What Is A Literature Review In Research?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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A literature review is a document or section of a document that collects key sources on a topic and discusses those sources in conversation with each other (also called synthesis). ... When we say “literature review” or refer to “the literature,” we are talking about the research (scholarship) in a given field.

What is the meaning of literature review in research?

Definition. A literature review is a comprehensive summary of previous research on a topic . The literature review surveys scholarly articles, books, and other sources relevant to a particular area of research. The review should enumerate, describe, summarize, objectively evaluate and clarify this previous research.

How do we write a literature review?

  1. Narrow your topic and select papers accordingly.
  2. Search for literature.
  3. Read the selected articles thoroughly and evaluate them.
  4. Organize the selected papers by looking for patterns and by developing subtopics.
  5. Develop a thesis or purpose statement.
  6. Write the paper.
  7. Review your work.

What is literature review and example?

1. A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources that provides an overview of a particular topic . It generally follows a discussion of the paper’s thesis statement or the study’s goals or purpose. *This sample paper was adapted by the Writing Center from Key, K.L., Rich, C., DeCristofaro, C., Collins, S.

What exactly is a literature review?

The literature review is a written overview of major writings and other sources on a selected topic . Sources covered in the review may include scholarly journal articles, books, government reports, Web sites, etc. The literature review provides a description, summary and evaluation of each source.

How do you start a literature review example?

  1. Make a list of keywords. Start by creating a list of keywords related to your research question. ...
  2. Search for relevant sources. Use your keywords to begin searching for sources. ...
  3. Take notes and cite your sources. ...
  4. Chronological. ...
  5. Thematic. ...
  6. Methodological. ...
  7. Theoretical. ...
  8. Introduction.

What is the aim of a literature review?

A literature review establishes familiarity with and understanding of current research in a particular field before carrying out a new investigation . Conducting a literature review should enable you to find out what research has already been done and identify what is unknown within your topic.

What are the three types of literature review?

Over the years, numerous types of literature reviews have emerged, but the four main types are traditional or narrative, systematic, meta-analysis and meta-synthesis .

What a literature review is not?

A literature review is NOT:

is a brief critical discussion about the merits and weaknesses of a particular book . Book reviews of creative works are sometimes called literary reviews. Scholarly books are also reviewed by other scholars. Scholarly book reviews are often published in scholarly journals.

What is literature review and its importance in research?

It establishes the authors’ in-depth understanding and knowledge of their field subject . It gives the background of the research . Portrays the scientific manuscript plan of examining the research result. Illuminates on how the knowledge has changed within the field.

What a literature review looks like?

A literature review discusses published information in a particular subject area, and sometimes information in a particular subject area within a certain time period. A literature review can be just a simple summary of the sources, but it usually has an organizational pattern and combines both summary and synthesis .

What are the types of literature review?

Systematic literature review can be divided into two categories: meta-analysis and meta-synthesis . ... Integrative literature review reviews, critiques, and synthesizes secondary data about research topic in an integrated way such that new frameworks and perspectives on the topic are generated.

What are examples of literature?

  • fiction.
  • nonfiction.
  • manuscripts.
  • poetry.
  • contributions to collective works.
  • compilations of data or other literary subject matter.
  • dissertations.
  • theses.

How many sources should a literature review have?

If your literature review is a stand-alone document

Example: A stand-alone literature review that has 10 pages of content (the body of the paper) should examine at least 30 sources . These are not hard and fast rules by any means.

What are the four major goals of a literature review?

To determine what exists in the scholarly literature. To identify possible gap(s) in the scholarly literature for further research . To inform the research topic, theory (if applicable), and associated methodology . To compare/contrast against findings resulting from the current study .

How long is a literature review?

For a written literature review document, the size of a written literature review document should be between 2000-3000 words . But the size of a written literature review depends on many factors which are the area study of a written literature review document.

Emily Lee
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Emily Lee
Emily Lee is a freelance writer and artist based in New York City. She’s an accomplished writer with a deep passion for the arts, and brings a unique perspective to the world of entertainment. Emily has written about art, entertainment, and pop culture.