Literature Review Writing Help

Introduction

A literature review (LR) is an extensive assessment of all existing articles, books, journals, conference proceedings, and other resources around a specific topic. LR is the longest chapter of a journal or research, where authors try to critically evaluate the studies that have taken place in the past and try to provide their own point of view on the findings. Research tells a story, and LR helps understand where exactly the author is currently within the story. Whether to create an LR with a new perspective or not lies at the discretion of the author of the dissertation. However, it is always beneficial to familiarize yourself with the topic before diving deep into other study segments. 

LR can be time-consuming and require your undivided attention for successful completion. We are here to help you create proficient and well-researched LR on any given topic. We work with a pool of professional academic writers, well versed with all the complexities of LR and who are recognized by famous universities around the globe. 

Definition

An LR would often allow you to:

• Showcase familiarity with the topic selected for the dissertation.
• Develop a theoretical and conceptual framework and a strong foundation for Research methodology.
• Get the research published alongside other prominent scholars and authors.
• Demonstrate how the study addresses an existing research gap or contributes to a debate.
• Understand the current state of research and obtain insight from existing scholarly debates around the topic.

Writing well-researched and structured LR can give a student a competitive edge when applying for graduate universities abroad, such as the UK, Australia, or Canada. This blog will provide step-by-step guidance on how to write LR successfully. 

Step 1 – Search for Relevant Literature

If you are writing a dissertation or research paper, the first step is to find some relatable papers and journals and define the topic. To search for relatable articles, list keywords that would give intended search results. For instance, if you are writing a literature review on social media influence, your target keywords should be social media, Instagram influence, Twitter Engagement, Snapchat and TikTok, etc. There are some authentic sources explicitly designed for research, some of which include Google Scholar, Project Muse, ScienceDirect, Inspect, JSTOR, IEEE Xplore, and Medline. 

Step 2: Assessment of Selected Sources

You may be unable to read the entire study paper all at once, given its enormous length. Therefore, you must ascertain whether the selected sources relate to your research question. For this, you need to ask the following questions:

• What questions is the paper trying to address?
• What are the theories, models, and methods for the research>
• What are the results and conclusion of the study?
• What are its strengths and weaknesses?

No matter what the answer is, the selected sources should be authentic and must provide data-backed information. 

Step 3 – Determine the Structure of LR

There are multiple ways to structure your Literature Review. Depending on the topic and length of the section, you can combine several strategies together to curate a professional and authentic paper. Some most common strategies for Structuring LR are discussed below.

Chronological

The simplest way to write LR is to trace the development of the topic over time. However, if you have decided to go with this strategy, make sure not to list and summarize the sources in order. Instead, the focus should be on analyzing the key debates and points and how they have shaped the study process. Alongside this, give your own interpretation of why and how certain things developed through the study. 

Thematic

If your selected topics have some recurring central themes, then the LR can be categorized into different sections, each indicating different aspects of the topic. For instance, if your LR is about the sustainability of large organizations, then your key themes must revolve around CSR policies, human right protection, eco-friendly measures, etc. 

Theoretical

A literature review is often a culmination of several theoretical frameworks combined together. You may justify choosing a specific theory for supporting your research or combine various theoretical concepts to create a new framework. 

Methodological

If you are collecting your research data from a different source, you might as well want to underpin them within your research methods. You may also compare the different results and conclusions emerging from different studies. For instance, observe the difference in data collected from qualitative and quantitative research methods. 

Frequently Asked Questions on LR

1. What is the Purpose of the Literature Review?

There are several importance of LR. However, its primary purpose is to identify the current research gap, ensure that the author is not repeating what has already been done in previous studies, provide an overview of key findings and results, and get familiarized with the views of existing authors and scholars. 

2. Where should LR be placed in a Dissertation?

LR usually comes after the introduction section of your research or at the beginning of the Dissertation. After an introduction, LR underpins all the scholarly fields before moving towards the development of a theoretical framework and methodology.

3. Is it essential to reference Literature Review?

Most definitely. You need to cite all viewpoints and debates included in your study with authentic citation using Harvard, APA, Chicago, or whichever referencing format your university follows. 

4. Can I Skip LR while writing my dissertation?

Most universities have guidelines on structuring your dissertation, and they always include the LR section. So, you should always include LR to achieve good grades. 

5. What is the difference Between LR and Annotated Bibliography?

An LR is a critical review of existing journals and articles, while annotated bibliography is a list of sources with a short description (annotation) for each source. 

Reference Articles to Read

1. Knopf, J.W., 2006. Doing a literature review. PS: Political Science & Politics, 39(1), pp.127-132.
2. Van Lange Paul, A.M., Liebrand, W.B. and AM, W.H., 2015. Introduction and literature review. Social dilemmas, pp.3-28.
3. Randolph, J., 2009. A guide to writing the dissertation literature review. Practical assessment, research, and evaluation, 14(1), p.13.