What is a literature review?
Literature reviews are academic papers that show an understanding and knowledge of the academic literature on a particular subject. Literature reviews also include an analysis of the content; this is why it is called literature reviews rather than the term “literature report.
To show the distinction between reviewing and reporting, consider the film or television review articles. These are articles that contain content that include a summary of the main points of the film or program and the critic’s evaluation. The two primary goals of a literature analysis are the content that covers current research theories, evidence, and theories, as well as your critique and analysis of the material. A literature review is typically either a part or a portion of the dissertation, research proposal, or lengthy essay. However, it could also be analyzed and set as a separate section of writing.
What’s the goal of the literature review?
When writing a large piece, for example, dissertations or projects, the literature review is typically among the initial tasks completed following the decision to select a topic. The combination of reading and critical analysis will help refine the subject and frame research questions. Literature reviews help establish an understanding and familiarity with current research on a certain subject before launching a new investigation. Conducting a literature analysis should help you discover the kind of research that has already been done and determine the gaps in the field you are studying.
When conducting a literature review, it is a good idea to:
- summarize and analyze previous theory and research;
- find areas of disagreement and disputes over claims;
- identify any gaps that might be present in the research conducted to the present.
Make an analysis of the literature.
Concentrate on various aspects of your review. This may help plan to develop, improve and finally write it. It is possible to use and modify the prompts on our worksheet below to help you at different moments while writing and researching your review. These are ideas to help you think about and write.
The process of writing a literature review has many similarities to other assignments. You can find guidance on other pages on critical thinking and reading strategies in academics and writing. The top literary review guidelines offer specific tips you can try to do to help you write a good review.
A literature review is what it sounds like?
The term “literature review” refers to systematically examining the most scholarly literature on the subject of interest. It offers a comprehensive overview of the current research, allowing you to discover relevant theories, techniques, and gaps in research.
There are five essential elements to writing the literature review:
- Look for relevant publications
- Evaluate sources
- Find the main themes, debates, and gaps
- Draw out the structure
- Write your literature review
An excellent literature review isn’t just a summary of sources, but it also analyzes and synthesizes them, then critically reviews them to provide an understanding of the current state of information regarding the topic.
Why should you write a review of the literature?
Writing a dissertation or thesis, you’ll need to conduct a literature review to place your research within the existing literature. Literature reviews give you the opportunity to:
- Prove your proficiency in the subject and the scholarly background
- Design a theoretical framework as well as a methodological approach to your research
- Consider yourself concerning other theorists and researchers.
- Your dissertation should demonstrate how it addresses an issue or can contribute to a debate
There is a possibility that you will need to write a review of literature as a separate task. In this scenario, it is intended to analyze the state of research and to demonstrate your knowledge of debates in the field about a subject.
The contents will appear slightly different for each situation. However, the procedure of analyzing literature follows the same process. While you are reading it, you must also begin writing. Note down your notes, which you will later use in the writing of your review of the literature.
It is essential to track your sources and references to ensure that you don’t copyright. It is beneficial to compile an annotated bibliography. If any assistance is needed, visit StudyCrumb, where professionals can deal with any type of paper. In this, you gather all the information on your sources and then write a paragraph of analysis and summary of every source. This can help you recall the information you have read and helps save time later on in the process.
How to organize your literature review’s argumentation and structure?
It is essential to know the relationships and connections between the books you’ve read. Based on your readings and notes, you should seek out:
- trends, patterns, and the way they are used (in theory, methodology, and results): do certain techniques get increasingly or lesser popular with time?
- themes: what questions or concepts are familiar to the text?
- debates, conflicts, and contradictory statements: where do sources agree?
- pivotal papers: are there any significant theories or studies that have affected the direction of this field?
- deficits: what is missing in the research? Are there any flaws that require to be addressed?
This process will assist you in creating the structure for your literature review. It will also explain how your research will add to the existing knowledge. The only thing left is to write a motivation letter.