Writing the Literature Review

A Practical Guide

The Guilford Press

Contents

What Is a Literature Review?

Sue is a doctoral student in social sciences. She is about to complete her course-work and is thinking about her next step, the dissertation work. For the last 7 years, she has worked as a social worker in an inner-city community. Although she is not sure about her focus, she knows that she wants to explore ways to better utilize community resources. Her vision is to help individuals and families escape poverty, but she is also thinking of finding ways to strengthen the relationships among families and local organizations.

Sue is all fired up about this topic but feels overwhelmed by the many issues involved. She realizes that the topic is too wide and she needs to carve out a focus that is not too overwhelming but not too limited in scope. Her advisor praises her choice of topic but suggests that she read more about theories and research studies related to it. Sue remembers that she wrote a paper about social capital theory which asserts that shared values and social relationships, as well as investment in community sources, produce future benefits for its members. She believes this theory may apply to her future research and at the same time she feels that critical theory — and perhaps also critical race theory — is relevant as well. Her advisor suggests that to gain in-depth knowledge about theories that are relevant to her topic she should start working on her literature review. Reading the literature, the advisor noted, will help Sue narrow the topic of her dissertation research. The literature review will inform her about what is already known about the topic and identify areas where new knowledge is needed, as well as help in designing her own study.

Sue's example illustrates that carrying out a comprehensive literature review is a required step in any research project. First, a researcher cannot conduct the study without gaining a deep understanding of the research topic and learning from the work of other scholars and researchers in the field (Creswell, 2018). Without being aware of what is already known, novice researchers might explore a research question that was previously investigated exhaustively, inadvertently replicate studies done before, or repeat past methodological mistakes. Moreover, writing a good literature review allows researchers to demonstrate the intellectual depth and scholarship needed for making independent decisions that are part and parcel of conducting any research project.

Like Sue, you may find yourself ready to start your term paper, thesis, dissertation, or grant proposal and wondering about what a literature review is, why it is needed, how it contributes to your study, and what steps are involved in conducting it. In this book, we answer these questions and guide you through the process of conducting the review.

In this chapter, we offer an introduction to the process that will allow you to successfully start the challenging and exciting journey of writing the literature review. We begin with a discussion highlighting the purposes and contributions of literature reviews, followed by an overview of the literature review process. Next, we suggest ways of constructing a plan of action that will enhance your ability to finish the work within your time frame. The final section in the chapter includes a short description of each chapter in the book.

WHAT IS A LITERATURE REVIEW?

A literature review is a systematic examination of the scholarly literature about one's topic. It critically analyzes, evaluates, and synthesizes research findings, theories, and practices by scholars and researchers that are related to an area of focus. In reviewing the literature, the writer should present a comprehensive, critical, and accurate understanding of the current state of knowledge; compare different research studies and theories; reveal gaps in current literature; and indicate what needs to be done to advance what is already known about the topic of choice.

A literature review may be a stand-alone or embedded in the study. A standalone review is a self-contained document that comprises an extensive review of the literature and provides a broad overview of the current knowledge about a particular topic. While a stand-alone review may serve as a basis for future research, the review itself is not followed by a research study. Examples of this kind of review may be found in term papers for graduate and postgraduate class assignments; entire theses or dissertations, especially those that are theoretically or philosophically based; and chapters in a book or review articles. In fact there are journals in different disciplines (e.g., Annual Review of Economics, Review of Educational Research Annual Review of Sociology, Annual Review of Organizational Psychology, and Organizational Behavior) that are dedicated to publishing stand-alone literature review articles.

A more common kind of literature review is an embedded review that is an integral part of a study and serves as the context for the issue being explored. This type of review provides a direct connection between the sources and the problem to be studied and it has implications for the design of the future studies. The writer demonstrates how the proposed study expands the existing knowledge and contributes to a fuller understanding of the topic. This kind of literature review serves as a foundation for studies such as theses, dissertations, research projects, or grant proposals. In addition, an embedded literature review provides an introduction to scholarly journal articles, or policy and position papers.

Both kinds of literature review — the stand-alone and embedded — highlight the evolutionary and cumulative nature of knowledge creation. The progress of knowledge building depends on trustworthy interpretation of past research and scholarship. Schulman (1999) calls the ability to learn from those who came before us generativity, and argues that this ability is one of the hallmarks of scholarship. Only by gaining generativity and situating our work meaningfully within the pre-existing scholarly milieu are we able to create valuable and relevant studies and accomplish one of research's main goals — expansion of our collective knowledge (Ravitch & Riggan, 2017). Ultimately, "Good research is good because it advances our collective understanding" (Boote & Beile, 2005, p. 3).

While the process of writing either a stand-alone or embedded literature review is largely similar, our focus in this book is mainly on conducting a literature review that is an integral part of research projects, theses, dissertations, grant proposals, or policy papers.

THE PURPOSES AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF A LITERATURE REVIEW

Before we describe the purposes of the literature review and its contributions to your research, we want to emphasize what a literature review is not.

* A literature review is not an annotated bibliography where you summarize and describe individual sources on your topic. Rather, a literature review synthesizes sources that relate to particular themes and guiding concepts. The difference between an annotated bibliography and a literature review is, according to Axelrod and Cooper (2012), similar to the difference between still pictures and a movie. A movie contains still pictures, but it connects them into a meaningful story line.

* A literature review is not a presentation of your own ideas, arguments, and assumptions. Rather, your claims should be based on studies conducted by researchers or theories put forth by authoritative scholars.

* A literature review is not a position paper. As you review the current literature, you should not cherry-pick sources that support your point of view and overlook references that represent opposing perspectives. You may share your position and provide the rationale for embracing it, but at the same time you should be open to acknowledging the value of different approaches and perspectives, compare and contrast different positions, and present the pros and cons of each.

* A literature review should not simply mirror the current literature in the field (Boote & Beile, 2005). Instead, it should aim to present the current knowledge through a fresh and creative perspective that contributes to new thinking and understanding of the topic being investigated.

Once we understand what a literature review is not, we can now turn to considering the many purposes of a good and rigorous review. In the following section we provide a list of potential purposes of a literature review. We do not rank these purposes hierarchically according to their importance; rather, we perceive all of them to be equally valuable. You may consider the following purposes according to the specific nature of your study and decide which ones should be addressed and the level of emphasis assigned to those you have chosen. Following Ravitch and Riggan (2017), we divided the purposes into three major categories: (1) purposes that set the context for the study, (2) purposes that inform the research design and methodology, and (3) purposes that identify areas for advancing scholarship in the field.

Purposes That Set the Context for the Study

* Clarify and define terms and key concepts used in the context of your study.

* Situate the topic within the historical background of your research area.

* Set up a theoretical framework for your study and contrast perspectives, ideas, and approaches.

* Recognize influential researchers and scholars and seminal studies that have shaped your field of study.

* Place the topic within a contemporary context and demonstrate knowledge of state-of-the-art developments.

* Discuss current debates, controversies, and questions.

* Identify relationships between ideas and theories and their practical implications.

Purposes That Inform the Research Design and Methodology

* Narrow the research problem to make it feasible and doable within your context and constraints.

* Refine the focus of your study or even modify the topic of your research.

* Identify and critique methodological assumptions and research techniques employed in previous studies.

* Uncover methodologies and instrumentation that may help you design your own study and develop your data collection and analysis strategies.

* Highlight deficiencies in previous research that may help you avoid similar flaws and errors.

* Prevent unintentional duplication of previously conducted studies or, alternatively, extend existing research to new methodology, settings, and participants.

* Confirm the "researchability" (Hart, 1998) of the research question.

* Ensure avoidance of insignificant or trivial research.

Purposes That Identify Areas for Advancing the Scholarship in the Field

* Summarize existing research in ways that allow new perspectives or interpretations to emerge.

* Justify the significance of your investigation by establishing the importance of the issue your research is addressing.

* Point out gaps in existing research and illustrate areas of concern or omissions that still need to be explored.

* Demonstrate how your research is linked to the studies reviewed and the existing body of knowledge.

* Indicate how your research revises, extends, or refines the understanding and knowledge of the topic.

As you can see, writing a literature review serves multiple purposes and may seem like a complex and challenging endeavor. Completing this work may, at times, intimidate beginners or even advanced students, as well as experienced practitioners and researchers. This book aims to alleviate the pressure involved in the process by guiding you with a step-by-step road map.

We wrote this book from a practical orientation that makes the development of a literature review accessible, efficient, and rewarding. We did this by focusing on each phase of the process and explaining it clearly, providing easy-to-follow suggestions, and illustrating the procedure of writing the review by using vignettes and examples based on literature reviews written by our students, ourselves, and other researchers.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE LITERATURE REVIEW DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

There are six major steps in developing and conducting a literature review, which are described in detail throughout the book. We realize that developing the literature review is not always a linear process. Rather, the process is continuous, dynamic, and interrelated, as different parts of the review are interconnected and inform each other. Nevertheless, for clarity and practical reasons, we developed an easy-to-follow sequential description of the process that progresses step by step from chapter to chapter. The following section highlights briefly what is involved in each of the six steps.

1. Choosing a literature review topic. The development of the literature review begins by selecting a topic of investigation that is meaningful for you and for your field. You will probably need to narrow down or broaden your topic by considering your purpose, your audience, and constraints such as time and access. The focus of your research should be stated as a well-defined question in order to create a researchable and manageable topic. This step is discussed in Chapter 3.

2. Locating literature review sources. After selecting a topic, you will locate sources that will provide knowledge and information about your topic. By identifying appropriate terms and keywords, developing search strategies, and searching records, you can search appropriate databases in your field of study. You may also benefit from tracing references in reviews, research papers, and books, or by asking colleagues or subject-matter experts for recommendations. This step also requires careful recording and organization of the identified sources and starting to create your own bibliography. This step is discussed in Chapter 4.

3. Analyzing and evaluating literature review sources. Once you locate sources through your searches, you will start by reading each source to determine its value for your research and whether it should be included in your review. Then you will document the themes and issues discussed in the literature that are relevant to your research question and interpret and summarize their contents. You will end by assessing the quality of the research presented in the study according to criteria for excellence that are indigenous to different research approaches. This evaluation process will allow you to become a critical reader and assess the credibility of the research sources and the extent to which the information offered is trustworthy, valid, and logical. This step is discussed in Chapters 5 and 6.

4. Organizing and synthesizing the literature and building an argument. In this phase, you will assemble the analysis of the individual sources into a well-structured, persuasive, and holistic narrative. We start with a description of strategies that will enable you to structure the literature review around themes and patterns and recognize how they relate and build upon each other. We then discuss how to construct a logical argument that presents your point of view in a persuasive way. This is followed by a description of the process of synthesizing the literature and bringing it together into a coherent whole. This step is discussed in Chapters 7, 8, and 9.

5. Developing a writer voice and following writing conventions. At this point, you will probably be aware of your voice as a writer, and we will discuss ways of developing an active and authoritative writer voice as you carry on a dialogue with the authors discussed in your review. We also offer strategies that will allow you to overcome writing blocks. Ethics require you to properly reference and acknowledge all your sources and avoid intentional and unintentional plagiarism. Additionally, you should pay attention to your writing style and language usage, as well as appropriate citation and referencing style. This step is discussed in Chapters 10 and 11.

6. Writing, editing, and refining the literature review. Now you are ready write your literature review, which will demonstrate your ability to integrate theory and research and reveal a thorough understanding of current knowledge in your field and its implications for your research question. We summarize the different ways to place a literature review in a thesis or dissertation and offer different strategies that enhance the cohesiveness and flow of the writing. The completion of the literature review requires editing, revising, and refining your work, and we offer assessment matrices that will help you do that. This step is discussed in Chapter 12.

CREATING A PLAN OF ACTION

Reading through the six steps described above (which we call the CLAS-WE approach) could make you wonder how much time it will take you to complete the full process of writing a literature review. There is no exact answer to this question; it depends on the purpose of the review. Are you writing it for a class project, master's thesis, or dissertation proposal, or is it a part of a grant? The expectations are different for each type of review. The time frame may also be influenced by your professor's expectations, a grant schedule, or your professional plans. Additionally, the length of time required for completing the review depends on your own circumstances and the amount of time that you can devote to writing it.