1. Literature Review: Conception to CompletionBy
Ramona L. Hyman, PhD

2. Outline of Presentation
I. Definition of the terms.
A. Literature review
II. Overall steps in preparing a literature review
A. Topic Selection
B. Locate, evaluate, read sources
C. Plan the outline
D. Write the rough draft
E. Evaluate draft and revise

3. Definitions
A Literature review is a synthesis of the literature on a topic.
A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic.
Literature comes from the latin word literrae-which means art of written work.

4. Why write a literature review?
It provides one with a useful guide to a particular topic.
The literature review can provide a foundation for a research paper’s investigation.
The literature review can serve as a report to keep people up to date with information on a particular subject.

5. Literature Review: 9 Steps
I. Select a topic.
Example:
“Non-Verbal Communication Between Primary Care Physicians and Older Patients: How Does Race Matter?”
II. Develop a research question.
Does Race Matter when it comes to the communication that takes place between a primary care physician and an older patient?
III. Develop a preliminary outline for your research project.

6. Literature Review: 9 Steps
IV. Begin to locate sources on your topic . V. Evaluate the sources and take notes. VI. Develop a final outline for your literature review. VII. Write the rough draft. VIII. Evaluate the rough draft. IX. Write the final draft.

7. Questions to Ask Yourself
1. What is the specific thesis my literature review will examine?
2. What type of literature review am I conducting? Am I looking at issues of theory? methodology? policy? quantitative research (e.g. on the effectiveness of a new procedure)? qualitative research (e.g., studies )?

8. Questions to Ask Yourself
3. What is the scope of my literature review? 4. What discipline am I working in (e.g., nursing psychology, sociology, medicine, education, literature)? 5. What types of publications am I using (e.g., journals, books, government documents, popular media)?
Literature reviews have thesis statements as well! However, your thesis statement will not necessarily argue for a position or an opinion; rather it will argue for a particular perspective on the material
A qualitative literature review-provides an understanding of the existing knowledge of the problem and rationale for the research questions
Quantitative literature review-researchers present literature discussions and integrate criticism of the literature into the text of a study
Meta analyses-is a statistically analysis that transcends others by mathematically combining the results of studies conducted by various researchers to obtain an overall combined result. ssummarizes statistically the results of prior research

9. Questions for Ask Yourself
6. Has my search been wide enough to ensure I've found all the relevant material? 7. Has my research been narrow enough to exclude irrelevant material?

10. Questions to Ask Yourself
8. Have I critically analyzed the literature? 9. Have I cited and discussed studies contrary to my perspective? 10. Which principles seem firmly established as being valid.

11. Questions to Ask Yourself
11. Which theories have a bearing on the topic being
reviewed.
12. What new information will I add to the body of knowledge on the the topic (Very important).

12. Be sure to do the following:
Synthesize the literature.
Read it with an eye toward getting a broad overview of which issues have been thoroughly covered.
Group various sources according to their similarities and differences; if differences exist in the literature, why?
Synthesize think, analyze and judge. in order words subtopics to come to a greater understanding of the state of knowledge on a larger scale.
Synthesis may not lead to a straight forward single conclusion but provides avenues where different information fit together leading to tentative conclusions and discussion of their implication
theory is a tested and testable concept which is used to explain an occurrence. ...

13. How to write a literature review
Evaluate and interpret the Literature
Authors of literature review should pay attention to literature that presents, tests and/or builds on the theories related to their topic.
Establish a Specific Purpose
The purpose of your literature review should be incorporated into the introduction to the literature review.
Example: The purpose of this literature review is “to examine the joint influence of physician race and patient race on non-verbal communication displayed by primary care physicians during medical interviews with patients 65 years or older .”

14. Sample Outline for the Literature Review
I. Introduction : Explain the topic. Demonstrate the importance of the topic. You also want to place your thesis/purpose statement in this section.
II. Point one: Include research findings from at least three sources; be sure to analyze the articles; provide your point of view.
II. Point Two: Include research findings from studies.
III. Point Three: Include research findings from studies.
IV. Evaluate the literature; you want to include strengths, weaknesses, implications for additional research.

15. The End