Definition
A literature review is a comprehensive summary of previous research on a topic.
The literature review surveys scholarly articles, books, and other sources relevant
to a particular area of research.
When conducting research, it is essential that you include the literature review
section. This is a survey section where one has to include scholarly sources such as
these, journals and books that cover the topic under study. This section provides
an overview of the concepts and findings that relate to the research problem.
When coming up with a literature review, do not focus on summarizing the
sources. Rather, you should interpret them and provide critical analysis
Characteristics
The review should 1- enumerate, 2-describe, 3-summarize,4 objectively evaluate
and 5-clarify this previous research. It should give a theoretical base for the
research and help you (the author) determine the nature of your research. The
literature review acknowledges the work of previous researchers, and in so doing,
assures the reader that your work has been well conceived. 1
Function of literature review
"In writing the literature review, the purpose is to convey to the reader what
knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their
strengths and weaknesses are. The literature review must be defined by a
guiding concept (eg. your research objective, the problem or issue you are
discussing, or your argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list of the
material available, or a set of summaries”.
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Steps for conducting literature review
• 1. Choose a topic. Define your research question.
Your literature review should be guided by a central research
question. Remember, it is not a collection of loosely related studies
in a field but instead represents background and research
developments related to a specific research question, interpreted
and analyzed by you in a synthesized way.
2. Decide on the scope of your review.
How many studies do you need to look at? How comprehensive
should it be? How many years should it cover?
• 3. Select the databases you will use to conduct your searches.
Make a list of the databases you will search. Remember to include
comprehensive databases such as World Cat and Dissertations &
Theses, if you need to. 3
• 4. Conduct your searches and find the literature.
Keep track of your searches.
Review the abstracts of research studies carefully. This will
save you time.
Write down the searches you conduct in each database so
that you may duplicate them if you need to later (or avoid
dead-end searches that you'd forgotten you'd already
tried).
Use the bibliographies and references of research studies
you find to locate others
5. Review the literature
• Again, review the abstracts carefully.
• Keep careful notes so that you may track your thought
processes during the research process 4
Meaning
• The literature review is a written overview of major
writings and other sources on a selected topic. ... The
literature review provides a description, summary and
evaluation of each source. It is usually presented as a
distinct section of a graduate thesis or dissertation.
Purpose
The purpose of a literature review is to gain an
understanding of the existing research and debates
relevant to a particular topic or area of study, and to
present that knowledge in the form of a written report.
Conducting a literature review helps you build your
knowledge in your field.
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