Real-world examples of literature review reference lists that actually help readers

Why real examples of literature review reference lists matter

Most students don’t mess up a literature review because they can’t find sources. They struggle because the reference list is inconsistent, incomplete, or doesn’t match the in-text citations. That’s where strong examples of literature review reference lists become incredibly helpful.

When you look at real examples, you start to notice patterns:

• Authors are listed in a consistent order.
• Dates are formatted the same way throughout.
• Titles follow clear capitalization rules.
• DOIs and URLs are handled predictably.

Once you see those patterns in context, it’s much easier to copy them correctly than to memorize every rule from scratch.

Below, we’ll walk through several concrete examples of examples of literature review reference lists across different fields and citation styles, then unpack what each one is doing well.

Example of an APA-style literature review reference list (psychology)

Imagine you’ve written a literature review on the impact of social media use on adolescent mental health. Here’s an APA 7th edition example of a short reference list that might appear at the end of that review.

Sample APA reference list (psychology)

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

Odgers, C. L., & Jensen, M. R. (2020). Annual research review: Adolescent mental health in the digital age: Facts, fears, and future directions. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 61(3), 336–348. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13190

Pew Research Center. (2023, April 24). Teens, social media and technology 2023. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2023/04/24/teens-social-media-and-technology-2023/

Twenge, J. M., & Farley, E. (2021). Not all screen time is created equal: Associations with mental health vary by activity and gender. Clinical Psychological Science, 9(5), 733–746. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702621994549

Why this example works

This is one of the best examples of APA-style literature review reference lists for beginners because it shows:

• A mix of sources: a professional manual, journal articles, and a research report.
• Hanging indents (the first line flush left, the rest indented).
• Authors listed last name first, followed by initials.
• Year in parentheses right after the author.
• Italics used for book and journal titles, but not for article titles.
• DOIs and URLs presented as live hyperlinks, as APA 7 allows.

For official APA guidance, you can compare your work with the examples at the American Psychological Association’s Style and Grammar Guidelines.

Example of an MLA-style literature review reference list (literature & humanities)

Now imagine a literature review on representations of climate change in contemporary American fiction. Here’s an MLA 9th edition example of a Works Cited list.

Sample MLA Works Cited (literature)

Ghosh, Amitav. The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable. The University of Chicago Press, 2016.

Heise, Ursula K. “Climate Stories: Why We Need Fiction to Understand Climate Change.” Public Books, 15 Jan. 2022, https://www.publicbooks.org/climate-stories-why-we-need-fiction-to-understand-climate-change/.

Nixon, Rob. Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor. Harvard UP, 2011.

Trexler, Adam. Anthropocene Fictions: The Novel in a Time of Climate Change. U of Virginia P, 2015.

What this example of an MLA reference list shows

Compared with APA, MLA focuses more on authors, titles, and publication details, and less on dates and DOIs. This example of a literature review reference list illustrates:

• The heading Works Cited instead of “References.”
• Authors’ full names (first name first, last name last for the first author listed).
• Book and journal titles in italics, article titles in quotation marks.
• Abbreviated publisher names (Harvard UP, U of Virginia P).
• URLs without “https://” when your instructor allows it.

For more MLA examples of literature review reference lists, the Purdue OWL MLA Guide is widely recommended by U.S. universities.

Chicago-style examples of literature review reference lists (history & social sciences)

Chicago style can be used in two systems: Notes and Bibliography, or Author-Date. Let’s look at a short Author-Date bibliography for a history literature review on pandemic responses.

Sample Chicago Author-Date bibliography (public health history)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2024. “Past Pandemics.” CDC. Accessed October 15, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/basics/past-pandemics.html.

Jones, David S. 2020. “History in a Crisis—Lessons for Covid-19.” New England Journal of Medicine 382 (18): 1681–1683. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp2004361.

Markel, Howard, Harvey B. Lipman, J. Alexander Navarro, Alexandra Sloan, Joseph R. Michalsen, Alexandra Minna Stern, and Martin S. Cetron. 2007. “Nonpharmaceutical Interventions Implemented by US Cities During the 1918–1919 Influenza Pandemic.” JAMA 298 (6): 644–654. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.298.6.644.

National Institutes of Health. 2023. “COVID-19 Research.” NIH. Accessed September 10, 2024. https://www.nih.gov/coronavirus.

Why this is a strong example of a Chicago reference list

This example of a literature review reference list shows:

• Full first names when available, with last names first.
• Year immediately after the author’s name.
• Article titles in quotation marks, journal titles in italics.
• Access dates for webpages, which Chicago still commonly uses.

To see more real examples, check the Chicago Manual of Style Online.

Themed examples of examples of literature review reference lists by discipline

Let’s look at several short, themed examples of literature review reference lists so you can picture what your own might look like.

Nursing and public health (APA 7)

Topic: Nurse burnout and patient safety.

Sample references

Aiken, L. H., Sloane, D. M., Griffiths, P., Rafferty, A. M., Bruyneel, L., McHugh, M., ... Sermeus, W. (2017). Nursing skill mix in European hospitals: Cross-sectional study of the association with mortality, patient ratings, and quality of care. BMJ Quality & Safety, 26(7), 559–568. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2016-005567

Lake, E. T., & Narva, A. M. (2022). Staff nurse burnout and patient outcomes: Updated evidence and future directions. Annual Review of Nursing Research, 40(1), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1891/0739-6686.40.1.1

Mayo Clinic. (2023, August 10). Job burnout: How to spot it and take action. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/burnout/art-20046642

This example of a nursing literature review reference list shows how you can blend peer-reviewed research with high-quality organizational sources like the Mayo Clinic.

Education (APA 7)

Topic: Effects of formative assessment on middle school math achievement.

Sample references

Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (2018). Classroom assessment and pedagogy. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 25(6), 551–575. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594X.2018.1441807

National Center for Education Statistics. (2024). The Nation’s Report Card: Mathematics 2024. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/

Shute, V. J. (2008). Focus on formative feedback. Review of Educational Research, 78(1), 153–189. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654307313795

Here you see one of the best examples of literature review reference lists in education: a mix of theory, classic review papers, and up-to-date national data.

Business and management (APA 7)

Topic: Remote work and employee productivity post-2020.

Sample references

Barrero, J. M., Bloom, N., & Davis, S. J. (2023). The evolution of working from home. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 2023(1), 1–64. https://doi.org/10.1353/eca.2023.0001

Bloom, N. (2024). Hybrid work: What we’ve learned and how to make it work. Harvard Business Review, 102(3), 45–55.

Gartner. (2024). Future of work trends: 2025 and beyond. Gartner Research.

This example of a business literature review reference list shows:

• Peer-reviewed research.
• Practitioner-oriented sources (Harvard Business Review).
• Industry research reports.

Patterns you’ll see in the best examples of literature review reference lists

When you compare all these real examples of literature review reference lists, a few patterns jump out:

Consistency beats perfection. If your instructor asks for APA, stick to APA rules the same way for every entry. Inconsistent capitalization or missing DOIs stand out more than a small, honest mistake.

Match in-text citations to the reference list. Every source you cite in your literature review should appear in your reference list, and every entry in the list should be cited at least once. One of the most common problems in student work is “orphaned” references that never show up in the text.

Use current sources where it matters. In fast-moving fields like health, technology, or education policy, readers expect to see recent work (2020–2025) in your reference list. That’s why many of the examples of examples of literature review reference lists above include 2023 and 2024 sources.

Blend foundational and recent work. Strong literature reviews usually include classic studies or theories plus the latest findings. For instance, pairing a classic 2008 formative assessment paper with 2024 NAEP data gives both depth and relevance.

Rely on authoritative sources. Notice how many examples include .gov, .edu, or major organizations like the CDC, NIH, or Pew Research Center. These lend credibility to your review.

How to build your own reference list using these real examples

Think of these examples of examples of literature review reference lists as templates you can adapt, not scripts you must copy.

Here’s a simple workflow you can follow:

Start by picking your citation style. If your instructor doesn’t specify, APA is common in the social sciences, MLA in the humanities, and Chicago in history and some social sciences. Once you know the style, grab an official or university-backed guide, such as:

• APA Style: https://apastyle.apa.org/
• Purdue OWL APA or MLA: https://owl.purdue.edu
• Chicago Manual of Style citation guide: https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html

Next, list all your sources in a rough, unformatted list: author, year, title, journal or publisher, volume/issue, pages, DOI or URL. Don’t worry about spacing or italics yet.

Then, look at one example of a reference list in your chosen style—ideally in your discipline—and mirror it. For instance, if you’re writing a psychology literature review, use the APA psychology example above as your visual model. Copy the order of elements and punctuation, but swap in your own source details.

Finally, sort your entries alphabetically by the first author’s last name and apply hanging indents. Most word processors can do this automatically once your text is typed out.

When you’re done, compare your work to two or three of the best examples of literature review reference lists in this article. Ask:

• Do my entries look visually similar?
• Are author names, dates, and titles in the same order?
• Are italics and capitalization used the same way?

If the answer is yes, you’re in very good shape.

FAQ about examples of literature review reference lists

Q: Where can I find more real examples of literature review reference lists?
You can often find an example of a literature review reference list in open-access theses and dissertations hosted by university libraries (look for .edu repositories), or in sample student papers posted by writing centers. Many universities share PDF examples of APA or MLA papers that include full reference lists.

Q: How many sources should a literature review reference list include?
It depends on the assignment and level. A short undergraduate paper might have 8–15 sources, while a master’s thesis could easily include 50–100. Instead of aiming for a magic number, focus on whether your reference list reflects the main debates, methods, and findings in the area.

Q: Can I mix citation styles in one reference list if I like different examples of formatting?
No. Your literature review should use one citation style consistently. You can borrow ideas from different examples of reference lists (like how they organize government reports), but the final formatting needs to match a single style guide.

Q: Are websites okay to include in a literature review reference list?
Yes, when they are credible. Government (.gov), university (.edu), and major nonprofit (.org) sites are usually acceptable. In the examples of examples of literature review reference lists above, you’ll see sources like the CDC, NIH, Pew Research Center, and Mayo Clinic, which are widely trusted in academic work.

Q: Do I need DOIs for every article in my reference list?
If you’re using APA or Chicago Author-Date and a DOI exists, you should include it. Many journals and databases list DOIs on the article landing page. If there is no DOI, a stable URL or database information may be acceptable, depending on your style guide.

If you keep a few real examples of literature review reference lists open while you format your own, the process becomes much more mechanical and much less stressful. You’re not guessing—you’re modeling. And that’s exactly how strong academic writers learn to make their reference lists look polished and professional.