Part I-Getting Started

Chapter 2 of Creswell's text talks in depth about the steps to take arriving at a completed review of literature. The review of literature is the most important and laborious portion of your thesis or manuscript. It comes at the beginning of a report. Its purpose is to look at what is already available so you may determine a proper direction for your research. Additionally, anyone interested in reading your research will want to know if you conducted a thorough review of literature. You must perform a review of literature that is considered exhaustive by your fellow scientists. For purposes of this course, I am allowing you to use a minimum of six sources. Failure to do so will result in your work being considered and will also hurt your credibility as a scholar. You are expected as a researcher to be well informed on what is happening in your discipline, especially in the area you have decided to research.

What is the big deal about the review of literature?  As a student, you are a beginner. You have no authority from which to speak about your topic. You are completely dependent on those who came before you. The review of literature shows you have done your homework. It exhibits what you have studied prior to deciding on this topic. While you may be satisfied with your knowledge base, you are still responsible for showing you are well-read on your topic.  

In addition to the readings in Creswell, I also like the web site developed by the American University Library: 

http://subjectguides.library.american.edu/content.php?pid=353350&sid=2890659 

It gives both an excellent overview and good direction for the Literature Review. I recommend you read this material as well as Creswell's. It discusses why, as researchers, we conduct literature reviews:  

• To see what has and has not been investigated
• To develop general explanations for observed variations in a behavior or phenomenon
• To identify potential relationships between concepts and to identify researchable hypotheses
• To learn how others have defined and measured key concepts to identify data sources that other researchers have used
• To develop alternative research projects to discover how a research project is related to the work of others

Part II--Writing the basic paragraph

For all writing, the quality of the basic paragraph determinesthe effectiveness of communication. Therefore, you should consciously apply basics that lead to well-written paragraphs:  topic sentences, key points, unity, order, and flow. 

Part III--Steps to complete the review of literature

Get organized

Getting organized begins with selection of a topic. You have already selected a topic to research. You now begin the task of learning more about the topic and then narrowing the topic to a reasonable focus. Narrowing the topic is extremely important. By not doing so, you will "bite off more than you can chew," commonly a first and fatal mistake of a novice researcher. Remember, whatever topic you choose, you should be able to address completely.

You should begin the process of listing key words related to the topic. Be sure to keep track of everything. Your notes should be orderly so you may easily locate any item within your files. Whether you save informationelectronically, on paper, or in a combination of the two, you must know where everything is. Failure to get and stay organized will result in your inadvertently leaving out important information. I recommend a three-ring binder with tabs to begin. You may outgrow a binder before the end of the project, but a binder will get you started and provide portability portable for library use and visits with your advisor.

Once you have yourself organized, you may begin looking up articles. Develop a list of keywords to initiate your search, and use those key words to guide you through the literature search. Track the results of the key words; see which words bring the most results. You will add key words as you begin conducting your review. As you pull journal articles, you will discover more key words.  Since each field has its own set of databases, ask your advisor to recommend databases. Equipped with these names, ask a reference librarian for help with access.

Your library is a tremendous resource that not only holds the books and periodicals needed to complete your review of literature but also offers an invaluable asset: the librarian. Oftentimes, students fail to tap into this important human resource. Librarians are highly skilled in assisting researchers and students in finding information important to their topics.

Write the review of literature

You are ready to begin your first draft of the literature review chapter. The simple approach is to take your outline, begin with an introductory paragraph and start presenting the literature in an organized fashion. Be sure, as discussed before, to start with the broadest topics and become more focused as you proceed. This approach is often referred to as the inverted triangle. Also, you should include proper headings throughout your literature review. Without proper headings, your reader cannot easily navigate the information. Since most readers are seeking what relates to their own interests, they will rely on headings in the literature review to know whether to dig further.   Although you will write and rewrite this section, the initial goal is to get a draft completed. Be sure to have a beginning, middle and an end to your review of literature.

An introductory paragraph, a concluding paragraph and headings throughout are important for your reader.