This article presents insights into the 10 best tools for literature review for a PhD student that you must consider while working on your dissertation. So, read it till the end to understand the purpose of each tool along with reasons to prefer one over the other.
Do you also find the literature review one of the most difficult phases of a dissertation, due to extensive research, adding the necessary information, and organising everything with proper citation? This is where some truly shining tools for literature review for a PhD student come into play and revolutionise your workflow in 2025.
Value Market Research reported that the market size of literature review software worldwide reached $2.07 billion in 2024, which will grow at 8.41% CAGR to reach $4.29 billion by 2033. Fortunately, you can also use these digital tools to streamline the research and automatically generate bibliographies while enjoying the comfort of your home.
In this article, we will share 10 essential and free tools for literature review for a PhD student that you must know about in 2025. So, let’s dive into these tools and speed up your dissertation literature review.
A List of 10 Best Literature Review Tools for PhD Students in 2025
For PhD students, a literature survey is not only a hurdle to a successful dissertation but also serves as a foundation to lead the reader through the vast ocean of information. So, using the right literature review online tools has become the need of the hour to make this process easier and more efficient than ever! Along with these tools, you can also seek expert assistance from top-rated dissertation writing services. They always remain available to solve your queries and make your work success-oriented.
The following is the list of the best tools for literature review for a PhD student that you should consider throughout your dissertation writing journey.
1. Google Scholar – For Quick Access to Scholarly Articles
Google Scholar is one of the most reliable and easiest places to start when starting your literature review. It is ideal for providing a broad net during your early research because it provides many scholarly publications from various fields. Most of the supervisors advise students to begin their research from Google Scholar by narrowing down the time period and other specifications.
Here is why this tool is important for your dissertation:
- It is cost-effective and simple to use.
- It also includes many disciplines or fields.
- It provides you with relevant articles and recommendations for citation.
- You can directly put the references of its articles using reference management tools.
2. Connected Papers – For Visualising Research Networks
You can use relevant papers as they might assist you, if you are concerned about the publications between publications in your subject. This tool helps you find new investigation options by creating a visual network of connected scholarly works.
The following are some reasons why using these tools for literature review for a PhD student is a big yes:
- Literature survey is all about looking at someone else’s data to discover relevant things to your topic. This is where this tool helps you find out the reliable information.
- It provides hundreds of scientific papers in an easy-to-understand graph.
- It demonstrates how ideas and subjects have changed over time through year-by-year research papers on every topic.
3. Research Rabbit – Your Personal AI Research Assistant
The Research Rabbit is becoming increasingly popular among educators because it can provide informative recommendations and visuals. It is quite beneficial for you as it maintains your reading organisation and assists you in finding new materials.
Here is why this free online literature review generator is so important for your dissertation literature review:
- As this is an AI tool, it provides suggestions according to the input you provided.
- You can ask anything from its search engine and get the answer along with proper references.
- It also helps students to work cooperatively by creating thematic groups.
4. EndNote – For High-Level Reference Management
It is one of the most ideal and comprehensive management tools that is ideal for managing hundreds of citations at a time. It is commonly used in formal classes.
The following are some reasons why using these tools for literature review for a PhD student is a big yes:
- It can successfully handle a high number of citations.
- It has features for grouping and advanced branding.
- It collaborates with Word to enable smooth writing.
5. Notion – For Organising Your Review Notes and Insights
The tool-like notion works more than a task organiser. It is an effective tool for arranging literature reviews. Through using this, you may structure your notes and arrange your reading. You can also use this to make databases, templates, and dashboards, along with adding authentic citations to your dissertation.
Wondering why this tool is important for your dissertation? Check these reasons:
- It provides customised Workspaces for articles and themes.
- It can support or be compatible with databases, checklists, and multimedia.
- It maintains every material on a single platform that can be searched easily.
6. Scrivener – For Structuring Your Literature Review
You may feel difficulties while managing several parts of the literature and combining notes. You can use Scrivener to plan and organise each segment, ultimately to manage the structure and flow. This is a great free online literature review generator that can organise your material in the most appropriate way.
Here is why this tool is so important for your dissertation literature review:
- It is perfect for writing complex and large-scale projects.
- It can break the work into small portions or chapters.
- It also includes illustrations such as outline views and corkboards.
7. Litmaps – For Live Literature Mapping
Litmaps allows you to monitor the progress of the literature over time, which brings the research map to a new level. It is also an excellent resource for comprehending the evolution of research subjects.
The following are some reasons why using these tools for literature review for a PhD student can streamline their work:
- It highlights the logical relationships between different research papers.
- It can identify significant works and citation strategies.
- This tool can explore the gaps and unexplored topics in the literature.
8. ChatGPT – For Summarising, Structuring, and Clarifying Content
ChatGPT is an AI technology that has become an essential tool for researchers. It can help you think more quickly, in any case, such as when brainstorming a framework or summarising a lengthy essay.
Elfsight states that ChatGPT is continuously improving its technology, making it the most widely used AI platform, reaching over 1 billion users in 2025.
The importance of this tool for literature survey includes:
- It can compress lengthy research reports.
- It can assist you in developing outlines and identifying themes.
- It also explains the complex languages and rephrases difficult ideas.
9. Grammarly – For Proofreading and Clarity
Grammarly, one of the best literature review tools, guarantees that your work looks polished and formal. Even if you add full informational data, you may lose your reputation if you use difficult phrases and a poor structure in your literature review.
Here is why these tools for literature review for a PhD student are a game-changer:
- It can give you recommendations on tone, grammar, and punctuation mistakes in real time.
- It also verifies the formality and clarity of your dissertation.
- It alarms you about problems such as citation and plagiarism.
10. Excel or Google Sheets – For Comparative Tables
They are a great tool if you want to compare several research studies on parameters like sample size, methodology, results, and limitations. Spreadsheets are particularly helpful in the analysis process.
The importance of this tool for literature survey includes:
- You have to arrange the results in an understandable, scientific manner.
- Through using this tool, you can easily compare research side by side.
- You can use a chart or colour coding to visualise trends.
How do You Write a Good Literature Review for a PhD?
According to the University of Sheffield, writing a good PhD-level literature review includes the following steps:
- First of all, you should search for relevant data from different reliable sources.
- You can search with keywords most commonly used in your material.
- During this scan, you should put the related necessary information, like research gaps, onto the paper or your file, along with their sources.
- Later on, while developing a literature review, you can add information from there and organise it well with proper references.
- Remember that the information you add from outside in review must be properly cited and logically connect the ideas.
Which Tool is Best for Literature Review?
Well, there are many best tools for literature review for a PhD student, which include,
- Google Scholar for literature survey
- EndNote and Zotero for reference management
- Research Rabbit and ChatGPT for AI research
What are the 5 Cs of a Literature Review?
Carroll University states that the following are the top 5 Cs of a literature review that help you to ensure that everything is covered in this survey, which can make your dissertation shine:
- Cite where you need to add a citation accurately.
- Comparing means the comparison of sources to check out their similarities.
- Contrast is the place where you look for highlighting differences among the sources used.
- Critique is to assess the advantages and disadvantages of every research or claim.
- Connect means to make a connection between the literature and your inquiries and contributions.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that a literature review takes the most time during dissertation writing, and it gives shivers to PhD students struggling to find reliable data relevant to their work. It’s not just about collecting the right information, but also includes organising the data and proper references. To assist you in this regard, here, we have covered some essential tools for literature review for a PhD student that you must use at every step of the way.
Using these tools in 2025, you can easily manage your tasks and other responsibilities and transform the most difficult process into a quick and easier one. Also, if you ever feel stuck, contact the best dissertation writing platforms in the UK for immediate guidance. Professional writers will quickly respond to you and solve your problems efficiently.
So, whether you choose professional help from experts or essential tools for literature review, you can develop an outstanding chapter to build a solid dissertation. Start using these tools today to create an impactful review and create winning arguments perfectly.