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This post guides about literature review, how to conduct literature review, provides an example of literature review, its importance in academic writing, it informs how to write literature review, and imparts key insights into the structure and composition of effective literature review and its significance in academic writing. Moreover, it guides you step-by-step process to conduct your literature review efficiently.
Conducting an effective literature review requires careful planning, diligent search skills, critical analysis, and concise writing.
Follow this expert guide to ensure your literature review is comprehensive, insightful, and adds value to the broader scholarly discourse.
Before we begin the steps, lets understand:
What is a Literature Review?
A literature review is a critical summary
and assessment of the current knowledge and findings on a particular topic in
academic literature. It provides an overview of existing research by
identifying trends, debates, gaps in the literature, and areas that require
further study.
The purpose of a literature review is to
situate your own research within the context of existing knowledge and to
demonstrate understanding of the relevant prior research on your topic. It
enables you to establish why further study is needed on your research topic and
highlights the contribution you can make into the existing knowledge in the
field.
A well-conducted literature review involves:
- Systematic searching for prior studies found in academic books, journal articles, conference papers and other scholarly sources relevant to your research topic. The searching involves reading, analyzing, evaluating and synthesizing existing literature.
- Organizing the studies thematically or chronologically to identify relationships, contradictions, gaps and inconsistencies in the literature.
- Critically examining the theoretical and methodological approaches used in prior research.
- Identifying decisive works, emerging trends, and influential authors in your field of study.
- Providing context and background information needed to understand scholarly debates and controversies on your topic.
- Establishing links between your own research and findings with prior studies.
- Highlighting gaps that your research aims to address and contributing to the existing knowledge base.
The literature review enables you to
position your research within the existing body of knowledge, outline the
significance of your study, and justify why your research is needed. A
high-quality literature review demonstrates your command of your field of study
and ability to conduct scholarly research.
How to Write a Literature Review
Following steps are important for conducting an efficient and scholarly literature review:
Choosing a Focused Research Topic
The first key step is choosing a
specific, well-defined topic and research question(s) to guide your literature
review search. Avoid the urge to analyze a very broad subject area. Instead,
spend time identifying a narrower aspect or perspective that interests you and
for which scholarly literature exists. Develop a few focused research questions
that the literature review aims to answer, which will provide direction
throughout the process.
Conducting a Systematic Search
Now conduct a careful, systematic search
for existing literature on your topic. Use multiple academic databases such as Google
Scholar, JSTOR, Wiley, Scopus, Web of Science, etc. Try various
keyword search combinations and terms related to your topic. Mine the references
of relevant articles to find prior foundational sources. Make sure to search
for theoretical frameworks, models, or concepts that may be applicable to your
research questions. Keep detailed notes on your search strategy.
Evaluating and Organizing Sources
Not all sources are created equal when
conducting a literature review. Carefully assess each text you encounter for
credibility, relevance, contributions to the field, limitations, and potential
bias. Focus on including recent peer-reviewed journal articles and scholarly
books. Organize your sources chronologically by publication date or
thematically by concepts and ideas. Use reference management software like
EndNote or Mendeley to stay organized. Maintain complete bibliographic
information.
Synthesizing and Analyzing the Literature
A quality literature review does not just
summarize individual sources but synthesizes key findings across the literature
to identify larger themes, debates, and gaps. What insights arise when
comparing and contrasting different viewpoints and theories? Note where authors
diverge or correspond. Identify limitations, inconsistencies, and open
questions that need further research. Your literature review should provide a
critical analysis of the current state of knowledge on your topic.
Writing a Coherent Literature Review
When writing your literature review,
begin with an introduction that presents your topic, research questions, and
the organization of your paper. Then in the body, structure your sections
thematically, chronologically, conceptually, or methodologically to create
cohesion. Make smooth transition between sources using topic sentences and
bridging phrases. Use paraphrases and brief direct quotes judiciously. Employ
citations like (Smith, 2022) and make sure your references are formatted
correctly. Wrap up with a conclusion summarizing key findings and remaining
gaps needing exploration.
Conducting a thorough literature review
may seem exhausting but it is an essential academic skill. Follow this expert
guidance to efficiently search, evaluate, synthesize, and analyze prior
literature on your topic. Your review will provide a strong foundation for your
own research and contribute to the scholarly understanding of your field.
Example of Literature Review
The rise of the novel as a literary form
in 18th century England was connected with the growth of print culture and new
readership trends. As literacy rates expanded and printing technologies evolved,
fiction emerged as a popular literary genre. Scholars have examined the social,
cultural, and formal dimensions of 18th century novels to understand the
dynamics that enabled their ascent and shaped their conventions.
Ian Watt's important text The Rise of The
Novel (1957) argues that realism defines the novel form. Watt contends that
their emphasis on particularity and everyday verisimilitude distinguishes
novels from preceding literary forms. He traces the quest for realism to
empiricism's influence and individualism fostered by Protestantism and
capitalism. For Watt, realism's detailed particularity, ordinary characters,
and linear narration immersed readers in virtual experiential environments,
propelling the novel's popularity. However, Watt focuses mainly on male realist
novels, ignoring other influential genres like gothic, epistolary, and romantic
novels popular among female audiences. Feminist scholars like Nancy Armstrong
have critiqued Watt for downplaying the novel's engagement with women's issues
and female experiences.
Michael McKeon's work, by contrast,
situates the novel's emergence within epistemological shifts from
Aristotelianism to empiricism. In The Origins of The English Novel (1987), he
theorizes the novel as developing from romance narratives to become more
realistic and ambivalent in meaning. McKeon argues that print and literacy
expanded the readership, enabling prose fiction to reflect perspectival
diversity of truth claims characteristic of modernity. However, McKeon focuses
narrowly on male novelists like Richardson and Fielding, with minimal
discussion of female novelists like Defoe, whose Robinson Crusoe pioneered
realist techniques.
More recent scholarship examines the
novel’s relationship with empire and the construction of racial difference. In
The Novel and the People (2015), Nancy Armstrong argues that novels defined
English identity in opposition to racial others, envisioning the English as
uniquely capable of self-government. Edward Said's Culture and Imperialism
(1993) and Priya Joshi’s In Another Country (2002) analyze how colonial
expansion shaped novelistic discourse, embedding racial ideology within
narrative form. Such postcolonial scholarship illuminates how novels reinforced
imperial worldviews, despite their realist techniques.
The study of the 18th century novel continues to generate new insights, as scholars adopt wider perspectives encompassing gender, race, empire, book history, and media studies. The novel assumed myriad forms in this formative period, pioneering immersive realism while circulating enforcing dominant ideologies. The integration of contextual approaches with close reading promises deeper understanding of the novel's rise as a dominant literary vehicle.
Have you completed a literature review
before? Tell us about your experience - the challenges you faced and how you
overcame them. Drop your insights in the comments it could help other readers.
PS: This guide is based on the process I
used to write my literature review for my Masters thesis. It took 3 months and
52 cups of coffee!
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