What is a literature review?
A literature review can form the first part of a research paper or it can be an entire, stand-alone paper, which often forms the first stage of a larger research project. The literature review you will be writing will function as an independent paper, however, it is also intended to inform the inquiry project that you will be developing.
The literature review is a critical evaluation of the research that has been done in a particular area. A literature review should:
- Provide an overview of the research that has been conducted in a particular topic
- Describe and summarise the findings of previous research
- Make connections and compare and contrast research findings
- Evaluate and analyse the research findings and organise information into coherent themes.
A literature review can provide an up-to-date picture of the research area of interest and show which areas:
- have been investigated and the results obtained
- identify methods of investigation that could be used in further research
- give indications of problems that might be encountered and possible solutions
- reveal common findings among studies
- reveal inconsistencies between studies
- identify factors not previously considered
- provide suggestions for further research.
(Hewitt, M. (2009). How to Search and Critically Evaluate Research Literature. The NIHR RDS for the East Midlands / Yorkshire & the Humber.)
Important to note
When writing your literature review it is important that you do not just provide a list of the research that has been done in your chosen area. You must critically engage with the research, evaluate the findings, identify common themes and commonalities and also recognise any disagreements or tensions that exist in the literature. It is important to use the literature to tell a particular story. You should use the literature to explain why this topic is important to focus on and to possibly identify gaps in the literature that your inquiry project can help to address.
Martyn Shuttleworth has written a useful (and short) article on what a literature review is (and is not). You can access it here:https://explorable.com/what-is-a-literature-review
How to do a Literature Review: The Steps and Stages
| 1. Identify research problem and develop your research questionsBefore you can undertake a review of the literature it is important that you define the area you will be focusing on. Writing a research question or questions will help you to structure your literature search and literature review. |
2. Find relevant literature You need to gather the literature that you are going to review in your paper. Use the notes and resources from last week to help you with this stage. |
3. Critically evaluate literature This follows on from last week’s focus on how to interpret academic literature. It is really important in your literature review that you are not just presenting and describing the research findings but that you are also evaluating and interpreting them. Here are some questions that you should be asking your self as you read the literature:
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4. Synthesise the literature Following on from step 3, when you are planning and writing your literature review it is really important that you synthesise the literature. Synthesis involves combining ideas from a range of sources, grouping together common ideas and key arguments. As you read through the literature try to identify the key themes that are emerging. What are the commonalities between the different sources you are reading? Are there any disagreements or tensions? It can be useful to identify key themes as you go and to then place relevant excerpts or quotes from different sources under each theme. In order to work out whether you have critically analysed and synthesised the literature as your self these questions: - Do I compare and contrast different concepts and ideas, rather than just listing or summarising them? - Do I assess the strengths and weaknesses of the different ideas and concepts I am discussing? - Have I cited and discussed studies that are contrary to my perspective? For a good and easy to read discussion about how to write a literature review, have a look at this blog post:http://getalifephd.blogspot.co.nz/2010/10/six-steps-to-writing-literature-review.html |
5. Writing your literature reviewOnce you have read and interpreted the literature, identified the key themes and organised your literature under these themes, it is time to start writing your literature review. Your review should start with an introduction. The introduction should inform your reader about the topic and purpose of your literature review. For your assessment you need to establish your purpose in the form of a research question(s). Your research question(s) are what have guided your literature search. You should organise the main body of your literature review into sub-sections. Each sub-section should focus on a different theme within the literature (they may also relate to your sub-research questions). For each theme you need to discuss the key ideas, definitions and findings. You should highlight where there is agreement and commonality between different studies. You should also try to analyse any areas of disagreement and to identify any gaps within the literature. It is also important to write your literature review in such a way that you make it clear how the research you are reviewing relates to your research question(s) and purpose. Think about the story your literature review is trying to tell. Your literature review should end with a conclusion, which summarises the key ideas you have discussed. In your conclusion you could also briefly reference how the literature relates to and will help to inform your own research efforts. The following quote provides a useful reminder of what a literature review should be aiming to do: A literature review is a piece of discursive prose, not a list describing or summarizing one piece of literature after another. It’s usually a bad sign to see every paragraph beginning with the name of a researcher. Instead, organize the literature review into sections that present themes or identify trends, including relevant theory. You are not trying to list all the material published, but to synthesize and evaluate it according to the guiding concept of your thesis or research question. (Taylor, D. (n.d.) The Literature Review: A few tips on conducting it. University of Toronto. Retrieved from www.writing.utoronto.ca). This YouTube video also provides some helpful information on writing a literature review (despite the narrator’s monotone voice!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2d7y_r65HU The writing centre at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill also has some helpful suggestions for how to write a literature review: http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/literature-reviews/ |
Writing style in a literature review A literature review is a piece of formal, academic writing. This means that you should write in full sentences and organise your writing into paragraphs. Avoid using bullet points. Try to avoid using the first person (‘I’ statements). For example, instead of writing ‘I think that’ turn it around and write in the third person, ‘the literature shows’ or ‘this suggests that’. This way you are still putting across your own interpretation of the literature without using the first person. You need to make sure that you use correct referencing. This includes both in-text citations (i.e. when you refer to a piece of literature you need to provide the reference) and a reference list at the end of your review of all the literature you have cited. The Unitec library website has very good resources to help you with your referencing. |
Checklist for your Literature ReviewHECKLIST FOR YOUR LITERATURE REVIEW
Below is a list of things you need to make sure that you have done/included in your literature review:
- Engaged with a range of literature. The strength of your literature review in part relies on you having engaged with the major literature in your chosen topic.
- Developed research questions to structure your literature review
- Critically evaluated the literature, rather than just describing or listing it.
- Identified major themes within the literature and synthesised the literature. This includes comparing and contrasting findings and identifying any disagreements and gaps in the literature.
- Used the literature to tell a particular story (as opposed to just listing and describing the research findings).
- Used formal, academic writing conventions, including accurate referencing.
- Included a section examining how the principles of Kaupapa Maori research could relate to your chosen topic (the notes and resources from week 17 will be helpful for this). Make sure that you include citations in this part of your literature review.
- Remember to proof read your work. It is often really helpful to read your writing aloud. That way you can hear whether it flows and makes sense. Having a friend read your work and offer constructive feedback can also be very useful.
Additional resources
The following resources may be useful for you when writing your literature review.
The exemplar literature review uploaded to the platform, with comments.
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