Literature Review

A LITERATURE REVIEW IS NOT:

WHAT IS IT?

AND ITS PURPOSE?

A literature review is NOT an annotated bibliography. You will not start a new section each time you talk about a new work. Several works can and probably will be mentioned in the same paragraph. While an annotated bibliography only demonstrates how particular sources will be used in a study, a literature review also shows how the sources interact with each other.

The purpose of a literature review is to “review” the literature surrounding a certain topic area. The word “literature” means “sources of information” or “research.” The literature will inform you about the research that has already been conducted on your chosen subject. Generally, the literature review selects relevant past literature and DESCRIBES, SYNTHESIZES, and EVALUATES these texts/studies, putting the authors in conversation with each other.

Most literature reviews are found as introductory sections to research papers, proposals, journal articles, dissertations, theses or grants.

You may also encounter stand-alone literature reviews that summarize the state of research in a particular field or topic area.

MAIN OBJECTIVES OF THE LIT REVIEW

Literature Review

• Show where you think previous research has left gaps
• Distinguish various perspectives/evidence/issues/information, and specify which gap/perspective/issue your future work will pursue
• Define terms and/or explain concepts that will be important for your documentary and/or advocacy site

While specific requirements may differ depending on your discipline, professor, and assignment, there are some general guidelines that usually apply. As with any assignment, always check with your professor for you own specific requirements.

•Do not procrastinate! Start working as early as possible.

• Literature reviews almost always require scholarly, peer-reviewed sources (often articles from peer-reviewed, academic journals).

• There are two kinds of research articles: Empirical and Review.

• Empirical articles describe original research. This means that there is a clearly labeled “methods” section, “results” section, and “discussion” section, containing an original research study that contributes to the field. These articles will almost always also include a literature review before discussing the research study, illustrating how the study will contribute to previous research.

• Review articles are essentially peer-reviewed, scholarly literature reviews. They examine many empirical studies and synthesize them into a current “review” of the topic. It may be helpful to read these types of articles when writing your own literature review to see how they are structured.