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Literature Review: Is There a Catch in It? Learn about This!
What is a literature review and how to write it? This is easy. A literature review is a review of a literary work which you have to summarize. Stop! Words can be deceptive and you know it. In reality, a literature review has nothing to do with literary works. It is a synthesis of literature which you use for your research paper, dissertation, etc.
How should a literature review be written?
There is no any agreed structure for a literature review. You may wish to shape your literature review in a form of a standard essay with introduction, body, and conclusion. However, in most of the cases, literature review should simply group the findings of other researchers and make correspondent conclusions from these findings. Some of the ideas that a literature review may contain are as follows:
- Grouping the findings of the researchers who reached similar conclusions;
- Comparing and contrasting the findings;
- Making assumptions and then providing evidence to these assumptions basing on the works of other researchers;
- Analyzing the studies of other researchers with respect to their methodology and findings.
A literature review takes a great part of the paper. Its length depends on the audience the paper is aimed at. For instance, smaller research papers should have from 3 to 6 pages of a literature review, whereas dissertations and theses often require no less than 20 pages of it.
The most important thing to remember when writing a literature review is that it is a more than a one-step process. It demands making notes on necessary studies throughout your research, even at its preliminary stage, and going through some studies for more than once. Only then will you be able to properly organize your literature review.