W4A. Research Question and Goal, Overleaf, IEEE Referencing

Author

Georgy Gelvanovsky

Published

March 19, 2026

1. Summary

1.1 The Research Question and Goal

Every systematic literature review is organized around a research question (RQ) or goal. The RQ and goal are functionally equivalent—they both define what your review aims to discover or accomplish. The difference is purely one of formulation:

  • A research question is phrased as a question: “What factors influence user adoption of autonomous vehicles?”
  • A goal is phrased as a statement of intent: “This review systematically examines the factors influencing user adoption of autonomous vehicles.”

Both forms are acceptable. Choose the one that fits the tone and structure of your paper.

1.1.1 Characteristics of an Effective RQ/Goal

An effective research question or goal for a systematic literature review must satisfy several criteria simultaneously:

  • Focused on a narrow problem: The RQ should not try to cover all aspects of a broad field. A focused question produces a manageable, coherent review.
  • Would lead to new knowledge: The answer should not already be well-established in the literature. If it is, there is no gap to fill.
  • Has not been adequately answered: Existing systematic reviews should not have already addressed this exact question comprehensively.
  • Is answerable through the method: You must have access to a database and be able to construct a search that will find relevant literature.
  • Can be assessed using evidence: The answer must emerge from data (the papers you find), not from opinion alone.
  • Limited in scope: The RQ should specify constraints—time period, domain, population, geographic region, etc.—to keep the review feasible.
  • Feasible within your resources: The review must be completable with the databases, time, and expertise available to you.
1.1.2 Language-Level Qualities of an Effective RQ

Beyond its conceptual qualities, a well-formulated RQ must also be:

  • Clear: Its purpose is immediately understandable without additional explanation.
  • Focused: It is narrow enough to be answered thoroughly within the scope of your paper.
  • Complex: It requires synthesis and analysis—it cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.”
  • Concise: It is expressed in as few words as possible without losing precision.

Examples of effective RQs/Goals:

  1. “What are the positive or negative factors influencing the intention to use shared autonomous vehicles (SAVs), including behavioural attitude and willingness to use?” (DOI: 10.1016/j.trf.2023.10.027)
  2. “This study systematically reviews the literature on the effects of using augmented reality (AR) for patient education across all medical specialties.” (DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2022.03.005)
  3. “A thorough systematic review of the literature on trustworthy AI and AI-powered robotic applications in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) sector is presented to prime this area for future studies.” (DOI: 10.1016/j.autcon.2022.104298)

Notice how all three examples are specific, address a clear gap, and constrain the scope of the review.

1.2 Introduction to Overleaf

Overleaf is a cloud-based platform for writing academic documents in LaTeX, the typesetting language used by most engineering and science journals (including IEEE publications). Unlike word processors such as Microsoft Word, LaTeX separates the content (what you write) from the formatting (how it looks). You write plain text with markup commands, and LaTeX compiles it into a professionally typeset document.

Key advantages of Overleaf for academic writing:

  • Collaboration: Multiple authors can edit the same document simultaneously, with change tracking.
  • Templates: IEEE provides official LaTeX templates that handle all formatting requirements automatically.
  • PDF output: Overleaf compiles your document into a PDF at any time, showing you exactly how the final submission will look.
  • Reference management integration: Overleaf works with .bib files to handle citations and bibliographies automatically.
1.3 IEEE Referencing

The IEEE citation style is the standard for engineering and computer science publications. It uses numbered citations in square brackets, assigned in the order they first appear in the text.

1.3.1 In-Text Citations

IEEE citations appear as numbers in square brackets:

  • Non-integral: “Previous research has established this relationship [1].”
  • Integral: “As Johnson [1] argued, the relationship holds across multiple contexts.”
  • Multiple sources: “Several studies support this conclusion [1]–[3].”

Numbers are assigned sequentially: the first source cited becomes [1], the second [2], and so on throughout the paper. The same source always retains its assigned number.

1.3.2 Reference List Format

The reference list appears at the end of the paper, ordered numerically. Format varies by source type:

Journal article:

[1] A. Author, B. Author, and C. Author, "Article title," Journal Name, vol. X, no. Y, pp. Z–Z, Month Year, doi: 10.XXXX/XXXXX.

Conference paper:

[2] A. Author, "Paper title," in Proc. Conference Name, City, Country, Year, pp. Z–Z.

Book:

[3] A. Author, Book Title, Xth ed. City, Country: Publisher, Year.
1.3.3 Common Difficult Cases

Some source types require special attention:

  • Multiple authors: List up to six authors. For more than six, list the first six followed by “et al.”
  • DOI vs. URL: Always prefer the DOI when available, as it is permanent. Use URLs only when no DOI exists.
  • Online sources without a clear author: Use the organization name as the author.

In Overleaf, IEEE referencing is handled through a .bib bibliography file. Each source is entered once as a BibTeX entry, and Overleaf automatically formats the in-text citation and the reference list according to the IEEE style template.