One of the easiest ways to get started with putting your sources in order is to use a citation software. Some examples of citation software are Reworks, Zotero, Evernote, Mendeley, or EndNote. Although these programs have slightly different interfaces, plug-in options, or features, they all have the same purpose – to manage your personal academic library and store citations for you. Look into which features appeal to you the most, or which interface feels most intuitive to you, and then try one or two of the programs yourself! If you don’t want to use a citation software, there are programs with which you’re probably already familiar which will allow you to do the same thing – the most obvious, of course, is Excel, in which a carefully designed spreadsheet will allow you to store much of the same crucial information that citation software will, albeit without any of the features that might make your life a little bit easier in the long run.
You can find more information on citation management software here.
One of the easiest ways to do this is a Concept Map. Using a concept map (show an example of one on screen) will allow you to sift through your articles and identify major people or places, significant questions of interest, thesis statements that have commonalities, and more! Think about what the literature review calls on you to consider and critique and then take notes with those elements in mind while reading through your sources. Try and identify either things that your articles have in common (which articles? Why do they share these commonalities?) or places in which your articles disagree significantly (why do they disagree? Do multiple articles disagree?). You are looking for patterns and ways in which to group the sources you have found.
To create your own concept map, identify your key words, concepts, or ideas, and then use arrows to demonstrate for your own benefit the relationship between them. As with anything, there is software online that will help you make your own, easily manipulated Concept Map without having to concern yourself with the limitations of a hand drawn one. Some examples include CmapTools, VUE, Lucidchart, MindMeister, Mural.co and Draw.Io. As you can see, there are a lot of options out there, so again, take a look at a few different ones and determine which would be most useful for you! For example, you might find you prefer Draw.Io’s more freeform approach, or maybe Mural.co’s many template options, as well as its brainstorming feature.