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The Literature Review for a Thesis or Dissertation

Victor RosenbergWinter 2005

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The Form of a Thesis Description of the Problem

– Statement of the Hypothesis (es) Literature Review Methodology Presentation of Data Analysis of Data, Discussion Conclusions and Recommendations Bibliography

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The Review of the Literature Annotated Bibliography

– Each work is independently reviewed.– Works organized by subject

The Review Essay (preferred)– Information is organized and explained

A Review of Literature is NOT a summary or an abstract of articles. It IS an analysis and synthesis of the source materials, written in a specific style which flows from broad to narrow, and takes into account both the theoretical and empirical issues.

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Literature reviews should include the following elements: An overview of the subject, issue or theory under

consideration, along with the objectives of the literature review

Division of works under review into categories (e.g. those in support of a particular position, those against, and those offering alternative theses entirely)

Explanation of how each work is similar to and how it varies from the others.

Conclusions as to which pieces are best considered in their argument, are most convincing of their opinions, and make the greatest contribution to the understanding and development of their area of research

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The purpose of the survey is to: Place each work in the context of its contribution to the

understanding of the subject under review Describe the relationship of each work to the others under

consideration Identify new ways to interpret, and shed light on any gaps in,

previous research Resolve conflicts among seemingly contradictory previous studies Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of effort Point the way forward for further research Place one's original work in the context of existing literature The literature review itself, however, does not present new primary scholarship.

– Source: http://library.ucsc.edu/ref/howto/literaturereview.html

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Example:

Annual Review of Information Science and Technology– Retrieval Techniques, Nicholas J. Belkin

and W. Bruce Croft, ARIST, Vol. 22, 1987, Martha Williams, Editor, Elsevier

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The Bibliographic Essay

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