The Subject/Literature Review

The Literature Review

Questions that hopefully will be answered:

What is a Literature Review?

Why do a Literature Review?

How to do a literature review?

The Literature Review1. What is a Literature Review?

• A literature review is the effective evaluation of selected documents on a research topic. A review may form an essential part of the research process or may constitute a research project in itself.

The Literature Review• The literature review does not contain any

new primary scholarship. Rather, it is a critical description and evaluation, not just a list or résumé, of material that has already been published. It should demonstrate awareness of main theories, issues and debates, and your ability to comment on them in an informed and scholarly way.

The Literature Review• Besides enlarging your knowledge about the

topic, writing a literature review lets you gain and demonstrate skills in two areas:

• information seeking: the ability to scan the literature efficiently, using manual or computerised methods, to identify a set of useful articles and books

• critical appraisal: the ability to apply principles of analysis to identify unbiased and valid studies.

The Literature Review

• It can take several forms. Sometimes it stands alone, as a piece of work in its own right. More often, it forms the introduction to a research report, thesis or dissertation.

The Literature Review• A ‘good’ literature review…..

• ….. is a synthesis of available research

• ….. is a critical evaluation

• ….. has appropriate breadth and depth

• ….. has clarity and conciseness

• ….. uses rigorous and consistent methods

The Literature Review

• Why review the literature?

• The aim of a literature review is to demonstrate to the reader, who may be your tutor or your examiner, that you have read and understood what has already been published on a topic or subject area and identify gaps in the literature. In illustrating your familiarity with the literature, you are able relate your own research to it, and to place it in this broader context.

The Literature Review

• Why do a literature review?

• While the form of the literature review may vary with different types of studies, the basic purposes remain constant.  In general, the literature review should:

• provide a context for the research

• justify the research

• ensure the research hasn't been done before (or if it is repeated, that it is marked as a "replication study")

The Literature Review

• Why do a literature review?

• show where the research fits into the existing body of knowledge

• enable the researcher to learn from previous theory on the subject

• illustrate how the subject has been studied previously

The Literature Review

• Why do a literature review?

• highlight flaws in previous research

• outline gaps in previous research

• show that the work is adding to the

• understanding and knowledge of the field

• help refine, refocus or even change the topic

The Literature Review

• A ‘poor’ literature review is…..

• …..an annotated bibliography

• ….. confined to description

• ….. narrow and shallow

• ….. confusing and longwinded

• ….. constructed in an arbitrary way

The Literature Review

• How to do a literature review?

• some or all of the following main types of material on your subject should be identified and examined:

• books• journal articles• official publications• reports• dissertations or thesis• conference proceedings• reviews• newspapers• internet sites

The Literature Review

• In examining the material, there are various points you should think about. Consider for example:

• The main arguments presented by the author(s)• How the work relates to others published in the field• If the thinking is original, problematic, contentious• If it supports/opposes a particular position• If it offers alternatives to current thinking• If it offers ideas/considerations for future research• If it is based on sound evidence• What has been missed out