how to write a literature review

9/29/11 12:00 AMHow to Write a Literature Review | World-Leading Language Solutions by WhiteSmoke

Page 1 of 6http://www.whitesmoke.com/how-to-write-a-literature-review.html

WhiteSmoke Inc. Change language

AboutContactSupport

English Deutsch Espaol Franais Svenska !"#$%& Trke Italiano HomeProductsStoreBlogPartnersTourFAQ

Blog How to Write How to Write a Literature Review

How to Write a Literature ReviewA literature review is a specific type of research paper that focuses on published literature on a giventopic. It is often the first step in doing original research, either scientific or otherwise. It is more than amere summary of the literature, however, as it presents analysis, patterns, and critiques of individualsources, groups of sources, and the body of literature as a whole.

Not to be confused with a book review, a literature review surveys scholarly articles, books and othersources (e.g. dissertations, conference proceedings) relevant to a particular issue, area of research, ortheory, providing a description, summary, and critical evaluation of each work. The purpose is to offeran overview of significant literature published on a topic that critically analyzes a segment of a publishedbody of knowledge through summary, classification, and comparison of prior research studies, reviewsof literature, and theoretical articles. Someone reading a literature review should gain an understandingof trends, issues, unresolved questions, controversies, and the importance of the scholarly knowledgerelated to a specific question (topic).

The literature review format can vary by discipline, according to the purpose for the review, or withdifferent venues for publication. A review may be an end in itself or a preface to and rationale forengaging in primary research. A review is usually a required part of grant and research proposals andoften a chapter in theses and dissertations.No matter what literature review format you use, WhiteSmoke's all-in-one writing software with Englishgrammar checker, spell checker, an online dictionary, thesaurus and unique writing enhancement featurewill be critical to your success in writing a literature review, as it will catch your errors, suggestadjectives and adverbs, and help your writing shine.

Stages in conducting a literature review:1. Problem formulation: which topic or field will you explore? What specific question will you

research? What are the components within the question? . It's useful to conduct preliminary librarysearches at this point.

2. Literature search: finding materials relevant to the subject being explored3. Data evaluation: determining which literature makes a significant contribution to the

understanding of the topic, comes from reliable sources, and relates to your question in particular(remember, a literature review uses scholarly literature)

4. Analysis and interpretation: analyzing components and patterns in the literature, discussing theoverall findings, critiquing the literature, and forming conclusions

Elements included when writing a literature review:1. An overview of the subject, issue or theory under consideration, along with the objectives of

writing the literature review2. Division of works under review into categories (e.g. those in support of a particular position,

those against, and those offering alternative theses entirely)3. Explanation of how each work is similar to and how it varies from the others4. Conclusions as to which pieces are best considered in their argument, are most convincing of

their opinions, and make the greatest contribution to the understanding and development of theirarea of research.



In every element of the literature review, it is essential to use correct English grammar and spelling.WhiteSmoke's grammar and spell check will assure that you do. It will also help you correct punctuation.In addition, with its dictionary, thesaurus, and writing enhancement tools, WhiteSmoke will allow you towrite precisely what you mean to say. Its online, all-in-one-solution will make writing a literature revieweasier than ever.

A common format for writing a literature review: Introduction1. Define or identify the general topic, issue, or area of concern, thus providing an appropriate contextfor reviewing the literature.2. Point out overall trends in what has been published about the topic; or conflicts in theory,methodology, evidence, and conclusions; or gaps in research and scholarship; or a single problem or newperspective of immediate interest.3. Establish the writer's reason (point of view) for reviewing the literature; explain the criteria to beused in analyzing and comparing literature and the organization of the review (sequence); and, whennecessary, state why certain literature is or is not included (scope). Body1. Group research studies and other types of literature (reviews, theoretical articles, case studies, etc.)according to common denominators such as qualitative versus quantitative approaches, conclusions ofauthors, specific purpose or objective, chronology, etc.2. Summarize individual studies or articles with as much or as little detail as each merits according toits comparative importance in the literature, remembering that space (length) denotes significance. In assessing each piece, consideration should be given to:1. Provenance: What are the author's credentials? Are the author's arguments supported by evidence(e.g. primary historical material, case studies, narratives, statistics, recent scientific findings)?2. Objectivity: Is the author's perspective even-handed or prejudicial? Is contrary data considered or iscertain pertinent information ignored to prove the author's point?3. Persuasiveness: Which of the author's theses are most/least convincing?4. Value: Are the author's arguments and conclusions convincing? Does the work ultimately contributein any significant way to an understanding of the subject? Provide the reader with strong "umbrella" sentences at beginnings of paragraphs,"signposts" throughout, and brief "so what" summary sentences at intermediate points in the review toaid in understanding comparisons and analyses. Conclusion1. Summarize major contributions of significant studies and articles to the body of knowledge underreview, maintaining the focus established in the introduction.2. Evaluate the current "state of the art" for the body of knowledge reviewed, pointing out majormethodological flaws or gaps in research, inconsistencies in theory and findings, and areas or issuespertinent to future study.3. Conclude by providing some insight into the relationship between the central topic of the literaturereview and a larger area of study such as a discipline, a scientific endeavor, or a profession.Writing tips:1. Open web sources (somebody's home page, as opposed to peer-reviewed online journals or licenseddatabase sites that provide access to scholarly works) are not usually considered reliable sources foracademic research and should be used sparingly, if at all, and only after careful research into thesponsors of a site. In other words, don't use generally available internet search engines for your literaturereview.2. Place each work in the context of its contribution to the understanding of the subject under review3. Describe the relationship of each work to the others under consideration4. Identify new ways to interpret, and shed light on, any gaps in previous research5. Resolve conflicts among seemingly contradictory previous studies6. Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of effort7. Point the way forward for further research8. Place one's original work (in the case of theses or dissertations) in the context of existing literature--remember, however, that a literature review does not present new primary scholarship.9. Always use WhiteSmoke English grammar software to check your grammar.

Share With Your Friends!



One of the Top 31 Business Ideas in the World

Write your way to success with WhiteSmokePerfect your English writing with the most advanced text checkers

Related Posts

How to Confirm a Business MeetingHow to Write a Lease AgreementHow to Apply for a Work Abroad Visa

Write a commentRequired fields are marked with *.

Name:Name

Email:Email

Subject:

Comment: *

Post Comment



Whitesmoke Inc.501 Silverside Rd, Suite 105 Wilmington,DE 19809, USAChat:Talk to a Representative [email protected] Contacts:Send a TicketPhone:1-877-268-3347

Main SiteHomeProductsTourUser GuideReviews and TestimonialsPressTerms and ConditionsPrivacy policyFree ResourcesBlog / English LessonsEnglish Grammar ArticlesOnline Grammar CheckerFree Writing Tools ToolbarSearch WhiteSmokeProduct FeaturesGrammar SoftwareGrammar CheckGrammar correctorSentence checkerGrammar CheckerSpell CheckerStyle CheckerPunctuation CheckerParagraph checkerWriting style checkerProofreading softwareESLDictionary-ThesaurusWriting TemplatesTranslation SoftwareSocial MediaFacebookTwitterScribdRSS

Copyright 2002 2011 WhiteSmoke Inc. All Rights Reserved System Requirements: OS Windows 2000/XP/Vista, Mac OSX ; Browser Internet Explorer, Firefox,Safari, Google Chrome; Active Internet Connection

The Ultimate How To Guide toEnglish Writing



Name: Email:



Name: Your First Name... Email:

how to write a literature review

Documents