How to write a literature review?

What is a literature review?

It is the review of the research that has already been done about the specific topic. In simpler words in this part of the research, you are simply reviewing the work the other academics and researchers have done so that you can get a clear picture of the current knowledge on the specified topic. This is more like a research audit or inspection. In short, a literature review is a crisp summary of research literature relevant to a topic being researched.

Why does a literature review matter?

A literature review is going to help you develop a significant level of knowledge on the given subject. A literature review is not the part of the research paper where you present your own original thoughts and ideas rather it simply sets the stage for you to do it later on in the research paper. Whatever your research question is there are high chances that someone has already researched about the same or relevant topic. So this relevant research helps us understand the historical background and current trends of the chosen research topic.

What should a Literature Review Structure Include?

1. Historical background for research: You should clearly lay out what has already been written about the research topic and field so that in the later stages you can easily set out something new and important with the main objective to add to the overall understanding of the research topic/field, no matter how small the contribution is. This helps in demonstrating to other researchers and academics that you are aware of how to go about reading the research literature and present them according to your understanding of the theoretical conceptualizations.
2. Contextualization of your research: The research fields are constantly updated with new and relevant research surrounding the different topics. It is important to contextualize the current trends and related debates surrounding your research topic.
3. Analysis of relevant theories and notions which serve as foundational to your research topic: It is vital to discuss the theories and notions that have accordance with your research topic in order to pave the way for your research and explain your research holistically.
4. Introduce related terminologies: Since you would be dealing with a variety of research literature surrounding your research topic so it would be a good starting point to introduce the relevant terminologies. Moreover, this is important when you are planning to use lesser-known terminologies.
5. Layout how your research challenges or contributes to the previous research: You need to clearly outline what gaps and inconsistencies in your research trying to address in comparison to the previous research.
6. Supporting your research through evidence: It is important that you support your research with strong evidence so that your research problem is addressed appropriately and your overall aim to add or solve issues in already done research is considerably achieved.

A good literature review will entail:

1. The research material is ordered in such a way that it highlights the unsettled debates, discrepancies, and questions in the research field.
2. Summary of the most pertinent and vital aspects of research literature related to your research topic and question is presented
3. The past and current research on the chosen research topic is synthesized to point at how your research endeavors fit in the whole context.

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Types of literature review:

There are two major types of literature review:

1. Stand-alone assignment: this assignment just asks for the literature review on a certain research topic or question
2. Part of assignment: this type of assignment has a component, usually at the beginning, which includes a literature review. Many journal articles and dissertations are examples of this type of literature review as they contain a literature review as one of the components it is larger research structure.  

Steps to writing a literature review

Step: 1: Identify research topic: First of all identify your research topic. It is advised that you turn the research topic into a research question. It is easier to find relevant research material in the later stages if you have narrowed down your research topic into a specific research question.

Step 2: Search: This step is pertinent to the research that you would conduct. There are few angles that can guide your search about the research question. One way is to search for the answer to your research question in the literature. The second angle is to look for the trends or patterns relevant to the research question. The third angle is contradictions or debates or inconsistencies surrounding the chosen topic of research. The fourth angle is common or recurring themes that are prevalent in the research. The fifth angle is the gaps in the research. As part of the search for relevant literature, it is advised that the students use their e-library platforms, in this way they will have access to high-quality research material.   

Step 2: Organize: After you have researched relevant literature, in this step you would organize the literature that you have researched so far. In doing so, map out each piece of literature that you are aiming to use in the literature review. Select and note down what parts of the literature are relevant to your research topic. Moreover, it is important at this stage to make a list of references that belong to the literature selected for review according to the prescribed format laid out by the instructor. This would help you save a lot of time in later stages when you have already mapped out and created the reference list of the selected literature. Another tip in accordance with this step is to create an annotated bibliography of the research literature that you have already selected. This would further make the task of writing the literature review in later stages a lot easier.  

Step 3: Structure: Try your best to structure the researched material in the most logical order possible. There are several types of literature review to guide your structure for research information. The first type is integrative. This is the most common type of literature review. This sets the stage for your own research later on. Integrative literature review critiques the current literature so that new perspectives can be introduced. The next type is chronological and is also referred to as historical. In this type, the literature is arranged by date to analyze the progression of something over time. Usually starting with the oldest and coming to the latest literature surrounding the research topic. The next type is thematic. In this type, the literature is organized around a main or recurring theme. Then comes methodological, in this type you are going to compare and contrast different methods being used in a given research topic. The final type is theoretical, which is similar to methodological in which you compare and contrast methods, however, in this type you compare and contrast theories and models.

Step 4: Outline: Now that you have decided which type of literature review is used to guide your structure. Next is the step to format your paper and create an outline. Never move on to the next step of writing before you have an outline. This helps set out the information in a logical order and helps communicate effectively. It is advised that you use this outline to later provide section headings for your literature review. This also makes your writing process easier and smooth.

Step 5: Write: If you have done your research properly, you have organized your research, you have chosen the right structure for it, and have an outline already laid out the writing process is going to be easier than you think. By the time you get to this part, you’ll be all set to present a good literature review. Nevertheless, an important additional tip in this regard is, if this is a standalone literature review assignment, work on the body of the research paper first and then write the introduction and conclusion. Another important tip in writing the literature review is to constantly use the linking language to develop clear connections between the different works of literature selected as part of the research. Also, it is important to add a transition between paragraphs so that the flow and overall structure of the literature review stay relevant and consistent. 

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