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 Writers 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 topic
Develop 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

Dissertatio
ns

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.Kates 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.Kates 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.h
tm

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 atenyearperiod. They determined that it was not possible to
recreate the specimen.

Analysis of a Sample Literat

ure Review