The Literature Tracker

Literature Review Tracker | Excel

Read smarter. Track everything. Never lose a key paper again.

You've downloaded 70 articles. You've highlighted like a maniac. And now you genuinely cannot remember which one had that perfect quote, which ones you've actually finished, or whether that 2011 paper is still relevant to your argument.

Post-its, three folders called "lit review FINAL," and a browser with 40 tabs open are not a system.

This is.

I built the Literature Tracker while doing my own research, because nothing on the market actually helped me think about my reading — it just listed it. So this one does both: it organizes every source, and it shows you what your reading actually looks like.

📊 THE DASHBOARD (the part people message me about)

Your tracker builds itself as you type. No formulas to set up, nothing to configure:

• Quick Stats — total papers, read vs. unread, average relevance at a glance
• Topic Breakdown — see instantly which areas dominate your reading, and which gaps are about to become a reviewer's comment
• Publication Timeline — catch it early if your sources skew outdated or cluster in one narrow window

This is what turns a reading list into a literature review.

📦 WHAT YOU GET

• Excel file (.xlsx)
• Google Sheets compatible, works straight from your browser
• Pre-built dashboard, formulas, colour-coding and sample data
• In-sheet instructions

✅ FEATURES

• Track author, title, year, journal, keywords and source type
• Status marking — to read / reading / finished
• Relevance rating, so the important papers surface first
• Filter by topic, status or importance in one click
• Space for your own notes, quotes and summaries
• Everything auto-updates the dashboard as you go
• Sample data (dummy data) included so you can see how it works before clearing it

🎓 BUILT FOR

PhD candidates · Master's and thesis writers · Systematic review researchers · Grad students · Research assistants · Anyone writing with sources

🖥️ YOU'LL NEED

Microsoft Excel (desktop or web) or a free Google account. No coding, no add-ons, no advanced formulas — open it and start typing.

⚡ INSTANT DOWNLOAD

Your files are available the moment payment clears. For personal use; no resale or redistribution.

Questions before or after you buy? Message me — I answer every one. 🤍

Built by a researcher, for researchers.