Conducting a Lit Review
A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by credible scholars and researchers. The purpose of a literature review is to summarize what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are.
A Lit Review Must:
- Be organized around and related directly to the thesis or research question you are developing
- Synthesize results into a summary of what is and is not known
- Identify areas of controversy in the literature
- Formulate questions that need further research
- Include sources from multiple perspectives
Steps of a Lit Review
What's the focus of you research? What are you focusing on? The library can help you choose an interesting and focused topic. Once you have a topic, do a preliminary search to see what you find, then narrow your topic based on what turns up.
Next, you want to pick where you're going to search. Pick multiple options - specialized databases, Google Scholar, library databases, etc... Think about your topic and where you'll find information to fit the different sub-topics related to your research.
You can consult with a librarian to help you develop keywords and search strings, use subject searching and filtering to your advantage, and track down full text of sources.
Make sure you're capturing multiple perspectives on your issue or topic, not just a narrow view. Evaluate your sources carefully for credibility and relevancy.
Make your reading an active process by highlighting and taking notes. Consider using a matrix to organize your sources and identify scholarly conversations.
Remember that your voice has a place in this conversation. Your analysis and organization is the glue of the lit review.
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