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Emerald: It Gives An Overview of

A literature review summarizes and synthesizes the existing scholarly research on a particular topic. It gives an overview of what has been said about the topic, prevailing theories and hypotheses, and key writers. The review can take a purely descriptive form or provide a critical assessment. To write an effective literature review, one must define the problem or research area, conduct a thorough search for relevant materials, carefully evaluate the materials, analyze the findings, and structure the review with an introduction, body, and conclusion. Several universities provide guidance on how to properly write a literature review.

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31 views1 page

Emerald: It Gives An Overview of

A literature review summarizes and synthesizes the existing scholarly research on a particular topic. It gives an overview of what has been said about the topic, prevailing theories and hypotheses, and key writers. The review can take a purely descriptive form or provide a critical assessment. To write an effective literature review, one must define the problem or research area, conduct a thorough search for relevant materials, carefully evaluate the materials, analyze the findings, and structure the review with an introduction, body, and conclusion. Several universities provide guidance on how to properly write a literature review.

Uploaded by

Ra'fat Jallad
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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A literature review is a description of the literature relevant to a

particular field or topic.

It gives an overview of:

What has been Key writers Prevailing Questions Appropriate


said theories and being asked and useful
hypotheses methods and
methodologies

It may take two forms


• Purely descriptive – as in an annotated bibliography.
A descriptive review should not just list and paraphrase, but
should add comment and bring out themes and trends.

• A critical assessment of the literature in a particular field,


stating where the weaknesses and gaps are, contrasting the
views of particular authors, or raising questions. It will evaluate
and show relationships, so that key themes emerge.

It can be
• A whole paper, which annotates and/or critiques the literature in
a particular subject area.
• Part of a thesis or dissertation, forming an early context-setting chapter.
• a useful background outlining a piece of research, or putting
forward a hypothesis.

Define the problem


It is important to define the problem or area which you wish to address.
Have a purpose for your literature review to narrow the scope of what you need to look out
for when you read.

Carry out a search for relevant materials


Relevant materials will probably comprise:

Commercial/
Books Peer reviewed Newspaper Historical government reports and
journal articles articles records statistical information

Theses and Other relevant


dissertations information

Search the university or academic library with a good collection in your subject area.
Search using the Internet – but be sure to avoid the pitfalls.
Use specific rather than general keywords and phrases for your search strategy.

Evaluate the materials


Points to consider when evaluating material:

Initial appraisal from raw bibliographical data:

• Author credentials – are they an expert in the field?


Are they affiliated to a reputable organization?
• Date of publication – is it sufficiently current or has
knowledge moved on?
• If a book – is it the latest edition?
• If a journal – is it a peer reviewed scholarly journal?
• Is the publisher reputable and scholarly?

Appraisal based on content analysis:

• Is it addressing a scholarly audience?


• Does it review relevant literature?
• Is it an objective fact-based viewpoint? Is it logically organized and clear
to follow?
• Does it follow a particular theoretical viewpoint, e.g. feminist?
• What is the relationship of this work to other material on the same topic – does it
substantiate it or add a different perspective?
• If using research, is the design sound? Is it primary or secondary material?
• If it is from a practice-based perspective, what are the implications for practice?

Analyse the findings

• What themes emerge and what conclusions can be drawn?


• What are the major similarities and differences between the various writers?
• Are there any significant questions which emerge and which could form a basis for further
investigation?

Introduction
Define the topic and state reasons for
choice. You could also point out overall
trends, gaps and themes that emerge.

Body
Discuss your sources. You can organize
your discussion chronologically,
thematically or methodologically.

Conclusion
Summarize the major contributions,
evaluating the current position, and
pointing out flaws in methodology, gaps
in the research, contradictions and areas
for further study.

These universities have good


information on how to write a
literature review:

• Deakin University –
http://www.deakin.edu.au/library/research/index.php

• University of Wisconsin-Madison –
http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/ReviewofLiterature.html

• University of North Carolina –


http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/literature-reviews/

• University of California, Santa Cruz – http://library.ucsc.edu/ref/howto/


(Follow links to "Write a Literature Review".)

Brought to you by:

Emerald
GROUP PUBLISHING www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com

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