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Use the guidelines below to learn how to write a review of literature.
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| What is a
review of literature? |
The format of a review of literature
may vary from discipline to discipline and from assignment to
assignment.
A review may be a self-contained unit -- an end in itself --
or a preface to and rationale for engaging in primary research.
A review is a required part of grant and research proposals and
often a chapter in theses and dissertations.
Generally, the purpose of a review is to analyze critically
a segment of a published body of knowledge through summary, classification,
and comparison of prior research studies, reviews of literature,
and theoretical articles.
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| Writing
the introduction |
In the introduction, you should:
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Define or identify the general topic, issue, or area of concern,
thus providing an appropriate context for reviewing the literature.
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Point out overall trends in what has been published about
the topic; or conflicts in theory, methodology, evidence,
and conclusions; or gaps in research and scholarship; or a
single problem or new perspective of immediate interest.
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Establish the writer's reason (point of view) for reviewing
the literature; explain the criteria to be used in analyzing
and comparing literature and the organization of the review
(sequence); and, when necessary, state why certain literature
is or is not included (scope).
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| Writing the
body |
In the body, you should:
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Group research studies and other types of literature (reviews,
theoretical articles, case studies, etc.) according to common
denominators such as qualitative versus quantitative approaches,
conclusions of authors, specific purpose or objective, chronology,
etc.
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Summarize individual studies or articles with as much or
as little detail as each merits according to its comparative
importance in the literature, remembering that space (length)
denotes significance.
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Provide the reader with strong "umbrella" sentences
at beginnings of paragraphs, "signposts" throughout,
and brief "so what" summary sentences at intermediate
points in the review to aid in understanding comparisons and
analyses.
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| Writing
the conclusion |
In the conclusion, you should:
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Summarize major contributions of significant studies and
articles to the body of knowledge under review, maintaining
the focus established in the introduction.
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Evaluate the current "state of the art" for the
body of knowledge reviewed, pointing out major methodological
flaws or gaps in research, inconsistencies in theory and findings,
and areas or issues pertinent to future study.
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Conclude by providing some insight into the relationship
between the central topic of the literature review and a larger
area of study such as a discipline, a scientific endeavor,
or a profession.
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For further information see our handouts
on Writing a Critical Review of a
Nonfiction Book or Article or Reading
a Book to Review It.
To learn more about literature reviews, take a look at our class
on Writing Literature
Reviews of Published Research. |
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