Maricel B.

Raguindin
Ma. Frances D. Lansang
(BAPS 3A - GROUP 16 REPORT)

A Literature Review
What is a literature review?
1. A literature review is a compilation, classification, and evaluation of what othe
r researchers have written on a particular topic.
2. A literature review normally forms part of a research thesis but it can also sta
nd alone as a self-contained review of writings on a subject.
3. A literature review ensures that you are at least familiar with the body of rese
arch in your field before starting your own investigations.
4. Writing a literature review also provides practice in critical thinking. Once you
have applied critical thinking skills to the findings of past researchers, you are in a bet
ter position to apply these same skills to your own work.

What is the purpose of literature review?

Demonstrate your familiarity with the topic and its scholarly context
Develop a theoretical framework and methodology for your research
Position your work in relation to other researchers and theorists
Show how your research addresses a gap or contributes to a debate
Evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your knowledge of the sch
olarly debates around your topic.

In other case, its purpose also is to:

● Place each work in the context of its contribution to the subject under review;
● Describe the relationship of each work to the others under consideration;
● Identify new ways to interpret, and shed light on any gaps in previous researc
h;
● Resolve conflicts among seemingly contradictory previous studies;
● Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of effort;
● Point the way forward for further research;
● Place an original piece of research in the context of existing literature.

Other Purpose of a Literature Review

A literature review demonstrates your ability to research; it also showcases you
r expertise on your chosen topic. By including a literature review in your project or thesi
s, you are also providing your reader with the most prevalent theories and studies on y
our topic, evaluations and comparisons of these studies, and gaps there may be in the
literature. This helps your reader understand your project/thesis better. It also makes y
ou a more credible and reliable author.
The Basic Components of a Literature Review include:
1. A description of the publication
2. A summary of the publication’s main points
3. An evaluation of the publication’s contribution to the topic
4. Identification of critical gaps, points of disagreement, or potentially flawed methodolo
gy or theoretical approaches
5. Indicates potential directions for future research

Steps of the Literature Review Process

1) Planning -identify the focus, type, scope and discipline of the review you intend to w
rite.
2) Reading and Research - collect and read current research on your topic. Select onl
y those sources that are most relevant to your project.
3) Analyzing - summarize, synthesize, critique, and compare your sources in order to
assess the field of research as a whole.
4) Drafting - develop a thesis or claim to make about the existing research and decide
how to organize your material.
5) Revising - revise and finalize the structural, stylistic, and grammatical issues of your
paper.
1. SELECT A TOPIC
Select for a literature relevant to your study
 Develop a list of keywords
 Develop a list of synonyms for these keywords
 Open a scholarly data database (Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct)
 Use boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT etc.)
 Identify the most important publication

2. SEARCH AND CHOOSE THE LITERATURE

 Instead of reading the full research, read the abstract
 Look at the bibliography of the publication for other relevant resources
 Observe the number of high citation

3. ANALYZE AND INTERPRET THE LITERATURE

Identify themes, debates and gaps
Take note of the connections of different sources to easily organize your literature
review.

Observe for the:

 Trends and patterns
 Themes
 Debates and contradictions
Organize by Outlining
Four Types of Literature Review Organization
1. Chronological - from older to recent publication
2. Thematic - organized around several key themes
3. Methodological -compare the different research methods being used across
studies
4. Theoretical - use to discuss opposing theories or models

4. WRITE THE REVIEW

Start writing the literature review
1. Introduction
cite and present the study
2. Main body
summarizes and synthesizes the sources to your study
3. Conclusion
the function of your paper’s conclusion is to restate the main argument. It
reminds the reader of the strengths of your main arguments and reiterates
the most important evidence supporting those arguments.

Parts of a Literature Review

A literature review is composed of three parts:
• Introduction
● Keep it brief: most commonly only a paragraph long, but can go up to 1.5
pages.
● Introduce the larger subject. o Narrow that larger subject into your mana
geable topic.
● Explain the significance of the topic.
● Formulate research question(s).
● Explain the scope of your coverage (what criteria was used to include or
exclude studies and why).
● Lay out the organization of the review (forecasting statements).

● Body
● Provide some background information (e.g. definition of concepts, histori
cal perspective(s) on the issue, etc.)
● Group the research according to themes, trends, approaches, etc.
● Summarize individual items with as much detail as merited (determined b
y its comparative significance within your overall paper).
● Weave citations/descriptions of the literature with your analysis and show
the reader how this connects to your overall research question(s).
● Point out any methodological flaws, gaps in research, or inconsistencies i
n theory and findings.
 ● Conclusion
● Summarize major contributions of significant studies and articles to the b
ody of knowledge under review.
● Point out any gaps in the published literature and discuss areas or issues
pertinent to future study.
Writing Literature Review
Writing your literature review takes time. You may need to complete several draf
ts before your final copy. It is important to have a good introduction that clearly tells the
reader what the literature will be about.

An introduction must tell the reader the following:

– What you are going to cover in the review
– The scope of your research
– How the review ties in with your own research topic.

Introduction
A good example of an introduction has a topic sentence which indicates what
will be covered and also tells the reader the specific focus of the literature review in the
concluding sentence.

Paragraphs
A paragraph is a group of connected sentences that develop a single point,
argument or idea. Paragraphs need to link to other paragraphs so that the themes,
arguments or ideas developed are part of a coherent whole rather than separate bits.

A paragraph should include:

– a main statement / idea that you are putting forward; topic sentence
– evidence from research to support / argue your idea, showing where the writers
agree and / or disagree
– student analysis of the research literature where appropriate
– summing up and linking to the next idea (paragraph).
In the literature review, you will need to show evidence of integrating your readings into
each paragraph and analysis of the readings where necessary.

Integrating arguments in paragraphs

 Integration of multiple sources

To develop an integrated argument from multiple sources, you need to

link your arguments together. The model below is a guide.

 Integration of student analysis

It is important to integrate your analysis and interpretation of the literature in
your literature review. Read the following paragraph and see how the
 arguments have been integrated into the paragraph along with student analysis.
Analysis is not just student opinion, it needs to be supported by the literature.

Verbs for referencing

To incorporate quotations / references into a literature review, you can use a
variety of verbs. These verbs are often used with prepositions, such as that, by, on. It
is poor writing to use the same ones all the time, and says that, states that. Verbs also
allow the writer to indicate the degree to which they support the author of the research,
and an example of it includes claims that, versus, argues that. The following verbs and
prepositions can be used to introduce references into your literature review.

Characteristics of an Effective Literature Review

In addition to fulfilling the purposes outlined above, an effective literature review
provides a critical overview of existing research by:
● Outlining important research trends.
● Assessing strengths and weaknesses (of individual studies as well the existing r
esearch as a whole).
● Identifying potential gaps in knowledge.
● Establishing a need for current and/or future research projects.

How to Conduct an Effective Literature Review Outline

• Find literature associated with the topic.
• Search and analyze the literature.
• Evaluate the paper before reading.
• Cite literature properly.
• Make a summary table of reviewed papers.
• Avoid plagiarism.
• Write a journal article based on literature review

Summary
In your literature review, you should:
1. Clarify your understanding of the field
2. Explain the rationale for your research
3. Place your research within a broader context
4. Evaluate the results of previous research
5. Define key concepts and ideas
6. Identify research in related areas that are generalizable or transferable to your topi
c
7. Identify relevant methodological issues.

The aim of any literature review is to summarize and synthesize the arguments an
d ideas of existing knowledge in a particular field without adding any new contributions.
Being built on existing knowledge they help the researcher to even turn the wheels of
the topic of research. It is possible only with profound knowledge of what is wrong in t
he existing findings in detail to overpower them. For other researches, the literature r
eview gives the direction to be headed for its success.