Literature Review Ms. Maysoon Dorra

WHAT IS THE LITERATURE? Although you might think of novels and poetry when you hear the word "literature," for a piece of research, the meaning is more specific. In terms of a literature review, "the literature" means the works you consulted in order to understand and investigate your research problem.

Useful Sources Journal articles: these are good especially for up- to-date information. Books Government/corporate reports: many government departments and corporations commission or carry out research. Their published findings can provide a useful source of information, depending on your field of study.

Newspapers: newspapers are more helpful as providers of information about recent trends, discoveries or changes. Theses and dissertations Internet: the fastest-growing source of information is on the Internet. bear in mind that anyone can post information on the Internet so the quality may not be reliable Magazines

What is a Literature Review? According to Creswell (2005), a review of the literature “is a written summary of journal articles, books and other documents that describes the past and current state of information, organizes the literature into topics and documents a need for a proposed study” (pp. 79).

Purpose of Literature Review The purpose is to offer an overview of significant literature published on a topic. It is very important to note that your review should not be simply a description of what others have published in the form of a set of summaries, but should take the form of a critical discussion, showing insight and an awareness of differing arguments, theories and approaches.

According to Caulley (1992) of La Trobe University, the literature review should: • compare and contrast different authors' views on an issue • group authors who draw similar conclusions • criticize aspects of methodology • note areas in which authors are in disagreement • highlight gaps in research • show how your study relates to previous studies • show how your study relates to the literature in general • conclude by summarizing what the literature says

Guidelines for Writing a Literature Review Narrow your topic as needed Find and select studies (sources) Read and summarize the studies Draft a preliminary thesis statement Write your review

Write Your Review Introduction: Get the reader’s attention and introduce the topic, state the thesis Body Paragraphs: Briefly describe each study. Summarize and analyze it Conclusion: Summarize major contributions of significant studies and articles to the body of knowledge under review, maintaining the focus established in the introduction.

Construct a Working Thesis Statement Use the focus you’ve found to construct a thesis statement. Yes! Literature reviews have thesis statements as well! However, your thesis statement will argue for a particular perspective on the material. Some sample thesis statements for literature reviews are as follows: Ex: The current trend in treatment for congestive heart failure combines surgery and medicine. Ex: More and more cultural studies scholars are accepting popular media as a subject worthy of academic consideration.

But how is a literature review different from an academic research paper? The main focus of an academic research paper is to develop a new argument, and a research paper will contain a literature review as one of its parts. In a research paper, you use the literature as a foundation and as support for a new insight that you contribute. The focus of a literature review, however, is to summarize and analyze the arguments and ideas of others without adding new contributions.

Note: Use in-text citation and reference citation in your literature review.