Reviewing the literature is an important step in the research process because it provides researchers with the information about what is and is not now about the study’s topic. Researchers document this information in a “literature review” passage of the report. You can use this passage to understand the context behind a research report. As a practitioner, you also need to develop your own skills for reviewing literature to learn about topics that interest you. In this chapter, you will learn why scholars review the literature, how literature is used in a report, and steps you can use to locate and summarize literature.