The Literature Review:A Few Tips On Conducting It

s1150033 Ryo Ueno

Outline

Four things must be done in a literature review

Some questions for writing a review of the literature

Some questions about each book or article you include

An important note

Four things must be done in a literature review

1. The review must be organized around and related directly to the thesis or research question that you are developing.

2. The review must synthesize results into a summary of what is and is not known.

Four things must be done in a literature review

3. The review must identify areas of controversy in the literature.

4. The review must formulate questions that need further research.

Some questions for writing a review of the literature

What is the problem, or research question that your literature review helps to define?

Will the readers find your literature review relevant, appropriate, and useful?

What is the scope of your literature review?

Some questions for writing a review of the literature

What types of publications are you using?

How good was your information seeking?

Have you critically analysed the literature that you use?

Some questions about each book or article you include

Did the author formulate a problem or issue?

What is the relationship between the research and theoretical perspectives?

How does this article or book relate to the specific thesis or question that you are developing?

An important note

The literature review is not a list summarizing or describing one piece of literature after another literature.