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Literature reviews
A Literature review refers to the process where you
search the literature sources that you consider are relevant
to your topic, critically evaluate what you find
especially on the internet and then compile a comprehensive
summary of your research. You may decide to set some parameters
on your review such as the
- Country of publication for example Australia only
- Period of publication for example published between 2000
and 2003 only
- Type of publication for example journal articles only
These literature sources must be academic
resources that are relevant to your topic, verifiable
for example published in the public domain, high quality for
example peer reviewed and primary sources of information.
You need to develop a search
strategy before you start so you do not go off in all
directions as you will get a much better result from a focused
approach rather than a scattergun method! Help in writing a literarure review can be found here
The literature sources can be
The purpose of a literature review is to
- show that you can situate your own research within a relevant
context
- acknowledge
what you have read
- establish your topic as a viable field of enquiry
- demonstrate a historical perspective of your topic
- show what is known about your topic and what is still
unchartered territory
- Identify any gaps or areas of controversy and even identify
questions that warrant further research (such as your research
topic!)
Best practice
An effective literature review include such things as
- A well defined topic
- A well organised layout with clear structure using headings
and subheadings
- Making accurate citations of your sources in the appropriate
style eg Harvard
style
- Accurate representation of material eg paraphrasing
- Dealing with conflicting material objectively.
At Presbytrian Theological College While the basic principles of conducting a literature review
are similar whatever your research topic, you may find that
your field or industry has its own specific requirements or
relevant resources.
Within your organisation
You may also have helpful resources within your own organisation
especially if you have an in-house Library. It is worth visiting
your Library or Resources person to find out how they can
assist you with your research. Visit the Swanton Library at the Presbyterian Theological College and talk to the Librarian of a member of the faculty.
Reading
To develop your understanding of how to conduct an effective
Literature review for your own research you now need to read
Chapter 3 - The review
of the Literature from Wiersma, W. 1991, Research Methods
in Education, 5th Ed, Allyn and Bacon, Boston.
Further resources
There are many other helpful resources
that you can use to find out more about Literature reviews.
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