Literature Reviews
Literature reviews can be part of a larger research project, or they can stand alone.
Literature reviews are all meant to:
- Show you understand the background of your research project
- Help the reader understand the context of your research
- Prove that your research adds something to the existing body of work on this topic
Components of a Literature Review
A literature review is a detailed critical review of the existing research on a specific topic. The exact parts of the review depend on your assignment. Always check with your syllabus/professor. Literature reviews can include:
- Patterns within the research
- Who is being researched?
- Where is research being conducted?
- What kind of research is being done? (interviews, observations, surveys...)
- Shared ideas between different authors
- Do they all seem to agree on something?
- Contrasting viewpoints or major arguments
- How strongly different are the views?
- Is any view rising to the top?
- Missing perspectives or unexplored ideas
- Is there a group of people that hasn't been included in research?
- Is there a location that has been overlooked?
- Suggestions for future research that should/could happen
