Written by: Katherine Watson
Starting a literature review can be a daunting task. A literature review is a foundational aspect of a dissertation, but you may also be asked to produce a standalone literature review. You may be unfamiliar with the term literature review, and the first thing to note is that it is not that different to essays you are used to writing….
What is a literature review?
A literature review is a critical summary of existing work on a chosen topic. Importantly, it is not a list or description of ALL texts relevant to your topic. Your literature review should pick up on important ideas, debates, theories, methods and omissions across this body of literature. Rather than repeating or re-wording this information, a literature review represents your own evaluations and comparisons between these texts and should highlight your key take-aways from those readings.
Step 4: Critical analysis
This is your opportunity to elaborate on your record of core literature by producing your own summary and reflection of the texts. Return to any notes you’ve written already and re-read relevant sections of the texts if necessary. Don’t just repeat their arguments (though you may note down a small number of quotations). Keep your focal topic at the front of your mind!
The questions listed below can be used as prompts to get you thinking critically:
- What are the main theories/concepts/methods/approaches being used? How are they justified? What are its key features?
- Are the conclusions logical and well supported?
- Does the information fit with what you already know?
- Does it contradict or dispute other evidence or arguments?
- Are there gaps or limitations? Has the author overlooked or misunderstood anything?
- How can you use this in your own work?
As you think, WRITE! What to do with all of those notes will help you process your ideas, and these notes will likely find their way into your literature review as your start to write it up formally.