A literature review is a process of analyzing and organizing scholarly literature on a topic. In a literature review you are not establishing your own argument. Instead, you are gathering what has already been written on your topic: sythensizing the arguments, perspectives, or themes and summarizing the sources and how they apply to your research question.
The distinction between a narrative review and a problem identification review is defined in Machi & McEvoy's The Literature Review: Six Steps to Success (p. 3-5). Be aware that this distinction has been referred to as "basic vs. advanced" and "simple vs. complex" literature reviews in previous editions of this book.
See below for access to the Library's ebook copy:
