Literature review
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This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (November 2010) |
A literature review is a body of text that aims to review the critical points of current knowledge including substantive findings as well as theoretical and methodological contributions to a particular topic. Literature reviews are secondary sources, and as such, do not report any new or original experimental work.
Most often associated with academic-oriented literature, such as a thesis, a literature review usually precedes a research proposal and results section. Its ultimate goal is to bring the reader up to date with current literature on a topic and forms the basis for another goal, such as future research that may be needed in the area.
A well-structured literature review is characterized by a logical flow of ideas; current and relevant references with consistent, appropriate referencing style; proper use of terminology; and an unbiased and comprehensive view of the previous research on the topic.
[edit] Further reading
- Walid B Shahid (2011) . Applying the research and lessons from your own reviews..
- Cooper, H. (1998). Synthesizing Research: A Guide for Literature Reviews.
- Dellinger, A. (2005). Validity and the Review of Literature. Research in the Schools, 12(2), 41-54.
- Dellinger, A. B. & Leech, N. L. (2007). Toward a Unified Validation Framework in Mixed Methods Research. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, Vol. 1, No. 4, 309-332.
- Galvan, J.L. (1999). Writing Literature Reviews.
- Green, B.N., Johnson, C.D.,and Adams, A. (2006) Writing Narrative Literature Reviews for Peer-Reviewed Journals: Secrets of the Trade. Journal of Chiropractic Medicine, 5(3), pp. 101–114.
[edit] External links
- The Literature Review: A Few Tips On Conducting It (University of Toronto)
- Literature Reviews (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
- How to Write a Literature Review (UCSC)
- The literature review (Deakin)
- Software tools for a literature review: A tutorial that explains how mind maps, pdf readers and reference managers can be used to a literature review (see first part of the tutorial)
- review of literature (UW-Madison)
- The Literature Review (Central Queensland)
- How to do a Literature Review (North Carolina A&T State library)
