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How To Write A Literature Review

The document provides guidance on writing a literature review. [1] A literature review surveys and critically evaluates scholarly sources on a particular topic to provide an overview of the significant works. [2] Developing a literature review involves formulating a problem, searching for relevant literature, evaluating the sources, and analyzing and interpreting the findings. Literature reviews should include an overview of the topic, a categorization of the sources, an explanation of how sources relate and differ, and conclusions on the most compelling arguments. Sources should be assessed based on the author's credentials, objectivity, persuasiveness, and value. [3] The purpose of a literature review is to contextualize previous work and identify new interpretations, gaps, conflicts, and

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49 views2 pages

How To Write A Literature Review

The document provides guidance on writing a literature review. [1] A literature review surveys and critically evaluates scholarly sources on a particular topic to provide an overview of the significant works. [2] Developing a literature review involves formulating a problem, searching for relevant literature, evaluating the sources, and analyzing and interpreting the findings. Literature reviews should include an overview of the topic, a categorization of the sources, an explanation of how sources relate and differ, and conclusions on the most compelling arguments. Sources should be assessed based on the author's credentials, objectivity, persuasiveness, and value. [3] The purpose of a literature review is to contextualize previous work and identify new interpretations, gaps, conflicts, and

Uploaded by

Adrian Brown
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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How to Write a Literature Review

Write a Literature Review


Source: http://guides.library.ucsc.edu/write-a-literature-review

“1. Introduction

Not to be confused with a book review, a literature review surveys scholarly articles, books and
other sources (e.g. dissertations, conference proceedings) relevant to a particular issue, area of
research, or theory, providing a description, summary, and critical evaluation of each work. The
purpose is to offer an overview of significant literature published on a topic.

2. Components

Similar to primary research, development of the literature review requires four stages:

• Problem formulation—which topic or field is being examined and what are its
component issues?
• Literature search—finding materials relevant to the subject being explored
• Data evaluation—determining which literature makes a significant contribution to the
understanding of the topic
• Analysis and interpretation—discussing the findings and conclusions of pertinent
literature

Literature reviews should comprise 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

In assessing each piece, consideration should be given to:

• Provenance—What are the author's credentials? Are the author's arguments supported
by evidence (e.g. primary historical material, case studies, narratives, statistics, recent
scientific findings)?
• Objectivity—Is the author's perspective even-handed or prejudicial? Is contrary data
considered or is certain pertinent information ignored to prove the author's point?
• Persuasiveness—Which of the author's theses are most/least convincing?
• Value—Are the author's arguments and conclusions convincing? Does the work
ultimately contribute in any significant way to an understanding of the subject?
3. Definition and Use/Purpose

A literature review may constitute an essential chapter of a thesis or dissertation, or may be a


self-contained review of writings on a subject. In either case, its purpose 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 amongst 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 case of theses or dissertations) in the context of existing
literature

The literature review itself, however, does not present new primary scholarship.”

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Other sources / guides:

What is a Critical Review of a Journal Article?


http://library.queensu.ca/inforef/criticalreview.htm

The Literature Review: A Few Tips On Conducting It


http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/specific-types-of-writing/literature-review

Writing a Critical Review


https://student.unsw.edu.au/writing-critical-review

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