Free template

Literature review mind map template

For researchers, PhD and master's students, and anyone who has to make sense of thirty papers before writing the review. The finished map groups the literature by theme instead of by paper, shows where studies agree and where they do not, and ends with the argument you plan to make.

The template as a live map

Scroll to zoom, drag to move, click a node to fold or unfold it.

Use this template Free. No account needed for your first map.

The outline

Literature review: your topic
- Research question
  - The question in one sentence
  - Why it matters now
  - Scope: what is in and what is out
- Themes
  - Theme 1 and the papers under it
  - Theme 2 and the papers under it
  - Theme 3 and the papers under it
  - How the themes connect
- Methods used
  - Study designs and sample sizes
  - Measures and data sources
  - Strengths and weak spots in the methods
- Key findings
  - What most papers agree on
  - Headline results and effect sizes
  - Results that surprised you
- Gaps and disagreements
  - Where authors contradict each other
  - Questions nobody has tested
  - Populations or contexts that are missing
- Sources to chase
  - Papers everyone else cites
  - Review articles to read next
  - Authors and groups to follow
- My position
  - My argument in two lines
  - Evidence I will lean on
  - What I still need to check

How to use this template

Add your material. Paste the abstracts or your reading notes, or type your research question and the field it sits in.
Let the AI fill the branches. Click Use this template. getMindmap opens with this structure already in the prompt. Add your material and it builds the map.
Edit, expand and export. Edit the wording, add or remove branches where your material needs them, then export the map as PNG, SVG or Markdown, or as a PDF on Pro.

When this template works best

You have a stack of papers and need to see the themes before you start writing.
You are preparing a thesis chapter, a grant background section or a systematic review protocol.
You want to spot disagreements between authors quickly, so you can build your own position around them.
You are supervising a student and want a shared picture of where their reading stands.

Use something else when

You need a formal citation database. Use a reference manager for that and keep the map for structure.
You are reading a single paper. The book or article summary templates fit better.

Start with this structure

Use this template Free. No account needed for your first map.