literature review example

literature review example

The Importance of Literature Reviews in Research

1. Introduction

The literature reviews existing knowledge related to a particular topic. It is not just a summary of recent research. Rather, it evaluates the review that has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers. In other words, it is an evaluative report of information while also taking into account where the information has come from. A literature review is the process of reading, analyzing, evaluating, and summarizing scholarly materials about a specific topic. The results of a literature review may be compiled in a report or they may serve as part of a research article, thesis, or grant proposal. These are the main ways in which literature reviews are used. Plan on including the following: In brief, discuss the topic of your paper and the research you intend to conduct. This is an especially important step if the research you are reporting on is part of a thesis or dissertation. Mention its scope and purpose, in this case, it is the importance of literature reviews and what its contribution to the academic community is. Summarize the topic including the incidence and prevalence, thereby evaluating its significance. The findings and conclusions of each piece, how they were obtained, and what they contributed to this field. After all of this, the understanding that was achieved while reading each piece of material is then relayed in the form of a developing idea.

2. Benefits of Conducting a Literature Review

According to Machi and McEvoy (2009), the reason that many research projects fail is that a researcher is not able to locate the issue within the context of the existing literature. Therefore, it is very likely we would be conducting research that has already been done. They go on to say that a well thought out literature review is crucial to see if the topic has been over-researched or under-researched, to provide evidence that the topic has not been done at all. This would ensure that you would provide a new insight for future study programs.

A well thought out literature review is an important component of any research activity. A literature review is a way to, as Professor Jane E. Aaron puts it in her book “The Little Brown Compact Handbook,” “make an argument for your research, to seek approval, and to admit that this study hasn’t already been done.” Aaron goes on to say, “You want to show your readers and potential advisors that you not only have a good grasp of what’s been done, but are also aware of the limitations in existing studies and are ready to take your research to the next important step.”

One of the most important reasons for a literature review is to locate gaps in the literature for further study. In doing so, you are providing the foundation for a new insight you are seeking. While the extent of the literature review may vary based upon the assignment, it is a good idea to keep it narrow rather than broad. This will provide the opportunity for you to have greater depth of the material.

3. Steps to Conducting an Effective Literature Review

Developing a search strategy. The main purpose of a search strategy is to avoid wasting time and resources. A search strategy involves finding the right keywords that will help identify relevant information. Usually, the search will start with one keyword and if results are lacking, it may add a second keyword and so forth. It is also important to find databases that correspond to the topic. In general, MEDLINE is the best database for health research while PubMed is more biology-based. Always remember to check each literature whether it has obtained from a reliable source. An example is finding journal types from known university articles.

What is a relevant source? Relevant sources and types of sources can vary significantly from topic to topic. Therefore, you need to be able to define which source is a good one and which is a bad one. A common criterion is to compare research and theoretical framework. A good source is a research article which is theory-based, has a qualitative methodology, and has a significant sample size. Step derived from this criterion is to get tertiary levels of source, therefore most literally a review of existing literature. An example would be the source of a thesis. Always remember to prioritize latest or most up-to-date sources.

Identify a topic. The first step in conducting a review is to choose a topic. Then you have to define if the literature review is conducted to inform an existing research, obtain evidence to issue a recommendation, or it is conducted as a research in itself. It is also important to know the purpose of a literature review to tailor a review method according to that. For example, a research review aims to compare research findings while a literature review aims to provide a theoretical framework for a study. This itself is depending on a research conducted prior to a review.

4. Common Challenges in Literature Reviews

There is too much information out there in the world with the internet, etc. being easily accessible. It is all too easy for students to feel overwhelmed with information and thus include inadequately covered or just miss some absolutely relevant information to their topic. Planning a literature review in advance is therefore essential and knowing the scope of what you are aiming to cover. This means making decisions about what is being included and, more importantly, what is not being included.

Time management is also a common issue. With undergraduate and master’s dissertations, the pressure to achieve good grades and marks can greatly affect the quality of individual tasks. It is very common for students to push themselves too hard and, in turn, this creates a barrier or negatively impacts the quality of research methods or the literature review; an obviously undesirable outcome. High-quality or primary research is often hoped for from dissertations, etc., however, it is important to be realistic considering the limitations of your project.

There are a number of common problems that authors face when writing a dissertation. Failing to properly acknowledge sources of information is a major issue. Often, students believe that by just stating the information and then adding the reference, it is sufficient. However, the whole reason for including a source is so that the reader can see where you obtained the information. This needs to be reflected by the literature review author. To avoid this problem, many students look to buy literature review.

When embarking on a research project, researchers are expected to carry out an extensive and detailed literature review. This can be a very demanding and time-consuming task, one that is expected of a high standard by academic and research community. The literature review carries many objectives that make it an important and rigorous part of research. However, it is widely accepted that there are a number of problems and issues that researchers face when undertaking a literature review, which can result in the review being of poor quality or generally not meeting the high standards expected, let alone covering everything in the area. This can go on to have a negative impact on the quality of the research to follow. Some researchers may not be aware of the problems they face and the impact that they have, some may not know how to get around these problems, and others will see this as a reason not to carry out research that is so important to the community. It is therefore important to highlight these challenges and discuss how to get around them.

5. Conclusion

Accumulation and understanding of syntax and line patterns from obtained information done by researchers in literature review with careful and critical analysis will have an enormous positive impact on the development of science and technology. Linguistic style analysis and use of statements in the language of science and technology (implicit meaning) based on the discovery and understanding will be capable of creating new knowledge storage that is better and clearer. This refers to understanding the concept of wording and findings better or comprehension. In addition, the understanding of the various information will influence the ability to incorporate findings from the various references to compile a comprehensive conclusion and support for development or problem solving.

The results of previous studies and reviews are the basis for development and direction. The researcher must carefully evaluate, synthesize, and interpret the available information. By doing so, the researchers will be capable of identifying gaps or problems in previous research and theoretical frameworks. Derived from those needs, the researcher must straighten the aims of his research so that it will not deviate. In a bigger scope, if the available information has been evaluated and synthesized by the researchers, it will be capable of contributing to science and technology development. It is frequently referred to for new and applicable ideas. Required precaution in utilizing literature review results in examination and decision making about revision of current theoretical framework can also conduct development of new theoretical framework and even the early stages of research. And that means, the literature review is an activity that is urgent for researchers.