Narrative Review
A traditional literature review that synthesizes and interprets sources selected by the author, without a formal search protocol.
A narrative review surveys and interprets the literature on a topic using the author's expert judgment rather than a predefined search protocol. The writer selects sources they consider important, organizes them around an argument or storyline, and draws conclusions through critical reading. This flexibility allows broad coverage and theoretical depth, but it also means the selection process is not replicable and can reflect the author's biases.
Most thesis literature review chapters are narrative reviews, so the format matters directly to your writing. Its strength is argument: you can shape sources into a case for your study in a way a rigid protocol cannot. To keep it credible, be transparent about how you found and chose sources, cover opposing findings rather than only supportive ones, and structure the chapter thematically so it reads as analysis, not an annotated list.
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