Literature Review Instructions
What Is a Literature Review?
A literature review is a survey and a discussion of the literature in a given area of study. It is a concise overview of what has been studied argued and established about a topic; it is generally organized chronologically or thematically. A literature review is also written in essay format.
A literature review is not an annotated bibliography because it groups related works together and discusses trends and developments rather than focusing on one item at a time. It is also not a summary; rather a literature review evaluates previous and current research in regards to how relevant and/or useful it is and how it relates to your own research. Therefore a literature review is more than an annotated bibliography or a summary because you are organizing and presenting your sources in terms of their overall relationship to your problem statement.
A literature review is written to highlight specific arguments and ideas in a field of study. By highlighting these arguments the writer attempts to show what has been studied in the field and also where there are weaknesses gaps or areas needing further study. The literature review must also demonstrate to the reader why the writers research is useful necessary important and valid.
Literature reviews can have different types of audiences so consider why and for whom you are writing your review. For example many literature reviews are written as a chapter for a thesis or dissertation in order to support a proposal or are written in order to help the writer develop a base of knowledge in a particular business area.
Asking the following questions will assist you in sifting through your sources and organizing your literature review. Remember your Literature Review organizes the previous research in light of what you are planning to do in your own project.
How Do I Organize and Structure the Literature Review?
There are several ways to organize and structure a literature review. Two common ways are chronologically and thematically. You will be using the thematic structure in this review. In a thematic review you will group and discuss your sources in terms of the themes or topics they cover. This method is often a stronger one organizationally and it can also assist you in resisting the urge to summarize your sources. By grouping themes or topics of research together you will be able to demonstrate the types of topics that are important to your research. For example if the topic of the literature review is improving productivity in organizations then there might be separate sections of research involving service-oriented businesses production-oriented businesses non-profit organizations governmental organizations etc. Within each section of a thematic literature review it is important to discuss how the research relates to other studies (how is it similar or different what other studies have been done etc.) as well as to demonstrate how it relates to your own work. This is what the review is for; do not leave this connection out!
What is the Final Format?
As previously stated the paper will be written in current APA format must be a minimum of 16 pages (not including the title page abstract and references) and must utilize at least 15 scholarly references. The final format must include the following:
Title page;
Abstract;
Outline;
Introduction (no longer than 1 page);
Findings (a minimum of 13 pages);
Conclusions recommendations and suggestions for further study (a minimum of 2 pages); and
References that are current (less than 3 years) or important for historical background.
What is the Process?
During the first module/week the student will choose a topic to research from the list provided by the instructor. After the topic has been chosen/provided you will begin your project. Listed below is a recommended outline of steps that will assist you in writing a thematically organized literature review.
1. Annotated bibliography: Write a brief critical synopsis of each as you read articles books etc. on your topic. After going through your reading list you will have an abstract or annotation of each source you read. Later annotations are likely to include more references to other works since you will have your previous readings to compare but at this point the important goal is to get accurate critical summaries of each individual work.
What Additional Points Must I Consider?
The following are some points to address when writing about specific works you are reviewing. In dealing with a paper/argument/theory you need to assess it (clearly understand and state the claim) and analyze it (evaluate its reliability usefulness and validity). Look for the following points as you assess and analyze the readings. You do not need to state them all explicitly but keep them in mind as you write your review:
How Do I Find the Literature?
Just as there are many avenues for the literature to be published and disseminated there are many avenues for searching for and finding the literature. There are for example a variety of general and subject-specific indexes that list citations to publications (books articles conference proceedings dissertations etc.). The Liberty University Online Student Library Services website has links to the library catalog as well as many indexes and databases in which to search for resources; it also provides you with subject guides that list resources appropriate for specific academic disciplines. When you find appropriate books articles etc. look in its bibliographies for other publications and also for other authors writing about the same topics. For research assistance tailored to your topic please email the Liberty University Online Librarian.
Tips on Identifying and Organizing Your Findings
There is no way to predict what themes you will find. The themes could include definitions topics theories agreements and even disagreements in the literature. Design a descriptive code word or a few phrases to define each theme (some people even use different colored highlighters to assist them in organization). With 15 articles and 16 pages of content you will likely have anywhere between 46 major themes for your Literature Review: Final. However it is highly unlikely that each of the 15 articles that you read will contain all the themes that you have identified. Below is an example of 10 hypothetical articles with 4 hypothetical themes.
The chart is not very helpful except as a prelude to further organization. Your Literature Review must be written thematically not chronologically. You will not be reviewing one article after another in your Literature Review; rather you will be investigating the themes contained in those articles. Therefore the organization of your articles will look similar to the following example:
You may be pondering as to which theme will go first. Ultimately the order of the themes is your decision but keep the thematic organization logical. The themes provide the subheadings for the content of your Literature Review; therefore this is an efficient way to organize and write your paper.
Submit the Literature Review: Final by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday of Module/Week 8.