Are you going through the process of writing a literature review but finding it difficult? Whether you are writing a thesis, dissertation, assignment or any other piece of academic writing, you must have to go through literature.
To all those who don’t know what it is, the literature review is a survey of scholarly articles, books, and research papers to find information on a specific topic.
The formal literature started almost 350 years back after 1st publication of an academic journal on 6 March 1665. This journal was in the English language and Henry Oldenburg published it at his own expense 200 years after printing technology.
According to Jinha in 2010, there were 50 million published academic journals at that time. He estimated scholarly articles between 1477382 to 1504600 were published worldwide in 2009.
This survey was held a long time ago, and now according to the report of WordsRated published on 1 June 2023, almost 64 million scholarly articles have been published since 1996.
Most students do not understand how to write a good literature review so they choose to get dissertation help online. In this article, we will discuss a step-by-step guide to writing a literature review in 2023.
What is the Purpose of Literature Review?
A literature review is a compilation of significant essays, books, and other sources on a certain topic. It resembles gathering and compiling all the related data into one location. Its main purpose is that you can get and understand the knowledge from it by reading relevant research articles, thesis, papers and books.
It allows you to identify research gaps in the existing research that you can use and apply in your own dissertation It helps you understand what experts already know, so you can use that knowledge for your own paper or research. Sonja K. Foss explained the purpose of literature review in his book Destination Dissertation.
This makes it easier for you to demonstrate your depth of knowledge and the value of your research. Other researchers who wish to learn more about the subject swiftly can also benefit from it.
The book “Seven Steps to a Comprehensive Literature Review By Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie, and Rebecca Frels” explained the CORE process of writing a literature review. This approach gives the literature review a meaningful direction, such as:
How to write a literature review for a research paper? Here is a map exposing the major parts of the research paper including the literature review in it.
7 Steps Guide to Write a Literature Review
Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie and Rebecca Frels presented seven steps model to write a literature review including;
Step 1: Define Your Research
Determine precisely what you want to study first. What is the main query you are attempting to address? How many sources are required in total? You can ask for assistance with your topic, how to obtain references, and how to write if you need clarification.
Furthermore, prepare yourself as a literature reviewer and also think like that. Here is a visual, representing the characteristics of a researcher:
Step 2: Explore and Select a Specific Topic
Consider a subject that truly interests you. It might be a subject that others are interested in or can be different from others. Make sure a lot of research has been done on it so you have a variety of sources to choose from. But don’t select a broad topic as it will bother you in writing a literature review.
Step 3: Find the Sources of Literature
Search for books, journals, and other studies on your subject. It’s similar to looking for hidden treasure online or at a library. Keep a record of where you found each source. You can ask for suggestions if you’re unsure of where to look. To identify sources that discuss the research you’re interested in, use Google Scholar, Sci-Hub, different online libraries or Scopus.
Step 4: Store and Analyse Your Sources of Information
It’s time to comprehend your sources now that you have located them. This process includes thoroughly reading them and reflecting on what they have to say.
You should consider the author of the source, its age, the subject matter, and how it relates to other sources, among other considerations. You can use a list of questions to help you consider your sources. It comes in the category of literature review methodology.
Step 5: Categorise the Sources
Group the sources you have gathered depending on the topics they cover. By topic, manner, time, or other significant factors, you can organise them for writing a literature review.
Discuss the positive and negative aspects of each group’s sources to write a literature review dissertation. After looking at numerous sources, you’ll know you’re making progress if you find that they are consistent across various locations.
Step 6: Understand, Discuss and Expand the Information
Read the sources carefully and comprehend their arguments. Choose the key points from each source. Describe each source briefly in your writing. Note down important points while reading and summarise each article having essential and related information to your study. Describe the key concepts and how they apply to your issue.
Step 7: Connect the Dots and Share Your Ideas Related to the Literature
Show your related ideas and the sources you found in writing a literature review. They might agree with your points of view or present something fresh. Discuss what the sources omitted as well; this will strengthen your review. Organise everything so that it makes sense. Readers must get an idea of your thoughts by reading your work and they can see how your own ideas relate to the sources.
Conclusion
Start your literature review dissertation with a thorough research process and then proceed to collect the related information and organise it. As you wrap up your review, keep in mind that you’re not just discussing what others have stated. You are building a map that demonstrates your comprehension and contributes to the body of knowledge.
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