THE UNION INSTITUTE RESEARCH ENGINE

What is a Literature Review?

A review of the literature is an essental part of your academic research project. The review is a careful examination of a body of literature pointing toward the answer to your research question. A literature or a body of literature is a collection of published research relevant to a research question. All good research and writing is guided by a review of the relevant literature. Your literature review will be the mechanism by which your research is viewed as a cumulative process. That makes it an integral component of the scientific process. Why do it? The purpose of the literature review remains the same regardless of the research methodology you use. It is an essential test of the research question against that which is already known about your subject. Through the literature review you will discover whether your research question already has been answered by someone else? If it has, you must change or modify your question. Questions. If you find that your research question has not been answered satisfactorily by someone else, then search out the answers to these questions: What is known about my subject?

What is the chronology of the development of knowledge about my subject? Are there any gaps in knowledge of my subject? Which openings for research have been identified by other researchers? How do I intend to bridge the gaps? Is there a consensus on relevant issues? Or is there significant debate on issues? What are the various positions? What is the most fruitful direction I can see for my research as a result of my literature review? What directions are indicated by the work of other researchers? Remember that nothing is completely black or white. Only you can determine what is satisfactory, relevant, significant or important in the

context of your own research. Mechanics of a literature review. Your literature review will have two components: the search through the literature the writing of the review

Obviously, the search is the first step. However, you must remember that you love knowledge and that academic databases can be seductive. You could spend untold hours clicking around the bibliogaphies of your favorite collections. You may have fun, but you might not advance your literature review. The solution? Have your research question written down and at hand when you arrive at the computer to search databases. Prepare in advance a plan and a preset time limit. Finding too much? If you find so many citations that there is no end in sight to the number of references you could use, its time to re-evaluate your question. It's too broad. Finding too little? On the other hand, if you can't find much of anything, ask yourself if you looking in the right area. Your topic is too narrow. Leading edge research. What if you are trying to research an area that seems never to have been examined before? Be systematic. Look at journals that print abstracts in that subject area to get an overview of the scope of the available literature. Then, your search could start from a general source, such as a book, and work its way from those references to the specific topic you want. Or, you could start with a specific source, such as a research paper, and work from that author's references. There isn't a single best approach. Take thorough notes. Be sure to write copious notes on everything as you proceed through your research. It's very frustrating when you can't find a reference found earlier that now you want to read in full. It's not hard to open up a blank document in WordPad (Windows) or SimpleText (Macintosh) to keep a running set of notes during a computer search session. Just jump back and forth between the Web browser screen and the notepad screen. Using resources wisely. Practice makes perfect. Learn how and then use the available computer resources properly and efficiently. Log onto the Internet frequently. Visit the Union Institute Research Engine regularly. Play with the discipline resources. Enter the databases. Scope out the reference desk materials.

Identify publications which print abstracts of articles and books in your subject area. Look for references to papers from which you can identify the most useful journals. Identify those authors who seem to be important in your subject area. Identify keywords in your area of interest to help when you need to narrow and refine database searches. Read online library catalogs to find available holdings. Be sure to write copious notes on everything. Getting ready to write. Eventually, a broad overview picture of the literature in your subject area will begin to emerge. Then it's time to review your notes and begin to draft your literature review. But, where to start? Suppose you have several WordPad or SimpleText files full of notes you've written. And a dozen real books and copies of three dozen journal articles. Pile them on a table and sit down. Turn to your research question. Write it out again at the head of a list of the various keywords and authors that you have uncovered in your search. Do any pairings or groupings pop out at you? You now are structuring or sketching out the literature review which is the first step in writing a research paper, thesis or dissertation. Writing the review. One draft won't cut it. Plan from the outset to write and rewrite. Naturally, you will crave a sense of forward momentum, so don't get bogged down. Don't restrict yourself to writing the review in a linear fashion from start to finish. If one area of the writing is proving difficult, jump to another part. Edit and rewrite. Your goal is to communicate effectively and efficiently the answer you found to your research question in the literature. Edit your work so it is clear and concise. If you are writing an abstract and introduction, leave them for the last. Communicating ideas is the objective of your writing, so make it clear, concise and consistent. Big words and technical terms are not clear to everyone. They make it hard for all readers to understand your writing. Consider their use very carefully and substitute a 50-cent word for a $5 word wherever possible. Style and writing guides are worth browsing if you are unsure how to approach writing. Always re-read what you have written. Get someone else to read it. Read it aloud to see how it sounds to your ear. Then revise and rewrite. Writing the conclusion. Throughout your written review, you should communicate your new knowledge by combining the research question you asked with the literature you reviewed. End your writing with a conclusion that wraps up what you learned in the literature review process.

While the interaction between the research question and the relevant literature is foreshadowed throughout the review, it usually is written at the

very end. The interaction itself is a learning process that gives researchers new insight into their area of research. The conclusion should reflect this. What is a database? Does the word database sound forbidding? It shouldn't because we use databases comfortably everyday. Academic researchers reach into scholarly journal databases to build bibliographies for their papers and dissertations. The Union Institute Research Engine provides access to academic databases for use in scholarly projects. Additional information about databases. Recommended readings about literature reviews and research methods. Leedy, Paul D. Practical Research: Planning and Design. 6th Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall, 1997. (ISBN: 0132414074) Booth, Wayne C., and Gregory G. Colomb and Joseph M. Williams. The Craft of Research. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1995 Trochim, William M.K. The Research Methods Knowledge Base. Ithaca, NY: published online at http://trochim.human.cornell.edu/, 1997. (Also available as paperback book from the author at wmt1@cornell.edu) Northey, M. 1987, Making Sense: a student's guide to writing and style (Revised Edition), Oxford University Press, Toronto, pp 129. Strunk, W. and E.B. White 1979. The Elements of Style, MacMillan Publishing Co., New York, pp 92.