1. Simple Steps to Completing a Literature Review
2.1 Why worry about a literature review?
Teaching Research Methods: Resources for HE Social Sciences Practitioners

2. Step One: Decide what research question you are actually asking.
Helps to define the literature search within useful limits
Teaching Research Methods: Resources for HE Social Sciences Practitioners

3. Step Two: Consult secondary sources of information first.
Text books, encyclopaedias etc.
More user friendly, signposts reader to relevant information / research
Teaching Research Methods: Resources for HE Social Sciences Practitioners

4. Step Three: Determine your descriptors and search terms
(terms that help to locate sources of information).
E.g. ‘Attitudes towards aggression in sport
Teaching Research Methods: Resources for HE Social Sciences Practitioners

5. Step Four: Search preliminary sources i.e. general
sources, via computer searches etc.
Abstracts and indexes / search engines
Bibliographies
Computer catalogues
Computer searches
Teaching Research Methods: Resources for HE Social Sciences Practitioners

6. Step Five: Read and record the literature
(read, understand and record the relevant information).
‘No matter how many years you save an item, you will never need it until after you have thrown it away!’
(Murphys’ Law)
Teaching Research Methods: Resources for HE Social Sciences Practitioners

7. When reading and making notes
Consider the following:
Statement of the problem
Subject characteristics
Instruments and tests used (reliability & validity)
Testing procedures
Independent and dependent variables
Treatments applied
Design and statistical analysis
Findings and questions it raises
Citations to other relevant papers.
Teaching Research Methods: Resources for HE Social Sciences Practitioners

8. Write the Literature review!
Step Six:
Write the Literature review!
Three main parts:
Introduction
Main body of text
Summary and conclusions, aims and hypothesis
Teaching Research Methods: Resources for HE Social Sciences Practitioners

9. PLAN! Where to Start? Think about: Key points and headings
What order should it take?
What literature do you have or still need to get and where does this fit in your plan?
Teaching Research Methods: Resources for HE Social Sciences Practitioners