guide to literature reviews
TRANSCRIPT
Rhonda HuismanAssistant Librarian
Liaison to the School of EducationUniversity College
Critical evaluations of published materials
Organize, integrate, and evaluate to
consider the progress of research—
clarifying a problem.
Include research syntheses and meta-
analysesMeta-analyses: quantitative; combine study
results
Define and clarify the problem
Summarize previous investigations to
inform the reader of the state of research
Identify relations, contradictions, gaps, and
inconsistencies in the literature
Suggest the next step or steps in solving
the problem
Grouping research
based on similarity
in concepts or
theories of interest
Methodological
similarities among
studies reviewed
Historical development
of the field
Bibliography or reference section
(must be cited in the review to be included)
Organized by subtopic, not by reference
Original research should be referenced
first (requires carefully reading)
Deciding on a relatively focused topic or question
Searching for relevant and relatively current literature: books, journal articles, newspapers, articles, or websites---the mix of these depends on your topic or question
Reading the materials you have found and noting how they approach your topic or question
Preparing a working outline for your
literature review and grouping notes from
your references in the appropriate section
of your outline
Writing and revising the narrative
Assembling a bibliography to correspond
to your citations
Talk with your librarian about citations,
resources, or Endnote.
www.ulib.iupui.edu
“Find Articles and More”
Research Guides
IUCAT/IUWorldcat
Google Scholar
Ask a Librarian
Interlibrary Loan
American Psychological Association. (2009).
Publication manual of the American
Psychological Association. 6th ed.
Washington, DC.
Bird, D. (2004). Guide to preparing a
literature review. Retrieved September
11, 2009 from
http://usm.maine.edu/~donnab/resources/li
terature_review.pdf.