Your literature review isn't Pokémon
You don't have to collect them all.
Is your literature review starting to make you feel a bit… anxious?
You might be worrying that there are papers (or books) out there that are absolutely central to your research and you haven’t found them yet.
Indeed, one thing that plagues your dreams is the scene from your viva when your examiner says, “Well surely you’ve read this book by Professor Super Important? You haven’t read it? [cue evil laugh] Ha ha ha ha ha!”.
This kind of worrying can prompt some bizarre behaviour. You suddenly find yourself frantically trying to collect them all, like the scholarly version of Pokémon.
Surely, at some point, one of them will lead you to Pikachu?
The more papers, the better, right? The longer the reference list, the more impressed your examiner will be. Even if it doesn't contain Pikachu, at least it shows how hard you tried.
I need to reassure you about a couple of things here, speaking as a former PhD examiner.
You’re going to find the important stuff, really
Firstly, every field of research has a Pikachu or three. For my PhD it was Erving Goffman’s work on stigma. You’re probably thinking of what yours might be now, right? These pieces of literature are must-haves, and you’re worried you’re going to miss them. But you’re not. Because you will find them at some point. Even if you don’t catch them early, you’ll catch them later. If a piece of literature is so important to your field, you’re not just going to come across it once. You’ll find it again and again and again – in citations, in reference lists, at the top of search results.
Examiners aren’t counting your references
Secondly, volume shouldn’t be your goal. PhD examiners don’t have a long list of pieces of literature that they’re ticking off as they go through your thesis. Sure, they will be looking for the big-deal, seminal work in the field but they’re not going to shout at you because you haven’t included a couple of papers. They’re not asking themselves, “How complete is this literature review?”.
They're asking:
Is the literature included here relevant?
Why has the researcher included it?
How is this work being positioned in relation to what already exists?
They want to see that you’re interpretations were solid – that you decided what belonged in your literature review, what didn’t, and why.
Stop collecting papers, ask yourself these questions
You're not building a library. You're building an argument. Okay?
So, the next time you feel the urge to download another twenty papers, pause and ask yourself:
What question am I hoping these papers will answer?
What am I actually trying to understand right now?
Have I fully made sense of the literature I already have?
You don't have to catch them all.
You just need enough of the right literature to build a convincing argument.
If you've downloaded so many papers that your literature review is starting to feel overwhelming, my Literature Review PhD Survival Guide will help you stop trying to read everything and start making sense of the literature that genuinely matters for your study.
“I’ve read so much, but I still don’t know what I’m trying to say”
You've read countless papers, but your literature review still feels like disconnected summaries rather than a clear argument. You now need a structure for making sense of what you've read - this guide gives you that structure.
Swipe through the images to explore the frameworks, worksheets, and guidance included.
Get the full Survival Guide set here.
Got questions? Contact me using this form, I’ll be happy to help.
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