Writing Literature Review

What is Literature Review?

• A review of literature is a critical analysis of a portion of the published body of knowledge available through the use of summary, classification, and comparison of previous research studies, reviews of literature, and journal articles. (Subject Guides, n.d.)

• A literature review examines the current scholarly work available on a particular subject, perhaps within a given time period (“Writing Center Handouts,”. n.d.).

• It is not merely a summation of the existing work; its purpose is to analyze critically the applicable “published body of knowledge”. (“The Writer’s Handbook,” n.d.)

• The literature review is more than a survey of various sources, but it is not a book review. (“Subject Guides,” n.d.).

• It is the summary and synthesis of material gathered from various sources and organized to address an issue, research objective, or problem statement. (“Writing Center Handouts,” n.d.)

• A well-written literature review may even state what research has yet to be done. (“Writing Center Handouts,” n.d.)

Types of Literature Review Projects

• Course Assignment: Research paper or proposals.

• Capstone project.• Thesis or dissertation.

Research Process

Understands topicDevelop your own ideas

Demonstrates knowledge

Literature Review

• “What does the literature show us?”• “Connect your ideas to the literature.”• “Survey the literature on the topic.”

… but what IS ‘the literature’?

The Literature

A collection of all the scholarly writings on a topic

Scholarly articles

Books

Conference proceedings

Dissertations

Why Write Literature Review?

According to Boote, D.N. & Beile, P. (2005). Scholars before researchers: On the centrality of the dissertation literature review in research preparation. Educational Researcher 34/6, 3-15, the basic purposes of writing literature review are:

• Provide a context for the research.• Justify the research.• Ensure the research hasn't been done before (or

that it is not just a "replication study").

• 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.• 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.

How Literature Review Helps our Study?

• It provides an excellent starting point for researchers beginning to do research in a new area by forcing them to summarize, evaluate, and compare original research in that specific area.

• It ensures that researchers do not duplicate work that has already been done.

• It can provide clues as to where future research is heading or recommend areas on which to focus.

• It highlights key findings.• It identifies inconsistencies, gaps and contradictions in the literature.• It provides a constructive analysis of the methodologies and approaches

of other researchers.

Learning Commons Fastfacts Series ©2004

CONTENT OF A LITERATURE REVIEW

A literature review should contain: an introduction, a middle (body) and conclusion.

Neuman, W. Lawrence. (2003). Social research methods: qualitative and quantitative approaches, 5th ed, Allyn and Bacon, Boston.

Introduction

• Define the topic, providing an appropriate context for reviewing the literature.

• Establish writer's reasons (point of view) for reviewing the literature.

• Explain the organisation of the review (sequence).

• State what literature is and is not included (scope).

Body

• Group the literature according to common themes

• Provide insight into relationship between central topic and a larger area (i.e. discipline).

• Proceed from the general, wider view of the research under review to the specific problem.

Conclusion

• Summarise major contributions of the literature

• Evaluate the current "state of the art" literature reviewed

• Point out major flaws, or gaps in research• Outline issues pertinent to future study

“How Do I Get Started?”

STEPS TO TAKE BEFORE BEGINNING TO WRITE

St.Kate’s Libraries Guides http://library.stkate.edu

Clarify

• Ask your professor to explain the assignment in terms of how the paper should be written.

• You should knowif the paper should summarize, evaluate, synthesize or critique your sources.

• Ask how many sources you should include, and what types you should use (journal articles, books or Web sites).

• Ask if you shouldinclude background or historical information for your topic that might not be found in the sources.

Find models

• Look for other literature reviews in your subject area to get a sense of how they are written.

• You can find literature reviews included in most research or scholarly articles.

• You can add “review” to your other search terms while searching the Web or journal databases.

Narrow your topic

• The more narrow your topic, the better your chances of finding specific pieces of research to fit your own topic.

• Look for the seminal work in your field, since these will often form the basis of the research of others.

• Remember to ask your professor for his or her expertise on the subject!

RESEARCHING FOR A LITERATURE REVIEW

St.Kate’s Libraries Guides http://library.stkate.edu

Consider how current your sources must be

• Generally, you will use sources that are as current as possible.

• When researching subjects that are constantly changing, such as technology, science or medicine, having the most recent, cutting edge information is critical.

• In other areas, such as the history or the humanities, it may be most important to show how the particular perspectives on the topic have changed or are affected by other factors.

Find a focus

• Look for themes or issues that tie together your sources.

• Do the authors share perspectives or are they varied? Are research results consistent or divergent? Are there raging debates? Does the research reveal certain trends or directions? Are there certain aspects or populations left out of the research?

• Selecting one of these themes will give a focus and sense of organization to your literature review.

Write a thesis statement

• After you have settled on a focus for your lit review, write a thesis statement that will provide the perspective that your paper will take.

• Eg:

Gather your sources

• If you intend to use journal articles, select the journal index(es) that pertain to your subject area.

• List the keywords that best describe your topic; generally, use nouns rather that verbs.

• Begin by searching broadly, adding keywords to narrow your topic.

• Ask a Reference Librarian to suggest search terms and for help selecting and navigating databases.

• When you find good sources, consider “harvesting” additional sources by examining the reference lists of pertinent articles.

• Scan the materials you have collected (in other words, skim the abstracts, beginning and conclusions) to decide which you think might be most relevant.

• Make a pile of the best, most important works, and put the others aside (do not toss them out for now – you never know what you may return to in the future).

• Once you have decided which are the best and most important sources, read them more carefully and take notes.

• Keep all of your printouts until after your paper is returned, just in case you need to refer to them

Tips for Writing and Presentation

Verma, Gajendra K. and Kanka Mallick. Researching Education: Perspectives and Techniques. London: Falmer Press, 1999. The

Writing Center, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. Literature Reviews. Chapel Hill, NC. 2005. Available

http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/literature_review.htm

Give structure to the literature review.

• Like any academic paper, a literature review should contain an introduction, a body and a conclusion, and should be centered on a main idea or argument about the literature you are reviewing.

• If the literature review is a longer document or section, section headers can be useful to highlight the main points for the reader. However, the different sections should still flow together.

Explain the relevance of material you use and cite.

• It is important to show that you know what other authors have written on your topic.

• However, you should not simply restate what others have said; rather, explain what the information or quoted material means in relation to your literature review.

- Is there a relevant connection between a specific quote or information and the corresponding argument or point you are making about the literature? What is it?

- Why is it necessary to include this piece of information or quote?

Use verb tenses strategically

• Present tense is used for relating what other authors say and for discussing the literature, theoretical concepts, methods, etc.“

In her article on biodiversity, Jones stipulates that ….”• In addition, use the present tense when you present your

observations on the literature.“However, on the important question of extinction, Jones

remains silent.”• Past tense is used for recounting events, results found, etc.

“Jones and Green conducted experiments over a ten-year period. They determined that it was not possible to recreate the specimen.”

Analysis of a Sample Literature Review