Improving the Quality of Literature Reviews in Chemistry: Tools and Techniques

Abstract

The quality of literature reviews can be highly variable, depending not only on the author’s knowledge of the topic but also their skill in navigating and synthesizing the literature. This paper discusses different types of review articles and provides information on how to improve the quality of literature reviews in chemistry, through better planning, rigorous literature searching, and thoughtful construction. Using these tools and techniques, authors will be able to craft higher quality, methodologically sound reviews that will more accurately reflect the state of the literature and will more clearly communicate that information to the reader.