Literature Review Template

Literature Review Template
Literature Review Template

This doc was created to provide a flexible framework for students and researchers for performing a literature review or desktop research.

If you are planning a scoping or systematic review, check out

this template⁠

, which includes a system to include/exclude items.

If you’ve never used Coda before, don’t worry—for the most part, it is as simple as writing in any spreadsheet or document! For a general introduction, check out

The Learn Doc⁠

, which includes articles, videos, and exercises to turn you into a Coda pro.

What’s in this Doc?

Research Overview⁠

- A space to keep your research question and other info handy.

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Source Database⁠

- This is the main table, with an entry for each item to be reviewed.

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Coding⁠

- A customizable page for recording relevant information from each item.

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Findings⁠

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Duplicates⁠

- Automatically identify and easily remove duplicate item.

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Ready to get started?

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Copy this doc

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Don’t have a Coda account yet?

Sign up now⁠

Students and educators, after you have signed up, you can apply for a

free year of Coda's Pro plan.⁠

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How to use this doc

Set up

An optional feature is to provide your institutional DOI URL, which will enable the ‘Open Article’ buttons to open DOI links through your institutional access. The URL should be formatted similar to ‘https://doi-org.library.myschool.com’

If multiple users are working together in the doc, each user should be added individually under the User column. If users have different institutional URLs, add them in separate lines.

If left blank, the ‘Open Article’ button will open DOIs through their standard URLs. If no DOI is provided, it will open the URL in the URL column. If neither is provided, the button will be grayed out.

User

Institutional DOI URL

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https://doi-org.library.myschool.ca/

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There are no rows in this table

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Customizing the Coding form

One of the best things about using a Coda doc is how easy it is to customize. What information you want to chart from your articles will vary depend on things like the type of review or the field/discipline. The Coding form can be easily customized to suit your needs by tapping the three dots in the upper corner, then Edit Layout.

Exploring your Findings

Another powerful part of this doc is the

Findings⁠

page. Following the concept of atomic notes or zettels, while reading your articles, add each big idea, important quote, or question, etc. as a separate row in the Findings section, and use the Tags column to categorize into broader concepts or part of the work where it’s relevant. When you’re ready to write, pull up the

Findings⁠

page and filter the list to see all the information you’ve recorded for the topic!

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Exporting your data

There are a few options for saving your data in other formats:

Download the Source Database as a CSV file

1. Select the Source Database table by clicking on the table header.

2. Choose the Options link, which opens the table options in the right-hand sidebar.

3. Press the three dots at the top of the page to show the Download as CSV option.

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Add the Export Tables Pack

The Export Tables Pack allows you to add a button on the canvas. To use it:

1. Add the

Export Tables Pack⁠

to your doc.

2. Right-click the ‘Export Data’ button below then click in the Action section.

3. Press tab and follow the prompts to create an API key.

4. Once set up successfully, the button will turn blue. You can then drag and drop it onto the Source Database or another page, if desired.

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Export Data

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Copy and Paste Tables

Another option is to select a table and copy/paste it into Excel or Google Docs.

🔥Some final important technical notes

While Coda will automatically save your changes, this feature will not run when you have a row open. If you are editing an entry, make sure to close the row before exiting to commit it.

Columns in a table that begin with an underscore are used in formulas to make the template function correctly; deleting them make break certain filters or features, but you can right-click and ‘Hide’ the columns.

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Deleting Example Data

This template is pre-loaded with a small sample of articles so you can get a feel for how everything works, how the tables are connected, and the different template features. When you’re ready to get started with your own review, you can delete all the example data with the following button:

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Delete Example Items

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How the button works

It works by filtering and deleting rows where the title contains the words [EXAMPLE ITEM], so if you’ve mixed in any of your own items, they’ll be safe, or if you want to keep any of the sample items, just remove that bit from the title before pressing the button.

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For questions, feedback, or content updates, please feel free to connect on

Twitter @ShanleyMWeston⁠

or via

LinkedIn⁠

What’s in this Doc?

Ready to get started?

How to use this doc

Set up

Customizing the Coding form

Exploring your Findings

Exporting your data