Free literature review matrix template for Excel, with a worked example

A literature review matrix is a table with one row for each source you read and one column for each thing you want to compare: the question it asked, the method, the sample, what it found and where it falls short. Read across a row and you have one paper. Read down a column and you start to see the field: which methods dominate, where findings agree, and where nobody has looked yet.

This post gives you a free matrix to build in Excel or Google Sheets, walks through every sheet and column with a worked example, and ends with the step most guides skip: turning the finished matrix into the themes your review is written around.

The layout, the drop-down lists and the two formulas are all below, so you can set the matrix up in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers in a few minutes, or start from the ready-made literature review desk template in PlexiiDesk. If you would rather keep the matrix beside your PDFs and your draft, download PlexiiDesk free as well; the last part of this post shows how the two fit.

Why a matrix beats a pile of notes

The method has a long pedigree. Judith Garrard's Health Sciences Literature Review Made Easy: The Matrix Method, now in its sixth edition, is built around it, and university libraries teach it from there (Virginia Commonwealth University's research guide (opens in a new tab) is one). The idea works in any discipline, not just health.

What the matrix does that free-form notes do not:

• It forces the same questions of every source. If the Sample cell is empty, you notice that you never checked who was studied.
• It makes comparison physical. You can sort by year, filter by method, or put all the interview studies next to each other.
• It separates reading from writing. By the time you draft, the evidence for each theme is already sitting in one column.

A literature review is an argument about what a field knows, not a string of summaries. The matrix is the tool that gets you from the second to the first.

What is in the template

Set the workbook up with three sheets. The first, Matrix, is the one you work in. Put it first on purpose: most tools that import spreadsheets read only the first sheet.

Setting it up. On Matrix, put the twelve column headings described below in row 1, from ID in column A to Gap or question it raises in column L, so Design / method is column E, Theme is I and Relevance is J. On Lists, put method options in column A, theme names in column B, and High, Medium and Low in column C. Use data validation (Data > Data validation in Excel and Google Sheets) to make E, I and J drop-downs from those lists. On Theme grid, list the themes in column A, then count them: Sources tagged is =COUNTIF(Matrix!$I$2:$I$61,A2) and High relevance is =COUNTIFS(Matrix!$I$2:$I$61,A2,Matrix!$J$2:$J$61,"High"). Add columns for methods seen, where sources agree, where they disagree and the gap you will argue.

The columns, one by one

Each column earns its place. Here is what goes in each, using the first row of a worked example. The example topic is how remote work affects how new graduates learn, and the entries are invented for illustration: they are not real studies.

ID. Number the rows S01, S02 and so on. Use the ID in your notes and in your draft, so any sentence can be traced back to its row. "Remote graduates asked for help less often (S01)" is easier to check later than a half-remembered author name.

Short citation. Author and year is enough here, such as "Study A (2019)". The full reference belongs in your reference manager or reference list, not squeezed into a cell.

Year. A number, so you can sort the field chronologically and see whether findings changed over time.

Aim or question. One sentence in your own words: "Does working from home change how often new graduates ask colleagues for help?" If you cannot write this sentence, you have not understood the paper yet.

Design / method. A drop-down: systematic review, randomised trial, cohort, cross-sectional survey, interviews, focus groups, case study, mixed methods and so on. Using a fixed list means you can count and group methods later. Typing "survey" in one row and "questionnaire study" in another breaks that.

Sample and setting. Who, how many, where: "412 graduates in their first year, three accounting firms". This is the column that tells you whether a finding travels. Three accounting firms is not the whole graduate labour market.

Key findings (your words). The result that matters for your question, paraphrased: "Remote graduates reported asking for help about half as often; most said they waited until a scheduled call." Writing it in your own words is the single best protection against accidentally copying an abstract into your review.

Limitations. Both the ones the authors admit and the ones you spot: "Self-report only; firms chose who was surveyed". Your critique of the literature is built from this column.

Theme. A drop-down you define on the Lists sheet. Leave it blank until you have eight to ten rows. Themes chosen before you have read much are usually wrong, and it is easier to tag rows once than to re-tag them.

Relevance. High, Medium or Low against your question, not the paper's quality. A strong paper can be low relevance; a modest one can be central.

Location (page, section). Where the finding is: "p. 6, Table 2". You will need it the moment you quote, and you will not want to reread the paper to find it.

Gap or question it raises. What the source leaves open: "Does asking less actually slow learning, or only feel slower?" Read down this column at the end and your research gap often writes itself.

Keep cells short

The commonest way a matrix fails is that it turns into a second set of notes, with paragraphs in every cell. Then it can no longer be scanned, and you stop opening it.

Write phrases, not paragraphs. If a source needs a page of notes, keep those notes elsewhere, labelled with the row's ID, and put only the finding that matters in the matrix.

From matrix to themes: the Theme grid

Once you have ten or more rows, the work changes from collecting to synthesising.

1. Read down Key findings and Gap. Look for findings that keep turning up together. In the example, the six rows fall into four themes: help-seeking, informal learning, structured support and visibility (who notices you), plus one review that is background only. Two rows on visibility, one of them low relevance, is a sign that theme needs more reading.
2. Name the themes on the Lists sheet. Type a short name for each theme, such as "Help-seeking". The drop-down on every row and the Theme grid both update.
3. Tag every row. Background sources that set the scene but do not argue anything go under "Background only".
4. Fill the Theme grid. The two formulas do the counting. For each theme, write where sources agree, where they disagree and why (different samples? different methods?), and the gap you will argue.

That last column is your review's structure. One theme, one section, with the agreement, the tension and the gap in that order. A theme with only one high-relevance source is a sign you need to read more, or that the theme belongs inside another one.

To keep the matrix beside your PDFs and draft on one desk, download Plexii free.

Using the matrix in PlexiiDesk

The spreadsheet works on its own. If you would rather keep the matrix, the PDFs, your notes and your draft in one place, the literature review desk template sets that up in PlexiiDesk, one desk per review. You can open a ready-made researcher's desk in the interactive demo before you install anything.

To bring this workbook in:

1. Add a Table work widget to the desk.
2. Create Design / method, Theme and Relevance as Single select columns first, with options named exactly as on the Lists sheet. Values that match an option land in it; anything else is left empty.
3. Right-click the table's title bar, choose Import CSV, JSON or Excel… and pick the workbook. It reads the first sheet, which is Matrix. Check how each column maps, then import. The steps are in Import rows from a file.

Then Group in the table's Filter and Group bar gathers rows under each theme, which is the Theme grid as a live view. Drop each key PDF onto the desk and it becomes a File or link work widget you can page through beside the table.

The Plexii assistant can help you find things again. Ask "which sources used interviews with junior staff?" and it answers from your own desks and documents, with numbered citations you can open to check. Treat it as a way to find your evidence, not to write the review. Every row in the matrix should be a source you have read yourself, and your institution's rules on AI in assessed work apply.

A few habits that save the deadline

• Fill Location every time. Page numbers you skip now are the hour you lose the night before submission.
• Set a date when reading stops. Reading expands to fill the time you give it. The method for organising essay research covers planning back from the deadline.
• Keep your browser tabs out of it. A matrix row is the record that a source was read. A pile of open tabs is a record of good intentions; a calmer way to handle too many tabs helps sort them.
• Check any AI summary against the source. If you use AI to summarise a paper, check the claim against the page before it goes in the matrix. How to check an AI answer has a short routine.

Common questions

What is a literature review matrix? A table with one row per source and one column per point of comparison, such as aim, method, sample, findings and limitations. It lets you compare sources side by side and see themes and gaps across a field before you write.

What is the difference between a literature review matrix and a synthesis matrix? The terms are used loosely. A literature review matrix is often organised by source, one row each. A synthesis matrix is often organised by theme, with sources listed under each. This template does both: the Matrix sheet is by source, and the Theme grid is by theme.

How many sources should go in the matrix? Every source you read closely enough to cite. For a coursework review that might be 15 to 30; for a thesis chapter, more. Background reading that you skimmed can share one row or stay out.

What columns should a literature review matrix have? At minimum: citation, year, aim, method, sample, key findings, limitations and theme. This template adds relevance, page location and the gap each source raises, because those three are what you need when you write.

Can I use this template in Google Sheets? Yes. Build it directly in Google Sheets: data validation, COUNTIF and COUNTIFS work the same way there.

Should I write the key findings in my own words? Yes. Paraphrasing as you go shows you have understood the source and protects you from accidentally copying wording into your review. Keep direct quotes, with page numbers, in your notes.