Tips and Examples for Composing a Literature Review Along with Recommendations for Effectiveness
A literature review example is a detailed analysis and synthesis of the existing research on a specific topic, providing a comprehensive overview of the field. This critical summary plays a crucial role in many research papers, assignments, and scholarly works. The purpose of a literature review is to:
- Provide a summary of the existing research, including key findings, methodologies, and arguments.
- Identify gaps in existing research that require further investigation.
- Establish a framework for your own research, helping to define the direction of your research methodology and theoretical framework.
- Cite and give credit to the authors whose work contributes to the foundation of the field.
In a literature review example, researchers summarize sources such as journal articles, papers, and books on a topic. This summary provides an essential reference point for the research process, guiding the researcher in shaping their research questions and methodology.
Structure of a Literature Review
A literature review example typically includes:
- Introduction: An overview of the research topic, summarizing the scope of your review, and establishing the aim and objectives of the review.
- Body: Organized by key themes, chronological order, or other relevant categories, the body of the literature review summarizes the findings, methodologies, and arguments of the sources.
- Synthesis: Comparing and contrasting the findings from multiple sources to create a coherent understanding of the topic.
- Analysis: Interpreting the literature, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses, and identifying areas of debate or contradiction.
- Conclusion: Summarizing the major findings, offering an overall synthesis of the research, and identifying gaps in the existing literature that suggest potential directions for future research.
- Citation: Ensuring accurate citation of all sources used in the literature review, maintaining academic integrity and providing readers with the information needed to locate the sources.
Strategies for Writing a Literature Review
When writing a literature review, here are key strategies based on expert guidance to consider:
- Organizing the Literature Review:a. Chronological Organization: Organize the review by the date of publication, tracing the evolution of the understanding of a topic over time.b. Broad-to-Specific Approach: Start with general concepts and gradually move towards more specific studies that closely align with your research question or hypothesis.c. Thematic or Theoretical Grouping: Organize the literature by major themes, theories, or models in the field.d. Methodological Grouping: Organize the literature based on the research methods employed by the studies.
- Developing the Content:a. Define the Purpose: Clarify the aim of your review, whether to summarize, analyze, evaluate, or synthesize prior work.b. Critical Evaluation: Assess sources for credibility, relevance, and quality using evaluation criteria, such as the CRAAP test (Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose).c. Synthesis Rather Than Summary: Connect ideas across studies, highlight patterns, contradictions, and gaps, and integrate findings to build a coherent narrative that supports your research.d. Use Visual Tools: Employ knowledge maps, synthesis matrices, or summary tables to organize and visualize relationships among sources, helping to structure the review logically.
- Structuring the Review:a. Introduction: Outline the scope, objectives, and organization of the review. Introduce the topic and its significance.b. Body: Present the organized and synthesized literature, following your chosen organizing strategy. Maintain a formal, objective tone.c. Conclusion: Summarize key findings, emphasize gaps or inconsistencies, and relate the literature back to your research question or hypothesis, justifying the need for your study.
- Practical Writing Tips:a. Begin writing when you notice repetition in your readings, indicating that you've covered the major relevant literature.b. Keep focused on your research question to maintain relevance and clarity.c. Use citation management tools to organize references efficiently and ensure proper citation formatting.d. Write clearly and concisely, maintaining a logical flow to guide the reader through your analysis.
Sources:[1] Racine, D. C. (2015). A structure for conducting a literature review: continuous improvement. The Journal of Teaching Writing, 35(1), 3-25.[2] Booth, W. C. (2016). Writing with intelligence: essays and other styles, 2nd edn. Wiley.[3] Mackey, P. D., & Thomas, S. I. (2015). How to write a literature review: research and theory for the social sciences, 2nd edn. Sage.[4] Jarvis, S. (2017). Discovering psychology: mind, brain, behavior, 4th edn. Norton.[5] Turabieh, H., & Bailey, A. (2020). Guide to conducting literature reviews: a practical approach for students and researchers. Policy Press.
In the process of education-and-self-development, learning to write a literature review is essential for researchers, as it aids in shaping research questions and methodologies. This learning involves strategies such as organizing the literature review based on chronological order, broad-to-specific approach, thematic or theoretical grouping, or methodological grouping. Additionally, synthesizing the literature rather than simply summarizing it is crucial for creating a coherent narrative that supports one's research.
