Literature Review Survival Guide: What is a literature review?

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A literature review is:

1. A list of books and journal articles,
2. on a specific topic,
3. grouped by theme,
4. and evaluated with regard to your research. This evaluation would identify connections, contradictions and gaps in the literature you have found.

The purpose of a literature review, therefore, is:

1. To get a feel for the agreed academic opinion on the subject (the connections).
2. To discover the disagreements on the subject (the contradictions).
3. To find opportunities, (the gaps), for developing and expressing your own opinions.

Next topic: Thesis, antithesis, synthesis

Background:

1. What is a literature review?
2. Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis

Steps in writing a literature review

1. Choose your topic
2. Collect relevant material
3. Read/Skim articles
4. Group articles by themes
5. Use citation database
6. Find agreement and disagreement