Literature review for a thesis format năm 2024
Published on 22 February 2022 by Shona McCombes. Revised on 7 June 2022. Show
What is a literature review? A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources on a specific topic. It provides an overview of current knowledge, allowing you to identify relevant theories, methods, and gaps in the existing research. There are five key steps to writing a literature review: A good literature review doesn’t just summarise sources – it analyses, synthesises, and critically evaluates to give a clear picture of the state of knowledge on the subject. TipWe’ve also compiled a few , , and for you below. Instantly correct all language mistakes in your textBe assured that you'll submit flawless writing. Upload your document to correct all your mistakes. Why write a literature review?When you write a dissertation or thesis, you will have to conduct a literature review to situate your research within existing knowledge. The literature review gives you a chance to:
You might also have to write a literature review as a stand-alone assignment. In this case, the purpose is to evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your knowledge of scholarly debates around a topic. The content will look slightly different in each case, but the process of conducting a literature review follows the same steps. We’ve written a step-by-step guide that you can follow below. The only proofreading tool specialized in correcting academic writingThe academic proofreading tool has been trained on 1000s of academic texts and by native English editors. Making it the most accurate and reliable proofreading tool for students. Correct my document today Examples of literature reviewsWriting literature reviews can be quite challenging! A good starting point could be to look at some examples, depending on what kind of literature review you’d like to write.
You can also check out our templates with literature review examples and sample outlines at the links below. Download Word doc Download Google doc Step 1: Search for relevant literatureBefore you begin searching for literature, you need a clearly defined topic. If you are writing the literature review section of a dissertation or research paper, you will search for literature related to your and questions. If you are writing a literature review as a stand-alone assignment, you will have to choose a focus and develop a central question to direct your search. Unlike a dissertation research question, this question has to be answerable without collecting original data. You should be able to answer it based only on a review of existing publications. Research question exampleWhat is the impact of social media on body image among Generation Z? Make a list of keywordsStart by creating a list of keywords related to your research topic. Include each of the key concepts or variables you’re interested in, and list any synonyms and related terms. You can add to this list if you discover new keywords in the process of your literature search. Keywords example
Search for relevant sourcesUse your keywords to begin searching for sources. Some databases to search for journals and articles include:
You can use boolean operators to help narrow down your search: Read the abstract to find out whether an article is relevant to your question. When you find a useful book or article, you can check the bibliography to find other relevant sources. To identify the most important publications on your topic, take note of recurring citations. If the same authors, books or articles keep appearing in your reading, make sure to seek them out. Step 2: Evaluate and select sourcesYou probably won’t be able to read absolutely everything that has been written on the topic – you’ll have to evaluate which sources are most relevant to your questions. For each publication, ask yourself:
Make sure the sources you use are credible, and make sure you read any landmark studies and major theories in your field of research. You can find out how many times an article has been cited on Google Scholar – a high citation count means the article has been influential in the field, and should certainly be included in your literature review. The scope of your review will depend on your topic and discipline: in the sciences you usually only review recent literature, but in the humanities you might take a long historical perspective (for example, to trace how a concept has changed in meaning over time). Remember that you can use our template to summarise and evaluate sources you’re thinking about using! Take notes and cite your sourcesAs you read, you should also begin the writing process. Take notes that you can later incorporate into the text of your literature review. It’s important to keep track of your sources with references to avoid plagiarism. It can be helpful to make an annotated bibliography, where you compile full reference information and write a paragraph of summary and analysis for each source. This helps you remember what you read and saves time later in the process. You can use our free APA Reference Generator for quick, correct, consistent citations. The only proofreading tool specialized in correcting academic writingThe academic proofreading tool has been trained on 1000s of academic texts and by native English editors. Making it the most accurate and reliable proofreading tool for students. Correct my document today Step 3: Identify themes, debates and gapsTo begin organising your literature review’s argument and structure, you need to understand the connections and relationships between the sources you’ve read. Based on your reading and notes, you can look for:
This step will help you work out the structure of your literature review and (if applicable) show how your own research will contribute to existing knowledge. Example of trends and gapsIn reviewing the literature on social media and body image, you note that:
Step 4: Outline your literature review’s structureThere are various approaches to organising the body of a literature review. You should have a rough idea of your strategy before you start writing. Depending on the length of your literature review, you can combine several of these strategies (for example, your overall structure might be thematic, but each theme is discussed chronologically). ChronologicalThe simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time. However, if you choose this strategy, be careful to avoid simply listing and summarising sources in order. Try to analyse patterns, turning points and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred. ThematicIf you have found some recurring central themes, you can organise your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic. For example, if you are reviewing literature about inequalities in migrant health outcomes, key themes might include healthcare policy, language barriers, cultural attitudes, legal status, and economic access. MethodologicalIf you draw your sources from different disciplines or fields that use a variety of research methods, you might want to compare the results and conclusions that emerge from different approaches. For example:
TheoreticalA literature review is often the foundation for a theoretical framework. You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts. You might argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach, or combine various theoretical concepts to create a framework for your research. Step 5: Write your literature reviewLike any other academic text, your literature review should have an introduction, a main body, and a conclusion. What you include in each depends on the objective of your literature review. IntroductionThe introduction should clearly establish the focus and purpose of the literature review. If you are writing the literature review as part of your dissertation or thesis, reiterate your central problem or research question and give a brief summary of the scholarly context. You can emphasise the timeliness of the topic (“many recent studies have focused on the problem of x”) or highlight a gap in the literature (“while there has been much research on x, few researchers have taken y into consideration”). BodyDepending on the length of your literature review, you might want to divide the body into subsections. You can use a subheading for each theme, time period, or methodological approach. As you write, make sure to follow these tips:
ConclusionIn the conclusion, you should summarise the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasise their significance. If the literature review is part of your dissertation or thesis, reiterate how your research addresses gaps and contributes new knowledge, or discuss how you have drawn on existing theories and methods to build a framework for your research. This can lead directly into your methodology section. Frequently asked questions about literature reviewsWhat is the purpose of a literature review? There are several reasons to conduct a literature review at the beginning of a research project:
Writing the literature review shows your reader how your work relates to existing research and what new insights it will contribute. Cite this Scribbr articleIf you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator. McCombes, S. (2022, June 07). What is a Literature Review? | Guide, Template, & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 20 March 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/thesis-dissertation/literature-review/ How do you write a literature review for a thesis?How do I write a literature review?. Step 1: Define your research scope. What is the specific research question that your literature review helps to define? ... . Step 2: Identify the literature. Start by searching broadly. ... . Step 3: Critically analyze the literature. ... . Step 4: Categorize your resources.. What is the structure of a literature review thesis?In general, literature reviews are structured in a similar way to a standard essay, with an introduction, a body and a conclusion. These are key structural elements. Additionally, a stand-alone extended literature review has an abstract.nullStructuring a literature review - Student Academic Successwww.monash.edu › excel-at-writing › how-to-write › structuring-a-literatur...null What is the format for a literature review?Most lit reviews use a basic introduction-body-conclusion structure; if your lit review is part of a larger paper, the introduction and conclusion pieces may be just a few sentences while you focus most of your attention on the body.nullWriting a Literature Review - Purdue OWLowl.purdue.edu › owl › research_and_citation › conducting_research › wri...null How do you organize a literature review for a thesis?Ways to structure your Literature Review. Topical order (by main topics or issues, showing relationship to the main problem or topic). Chronological order (simplest of all, organise by dates of published literature). Problem-cause-solution order.. General to specific order.. Known to unknown order.. Comparison and contrast order.. |