Matrix Excel Template A review matrix template for Microsoft Excel

More Information

Information found in this guide was adapted from the following book. 

Cover Art for 6th edition

Guide Credit

Information on this guide has been borrowed with permission from David Nolfi at Duquesne University . 

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Module 4: Strategic Reading

Organize your Readings with a Literature Review Matrix

The next step after reading and evaluating your sources is to organize them in a way that will help you start the writing process.

Review Matrix

One way to organize your literature is with a review matrix. The review matrix is a chart that sorts and categorizes the different arguments presented per topic or issue. Using a matrix enables you to quickly compare and contrast your sources in order to determine the scope of research across time. This will allow you  to spot similarities and differences between sources. It is particularly useful in the synthesis and analysis stages of a review (See Module 1 Conducting a Literature Review with the SALSA Framework ).

Example of a Review Matrix

My research question:

How can we use machine learning to analyze social media data related to HIV?

Writing a Literature Review Modified from The WI+RE Team,  UCLA. Creative Commons CC-BY-NA-SA

Create a Review Matrix

Start with a charting tool you are most familiar with (for example MS Word, MS Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers etc).

  • Organize your sources from oldest to most recent. This way you can see how the research on your topic has changed over time.
  • First Column: citation (i.e., author, title, source, publication year)
  • Second Column: purpose or summary (1-2 sentences)
  • methodology
  • intervention

Key Takeaways

Here are some examples of different review matrices and templates:

  • Evidence Synthesis Matrix Template, Jane Schmidt, Toronto Metropolitan University (Google Sheets)
  • The Matrix Method for Literature Reviews, Brandeis University, Writing Resources.
  • Literature Review Synthesis Matrix , Concordia University (MS Word)
  • Write a Literature Review: Synthesize . Johns Hopkins University, Sheridan Libraries

Advanced Research Skills: Conducting Literature and Systematic Reviews (2nd Edition) Copyright © 2021 by Kelly Dermody; Cecile Farnum; Daniel Jakubek; Jo-Anne Petropoulos; Jane Schmidt; and Reece Steinberg is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Nursing Literature Reviews

What is a Literature (Lit) Review? 

A Literature Review is Not: 

  • a quick summary of sources
  • a grouping of broad, unrelated sources
  • a compilation of everything that has ever been written on a topic
  • a literature criticism or book review

So, what is it then?

A literature review is an integrated analysis-- not just a summary-- of scholarly writings that are related directly to your research question.  That is, it represents the literature that provides background information on your topic and shows a correspondence between those writings and your research question.

A literature review may be a stand alone work or the introduction to a larger research paper, depending on the assignment.  Rely heavily on the guidelines your instructor has given you.

Why is it important?

A literature review is important because it:

  • Explains the background of research on a topic.
  • Demonstrates why a topic is significant to a subject area.
  • Discovers relationships between research studies/ideas.
  • Identifies major themes, concepts, and researchers on a topic.
  • Identifies critical gaps and points of disagreement.
  • Discusses further research questions that logically come out of the previous studies.

Adapted from:  https://libguides.uwf.edu/c.php?g=215270&p=4439026  by Hillary Fox, University of West Florida,  hfox @uwf.edu.

Creating a Literature Review using the Matrix Method: 

A matrix review allows you to quickly compare and contrast articles in an easy to read format. It can help you to easily spot differences and similarities between journal articles and your nursing research topic. Review matrices are especially helpful for health sciences literature reviews that cover the scope of research over a given amount of time. 

Most literature reviews are set up in this format: 

Chart adapted from the book below: 

Health Sciences Literature Review Made Easy

  • Check out the e-book above for more help in creating a literature review matrix. 

Steps for Conducting a Literature Review

1. Choose Your Topic

  • Review your PICO question and think about your central research question. To review the PICO process, please see Kerry Sewell's LibGuide on this subject. 

2. Decide on the scope of your review

  • How many studies do you need to look at? 
  • How comprehensive should it be? 
  • How many years should it cover? 

3. Select the databases you want to use to conduct your searches (See the Databases Tab Above!)

4. Conduct your searches and find the literature. (Keep track of your searches, try using the Search Strategy Lab Notebook!)

  • Review the abstracts and conclusions carefully. This will help you decide which articles actually fit the criteria you are looking for. 
  • Write down the keywords you used and where you found them. 
  • You can also use RefWorks to keep track of your citations. 

5. Review the Literature (This will probably be the most time consuming part)

  • What was the research question of the study you are reviewing?  What were the authors trying to discover? 
  • Was the research funded by a company or source that could influence the findings? (Such as Colgate® sponsoring a toothpaste study?)
  • What were the research methodologies? Analyze the paper's literature review, the samples and variables used, the results and conclusions. Does the research seem to be complete? Could it have been conducted more soundly? What questions does it raise? 
  • If there are conflicting studies, why do you think that is? 
  • How are the authors of the paper viewed in the field? Has this study been cited by other publications? 

Literature Review Examples

Remember, a lit review provides an intelligent overview of the topic. There may or may not be a method for how studies are collected or interpreted. Lit reviews aren't always labeled specifically as "literature reviews," they may often be embedded with other sections such as an introduction or background. 

  • Mentes, J.C., Salem, N., & Phillips, L.R. (2017). Ethnocultural gerontological nursing. An integrative literature review. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 28(1), 79-97.  https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1043659615601483
  • Rosa, D.F., Carvalho, M.V., & Pereira, N.R, et al. (2019). Nursing care for the transgender population: genders from the perspective of professional practice. Revista Brasilerira de Enfermagem, 72 (Suppl 1), 299-306.  http://www.scielo.br/pdf/reben/v72s1/0034-7167-reben-72-s1-0299.pdf
  • Dahlke, S.A., Hunter, K.F., Negrin, K. (2019). Nursing practice with hospitalized older people: Safety and harm. International Journal of Older People Nursing, 14 (1), Article e1220.  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/opn.12220

Adapted from:  https://libguides.uwf.edu/c.php?g=215270&p=4439026  by Hillary Fox, University of West Florida, [email protected].

How to Conduct a Literature Review (Health Sciences and Beyond)

  • What is a Literature Review?
  • Developing a Research Question
  • Selection Criteria
  • Database Search
  • Documenting Your Search

Review Matrix

  • Reference Management

Using a spreadsheet or table to organize the key elements (e.g. subjects, methodologies, results) of articles/books you plan to use in your literature review can be helpful. This is called a review matrix.

When you create a review matrix, the first few columns should include (1) the authors, title, journal, (2) publication year, and (3) purpose of the paper. The remaining columns should identify important aspects of each study such as methodology and findings.

Click on the image below to view a sample review matrix.

Sample health sciences review matrix

You can also download this template as a Microsoft Excel file .

The information on this page is from the book below. The 5th edition is available online through VCU Libraries.

literature review matrix method

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Literature Review Matrix: Section One

This section helps you analyze each individual article for its research question(s), method(s), results, and conclusions. It also enables you to evaluate it for its strengths and limitations and identify its themes before you attempt to connect it to other research.

Literature Matrix 2

This part helps you visually connect the themes and identify disparate themes so that you can begin to synthesize established knowledge on your topic and identify alternative points of view on the topic and speak to why those might exist.

Organize Your Articles

A literature review matrix serves to help you visually organize your thoughts on an article.

This is only one option of many that can help you organize your thoughts; you can easily change the first section to reflect your discipline

  • << Previous: Writing a Literature Review
  • Next: Evaluating Sources >>
  • Last Updated: Mar 7, 2024 12:35 PM
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literature review matrix method

Matrix Method for Literature Review

  • The Review Matrix
  • Organize Your Sources

Choose Your Remaining Column Topics

  • More Information
  • Sample Matrix and Templates
  • Related Library Guides
  • Getting Help

Next, carefully read all your articles. Note any important issues you identify. The following broad categories provide some suggestions for determining your own subject headings:

  • Methodological - Methodology is often an important question. For example, if you are looking at tests of an Ebola vaccine beyond human subjects, it will be important to note what type of animal the test was carried out on, i.e. macaques or mice.
  • Content-specific - Consider noting what was actually studied. For example, when looking at the effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of illnesses, it would be important to note what illness was being studied.
  • Geographical - It may be important to note where the research was completed. For example, if you want to compare the effects of the AIDS epidemic in different countries, you would use country as a column heading.

There are many ways to choose your column headings, and these are just a few suggestions. As you create your own matrix, choose column headings that support your research question and goals.

  • Do not include column headings that are explicit in your research question. For example, if you are looking at drug use in adolescents, do not include a column heading for age of study participants. If the answer will be the same for every study, it's generally a bad choice for a column heading.
  • Do not try to fully complete a review matrix before reading the articles. Reading the articles is an important way to discern the nuances between studies. 
  • << Previous: Organize Your Sources
  • Next: More Information >>
  • Last Updated: Feb 20, 2024 10:26 AM
  • URL: https://guides.library.duq.edu/matrix

IMAGES

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  3. What Is Literature Review Matrix

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  4. The summary-comparison matrix: A tool for writing the literature review

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VIDEO

  1. Color Coding Your Literature Matrix in Excel

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COMMENTS

  1. The Matrix Method for Literature Reviews

    Do not try to fully complete a review matrix before reading the articles. Reading the articles is an important way to discern the nuances between studies. Credit: Adapted from David Nolfi, "Matrix Method for Literature Review: The Review Matrix," Duquesne University, https://guides.library.duq.edu/matrix, 2020.

  2. LibGuides: Matrix Method for Literature Review: The Review Matrix

    A review matrix can help you more easily spot differences and similarities between journal articles about a given research topic. Review matrices are especially helpful for health sciences literature reviews covering the complete scope of a research topic over time. This guide focuses on the review matrix step in the literature review process.

  3. Academic Guides: Common Assignments: Literature Review Matrix

    Literature Review Matrix. As you read and evaluate your literature there are several different ways to organize your research. Courtesy of Dr. Gary Burkholder in the School of Psychology, these sample matrices are one option to help organize your articles. These documents allow you to compile details about your sources, such as the foundational ...

  4. Synthesize

    A synthesis matrix helps you record the main points of each source and document how sources relate to each other. After summarizing and evaluating your sources, arrange them in a matrix or use a citation manager to help you see how they relate to each other and apply to each of your themes or variables. By arranging your sources by theme or ...

  5. AMA Writing Guide: Literature Matrix

    As defined by Judith Garrard in her handbook entitled Health Sciences Literature Reviews Made Easy: The Matrix Method , a "Review of the literature consists of reading, analyzing, and writing a synthesis of scholarly materials about a specific topic. When reviewing scientific literature, the focus is on the hypotheses, the scientific methods ...

  6. Reviewing the Literature

    The Matrix Method is an organizational system that guides you through the literature review process from start to finish, outlined in the book Health Sciences Literature Review Made Easy by Judith Garrard (see citation below). It is "intended to teach you how to read a paper, organize the review using the Matrix Method, analyze it, and create ...

  7. How to Write a Literature Review

    Examples of literature reviews. Step 1 - Search for relevant literature. Step 2 - Evaluate and select sources. Step 3 - Identify themes, debates, and gaps. Step 4 - Outline your literature review's structure. Step 5 - Write your literature review.

  8. Swisher Library: Matrix Method for Literature Review: Home

    Once you complete your research, organize your source by date in order to make it easier to see changes in research over time. Every review matrix should have the same first three column headings: (1) authors, title, and journal; (2) publication year; (3) purpose. It may be difficult to determine purpose from just a cursory review of the article.

  9. Organize Your Sources

    Once you complete your research, organize your source by date in order to make it easier to see changes in research over time. Every review matrix should have the same first three column headings: (1) authors, title, and journal, (2) publication year, and (3) purpose. It may be difficult to determine purpose from just a cursory review of the ...

  10. Organize your Readings with a Literature Review Matrix

    Using a matrix enables you to quickly compare and contrast your sources in order to determine the scope of research across time. This will allow you to spot similarities and differences between sources. It is particularly useful in the synthesis and analysis stages of a review (See Module 1 Conducting a Literature Review with the SALSA Framework).

  11. Literature Review Matrix

    Creating a Literature Review using the Matrix Method: A matrix review allows you to quickly compare and contrast articles in an easy to read format. It can help you to easily spot differences and similarities between journal articles and your nursing research topic. Review matrices are especially helpful for health sciences literature reviews ...

  12. PDF Writing A Literature Review and Using a Synthesis Matrix

    One way that seems particularly helpful in organizing literature reviews is the synthesis matrix. The synthesis matrix is a chart that allows a researcher to sort and categorize the different arguments presented on an issue. Across the top of the chart are the spaces to record sources, and along the side of the chart are the spaces to record ...

  13. (PDF) The Matrix Method of Literature Review

    The matrix method of literature review is a powerful and practical. research tool that forms the initial scaffolding to help researchers. sharpen the focus of their research and to enable them to ...

  14. Health Sciences Literature Review Made Easy

    Health Sciences Literature Review Made Easy: The Matrix Method, Fifth Edition describes the practical and useful methods for reviewing scientific literature in the health sciences. The goal of this text is to serve as a resource for students who need a practical, step-by-step set of instructions for how to organize, conduct, and write a synthesis of literature on a topic of their choice.

  15. Organize Key Findings

    This is called a review matrix. When you create a review matrix, the first few columns should include (1) the authors, title, journal, (2) publication year, and (3) purpose of the paper. The remaining columns should identify important aspects of each study such as methodology and findings. Click on the image below to view a sample review matrix.

  16. Guidance on Conducting a Systematic Literature Review

    Literature review is an essential feature of academic research. Fundamentally, knowledge advancement must be built on prior existing work. To push the knowledge frontier, we must know where the frontier is. By reviewing relevant literature, we understand the breadth and depth of the existing body of work and identify gaps to explore.

  17. Matrix Method for Literature Review

    Sample Matrix and Templates. Review Matrix Example-Ebola Vaccine Clinical Studies. This document includes a review matrix of two Ebola vaccine clinical reviews done on humans published by the National Institute of Health. Review Matrix Word Template. A review matrix template in Microsoft Word. Review Matrix Excel Template.

  18. Literature Matrix

    Literature Review Matrix: Section One This section helps you analyze each individual article for its research question(s), method(s), results, and conclusions. It also enables you to evaluate it for its strengths and limitations and identify its themes before you attempt to connect it to other research.

  19. LibGuides: Matrix Method for Literature Review: More Information

    The information found in this guide was adapted from the following book. It can be found in the Gumberg Library's general collection and is available to read online. Health Sciences Literature Review Made Easy: The Matrix Method. Garrard, J. (2020). Health sciences literature review made easy: The matrix method. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

  20. The Matrix Method of Literature Reviews

    What is the matrix method of literature reviews and how can it help you conduct a comprehensive and systematic review of the literature in your field? Find out in this article by Goldman and Schmalz, published in the journal Health Promotion Practice.

  21. [PDF] The matrix method of literature review

    The matrix method of literature review. The concept matrix provides a means to systematise the process of literature review, thereby ensuring that a literature review does not become a subjective process stitching a patchwork quilt of references, or the unilateral cherry picking of references that supports one's point of view, while ignoring ...

  22. Matrix Method for Literature Review

    Matrix Method for Literature Review; Choose Your Remaining Column Topics; Search this Guide Search. Matrix Method for Literature Review. The Review Matrix; ... Do not try to fully complete a review matrix before reading the articles. Reading the articles is an important way to discern the nuances between studies. << Previous: Organize Your Sources;