A literature review is a collection of scholarly information that helps develop knowledge in a specific research area and helps identify the literature gaps.
It is a lengthy task essential for any research graduate student. As a researcher, you must collect all the relevant information from different pieces of literature like journals, books, articles, and other publications.
Then the researcher will analyze the information according to the subject matter of the study. It may include the quotes and statements that are part of other research work.
However, these quotes, statements, or copied information must be appropriately referenced. We have listed six simple and valuable rules that will help you prepare a quality literature review.
1. Selection of Topic and Audiences
In order to conduct good research, the topic statement must be clear. Otherwise, it will be challenging for the author to think between complex topic statements. Therefore, the topic selection process deeply impacts Writing A Literature Review. While topic selection, following instructions must be kept in mind.
- Statement must be interesting to the researcher
- Must aim to bring improvement
- Topic statement must be based on a significant issue
The exposure to different studies will help make a solid topic statement that may help prepare a good literature review.
The selection of the topic, in most cases, defines the population segment of the research. The target population in research also has an impact on the literature review. If you feel any problem in the topic selection, you can hire best dissertation writing services from The Academic Papers UK.
2. Collection of Different Scholarly Research
The researcher must prepare a list of relevant keywords to collect suitable research material. Moreover, there is a five-step guide to collecting different literature, and the researcher must:
- Maintain a list of searches
- Prepare a list of articles relevant to the topic
- Maintain a record management system; for this purpose, the researcher may use sente, qiqqa, papers, Mendeley, etc.
- Not to waste time on irrelevant chunks and pieces of literature, and
- Try to gather data from versatile population segments to make a study that has global impacts.
There is different scholarly information available on different forums. However, if the topic has not got enough literature to gather. Then the researcher may utilize a three step guide to Writing A Literature Review.
- Must thoroughly discuss the collected resources’ limitations, approaches, and recommendations.
- Needs to hunt for a new argument relating to the subject matter of the research.
- Must try to find new material that may help develop a unique argument in the research.
Researcher should conduct thorough research using online and on-campus libraries. The recommended digital resource includes:
- Web of Science
- Scopus
- Medline
- JSTOR
- ISI Proceedings
- Google Scholar
- DBLP
3. Maintaining Notes during Analysis
If a researcher first reads a piece of literature and then evaluates the whole literature in his words, he needs to ensure that he aligns it with the subject matter of the research. It requires an excellent memory to retain the information.
While analyzing the literature, the researcher needs to maintain the notes of the relevant information along with the context of the current research.
4. Focused and Broad Literature Review
There are different types of literature review, including mini literature review, systematic literature review, and complete literature review. For any kind of literature review, the researcher must ensure that the focus of the literature review must remain on the subject matter of the study. Focused topic analysis is an essential part of the literature review.
Moreover, the literature review must cover a broad population segment. This way, the research will explain the specific concept according to the topic on a broader population segment.
There are various sorts of writing audit, including little writing survey, deliberate writing survey, and complete writing audit.
For any sort of writing audit, the specialist should guarantee that the focal point of the writing survey should stay on the topic of the review.
Centered point investigation is a fundamental piece of the writing audit. Besides, the writing survey should cover an expansive populace fragment.
Along these lines, the examination will make sense of the particular idea as per the point on a more extensive populace section.
5. Critical Analysis
A good literature review is the analysis of different literatures. Critical research analysis helps analyze the problems, limitations, and gaps. It enables the reader to develop an understanding of the complexity of the topic. It also helps the researcher to discuss the possible solutions to cope with the identified problems, limitations, and research gaps.
6. Use of Updated Sources
The collection of all the kinds of literature must be relevant and based on the latest research. Most of the time, it is recommended not to use information older than five to seven years. Technology changes after seven to ten years, so it is essential to ensure that the research is conducted according to the latest technological resources.
Steps for Writing A Literature Review
Writing A Literature Review can be segregated into four different steps. These steps are discussed in the following.
1. Relevant Literature
The researcher must prepare a list of relevant keywords that may help conduct a focused search. Using these keywords, the researcher may apply Boolean operators to conduct effective research. Bolan operators are the basic computer functions that include the operators of AND, NOT, and OR. Combining different keywords using Boolean operators leads to filtering a vast amount of information to get the most relevant research material. In this way, the researcher can remain focused on the subject matter. The selection of keywords is based on the research’s introduction chapter and the topic statement.
The scientist should set up a rundown of significant watchwords that might be useful to direct an engaged pursuit.
Utilizing these catchphrases, the analyst might apply Boolean administrators to lead successful examination.
Bolan administrators are the fundamental PC works that incorporate the administrators of AND, NOT, or potentially. Joining various watchwords utilizing Boolean administrators prompts separating an immense measure of data to get the most significant examination material. Along these lines, the specialist can stay zeroed in on the topic. The choice of catchphrases depends on the examination’s presentation section and the point explanation.
2. Evaluation to Select Reliable Sources
A researcher does not have enough time to thoroughly study different literature reviews to find and analyze relevant, authentic sources. The researcher must use a credible source of information, for this purpose, the researcher may consult with their professors to get a list of recommended scholars and authors to study.
3. Logical Sequence and Structure
A good literature review consists of different statements, arguments, and features. All the information in the literature review must be in a logical sequence and well-structured. The researcher may use different subheadings to categorize the literature review into different sections. It will help build solid arguments, and these arguments can be supported using different charts, graphs, and tables. These charts, graphs, and tables must also be properly cited and referenced.
4. Writing A Literature Review
Writing A Literature Review is a process similar to the process of writing an essay. The literature contains introduction, body, and conclusion sections. The content of each section depends on the topic, research question, and hypothesis of the research.
Conclusion
We have explained six easy rules and four steps that you can follow easily for Writing A Literature Review. These steps reflect that literature review is time-consuming, but it won’t be scary. However, the practice of Writing A Literature Review will help polish the skills of conducting and writing research. As a student, you need to ensure that you keep yourself focused on completing the research according to the provided guidelines.
