The purpose of this study is to explore the resources (papers, technical reports) that tackle web service composition approaches (techniques) from different aspects, to aid with evaluating and comparison, and also to find guidelines on the most effective approaches to composition that we might follow. The focus of this research related to web service composition, with the aim of locating, assessing and synthesising outcomes to benefit both researchers and practitioners. We chose four electronic archival databases and reviewed the papers published in the period between 2000 and 2007.