writing about something that doesn't motivate or interest you in the long run. ... Establish the writer's reason (point of view) for reviewing the literature; explain the.
Andrew Herrmann’s Guide on How To Write a Literature Review 1. What is a Lit Review? A literature review surveys scholarly articles, books and other sources relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, providing a description, summary, and critical evaluation of each work. The purpose is to offer an overview of significant literature published on a topic. The literature review itself, however, does not present new primary scholarship. Before you begin – Think! It's essential that you spend time thinking about and researching possibilities and options. Whatever you do, don't pick the first idea that pops in your head because you may end up writing about something that doesn't motivate or interest you in the long run. Usually, you can find a good topic by identifying an issue that touches your life in some significant way. Perhaps it's a problem that you are experiencing or have experienced at school, work, or home or in your community. Perhaps it's a significant issue that causes a strong reaction in you. The best topics are ones you have a natural interest in, ones you would read about, discuss, pursue on your own. Brainstorm! Write down all your ideas for research. Then decide which ones are most interesting to you. Now while you might decide that “Communication Among Family Members” is a good topic, it is waaaaaaaaay to broad. Hone it down. What kind of families? Single-parent? Inter-racial? Which people? Grandparents and grandsons? Mothers and daughters? Marriage partners? What are they talking about? TV violence? Children’s homework habits? Sex? Are they arguments? Are they dialogues? Hone it down until you have a concise thesis statement, such as: Religious Storytelling and Advice from Grandparents Gender Roles in Father-Son Conversations about Baseball “You are an Ass!”: Teenager Insults as a Defense Mechanism in Families Have a plan: As in all writing, it is useful to have a plan before you start. Within a literature review the plan should follow an inverted triangle pattern, starting with a broad discussion of the subject area, then a more detailed discussion of particular areas, until you come to a summary at the end of the literature review. Sometimes it may not be possible to follow this neat method however, and in fact a number of smaller 'triangles' focusing on particular aspects of the review are required.
2. Components Like any paper a literature review has an intro, body and conclusion. Unlike a book report, or other type of written assignment, a literature review makes a good argument all the way through by examining other literature in our specific field. Writing the introduction In the introduction, you should: • Define or identify the general topic, issue, or area of concern, thus providing an appropriate context for reviewing the literature. • 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. • 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).
Writing the body In the body, you should: • 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. • 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. • 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. Writing the conclusion In the conclusion, you should: • Summarize major contributions of significant studies and articles to the body of knowledge under review, maintaining the focus established in the introduction. • 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. • 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.
