https://library.concordia.ca/help/writing/literature-review.php
One of the sections , In a research paper or a thesis. That people tend to struggle most is the literature review. How to write a literature review and how to structure it. You can go off and write an excellent literature review either for a paper or for a thesis.
Universal Approach Across Fields
This is going to work regardless of the field that you’re in. So I know a lot of people think, “Oh, you know, I’m doing theology and I’m doing quantum physics. I’m teaching English,” and it’s all completely different. The literature you will be reviewing is completely different. But the way you write it is actually the same. let’s dive in and let’s see how this is done.
Identifying Key Topics
So when it comes to write literature review. The first key thing that you need to do at the very beginning is to identify the main topics. The main themes that you’re going to be write literature review. There are so many things to review and so many topics .That it can be overwhelming. You don’t have time or space to do that either in a research paper or in a literature review chapter.
Avoiding Overly Descriptive Writing
The biggest mistake that , You can make is just to try to do everything and try to do too much. Because that’s going to result in. You being very descriptive and lengthy and just like going off on a tangent. And not really getting to the point. That’s why you want to identify the key topics for your literature review and subtopics.
Deriving Themes from Research Aims
How do you do that? The easiest way is to derive them from the aim of your study. Or from the research questions that you’ve got. So to give you an example, a recent study that we’ve done investigates. You know, who is a plenary speaker. And who is invited to be a plenary speaker at conferences for English language teachers.
Defining Specific Research Topics
We’ve got a couple of topics in, and we’re specifically looking at, ethnic representation. Also in terms of native and non-native speakers. So what we’ve got here is a couple of topics. For example, we need to review research on conferences, more specifically plenary speakers at conferences.
Broadening the Discussion Scope
We also then want to look at another topic would be to look at overall. Any sort of ethnic or discrimination in terms of native/non-native speakers. Overall in English language teaching, because that’s another topic that we’re doing here. And also conferences in general is a topic, Why are scientific conferences important. And why should we study them, why should anybody care.
Focusing on Relevance
So you take your research aim, and then from this you derive. Typically, you three, four main themes that you want to and need to discuss. In fact, because the whole point of the literature review is. You’re going towards the research gap and towards the research aim. So you should only be discussing stuff that is relevant.
Breaking Down Subtopics
Now, when you’ve got these main themes. let’s say, plenary speakers at conferences or conferences more general. Then you know we can talk about subtopics within them. We need to look at plenary speakers or maybe all the speakers invite. We can look at research in my field, teaching English. There is no research in that field. And we want to look at other fields. like biology, quantum physics, whatever other research we can find.
Exploring Related Variables
If there’s no research specifically on ethnicity. What we are interested in. We could look at is gender representation of plenary speakers at major conferences. These are all subtopics that we’re going to be discussing. Within this broader topic of. let me say, conferences and plenary speakers. So that’s another thing: first identify the main themes, and then identify the sub-themes.
Setting a Clear Destination
Now, once you’ve done that, well, you need to clarify to yourself where you’re actually going with it. Think about the literature review as a journey on which you’re going. you’re taking the reader along with you. If you have no idea what the destination of that journey is. Then clearly you’re not going to be able to get there. You’re just going to go like it is and just get lost.
Answering the Why
Whenever we sit in a car or we go somewhere. Usually, We kind of know where we’re going. And then we get directions from Waze or Google Maps. How to actually get to that place, but the first point is to actually know the destination. And to understand how to do that is to kind of answer the question. Why am I doing it, so what, right?
Making Your Point Clear
So imagine, You’ve presented something on. On plenary speakers at conferences, and you’ve described previous studies. You know, representation and balance of plenary speakers they found at conferences. I mean, what is your point, what are you trying to show us.
Directing Toward the Research Gap
For example, There is a lot of gender discrimination at scientific conferences. In terms of who gets invited as a plenary speaker. That’s your why, that’s your main point, that’s where you’re going. And on a more general level, where you’re going with all of it is towards the research gap. Towards the research aim, but the purpose in every section, paragraph, should be clear to the reader.
Asking So What
So a good trick is to just ask yourself .”So what?” Once you’ve written a paragraph. “So what?” And tell the reader what is the destination. Should they know from it. Now, this will really help you to be more critical in the literature review, which is a very important element.
Moving Beyond Summary
In one of the biggest mistakes that I see when I start working with my clients. Is that it’s very descriptive. They just kind of describe and describe and describe the previous studies, but it’s not going anywhere. People give a lot of details about how the study was conducted. Where it was conducted, what happened in the study, And a ton of details about the results. But it’s just a description of the study.
Building an Argument
But a literature review is not a description of previous studies. A literature review is an argument. That goes to our main thesis, our main point, answers the so-what question, right? So in order to do that, you need to avoid waffling, avoid describing studies, and get to the point.
Highlighting Key Findings
You know, most of the time what we’re interested in is the result of the study. Don’t tell us what the topic of this study was. How it was conducted, all that stuff. Tell us what they found, what they observed, and how this relates to other studies. How this relates to your study, that’s the key in the literature review.
Addressing Methodology When Needed
Of course, sometimes it might be relevant to tell us what the methodology of a particular study was. Because you want to make a specific point about the methodology. You want to point out that the methodology that previous studies have been using is faulty. And that everybody uses this faulty methodology, and of course it makes sense, right?
Being Critical and Relevant
So it all comes down to knowing the purpose. The destination, where you’re going. And then, rather than describing stuff. Just being critical and only presenting relevant things that are connected to your main point. That you’re trying to prove or show us in the literature review.
Structural Approaches
Now, another really important thing is, of course, how to structure the whole thing, right? A very easy way to do that is to structure it from general to specific. You can think of it as an inverted pyramid. Where your destination is the pyramid apex at the very bottom. Which is your research aim, the research gap. And then you start with more general stuff. You go like this to more specific stuff, that’s a really easy way of structuring things.
Chronological Organization
Another way that might make sense when it comes to structuring is chronological order. If you’re trying to present the development of something, of let’s say a particular research area in your field. Then structuring it from the oldest to the newest might make sense as well.
Categorizing by Fields
Sometimes it also might make sense to organize your literature by fields or subfields. So let’s say if you have a more multi-disciplinary take on something. You can show us how psychologists have investigated this issue: Neuroscientists, Sociologists, Economists. And then bring all those perspectives together. But you would be organizing it by those different fields.
Referencing Patterns
But by far the most common way is just kind of general to specific. And of course you can mix and match them in different paragraphs or in different sections of your literature review. Now, in order to be able to show the reader the logic and tell a coherent story. What we also need to do is to vary the pattern. In which you’re referring to studies in the literature review.
Avoiding Repetitive Author Citations
I see very often is that people just start each sentence with the name of the author. And say what they did. Don’t do that .This is very disgusting . So they will say stuff like, “You know, Gonzalez studied X, Y, and Z. In addition, You investigated X, Y, and Z. And finally, Kitch kovic also studied X, Y, and Z.”
Strategies for Smooth Transitions
- Now what this does is that:
- A, it makes your text very repetitive.
- B, it’s much more difficult to draw connections between those studies. Because it’s just that it is going to end up being a descriptive list of things. So what you want to do is you want to vary the referencing pattern.
Connecting Ideas
Of course, sometimes you can start with the research and say. like, “You studied X, Y, and Z.” But then in the following sentence it probably makes more sense. For example say, “This issue has also been investigated by several other researchers. ” And you see, with “this issue” we provide a clear connection.
Integrating Literature Seamlessly
You can simply expand on that issue and say. One of the effects of this problem is write literature review. And then at the end just put a reference to a study. So the way you start your sentence allows you to link to the preceding sentences. And to have a more coherent story in your literature review.
Key Takeaway
So this is how you write and you structure a really good literature review. Ask yourself why, what is my point and what am I trying to tell the reader here. Tell the reader that, Only use relevant information to do that.
