doing a literature review
Students often start producing a Literature Review without knowing its
purpose, what it consists of and how it can be set out.
why this
approach
might be
helpful
for
students:
note:
This short guide answers the basic questions about doing a Literature
Review.
It emphasises the need for preparation before starting the research process.
It promotes the formulation of questions to help identify what is relevant.
It promotes the use of templates to collect and sort information and ideas.
In a research paper, doing a good Literature Review will help when it comes
to writing the Discussion of Results and the Conclusion. The issues and
literature you discussed in the Literature Review can be referred to in the
Discussion (for example, you may compare how your findings fit in with
previous research) and the Conclusion.
The Literature Review is often the hardest part of a thesis, but if you prepare
and write it well, writing the rest of the paper is made a lot easier.
1: Peter Lia: Dyslexia Adviser: Disability & Dyslexia Service: KCL
Doing a Literature Review
What is a Literature Review?
A Literature Review is a written summary and discussion of information and ideas that relate to a
specific subject. The information and ideas are drawn from what is termed the ‘literature’.
The literature can be in the form of:
• research (evidence-based information and ideas)
• theories (ideas, concepts, models etc)
• practice (sources that outline activities)
The literature can come in many forms, but the majority is likely to be:
• published books
• journal articles and peer-reviewed research papers
• reliable internet sources
• policy documents
• dissertations, theses and conference papers
typical structure of
a science report:
Where do I put the Literature Review?
typical structure of a
a thesis or dissertation:
Title
Title
Abstract
Abstract
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
Table of contents
Table of contents
Introduction
Chapter 1:
Introduction
A Literature Review forms part of
a research paper.
It may be part of the Introduction
(especially in short a science report).
Literature Review
Chapter 2
Literature Review
In a thesis or dissertation,
Methodology
Chapter 3
Results/Findings
Chapter 4
Discussion of Results
Chapter 5
Conclusion
Chapter 6:
Conclusion
Reference List
Bibliography
Appendices
Appendices
it generally forms a separate chapter or
section (usually chapter 1 or chapter 2)
and is placed after the Introduction.
2: Peter Lia: Dyslexia Adviser: Disability & Dyslexia Service: KCL
What is the aim of a Literature Review?
The aim of the Literature Review is to show what is known about a specific subject and also
to highlight what is not known or what is uncertain.
When you research the literature for the Literature Review, think about the questions below and
try to answer those that are relevant to your specific field of study:
•
Who are the key researchers and thinkers?
•
What form does this key work take (research or theory)?
•
What are the main issues or themes discussed in the literature?
•
What are the current theories?
•
What is the current practice?
•
What does the most recent research state, establish or suggest?
•
What are the major areas of agreement in the literature?
•
Have there been any significant developments in the topic?
•
Is there any disagreement in the literature?
•
Is there any controversy in the literature?
•
What are the main gaps in knowledge on the topic?
•
How do theory, research and practice link?
•
Which methods and methodologies have been used in researching the topic?
•
What is the subject-specific vocabulary or terminology used in the literature?
Relationship between your research question and the Literature Review
There should be a direct link between the literature that you read and analyse and your research
question (or hypothesis) and aims. When you write the Literature Review, you should try to make
clear why and how the literature is relevant to your own study.
It may be that you are reading the literature in order to formulate or clarify a research question or
hypothesis or to find a relevant method for your study. However, doing a literature review is easier
if you have a good idea of what you are looking for before reading, so try to establish your own
focus (or even your research question) as soon as possible.
3: Peter Lia: Dyslexia Adviser: Disability & Dyslexia Service: KCL
The structure and content of a Literature Review and how to organise the main body
The Literature Review consists of 3 main parts:
Introduction: Main body: Conclusion or Summary
Introduction (this can include any of the following):
• relevant background information on the research topic
• a clear statement of the research topic
• a definition of any specific terms that are used in the Literature Review
• the time period covered by the literature in the Literature Review
• if relevant, the location covered by the literature (e.g. country, region, city, institution)
• an outline of how the literature was chosen (i.e. the criteria for inclusion)
• an outline of the criteria that is used in reviewing the literature
• when necessary, state why certain literature is not included
• how the Literature Review is organised
Main body: a review of the literature (this will account for 80 to 90% of the Literature Review):
This section consists of outlining and discussing the sources you have selected for inclusion.
Once you have collected the information and ideas, you can order the material in several ways:
•
chronologically (if you want to show how knowledge has developed over time)
•
by theme (sources are discussed in relation to particular themes or issues)
•
by methodology (use this only if method is the most important aspect of your own study)
•
by individual source (each source is considered separately)
The Literature Review should not be a descriptive list of sources and so the most common
approach is to order the information in the main body by theme. This means that certain sources
(especially important ones) can be referred to in more than one part of the Literature Review.
When analysing the information and ideas that you have collected, use the list of questions above
as a guide (see: What is the aim of a Literature Review?). Try to identify patterns, trends or any
major issues which the literature deals with and make it clear why it is relevant to your own study.
Conclusion or Summary (this can include a summary of any of the following):
• the major contributors and sources (and what knowledge they established)
• the main themes that emerged when you reviewed the literature
• the most important trends (e.g. how knowledge has changed or progressed)
• the gaps that exist in the research (what is not known, or what is uncertain)
• major disagreements or agreements in the literature
• you can restate how your own study fits in to, or adds to the existing knowledge
and restate the potential contribution of your study
The Literature Review can be divided with headings and sub-headings.
Numbers can be used to clarify divisions (e.g. 1, 1.1, 1.2 etc).
4: Peter Lia: Dyslexia Adviser: Disability & Dyslexia Service: KCL
Some guides to compiling a Literature Review ask for an ‘epistemological’ and ‘ontological’
consideration of the literature. This is what they mean:
epistemological knowledge:
• the form of the knowledge (e.g. empirical research, philosophical ideas, policy statements)
• the source of the knowledge (how it came about and who formulated it)
• the limits of the knowledge
ontological knowledge:
• how the existing knowledge is categorised (e.g. is it put into certain groups?)
• what similarities exist in the knowledge (e.g. agreements, similar research methods)
• what differences exist in the knowledge (e.g. different opinions, interpretations or arguments)
How do I collect the literature that I want to include in the Literature Review?
In order to identify and collect relevant information and ideas it is useful to draw up questions,
selection criteria or use a prepared template before starting the main reading and research phase.
This approach will help you select, restrict and control the amount of material you collect.
You should periodically review these questions during the research.
Using a template will make it easier to analyse the information before writing.
It will also save you time when you have to access your notes in order to write the Review.
A template usually takes the form of a table of questions or criteria. One table is used for each
major source. Information and ideas from the source is entered into the relevant box in the table. It
is also possible to collect information from a number of sources and put it into a single template
table.
Some criticisms to avoid
•
the Literature Review is simply an annotated list of sources (or list of summaries)
•
there is no discussion on how the literature compares (e.g. agreements or disagreements)
•
there is too much material that is not relevant to your study
•
the literature is simply described, not discussed
•
the link between the literature and your research is not clear
•
the literature is too old
•
only one view is considered and the Literature Review is therefore biased
•
some key sources are missing
5: Peter Lia: Dyslexia Adviser: Disability & Dyslexia Service: KCL