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Identify

the purpose of the

Literature Review
Identify the information elements
for an effective Literature Review

The source material or readings you

consulted to understand and investigate your
research problem.
This may be from journals, books,
newspapers, magazines, online journals,
databases, CD ROMs.
(note: however, for AW purpose, it is
suggested to work on at least 5 research
papers).

To critically review existing information that

is relevant to the current research.
To summarise / paraphrase relevant research.
(N.B. a Literature Review is not a summary but
a critical synthesis of the relevant research
papers.)
To evaluate other works and the relationships
between past research. How does this relate
to current research? This is vitally important.
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This is not a sequential summary of previous

research.
Use your Concept Matrix as a plan and :
Be selective about the parts of other papers to be
discussed, particularly the Methodology, Results
and Discussion sections.
Discuss how these studies relate to each other e.g.
Is the Methodology similar or different? Are there
similarities or differences in the Results?
Explain how previous studies relate to the current
study.

The literature review contextualises the

current research by reviewing previous
studies about the same or similar topic.

Existing theories about the topic

Key concepts / main factors / variables and
the relationships between these
Inconsistencies or shortcomings in previous
research e.g. evidence may be limited or
contradictory
An explanation about the need for the
current research

1.

Remember the purpose

Address your research question throughout

Show why you are carrying out this research
Explain why previous research was chosen
Clarify how your research adds to previous
papers on the same or similar topic

2. Read with Purpose

Be selective about what you read. Summarize and
paraphrase this information.
Select the main ideas, data, conclusions, that
have been given and look for similarities and
differences between the research papers.

3. Write with Purpose

Your objective is to evaluate and show the
relationships between the work previously
undertaken e.g. Is Researcher X's methodology

more convincing than Researcher Y's? Did

Researcher X build on the work of Researcher Y?

Explain the relationship between previous work and

the current research.
Carefully plan and organize your Literature Review.

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Involves doing 2 tasks simultaneously

1.

Reading relevant sources to the research.

2. Defining the research question:
continuing previous research; finding a
gap; asking a question; counterclaiming

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1.

Trying to read everything!

The idea of the literature review is not to provide a
summary of all the published work that relates to
the research, but to survey the most relevant and
significant work.

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2. Reading but not writing!

Writing aids understanding and finding

relationships between readings. Do not wait
until reading is completed.
Reading should continue until the end of the
research project.
The writer should prepare several, changing
ideas and information whilst learning more
about the context of the research problem.
Thus, the first draft should not be considered
the final version.
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3. Not keeping bibliographic information!

Always keep bibliographic information in your
notes.
Always include in-text citations when you have
paraphrased or quoted another researcher.

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