Review of the literature

A literature review means what has been published earlier on a particular topic by accredited scholars and researchers to analyze critically through comparison of prior research studies, reviews of literature and theoretical articles.

Literature review provides an overview of literatures published on a particular topic and is a required part of grant and research proposals and often a chapter in theses and dissertations.

Literature review conveys to reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and with its strengths and weaknesses. It provides the ability to scan the literature efficiently, using manual or computerized methods, to identify useful articles and books and the ability to apply principles of analysis to identify valid studies.

A literature review should include:

• An overview of the subject, issue or theory under consideration, along with the objectives of the literature review

• Explanation of how each work is similar to and how it varies from the others

• Conclusions as to which pieces are best considered in their argument, are most convincing of their opinions, and make the greatest contribution to the understanding and development of their area of research

Preparation of a literature review may be divided into four main stages:

1. Defining the topic: you must define your topic and its components.

2. Search for materials: use search tools such as the library catalogues and bibliographies to find materials about your topic.

3. Evaluate what you have found: read and evaluate what you have found in order to determine which material makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the topic.

4. Analysis and interpretation: provide a discussion of the findings and conclusions of the pertinent literature.

A literature review may constitute an essential chapter of a thesis or dissertation, or may be a self-contained review of writings on a subject such as a journal article. In either case, its purpose is to:

• Place each work in the context of its contribution to the understanding of the subject under review

• Describe the relationship of each work to the others under consideration

• Identify new ways to interpret, and shed light on any gaps in, previous research

• Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies

• Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of effort

• Point the way forward for further research

• Place one's original work (in the case of theses or dissertations) in the context of existing literature

The literature review will be judged in the context of your completed research.

The review needs to further the reader's understanding of the problem and whether it provides a rationale for your research.

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