Approaching a body of literature from a historical perspective is widely acknowledged as essential to conducting a literature review. Methodological guidance for approaching a body of literature from a historical perspective depends on familiarity with works historians have written about the practice of historical research. This article provides some direction by drawing from the best-known work of one distinguished historian, a work which, upon careful reading, outlines some fundamental tasks for the historically-inclined reviewer of a body of literature. An evaluation rubric is presented that facilitates a progressive appraisal of the integration of history within a literature review. Ultimately, the article serves to stimulate the processes of thought, interpretation and rationalization when historically engaging with a body of literature. Numerous examples from the literature on human resource development are identified that illustrate the issues discussed in the article.

从历史的角度研究文学体被广泛认为是进行文学评论的必要条件。从历史角度看待文学作品的方法论指导取决于对历史学家关于历史研究实践的著作的熟悉程度。本文通过借鉴一位杰出的历史学家的最著名著作提供了一些指导，该著作在认真阅读后概述了历史倾向的文学体评论者的一些基本任务。提出了一个评估规则，以促进对文献综述中的历史整合进行逐步评估。最终，这篇文章在历史上与文学联系在一起时，可以激发思想，解释和合理化的过程。