1. Overview of Literature Reviews for Graduate Students
Lisa Coats, Humanities Librarian, William Madison Randall Library, UNCW

2. Outline for Workshop Defining “Literature Review” Searching Citations
Writing the review
Help in your disciplines
Resources

3. What a “Literature Review” Is…
A literature review is a systematic review of the published literature on a specific topic or research question.  It is designed to analyze scholarly writings that are related directly to a research question.  It represents the literature that provides background information on a topic and shows a correspondence between those writings and a research question.

4. What a “Literature Review” is NOT
A literature review is NOT an annotated bibliography in which each article that you have reviewed is summarized.  It goes beyond summarizing to focus on the critical analysis of the reviewed works and their relationship to a research question.
A literature review is NOT a research paper where resources are selected to support one side of an issue versus another.  It should explain and consider all sides of an argument in order to avoid bias, and areas of agreement and disagreement should be highlighted.

5. Defining “the literature”
Definitions
Defining “the literature”
Collection of the scholarly work on a topic
Scholarly articles, books, conference proceedings, dissertations

6. Types of Literature Reviews
Definitions
Types of Literature Reviews
Part of a larger work: introductions
Comprehensive: review papers
Selective: time limit, scope, etc.

7. Searching for Literature
Subject specific databases
Searching
Citation “chasing”

8. Subject Specific Databases

9. Subject Specific Databases

10. Liaison Librarian Your Librarian Assist with your specific discipline
One-on-one
, in person, tutorials, etc.
Find yours now! Library homepage > Get Help > Find Your Librarian

11. Searching
To find if literature reviews exist already, add AND “literature review”
Papers typically include: Abstract, Introduction, Literature Review, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion
“Review Articles” limiter in some disciplines

12. Citation Chasing Have you seen a source repeatedly?
Is there something that looks useful?

13. Citation Managers Zotero EndNote Basic NCSU Citation Builder
You will need to organize your resources and keep track. There are citation tools to help!
Zotero
EndNote Basic
NCSU Citation Builder
For more citation assistance:
Citation and Bibliography Help from Randall Library
Zotero Research Research Guide:
EndNote Basic Research Guide:
Zotero:
EndNote Basic sign up page:
NCSU Citation Builder:
Citation and Bibliography Help page:

14. Citation Analysis Web of Science Google Scholar
How often a source is cited can identify seminal works and relevance. These tools can be helpful:
Web of Science
Google Scholar
Web of Science Research Guide:
Google Scholar:

15. Google Scholar

16. Writing the Review
We will go over some general writing principles for Literature Reviews, but for more in-depth assistance with writing, the University Learning Center’s Writing Services can help.
Photo by energepic.com from Pexels:
Writing Services:
Photo by energepic.com from Pexels:

17. Writing the Review Organize sources Describe and summarize
Compare/contrast relationships between sources
Analyze major themes, arguments, agreements
Organize sources again...
Create your own “story”

18. Books on Literature Reviews
A sample of books in the Randall Library collection:
Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper
The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for Students
Understanding and Evaluating Research: A Critical Guide
Writing a Graduate Thesis or Dissertation (eBook)
Writing Literature Reviews: A Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Sciences
Literature Reviews in Social Work (eBook)
Succeeding in Literature Reviews and Research Project Plans for Nursing Students
Doing a Literature Review in Health and Social Care: A Practical Guide (eBook)
Conducting:
The Literature Review:
Understanding:
Writing a Graduate:
Writing Literature:
Literature Reviews:
Succeeding:
Doing:

19. Video from NCSU https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/tutorials/litreview/
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20. Further Resources
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, The Writing Center
American University, University Library
University of Pittsburgh, University Library System
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University Library

21. Graduate Student Information
Graduate Student Information:

22. https://library.uncw.edu/graduate_student_workshops
Other Workshops
January 14: Citation Managers
February 4: Data and Statistics
February 18: Intellectual Property, Fair Use, and Copyright