Review of related literature guidelines
If you have any questions, comments,Or suggestions to improve these guidelines please me at e-mail hrallis@ines for writing a literature helen mongan-rallis. Last updated:[note: for these guidelines, in some sections i have quoted directly some of the the steps from: galvan, j. Literature review is not an annotated bibliography in which you summarize briefly each article that you have reviewed. While a summary of the what you have read is contained within the literature review, it goes well beyond merely summarizing professional literature. Galvan outlines a very clear, step-by-step approach that is very useful to use as you write your review.
Guidelines in writing review of related literature
I have integrated some other tips within this guide, particularly in suggesting different technology tools that you might want to consider in helping you organize your review. I also provide links at the end of this guide to resources that you should use in order to search the literature and as you write your addition to using the step-by-step guide that i have provided below, i also recommend that you (a) locate examples of literature reviews in your field of study and skim over these to get a feel for what a literature review is and how these are written (i have also provided links to a couple of examples at the end of these guidelines (b) read over other guides to writing literature reviews so that you see different perspectives and approaches: some examples are:Review of literature: university of wisconsin - madison the writing to .. Bluford ed links to resources on writing a literature 1: review apa through the links provided below on apa guidelines so that you become familiar with the common core elements of how to write in apa style: in particular, pay attention to general document guidelines (e. Font, margins, spacing), title page, abstract, body, text citations, 2: decide on a will help you considerably if your topic for your literature review is the one on which you intend to do your final . However, you may pick any scholarly 3: identify the literature that you will review:Familiarize yourself with online databases (see umd library resource links below for help with this), identifying relevant databases in your field of relevant databases, search for literature sources using google scholar and also searching using furl (search all sources, including the furl accounts of other furl members).
Some tips for identifying suitable literature and narrowing your search :Start with a general descriptor from the database thesaurus or one that you know is already a well defined descriptor based on past work that you have done in this field. You will need to experiment with different searches, such as limiting your search to descriptors that appear only in the document titles, or in both the document title and in the ne your topic if needed: as you search you will quickly find out if the topic that you are reviewing is too broad. Try to narrow it to a specific area of interest within the broad area that you have chosen (remember: this is merely an introductory literature review for educ 7001). It is a good idea, as part of your literature search, to look for existing literature reviews that have already been written on this part of your search, be sure to identify landmark or classic studies and theorists as these provide you with a framework/context for your your references into your refworks account (see: refworks import directions for guide on how to do this from different databases). You can also enter references manually into refworks if you need 4: analyze the you have identified and located the articles for your review, you need to analyze them and organize them before you begin writing:Overview the articles: skim the articles to get an idea of the general purpose and content of the article (focus your reading here on the abstract, introduction and first few paragraphs, the conclusion of each article.
Key statistics that you may want to use in the introduction to your useful quotes that you may want to include in your review. Important: if you copy the exact words from an article, be sure to cite the page number as you will need this should you decide to use the quote when you write your review (as direct quotes must always be accompanied by page references). Note: although you may collect a large number of quotes during the note taking phase of your review, when you write the review, use quotes very sparingly. Your role as a reviewer is to evaluate what you read, so that your review is not a mere description of different articles, but rather a critical analysis that makes sense of the collection of articles that you are reviewing. Major trends or patterns: as you read a range of articles on your topic, you should make note of trends and patterns over time as reported in the literature.
This step requires you to synthesize and make sense of what you read, since these patterns and trends may not be spelled out in the literature, but rather become apparent to you as you review the big picture that has emerged over time. Your analysis can make generalizations across a majority of studies, but should also note inconsistencies across studies and over fy gaps in the literature, and reflect on why these might exist (based on the understandings that you have gained by reading literature in this field of study). You may also note that studies fall into different categories (categories that you see emerging or ones that are already discussed in the literature). When you write your review, you should address these relationships and different categories and discuss relevant studies using this as a your review focused on your topic: make sure that the articles you find are relevant and directly related to your topic. As you take notes, record which specific aspects of the article you are reading are relevant to your topic (as you read you will come up with key descriptors that you can record in your notes that will help you organize your findings when you come to write up your review).
Typically a review will cover the last five years, but should also refer to any landmark studies prior to this time if they have significance in shaping the direction of the field. If you include studies prior to the past five years that are not landmark studies, you should defend why you have chosen these rather than more current 5: summarize the literature in table or concept map (2006) recommends building tables as a key way to help you overview, organize, and summarize your findings, and suggests that including one or more of the tables that you create may be helpful in your literature review. If you do include tables as part of your review each must be accompanied by an analysis that summarizes, interprets and synthesizes the literature that you have charted in the can plan your table or do the entire summary chart of your literature using a concept map (such as using inspiration). Of tables that may be relevant to your review:Definitions of key terms and y of research 6: synthesize the literature prior to writing your the notes that you have taken and summary tables, develop an outline of your final review. In the case of this educ 7001 introductory literature review, your initial purpose is to provide an overview of the topic that is of interest to you, demonstrating your understanding of key works and concepts within your chosen area of focus.
You are also developing skills in reviewing and writing, to provide a foundation on which you will build in subsequent courses within your . In your final project your literature review should demonstrate your command of your field of study and/or establishing context for a study that you have er how you reassemble your notes: plan how you will organize your findings into a unique analysis of the picture that you have captured in your notes. In the case of a literature review, you are really creating a new forest, which you will build by using the trees you found in the literature you read. This can then be exported into a microsoft word nize your notes according to the path of your each topic heading, note differences among each topic heading, look for obvious gaps or areas needing more to describe relevant to discuss how individual studies relate to and advance to summarize periodically and, again near the end of the to present conclusions and to suggest specific directions for future research near the end of the out your outline with details from your 7: writing the review (galvan, 2006: 81-90). The broad problem area, but avoid global in the review, indicate why the topic being reviewed is guish between research finding and other sources of te why certain studies are you are commenting on the timeliness of a topic, be specific in describing the time citing a classic or landmark study, identify it as a landmark study was replicated, mention that and indicate the results of the s other literature reviews on your the reader to other reviews on issues that you will not be discussing in y comments such as, "no studies were found.
Long lists of nonspecific the results of previous studies are inconsistent or widely varying, cite them all relevant references in the review section of thesis, dissertation, or journal 8: developing a coherent essay (galvan, 2006: 91-96). Your review is long, provide an overview near the beginning of the the beginning of a review, state explicitly what will and will not be y your point of view early in the review: this serves as the thesis statement of the for a clear and cohesive essay that integrates the key details of the literature and communicates your point of view (a literature is not a series of annotated articles). Subheadings, especially in long transitions to help trace your your topic teaches across disciplines, consider reviewing studies from each discipline a conclusion for the end of the review: provide closure so that the path of the argument ends with a conclusion of some kind. If the review was written to stand alone, as is the case of a term paper or a review article for publication, the conclusion needs to make clear how the material in the body of the review has supported the assertion or proposition presented in the introduction. On the other hand, a review in a thesis, dissertation, or journal article presenting original research usually leads to the research questions that will be the flow of your argument for , j.
Glendale, ca: pyrczak & library resources and links:umd library research tools: includes links ks import directions: links to step-by-step directions on how to important to refworks from different owl (online writing lab): a user-friendly writing lab that parallels with the 5th edition apa style essentials: overview of common core of elements of apa research style crib sheet is a summary of rules for using apa style for electronic media and url's: commonly asked questions regarding how to cite electronic es of literature reviews:Johnson, b. Pmc3715443ten simple rules for writing a literature reviewmarco so m (2010) worsening file-drawer problem in the abstracts of natural, medical and social science databases. Dn, beile p (2005) scholars before researchers: on the centrality of the dissertation literature review in research preparation. S m (2009) the task force on systematic reviews and guidelines (2009) the value of “traditional” reviews in the era of systematic reviewing. Ll r, daly w (2001) strategies for the construction of a critical review of the literature.
S pd, stewart gb, pullin as (2006) are review articles a reliable source of evidence to support conservation and environmental management? N h, glasziou p, chalmers i (2010) seventy-five trials and eleven systematic reviews a day: how will we ever keep up? Es from plos computational biology are provided here courtesy of public library of s:article | pubreader | epub (beta) | pdf (180k) | annercanvasemaillibraryeagleonemytimeeaglepaypasswordsdirectoryeab toolshelpful sity of mary washingtonwhere great minds get to umwsearch this sitesearch faculty & staffsearch e of arts and scienceshistory and american studiesabout the requirements & requirements & rships and t research are here: home / history resources / historiography / literature review guidelinesliterature review ture review (historiographic essay):Making sense of what has been written on your of a literature review:Before doing work in primary sources, historians must know what has been written on their topic. They must be familiar with theories and arguments–as well as facts–that appear in secondary you proceed with your research project, you too must be familiar with the literature: you do not want to waste time on theories that others have disproved and you want to take full advantage of what others have argued. You want to be able to discuss and analyze your literature review will demonstrate your familiarity with your topic’s secondary ines for a literature review:1) length: 8-10 pages of text for senior theses (485) (consult with your professor for other classes), with either footnotes or endnotes and with a works-consulted bibliography.
Number of works reviewed: depends on the assignment, but for senior theses (485), at least ten is literature review must include enough works to provide evidence of both the breadth and the depth of the research on your topic or, at least, one important angle of it. Your ability to do so will demonstrate your understanding of the evolution of might determine that the literature makes sense when divided by time period, by methodology, by sources, by discipline, by thematic focus, by race, ethnicity, and/or gender of author, or by political ideology. There is no “rule” on divisions—historians wrote the literature without consulting each other and without regard to the goal of fitting into a neat, obvious organization useful to key step is to figure out the most logical, clarifying angle. Do not arbitrarily choose a categorization; use the one that the literature seems to fall into. If not, you might still have a er: are there missing elements in the literature?
Contents of literature review:The literature review is a research paper with three ingredients:A) a brief discussion of the issue (the person, event, idea). While this section should be brief, it needs to set up the thesis and literature that follow. Arguing your thesis:The thesis of a literature review should not only describe how the literature has evolved, but also provide a clear evaluation of that literature. You should assess the literature in terms of the quality of either individual works or categories of works. Paper should always note secondary sources’ relationship to each other, particularly in terms of your thesis about the literature (e.
The various pieces of the literature are “related” to each other, so you need to indicate to the reader some of that relationship. Conclusion of literature review:Your conclusion should not only reiterate your argument (thesis), but also discuss questions that remain unanswered by the literature. Writing annercanvasemaillibraryeagleonemytimeeaglepaypasswordsdirectoryeab toolshelpful sity of mary washingtonwhere great minds get to umwsearch this sitesearch faculty & staffsearch e of arts and scienceshistory and american studiesabout the requirements & requirements & rships and t research are here: home / history resources / historiography / literature review guidelinesliterature review ture review (historiographic essay):Making sense of what has been written on your of a literature review:Before doing work in primary sources, historians must know what has been written on their topic.