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A literature review is a synthesized account that evaluates the publications in a subject area, which are written by scholars or researchers. Literature reviews are used in a variety of contexts:
Note that a literature review evaluates the literature; it does not simply summarize it.
A literature review is NOT:
You need to be evaluating the literature and explaining how it leads to your research question or supports your thesis statement.
You may have been told you're required to do literature review, but don't know why you have to go through the process. Remembering some of the "whys" may help you focus and write your literature review.
Updates you on current research, theories and methodologies that will help focus your proposal
“The most common mistake that students make in writing a literature review for a research paper is to lose sight of its purpose. You include the literature review to explain both the basis for and contribution of your research project. The literature review should be focused on issues directly relevant to your study and should be organized in a way to call attention to the contributions of your research. The purpose of the literature review is NOT to show that you have read a lot of material.”
(Ashley Leeds, Rice University(page 2-3): http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~leeds/documents/475rps10.pdf)
This class page is based on the 2011 presentation, "The Literature Review Process," created by librarian Annie Downey.
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This work is a derivative of "PSCI 3300: Introduction to Political Research", created by [author name if apparent] and © University of North Texas, used under CC BY-NC 4.0 International.