Question:
The purpose of the literature review is to give you an opportunity to become familiar with the major topics of this course by writing a critical analysis of 7-10 scholarly articles that would be of interest to people in sport management, sports administration, and leadership positions. Regardless of the role within your organization, keeping abreast of the current literature in the field of organizational leadership, sport development and behavior, and other related areas is essential. This miniature literature review is also good practice for the much broader literature review you will be expected to produce for your capstone/thesis.
For scholars, the depth and breadth of the literature review emphasizes the credibility of the writer in his or her field. For the purposes of this assignment, the literature will contain an organizational pattern and combine both summary and synthesis. A summary is a recap of the important information of the source, but a synthesis is a re-organization, or a reshuffling, of that information. It might give a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations. A literature review is usually organized around ideas, not the sources themselves as an annotated bibliography would be organized. This means that you will not just simply list your sources and go into detail about each one of them, one at a time. You may use the major topics of this course to search professional journals, the Internet and books.
As you continue to read widely but selectively in your topic area, consider instead what themes or issues connect your sources together. Do not try to cover all the topics. Pick one and concentrate on that particular one so you can go a bit deeper into the literature.
Pick one of these themes to focus the organization of your review. Use long quotes sparingly, organize your thoughts and themes. Be selective; the majority of your sources should be within the last 5 years, unless they are considered benchmark or seminal.
Length: 10-12 pages (maximum) plus References page.