How to Handle Citations in a Literature Review
Updated August 2026
A literature review is citation-dense by nature — its whole job is to summarize and connect what others have found. Here's how to cite well when you're juggling dozens of sources.
The skills that matter most: synthesizing rather than listing, citing groups of studies, and keeping a clean reference list.
What the citations look like
Most lit-review sources are journal articles, cited like the examples above. Build each one fast from its DOI — almost every paper has one.
Rasch, B., & Born, J. (2013). About sleep's role in memory. Physiological Reviews, 93(2), 681-766. https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00032.2012
In-text(Rasch & Born, 2013)
Rasch, Björn, and Jan Born. "About sleep's role in memory." Physiological Reviews, vol. 93, no. 2, 2013, pp. 681-766, https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00032.2012.
In-text(Rasch and Born 681)
Synthesize, don't list
A weak literature review is a string of "Smith (2020) found… Jones (2021) found…" A strong one groups sources by theme or finding and cites them together: Several studies link sleep loss to memory impairment (Rasch & Born, 2013; Diekelmann et al., 2009; Walker, 2009). The citation supports the synthesis; it isn't the sentence.
Citation patterns you'll use a lot
- Grouped citations — multiple sources for one claim, separated by semicolons (APA) and ordered alphabetically.
- Narrative vs. parenthetical — name the author in the sentence when the who matters; use parentheses when the finding matters.
- et al. — for three or more authors, use the first author + et al. in most styles. See what et al. means.
- One reference list — every in-text citation maps to exactly one entry; build it as you go, not at the end.
Keep the reference list under control
With dozens of sources, the reference list is where errors hide. Build each entry as you add the source (not in a panic the night before), keep it in your bibliography tool, and let the generator format from the DOI so details are consistent. See also how to build a bibliography.
Keep every citation you make.
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Go Premium — $5/monthFrequently asked questions
- How do I cite multiple studies for one point in a literature review?
- Group them in one parenthetical, separated by semicolons and ordered alphabetically in APA — e.g., (Rasch & Born, 2013; Walker, 2009). It supports the claim without listing each separately.
- Should I name every author in a literature review?
- No — use narrative citations when who did the work matters, and parenthetical (often grouped) citations when the finding matters. For 3+ authors, use et al.
- How do I manage so many references?
- Build each entry when you add the source, keep them in a bibliography tool, and format from the DOI for consistency — don't leave the reference list to the last night.