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How to Write A Literature review |What is a literature review?
A literature review may be presented as a paper on its own, or it can be contained as an integral part of an article, research proposal, research report or dissertation.
It describes, compares, contrasts and evaluates the major theories, arguments, themes, methodologies, approaches and controversies in the scholarly literature on a subject. It also connects, compares and contrasts these arguments, themes and methodologies etc., with the concerns of a proposed piece of research (that is, the aims of the essay, research project or thesis, the research questions, and the central hypothesis). The literature review is:
not an annotated bibliography
not a summary of each of your sources listed one by one
not just a descriptive summary of the historical background to your topic
In a literature review, your central focus is examining and evaluating what has been said before on a topic, and establishing the relevance of this information to your own research. You may also identify what has not
been said in the literature on a subject (this is called ‘a gap in the literature’, and filling such gaps with new knowledge is a particular interest of postgraduate scholarship). You may also need to discuss the methodologies that have been used in the literature and how these relate to your chosen method.
The literature broadly refers to information relevant to your topic of interest. Such works may deal specifically or more generally with your topic of interest. While such information may be obtained from a variety of sources, including books, journal articles, reports, etc., the focus is on scholarly published materials.As source material it can be categorised as a:
Primary source: Original research from journals, articles or conferences, original materials such as historical documents, or creative works such as art or literature.
Secondary source: Evaluations, reviews or syntheses of original work
Tertiary source: Broadly scoped material put together usually from secondary sources to provide an overview, e.g. a textbook.
To limit the scope of your work, you will need to decide what literature to select for your review. In general, the source material is appropriate if it has:
relevance – it should contribute to the development of your topic, clarify your position, provide an alternative point of view you wish to argue against or provide useful primary source material.
authority – it should be published in a reputable journal, have been critically evaluated, been used extensively as a source material, been peer reviewed or be a recognised authority in the area.
currency – it should be recent research or still be influential in the area.
Since a literature review is information dense, it is crucial that the work is intelligently structured to enable a reader to grasp the key arguments with ease.
1. Cite: keep the primary focus on the literature.
2. Compare the various arguments, theories, methodologies, approaches and findings expressed in the literature: what do the authors agree on? Who employs similar approaches?
3. Contrast the various arguments, themes, methodologies, approaches and controversies expressed in the literature: what are the major areas of disagreement, controversy, debate?
4. Critique the literature: which arguments are more persuasive, and why? Which approaches, findings, methodologies seem most reliable, valid, or appropriate, and why? Pay attention to the verbs you use to describe what it is an author says/does: e.g. asserts, demonstrates, etc.
5. Connect the literature to your own area of research and investigation: how does your own work draw on/depart from/synthesise what has been said in the literature?
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