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How to Write a 1st Class Critical Literature Review in your Dissertation

While the ‘literature review’ term is well-known to students, not all of them are aware of how this complex phenomenon is defined. This knowledge, however, is essential because only by having a clear understanding of its concept can you write a literature review that is of high quality.

Literature review as a product

A literature review is both the finished product and the process. It is one of the most essential parts of an academic thesis or dissertation. It not only offers a review of past studies on the research topic but also forms a theoretical foundation for the academic research and exhibits a student’s complete knowledge about the subject area. It can also be a stand-alone piece of academic writing completed independently from your dissertation or other work. In this case, students are tasked to show their research skills, ability to identify the limitations of other authors’ work and relate specific theoretical knowledge to recent empirical work. Regardless of its nature, the literature review helps to find gaps in research that can be filled in. Generally, a literature review is comprised of a critical summary of contributions and findings of other researchers with respect to the chosen subject. It also provides an in-depth comparison of the existing literature and theories relevant to the student’s research objectives.

Literature review as a process

A literature review is also the process of creating a review, which appears in your dissertation. This process is an ongoing activity that begins when you pick up the first academic article, book, or another literature source relevant to your topic and continues until your draft is fully written. Although many students consider a literature review to be a mere summary of other researchers’ and scholars’ work, it is actually a synthesis of their theories and findings, which presents a unique, original viewpoint on the subject matter.

The role of a literature review in your ability to complete a high-quality thesis is considerably important. Most often, a good literature review will account for 20%-30% of the dissertation. Not only it is one of the lengthiest parts of the thesis, it also creates a theoretical and methodological basis for your research. Without a well-structured and well-researched literature review, it is impossible to understand what knowledge gaps exist in your field of study and how they could be addressed. As it is extremely important for students to write a crisp literature review with relevant theories which can be referred back to in the following chapters. Our below guidelines will help you in writing a 1 st  class literature review in your dissertation.

Start reading around your chosen topic

Based on the area of study, students can select a dissertation topic which will act as a fertile ground for the research. Once you have selected a suitable topic, the next step is to read books, journals and articles relevant to your subject. As the dissertation has to be original, reading will give you a clear idea of where to target your research. Reading the dissertations of peers will also bring you across literature reviews written by others and will provide a crucial background for a more intensive research project.

As you will be reading a lot of material before writing the literature review, it is advisable to take notes of everything you read. Noting down the page numbers and full citations of the material accessed will be helpful at the time of writing the literature review as students can refer back the information to get accurate details.

Develop a consistent outline

While reading all the relevant material, you might come across theories and findings which are correlated or similar to each other. Start classifying information based on the theme of your proposed work. This will be helpful in maintaining a consistent outline for the literature review.

Write only relevant information

Although it might be tempting for you to cover a wide range of literature surrounding the topic, the best practice would be to only include the most relevant information and small subject areas throughout the literature review. Care should be taken so that the information covered showcases the importance of academic writing and not appear as an extended book report.

Content of the literature review

As the literature review gives a constructive analysis of the approaches and methodologies used by other researchers to form the basis of a dissertation, it should be strategically divided into three sections as below:

  • Introduction –  The aim of the introduction should be to establish the importance of the chosen subject and discuss the controversies and assumptions surrounding the topic. Apart from providing the background of the subject, an introduction should also suggest the benefits of the review findings towards the research.
  • Body –  The body is usually divided into headings and sub-headings and summarises the subject knowledge. It should only discuss the trends, findings and theories which directly lead to the research topic and generates an argument to justify the proposed research.
  • Conclusion –  The conclusion must consist of a brief summary of the evidence presented and its significance in the research. It must also highlight the loopholes in the previous research and suggest practical applications of the research along with the possibilities for future research.

Strategically organise your paper

Once you have composed the content of your literature review, try to organise it to make a good impression on the reader’s mind. Establish new headings or shuffle content in between headings and sub-headings and see where it fits the best. Assure that all sections are logically linked with each other and are divided based on relevant themes and not based on the individual work of a researcher.

Remain motivated

While writing a literature review might be a tedious task, keeping yourself motivated will help you write a 1 st  class critical literature review. Motivate yourself by discussing your findings with classmates/professors or attend an academic seminar or conference to brush up your skills. The more you share your opinions about the work of others, the more you can simulate yourself to think about their work in an exciting way. Also, keep yourself updated with the latest trends and practical applications of your research field.

Focus more on analysis

Rather than focusing on the descriptions of the previous studies, try to focus more on critically analysing the work. While most of the students simply describe the research done by others, they fail to evaluate and compare the work from an analytical point of view. Make use of contrasting statements and maintain an evaluative approach using appropriate linguistic terms and phrases to indicate logical connections between the different pieces of evidence. Establishing a firm grip of the central topic and using it as a guiding concept throughout the literature review will definitely help you obtain some additional points. In general, there are several types of critical analysis you can perform (and use collaboratively) while doing a literature review:

- To focus on explaining the problem area your study attempts to address.

- To focus on reviewing previous researchers’ methodological issues and their appropriateness to your project.

- To focus on exploring potential knowledge gaps in the existing body of literature.

Proofread and edit your work

Reading out your work will help you identify the grammatical and linguistic errors made in your paper. Re-frame the sentences which appear unclear and add proper punctuation marks to indicate divisions and pauses within sentences. As the aim of a literature review is to showcase the familiarity of the student with the selected topic, ensure that all the previous work mentioned is up-to-date with recent findings. Also, ensure that all the references and citations are in correct order and in-line with the university recommendations. You also need to make sure that your work is not plagiarised. If you forget to include quotation marks, the passage could be considered as plagiarism. Additionally, the text written should flow in a clear and brief academic style and should be free from grammatical and spelling mistakes. Avoid using a descriptive writing style and language used in everyday speech and adhere to academic style and critical writing.

Galvan, J. (2016) Writing Literature Reviews: A Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Science . New York: Taylor & Francis.

Machi, L. and McEvoy, B. (2012) The Literature Review: Six Steps to Success , Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press.

Ridley, D. (2012) The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for Students , London: SAGE.

Williams, K. (2013) Planning Your Dissertation , New York: Macmillan International Higher Education.

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What is a literature review?

A literature review is an integrated analysis -- not just a summary-- of scholarly writings and other relevant evidence related directly to your research question.  That is, it represents a synthesis of the evidence that provides background information on your topic and shows a association between the evidence and your research question.

A literature review may be a stand alone work or the introduction to a larger research paper, depending on the assignment.  Rely heavily on the guidelines your instructor has given you.

Why is it important?

A literature review is important because it:

  • Explains the background of research on a topic.
  • Demonstrates why a topic is significant to a subject area.
  • Discovers relationships between research studies/ideas.
  • Identifies major themes, concepts, and researchers on a topic.
  • Identifies critical gaps and points of disagreement.
  • Discusses further research questions that logically come out of the previous studies.

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1. Choose a topic. Define your research question.

Your literature review should be guided by your central research question.  The literature represents background and research developments related to a specific research question, interpreted and analyzed by you in a synthesized way.

  • Make sure your research question is not too broad or too narrow.  Is it manageable?
  • Begin writing down terms that are related to your question. These will be useful for searches later.
  • If you have the opportunity, discuss your topic with your professor and your class mates.

2. Decide on the scope of your review

How many studies do you need to look at? How comprehensive should it be? How many years should it cover? 

  • This may depend on your assignment.  How many sources does the assignment require?

3. Select the databases you will use to conduct your searches.

Make a list of the databases you will search. 

Where to find databases:

  • use the tabs on this guide
  • Find other databases in the Nursing Information Resources web page
  • More on the Medical Library web page
  • ... and more on the Yale University Library web page

4. Conduct your searches to find the evidence. Keep track of your searches.

  • Use the key words in your question, as well as synonyms for those words, as terms in your search. Use the database tutorials for help.
  • Save the searches in the databases. This saves time when you want to redo, or modify, the searches. It is also helpful to use as a guide is the searches are not finding any useful results.
  • Review the abstracts of research studies carefully. This will save you time.
  • Use the bibliographies and references of research studies you find to locate others.
  • Check with your professor, or a subject expert in the field, if you are missing any key works in the field.
  • Ask your librarian for help at any time.
  • Use a citation manager, such as EndNote as the repository for your citations. See the EndNote tutorials for help.

Review the literature

Some questions to help you analyze the research:

  • What was the research question of the study you are reviewing? What were the authors trying to discover?
  • Was the research funded by a source that could influence the findings?
  • What were the research methodologies? Analyze its literature review, the samples and variables used, the results, and the conclusions.
  • Does the research seem to be complete? Could it have been conducted more soundly? What further questions does it raise?
  • If there are conflicting studies, why do you think that is?
  • How are the authors viewed in the field? Has this study been cited? If so, how has it been analyzed?

Tips: 

  • Review the abstracts carefully.  
  • Keep careful notes so that you may track your thought processes during the research process.
  • Create a matrix of the studies for easy analysis, and synthesis, across all of the studies.
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1st Class Literature Review Step-by-Step Template

1st class literature review step by step template pdf

This guide will teach you how to write a literature review from start to finish . You’ll understand what is required of you to achieve a first-class in your literature review. 

What is a literature review.

  • A critical , analytical account of the existing research on a particular topic
  • A synthesis of the arguments of others
  • Organised around ideas or arguments
  • An account of a selection of writings relevant to your work

đŸ‘©đŸœâ€đŸ« This bundle includes:

  • 📄 16 A4 pages, in PDF format
  • ⏰ Task checklist
  • đŸ‘©đŸœâ€đŸ« 6-stage guide with breakdown for each stage
  • 🖊 Brainstorm map for idealisation of thoughts
  • 📑 Structure layout for each paragraph of literature review
  • 📁 Mind map building construction for idealisation of ideas

Use this template in THREE unique ways:

  • đŸ“© Download onto a tablet or laptop and use an app like Notability or Evernote to digitally write straight onto the template
  • 🖹 Print 1 copy of the literature review planner and insert into a paper sleeve or laminate each sheet. You now have a wipeable product, which will allow you to write straight onto the page + wipe it clean for every assignment.
  • 📝 Send the template to binders to be printed & use directly

🎬 Watch the video below for a walk through video of the template

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A complete 16-page printable literature review writing bundle

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How To Structure Your Literature Review

3 options to help structure your chapter.

By: Amy Rommelspacher (PhD) | Reviewer: Dr Eunice Rautenbach | November 2020 (Updated May 2023)

Writing the literature review chapter can seem pretty daunting when you’re piecing together your dissertation or thesis. As  we’ve discussed before , a good literature review needs to achieve a few very important objectives – it should:

  • Demonstrate your knowledge of the research topic
  • Identify the gaps in the literature and show how your research links to these
  • Provide the foundation for your conceptual framework (if you have one)
  • Inform your own  methodology and research design

To achieve this, your literature review needs a well-thought-out structure . Get the structure of your literature review chapter wrong and you’ll struggle to achieve these objectives. Don’t worry though – in this post, we’ll look at how to structure your literature review for maximum impact (and marks!).

The function of the lit review

But wait – is this the right time?

Deciding on the structure of your literature review should come towards the end of the literature review process – after you have collected and digested the literature, but before you start writing the chapter. 

In other words, you need to first develop a rich understanding of the literature before you even attempt to map out a structure. There’s no use trying to develop a structure before you’ve fully wrapped your head around the existing research.

Equally importantly, you need to have a structure in place before you start writing , or your literature review will most likely end up a rambling, disjointed mess. 

Importantly, don’t feel that once you’ve defined a structure you can’t iterate on it. It’s perfectly natural to adjust as you engage in the writing process. As we’ve discussed before , writing is a way of developing your thinking, so it’s quite common for your thinking to change – and therefore, for your chapter structure to change – as you write. 

Need a helping hand?

1st class literature review step by step template pdf

Like any other chapter in your thesis or dissertation, your literature review needs to have a clear, logical structure. At a minimum, it should have three essential components – an  introduction , a  body   and a  conclusion . 

Let’s take a closer look at each of these.

1: The Introduction Section

Just like any good introduction, the introduction section of your literature review should introduce the purpose and layout (organisation) of the chapter. In other words, your introduction needs to give the reader a taste of what’s to come, and how you’re going to lay that out. Essentially, you should provide the reader with a high-level roadmap of your chapter to give them a taste of the journey that lies ahead.

Here’s an example of the layout visualised in a literature review introduction:

Example of literature review outline structure

Your introduction should also outline your topic (including any tricky terminology or jargon) and provide an explanation of the scope of your literature review – in other words, what you  will   and  won’t   be covering (the delimitations ). This helps ringfence your review and achieve a clear focus . The clearer and narrower your focus, the deeper you can dive into the topic (which is typically where the magic lies). 

Depending on the nature of your project, you could also present your stance or point of view at this stage. In other words, after grappling with the literature you’ll have an opinion about what the trends and concerns are in the field as well as what’s lacking. The introduction section can then present these ideas so that it is clear to examiners that you’re aware of how your research connects with existing knowledge .

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2: The Body Section

The body of your literature review is the centre of your work. This is where you’ll present, analyse, evaluate and synthesise the existing research. In other words, this is where you’re going to earn (or lose) the most marks. Therefore, it’s important to carefully think about how you will organise your discussion to present it in a clear way. 

The body of your literature review should do just as the description of this chapter suggests. It should “review” the literature – in other words, identify, analyse, and synthesise it. So, when thinking about structuring your literature review, you need to think about which structural approach will provide the best “review” for your specific type of research and objectives (we’ll get to this shortly).

There are (broadly speaking)  three options  for organising your literature review.

The body section of your literature review is the where you'll present, analyse, evaluate and synthesise the existing research.

Option 1: Chronological (according to date)

Organising the literature chronologically is one of the simplest ways to structure your literature review. You start with what was published first and work your way through the literature until you reach the work published most recently. Pretty straightforward.

The benefit of this option is that it makes it easy to discuss the developments and debates in the field as they emerged over time. Organising your literature chronologically also allows you to highlight how specific articles or pieces of work might have changed the course of the field – in other words, which research has had the most impact . Therefore, this approach is very useful when your research is aimed at understanding how the topic has unfolded over time and is often used by scholars in the field of history. That said, this approach can be utilised by anyone that wants to explore change over time .

Adopting the chronological structure allows you to discuss the developments and debates in the field as they emerged over time.

For example , if a student of politics is investigating how the understanding of democracy has evolved over time, they could use the chronological approach to provide a narrative that demonstrates how this understanding has changed through the ages.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself to help you structure your literature review chronologically.

  • What is the earliest literature published relating to this topic?
  • How has the field changed over time? Why?
  • What are the most recent discoveries/theories?

In some ways, chronology plays a part whichever way you decide to structure your literature review, because you will always, to a certain extent, be analysing how the literature has developed. However, with the chronological approach, the emphasis is very firmly on how the discussion has evolved over time , as opposed to how all the literature links together (which we’ll discuss next ).

Option 2: Thematic (grouped by theme)

The thematic approach to structuring a literature review means organising your literature by theme or category – for example, by independent variables (i.e. factors that have an impact on a specific outcome).

As you’ve been collecting and synthesising literature , you’ll likely have started seeing some themes or patterns emerging. You can then use these themes or patterns as a structure for your body discussion. The thematic approach is the most common approach and is useful for structuring literature reviews in most fields.

For example, if you were researching which factors contributed towards people trusting an organisation, you might find themes such as consumers’ perceptions of an organisation’s competence, benevolence and integrity. Structuring your literature review thematically would mean structuring your literature review’s body section to discuss each of these themes, one section at a time.

The thematic structure allows you to organise your literature by theme or category  – e.g. by independent variables.

Here are some questions to ask yourself when structuring your literature review by themes:

  • Are there any patterns that have come to light in the literature?
  • What are the central themes and categories used by the researchers?
  • Do I have enough evidence of these themes?

PS – you can see an example of a thematically structured literature review in our literature review sample walkthrough video here.

Option 3: Methodological

The methodological option is a way of structuring your literature review by the research methodologies used . In other words, organising your discussion based on the angle from which each piece of research was approached – for example, qualitative , quantitative or mixed  methodologies.

Structuring your literature review by methodology can be useful if you are drawing research from a variety of disciplines and are critiquing different methodologies. The point of this approach is to question  how  existing research has been conducted, as opposed to  what  the conclusions and/or findings the research were.

The methodological structure allows you to organise your chapter by the analysis method  used - e.g. qual, quant or mixed.

For example, a sociologist might centre their research around critiquing specific fieldwork practices. Their literature review will then be a summary of the fieldwork methodologies used by different studies.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself when structuring your literature review according to methodology:

  • Which methodologies have been utilised in this field?
  • Which methodology is the most popular (and why)?
  • What are the strengths and weaknesses of the various methodologies?
  • How can the existing methodologies inform my own methodology?

3: The Conclusion Section

Once you’ve completed the body section of your literature review using one of the structural approaches we discussed above, you’ll need to “wrap up” your literature review and pull all the pieces together to set the direction for the rest of your dissertation or thesis.

The conclusion is where you’ll present the key findings of your literature review. In this section, you should emphasise the research that is especially important to your research questions and highlight the gaps that exist in the literature. Based on this, you need to make it clear what you will add to the literature – in other words, justify your own research by showing how it will help fill one or more of the gaps you just identified.

Last but not least, if it’s your intention to develop a conceptual framework for your dissertation or thesis, the conclusion section is a good place to present this.

In the conclusion section, you’ll need to present the key findings of your literature review and highlight the gaps that exist in the literature. Based on this, you'll  need to make it clear what your study will add  to the literature.

Example: Thematically Structured Review

In the video below, we unpack a literature review chapter so that you can see an example of a thematically structure review in practice.

Let’s Recap

In this article, we’ve  discussed how to structure your literature review for maximum impact. Here’s a quick recap of what  you need to keep in mind when deciding on your literature review structure:

  • Just like other chapters, your literature review needs a clear introduction , body and conclusion .
  • The introduction section should provide an overview of what you will discuss in your literature review.
  • The body section of your literature review can be organised by chronology , theme or methodology . The right structural approach depends on what you’re trying to achieve with your research.
  • The conclusion section should draw together the key findings of your literature review and link them to your research questions.

If you’re ready to get started, be sure to download our free literature review template to fast-track your chapter outline.

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27 Comments

Marin

Great work. This is exactly what I was looking for and helps a lot together with your previous post on literature review. One last thing is missing: a link to a great literature chapter of an journal article (maybe with comments of the different sections in this review chapter). Do you know any great literature review chapters?

ISHAYA JEREMIAH AYOCK

I agree with you Marin… A great piece

Qaiser

I agree with Marin. This would be quite helpful if you annotate a nicely structured literature from previously published research articles.

Maurice Kagwi

Awesome article for my research.

Ache Roland Ndifor

I thank you immensely for this wonderful guide

Malik Imtiaz Ahmad

It is indeed thought and supportive work for the futurist researcher and students

Franklin Zon

Very educative and good time to get guide. Thank you

Dozie

Great work, very insightful. Thank you.

KAWU ALHASSAN

Thanks for this wonderful presentation. My question is that do I put all the variables into a single conceptual framework or each hypothesis will have it own conceptual framework?

CYRUS ODUAH

Thank you very much, very helpful

Michael Sanya Oluyede

This is very educative and precise . Thank you very much for dropping this kind of write up .

Karla Buchanan

Pheeww, so damn helpful, thank you for this informative piece.

Enang Lazarus

I’m doing a research project topic ; stool analysis for parasitic worm (enteric) worm, how do I structure it, thanks.

Biswadeb Dasgupta

comprehensive explanation. Help us by pasting the URL of some good “literature review” for better understanding.

Vik

great piece. thanks for the awesome explanation. it is really worth sharing. I have a little question, if anyone can help me out, which of the options in the body of literature can be best fit if you are writing an architectural thesis that deals with design?

S Dlamini

I am doing a research on nanofluids how can l structure it?

PATRICK MACKARNESS

Beautifully clear.nThank you!

Lucid! Thankyou!

Abraham

Brilliant work, well understood, many thanks

Nour

I like how this was so clear with simple language 😊😊 thank you so much 😊 for these information 😊

Lindiey

Insightful. I was struggling to come up with a sensible literature review but this has been really helpful. Thank you!

NAGARAJU K

You have given thought-provoking information about the review of the literature.

Vakaloloma

Thank you. It has made my own research better and to impart your work to students I teach

Alphonse NSHIMIYIMANA

I learnt a lot from this teaching. It’s a great piece.

Resa

I am doing research on EFL teacher motivation for his/her job. How Can I structure it? Is there any detailed template, additional to this?

Gerald Gormanous

You are so cool! I do not think I’ve read through something like this before. So nice to find somebody with some genuine thoughts on this issue. Seriously.. thank you for starting this up. This site is one thing that is required on the internet, someone with a little originality!

kan

I’m asked to do conceptual, theoretical and empirical literature, and i just don’t know how to structure it

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How to write a strong literature review

1st class literature review step by step template pdf

A literature review is a summary of the current research on a topic. It gives an overview of previous research and presents a rationale for your own study. A literature review is not just a list of references; it should be organized with an explicit purpose statement, thesis statement, and an outline of what will be discussed in each section.

1. Narrow your topic and select papers accordingly.

It’s important to start out with a clear idea of what you want to accomplish with your literature review. If you’re writing a paper on the effects of climate change on animal populations, for example, you’ll need to find research that has investigated those effects.

The first step in writing a literature review is to narrow your topic and select papers accordingly. For example, if you are writing about the effects of stress on cardiovascular disease, you would start by narrowing your topic to just cardiovascular disease, or narrowing it further to just heart disease. You could also narrow using subtopics like “the effects of stress on cardiovascular disease in men” or “the effects of stress on cardiovascular disease in women.” You can then go through your list and select papers that relate to those topics.

2. Search for literature.

There are many different databases available online that contain scholarly articles and other types of academic writing—you just have to know where to look! You should also search through any print indexes or journals that are relevant to your topic.

3. Read the selected articles thoroughly and evaluate them.

After you’ve found some sources that seem like they might be relevant, make sure you read them carefully and critically evaluate them before deciding whether or not they’re worth including in your paper. Look at their purpose statement(s) and introduction; read through the paragraphs carefully; consider what conclusions have been made by their authors; etc.

Make sure that they are relevant to your subject matter and that they are published within the past five years (or whatever timeframe is appropriate for your paper). Read the selected articles thoroughly and evaluate them critically by asking yourself questions such as:

  • Did this article help me understand my topic more clearly?
  • Did this article introduce me to new concepts that I did not know about before?
  • Did this article provide any new evidence or information that will help me develop my own argument?

If the answer to these questions is yes, then keep reading! If not, move on. You don’t need every piece of information from every article

4. Organise the selected papers by looking for patterns and by developing subtopics

  • “The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of [research method] in testing [hypothesis]. “
  • “The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between [independent variable] and [dependent variable].”
  • a) It is well-organized, with sections clearly marked and subheadings used where necessary
  • b) It includes direct quotes from relevant sources as well as summaries of those sources
  • c) It has no spelling or grammatical errors – use our services at The Page Doctor for the final check

If you want to access our expert-designed templates, resources and step-by-step guides to support you through all stages of your academic journey, download them here

1st class literature review step by step template pdf

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1st class literature review step by step template pdf

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1st class literature review step by step template pdf

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The literature review : a step-by-step guide for students

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  1. 1st Class Literature Review Step-by-Step Template

    1st class literature review step by step template pdf

  2. steps for writing a good literature review

    1st class literature review step by step template pdf

  3. Writing A Literature Review A Quick Guide

    1st class literature review step by step template pdf

  4. How to Write a Literature Review: Guide, Template, Examples

    1st class literature review step by step template pdf

  5. 50 Smart Literature Review Templates (APA) ᐅ TemplateLab

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  6. How to Write a Literature Review in 5 Simple Steps

    1st class literature review step by step template pdf

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  2. 3 Step Strategy To Prepare English Literature

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  5. LITERATURE REVIEW TUTORIAL- A Step-by-Step Guide to writing a good Literature Review

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  1. PDF Undertaking a literature review: a step'by-step approacii

    Undertaking a literature review: a step'by-step approacii. Patricia Cronin, Frances Ryan, Michael Coughian Abstract. Nowadays, most nurses, pre- and post-qualification, will be required to undertake a literature review at some point, either as part of a course of study, as a key step in the research process, or as part of clinical practice ...

  2. How to Write a Literature Review

    Examples of literature reviews. Step 1 - Search for relevant literature. Step 2 - Evaluate and select sources. Step 3 - Identify themes, debates, and gaps. Step 4 - Outline your literature review's structure. Step 5 - Write your literature review.

  3. PDF How to Write a Literature Review

    HOW TO WRITE A LITERATURE REVIEW COMPILED BY THE NORTHWESTERN WRITING PLACE This resource is adapted from the Graduate Writing Place's workshop "Tackling a Literature Review & Synthesizing the Work of Others." For more information about our workshops, see Graduate Writing Workshops. INTRODUCTION

  4. Free Literature Review Template (Word Doc & PDF)

    The literature review template includes the following sections: Before you start - essential groundwork to ensure you're ready. The introduction section. The core/body section. The conclusion /summary. Extra free resources. Each section is explained in plain, straightforward language, followed by an overview of the key elements that you ...

  5. How To Write A Literature Review (+ Free Template)

    Step 1: Find the relevant literature. Naturally, the first step in the literature review journey is to hunt down the existing research that's relevant to your topic. While you probably already have a decent base of this from your research proposal, you need to expand on this substantially in the dissertation or thesis itself.. Essentially, you need to be looking for any existing literature ...

  6. How to write a 1st Class Literature Review

    Galvan, J. (2016) Writing Literature Reviews: A Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Science. New York: Taylor & Francis. Machi, L. and McEvoy, B. (2012) The Literature Review: Six Steps to Success, Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press. Ridley, D. (2012) The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for Students, London: SAGE.

  7. Steps in Conducting a Literature Review

    A literature review is an integrated analysis-- not just a summary-- of scholarly writings and other relevant evidence related directly to your research question. That is, it represents a synthesis of the evidence that provides background information on your topic and shows a association between the evidence and your research question.

  8. (PDF) A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Literature Review

    Step 1: Exploration The first step involves exploring the topic you intend to investigate. In an online environment, such as the internet or a database search, take note of the keywords most ...

  9. (PDF) Writing a Literature Review Research Paper: A step-by-step approach

    A literature review is a surveys scholarly articles, books and other sources relevant to a particular. issue, area of research, or theory, and by so doing, providing a description, summary, and ...

  10. 1st Class Literature Review Step-by-Step Template

    Use this template in THREE unique ways: đŸ“© Download onto a tablet or laptop and use an app like Notability or Evernote to digitally write straight onto the template. 🖹 Print 1 copy of the literature review planner and insert into a paper sleeve or laminate each sheet. You now have a wipeable product, which will allow you to write straight ...

  11. How To Structure A Literature Review (Free Template)

    Demonstrate your knowledge of the research topic. Identify the gaps in the literature and show how your research links to these. Provide the foundation for your conceptual framework (if you have one) Inform your own methodology and research design. To achieve this, your literature review needs a well-thought-out structure.

  12. How to write a strong literature review

    The first step in writing a literature review is to narrow your topic and select papers accordingly. For example, if you are writing about the effects of stress on cardiovascular disease, you would start by narrowing your topic to just cardiovascular disease, or narrowing it further to just heart disease. You could also narrow using subtopics ...

  13. PDF How to Write a Literature Review

    A literature review is a review or discussion of the current published material available on a particular topic. It attempts to synthesizeand evaluatethe material and information according to the research question(s), thesis, and central theme(s). In other words, instead of supporting an argument, or simply making a list of summarized research ...

  14. PDF Literature Review Template

    Literature Review Template Definition: A literature review is an objective, critical summary of published research literature relevant to a topic under consideration for research. Its purpose is to create familiarity with current thinking and research on ... A typical literature review consists of the following components: 1. Introduction:

  15. PDF Writing an Effective Literature Review

    Make sure you develop a good system that works for you and use it. 3. Don't write a laundry list of papers A literature review should be a synthesis of the papers you have read to tell a meaningful story about the literature, not a simple list of paraphrases of what each paper said. 4.

  16. The literature review : a step-by-step guide for students

    The literature review : a step-by-step guide for students by Ridley, Diana, Dr., author. Publication date 2012 ... USB PTP Class Camera Collection_set printdisabled External-identifier urn:lcp:literaturereview0000ridl_n4x9:epub:6d5cbce8-70ed-4296-af68-e062f300f900 ... There are no reviews yet. Be the first one to write a review. 104 Views . 6 ...

  17. Writing the Literature Review A Practical Guide

    Description. This accessible text provides a roadmap for producing a high-quality literature review--an integral part of a successful thesis, dissertation, term paper, or grant proposal. Each step of searching for, evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing prior studies is clearly explained and accompanied by user-friendly suggestions ...

  18. PDF A Step-By-Step Guide On Writing The Literature Essay

    The Literature Essay is an analysis of a specific literary piece. The Literature Review is about the survey of scholarly sources and forms part of a dissertation. The Literature Essay is more honed in on your literature as a reviewed piece based on the actual literature. The Literature review is an overview of a collective of information for ...

  19. The Quickest Way To Write A First Class Literature Review

    Click here to access Paperpal for FREE today http://www.bit.ly/3iTG9VW and to sign up for Paperpal Prime for unlimited suggestions | ADChapter Timestamps00:0...

  20. The literature review: a step-by-step guide for students

    The literature review: a step-by-step guide for students. Vaughn F. Graham. Published 3 March 2008. Education. Evaluation & Research in Education. TLDR. This chapter discusses the process of developing and conducting a Systematic Literature Review, and the different approaches taken by different researchers to achieve this goal. Expand.

  21. How to write a literature review FAST

    Find my literature review template here ~ https://resources.thepagedoctor.com/l/literaturereviewtemplatePROOFREADING / ACADEMIC ESSAY SERVICE (ÂŁ/$)For all ac...

  22. Literature Review

    Are you stuck writing your literature review? If so, you must watch this video. This video will break down the whole process into simple and easy to follow s...

  23. The literature review : a step-by-step guide for students

    The literature review : a step-by-step guide for students ... This is a "concise step-by-step guide to conducting a literature search and writing up the literature review chapter in Masters' dissertations and in PhD and professional doctorate theses"--Page [4] of title page ... Pdf_module_version 0.0.15 Ppi 360 Rcs_key 24143 ...