Steps in Writing a Literature Review in Research

Writing a literature review is an essential step in the research process, but it's often regarded as one of
the most challenging tasks. It requires a comprehensive understanding of the existing literature
related to your research topic and the ability to synthesize and analyze information effectively. Here
are the steps involved in crafting a literature review:

1. Define the Scope: Clearly define the scope and objectives of your literature review. Identify
the specific research question or topic you're investigating and establish criteria for selecting
relevant literature.
2. Conduct Thorough Research: Begin by conducting a comprehensive search of academic
databases, journals, books, and other relevant sources. Use keywords and search terms
related to your topic to gather a diverse range of literature.
3. Evaluate Sources: Evaluate the credibility, relevance, and quality of the sources you gather.
Consider factors such as author credentials, publication date, methodology, and theoretical
framework to determine the significance of each source.
4. Organize the Literature: Organize the literature into thematic categories or concepts based on
common themes, theories, or findings. This will help you identify key trends, debates, and
gaps in the existing research.
5. Analyze and Synthesize Information: Analyze each source critically and identify key
findings, arguments, and methodologies. Synthesize the information by comparing and
contrasting different perspectives, identifying patterns, and drawing connections between
studies.
6. Develop a Framework: Develop a conceptual framework or theoretical framework that
provides a structure for organizing and presenting your literature review. This framework
should guide the organization of your review and help you present your analysis effectively.
7. Write the Literature Review: Start writing your literature review by introducing the topic and
providing context for the research. Summarize key findings and debates in each thematic
category, highlighting the strengths and limitations of existing studies.
8. Provide Critical Analysis: Offer a critical analysis of the literature by evaluating the
methodologies, theoretical frameworks, and research approaches used in the studies. Discuss
inconsistencies, contradictions, and gaps in the literature and propose areas for further
research.
9. Ensure Coherence and Flow: Ensure that your literature review is well-organized, coherent,
and logically structured. Use transitions and signposts to guide readers through the review
and maintain a clear focus on your research question.
10. Revise and Edit: Review your literature review carefully, checking for clarity, accuracy, and
consistency. Revise as needed to strengthen your arguments, refine your analysis, and
improve the overall quality of the review.

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It offers you the chance to go through previously done work on the topic. Stancanelli, P. Weisberg,
and X. Xu for insights and discussions, and to P. Bourne, T. Matoni, and D. Smith for helpful
comments on a previous draft. You should chase down and use the reference if the reference author
links to another source whose thoughts are relevant or fascinating. It would be useful if you had an
idea of what you will be reviewing to effectively search for references and to write a coherent
summary of the research on it. It is important to be careful in noting the references already at this
stage, so as to avoid misattributions. An easier way is just to drop us a message on our Live ChatBox
on the bottom right of the page. This can get very confusing considering the large amount of
publications that need to be organized. More often than not, different interpretations on the same
subject might change your perspective towards the same. For example, look at the following two
passages and note that Student A merely describes the literature, whereas Student B takes a more
analytical and evaluative approach by comparing and contrasting. Make certain that all of the
citations and references are correct and that you are referencing in the appropriate style for your
discipline. These themes should be generated from your research aim, purpose, and objectives.
Inevitably, new papers on the reviewed topic (including independently written literature reviews)
will appear from all quarters after the review has been published, so that there may soon be the need
for an updated review. Scope: Make an effort to understand the extent of scope that your topic
offers. Addresses Research Gaps: Identifies areas where more knowledge is needed, guiding your
contributions. In addressing these points, you argue for your place in the conversation, which tends
to make the lit review more compelling than a simple reporting of other sources. Specify the time
frame, key themes, and relevant studies to focus your research. Simply indicating what an author
claims or has found is not sufficient. Writing a literature review can be challenging because: you
need to coordinate many sources and ideas into a logical argument you may be dealing with
language and ideas you haven't fully mastered yet there are no fixed rules for what to include or how
to organise your writing. Avoid making uncited or overly generalized claims. If you feel a
generalization is warranted, you must follow it up with multiple, specific examples to justify such
generalization. In this post, I’ll show you exactly how to write a literature review in three
straightforward steps, so you can conquer this vital chapter (the smart way). Literature Reviews as
Ways of Hearing the Conversation. You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions
of key concepts. The writing process is a long one, because not only are you writing to understand
your topic, you are writing to be understood as well. You've learned what a literature review is all
about. Teams Enable groups of users to work together to streamline your digital publishing. A
literature review is an assessment of the sources in a chosen topic of research. There are many traps
and pitfalls that any writer could fall on, and thus, here are some of the most important tips in
writing a literature review. Identify the main purpose of the literature review. Source: writeonline.ca
Whatever the reason, there are many benefits to writing a literature review. You will most likely not
be able to read absolutely everything that is out there on the topic.
At this stage, it’s common to feel a bit of writer’s block and find yourself procrastinating under the
pressure of finally having to put something on paper. To put it bluntly, if you don’t understand the
function and purpose of the literature review process, there’s no way you can pull it off well.
Incoherent: Writing a review that’s absolutely incoherent and lack of flow in your arguments. Step 3:
Identify Connections Synthesize information from selected sources, identifying common themes,
patterns, and trends. Note that you might combine some of these structures depending on the length
of your review. Moreover, Hope (2002), who interviewed 225 residents from various nursing homes,
substantiates the claim that characteristics of the institutional environment such as the extent of
resources in the facility, as well as its location, are features which residents have indicated as being
of great importance to their independence. For each publication, ask yourself: What question or
problem is the author addressing. Some useful databases to search for journals and articles include:
Your university’s library catalogue Google Scholar Project Muse (humanities and social sciences)
Medline (life sciences and biomedicine) EconLit (economics) Inspec (physics, engineering and
computer science) You can also use boolean operators to help narrow down your search. Taking a
couple of days and reviewing your works gives you better insight and an opportunity to look at your
work differently. Isn’t it true that writing necessitates a greater amount of effort. Also, the first draft
should not be considered the final or near-final version. Alternatively, you can use a database, or
keywords to find sources fast. If you are stuck on how to organize your concepts, note how the
publications most related to your project handled the literature review. Every industry remains in the
ample need. Read more. For the first two parts see Slaying the (literature review) beast: Part 1 and
Slaying the (literature review) beast: Part 2. Aids in Forming Research Questions: Helps shape precise
and meaningful research questions, building on existing theories. Step 2: Analyze and Select Sources
In the second phase of your research, it is essential to carefully evaluate and select sources that
directly contribute to your research question. Use your conceptual schema to identify where you will
begin and in what order. Steps in the Literature Review Process Organize your citations and focus on
your research question and pertinent studies Compile your bibliography Note: The first four steps are
the best points at which to contact a librarian. It is an ideal method if the research you are doing
doesn’t contain data collection or analysis. A guide for students of the behavioral sciences (3rd ed.).
Start by looking for the most recent publications in the field you're working on. The library also
offers a workshop called “ Improving your literature search strategy.”. Rely heavily on the guidelines
your instructor has given you. This technique will give you a strong indication of which points were
clearly communicated and which weren’t. There are various ways to organize your literature review:
Chronological method: Writing in the chronological method means you are presenting the materials
according to when they were published. This may be necessary to some extent, but in this case a
focused review would only deal in detail with those studies at the interface between epidemiology
and the spread of ideas. Connection: Not establishing a very clear connection between the literature
and your research even though it is extremely critical. A word plugin allows you to insert a formatted
citation from your references while writing your document. Talk to your professor, brainstorm, and
read lecture notes and recent issues of periodicals in the ?eld. Get real-time explanations, summaries,
and answers to your questions for the paper you're reviewing, making navigating and understanding
the complex literature landscape easier.
Crafting a literature review is a strategic process encompassing various vital steps to ensure a
comprehensive and coherent review. This includes the purpose of the study, who were the
participants, how was the study conducted, and then ultimately, what was found. Using this
structure, you can discuss numerous models and theories. You can identify the best methods to
collect data and analyze your work. Literature Review dalam Bahasa Melayu biasanya dikenali
sebagai. Along with preventing it, a literature review also underlines the things that can be taken up
for research. When we say “literature review” or refer to “the literature,” we are talking about the
research ( scholarship ) in a given field. Introduces another question of interest and reviews what has
been found so far. Thank you Coach, you have greatly enriched and improved my knowledge Great
piece, so enriching and it is going to help me a great lot in my project and thesis, thanks so much
This is THE BEST site for ANYONE doing a masters or doctorate. University of Wisconsin. (2006).
UW-madison writing center writer's handbook. This is a prime example of an organisation requiring
to adapt and being flexible in a changing environment in order to remain relevant and competitive
(Prahalad and Hamel, 1990: 1). Students often underestimate the importance of planning the
structure of their papers in advance. Offer a critical point of view as per similar findings by other
researchers or authors. Contact us today if you need help with your literature review. Yes, the
literature review should ideally be written in the past tense. Additionally, literature review writing
attempts to spot research areas that might interest researchers in the future. Go through the
paragraphs to determine whether you need to add more information, or eliminate any fluff. Give
contradictory statements if you can justify the same. You've learned what a literature review is all
about. Statistics Make data-driven decisions to drive reader engagement, subscriptions, and
campaigns. Does the research use the usual methods, or is it trying something new. Your search
should help refine the topic and objective of the overview being written. We hope this guide has
helped you answer several key questions you have about writing literature reviews. Does the research
use established frameworks or take an innovative approach. Narrow your topic and select papers
accordingly Consider your specific area of study. For each source, consider the following: What's the
Author Trying to Do. What areas interest you and other researchers looking into the same thing.
Publications Account settings Advanced Search Journal List PLoS Comput Biol v.9(7); 2013 Jul Ten
Simple Rules for Writing a Literature Review Marco pautasso. 1 Centre for Functional and
Evolutionary Ecology (CEFE), CNRS, Montpellier, France 2 Centre for Biodiversity Synthesis and
Analysis (CESAB), FRB, Aix-en-Provence, France Literature reviews are in great demand in most
scientific fields. Avoid making uncited or overly generalized claims. If you feel a generalization is
warranted, you must follow it up with multiple, specific examples to justify such generalization.
However, a literature review isn’t as simple as merely listing the material you’ve found and expecting
the reader to connect the dots.