Getting Started
A literature review means finding, reading and summarising the published research relevant to your question, in other words finding out what is already known about your topic. Once you have read and critically reflected upon the relevant literature, you should be able to identify major themes as well as compare and contrast the various perspectives.
The stages of a literature review are to:
- Define your terms
- Use appropriate search strategies
- Select relevant materials
- Group materials in a way that makes sense for the argument you want to make
- Compare, contrast, analyse and synthesize what you’ve read
- Set the context for your research
An undergraduate literature review may be for an essay, research report, annotated bibliography, or a literature assignment. This may require you to find a small selection of literature, for example ten relevant articles. If you are asked to write a literature review, check on Moodle or with your tutor for instructions. You may be asked to do an annotated bibliography as a first step.
In all cases, follow these general guidelines:
- Think about your key words! Read your course outline. What have you been asked to do? What are you really searching for? Are there alternative words to express this?
- The next step of your literature review is searching for high-quality, peer-reviewed academic resources. This includes sourcing journal articles or academic books through Library Search, exploring specialised databases or examining theses.
- Read strategically with these guides to Reading at University from Student Learning.
- Read critically: See Sage Research Methods on Critical Thinking.
- Evaluate your sources: See Sage Research Methods on Evaluating Evidence Effectively.
- Keep a research diary to record what you’ve done and collect and correct your references as you go.
- Check Moodle or your Course Outline to make sure you are using the correct referencing style.
Essays and Research Reports
Most university courses will require you to write at least one essay or report. Your first step is to look at your lecturer's instructions on Moodle or on your paper outline.
The Library has lots of great books on essay writing: go to Library Search, type "essay writing" into the search box and limit to books.
Directed Study, Special Topic or Dissertation
Consult your supervisor about your topic.
The literature review often appears near the start of your dissertation, and is a key part of your overall dissertation structure. It is a summary of the current writings in the field you are researching and into which your dissertation will eventually fit (Oxbridge Essays, para. 3)
Resources
These resources provide information on preparing and writing literature reviews for a directed study, special topic or dissertation. You could also look at call number LB2369 in the library. This is a good general call number for print books on dissertation writing.
Your Undergraduate Dissertation: The Essential Guide for Success by Call Number: LB2369 .W264 2014ISBN: 9781446253199Publication Date: 2013This guide provides expert, step-by-step advice on managing and developing a successful undergraduate project. It will answer questions such as: How do I choose an appropriate topic for my dissertation? How do I write a research proposal? What′s a literature review, how do I conduct it and how do I write it up? How can I ensure I′m an ethical researcher? What methods of data collection are appropriate for my research question? Once I have collected my data, what do I do? What′s the best structure for my dissertation? Full of examples from real student project and interdisciplinary case studies, this book will tell you all you need to know to write a brilliant dissertation.
Doing Your Undergraduate Project by ISBN: 9781847877451Publication Date: 2006Doing Your Undergraduate Project is accessible and engaging, with case studies used throughout the book to help you relate aspects of the project to real-life examples. The book also contains checklists and flow-charts to help you organize your study as you go along. The book will help you prepare and collate research; write the proposal and plan the project; evaluate risk assessment and ethical considerations; write a literature review; use your results effectively; write your project report; and manage your time and resources.
- If you feel you need extra guidance, there is a specific chapter on The Literature Review in this book.
- Sage Research Methods: Project PlannerThis tool is designed to guide you through your research project. First, think about what stage you're at in your research. If you've already gotten started, click on the stage below that best describes where you are. If you're just starting out, it might be helpful to read more about why we do research before getting started.
- 10 Tips on Writing a Dissertation Literature ReviewBlog post from Oxbridge Essays on writing a literature review.
- Thomson Rivers University Literature Review TemplateA useful template for writing your literature review.
- Writing a Literature ReviewWriting a literature review, broken down into seven steps.