Abstract

This article offers a practical guide for researchers who plan to write a rigorous dissertation literature review. It treats the review as a scholarly argument that justifies the study’s problem, framework, and design. Building on established guidance, the article explains how to define the review’s scope, build a defensible search strategy, document decisions transparently, appraise source quality, and synthesize evidence across thematic strands. It also clarifies how conceptual frameworks and theoretical foundations shape research questions, delimit the study, and support methodological alignment. Throughout, the article emphasizes synthesis over serial summary, coherence over accumulation, and judgment over formula. To help researchers move from reading to writing, it includes practical tools such as inclusion and exclusion criteria, search logs, literature review matrices, strand outlines, and checklists. The article concludes by showing how a strong review leads directly to identifying a defensible research gap, justifying research design decisions, and articulating a dissertation’s contribution to knowledge.

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