how long is a literature review

how long is a literature review

Importance of a Comprehensive Literature Review

1. The Significance of a Literature Review

It is an important aspect to research and must not simply be completed early on in a study and then forgotten as new studies and research products are being completed. It should be an ongoing part of your research and problem-solving methodology. Reviewing the literature begins with specifying the research problem or theory to research. This will help to narrow in on the relevant literature and not become sidetracked by information that is irrelevant and uninformative. The need to further specify the problem grows continuously from 1976 to 1987 and still today, the amount of published literature has grown at an alarming rate. This makes it increasingly difficult to identify what is considered to be ‘the most current’ information. A vulnerability assessment on the global environment. Compiled information would identify ‘the most current’ global environmental problems and provide a contrast between the growing rate of published information. This problem with the information age can cause some discrepancies in the understanding of the problem both in its current and historical context. Step back and assess the old and the new information, it may become clear that there is a gap between the two. A problem in the global environment is that a change of disturbed natural systems may prevent a system from returning to its initial state. It may stimulate a new problem and theory is a problem of conflicting dates of publication. This new research may not help to understand past deceptions and has potential damage to the environment and still is considered a cure for a present problem. A literature review would demonstrate the need to understand the history of a problem and whether research is relevant to that which was stated.

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 a complete, vitally written background of current knowledge concerning a said topic. Usually, the review will focus on a topic including variables, a vulnerability framework or conceptual model. It is not uncommon to find some problems or disagreements with the newest research, in which your review will still be relevant as it highlights the necessity of further research to improve said knowledge and understanding.

2. Key Elements of a Literature Review

The word “comprehensive” by definition means that the literature review includes information about the topic being studied that is as complete as possible. This means that an extensive amount of information needs to be conveyed. So, the first key element is to summarize information. As a general rule, a dissertation literature review or research paper literature review is one third of the entire paper. A stand alone summary is a review of only the chapter(s) of a work and may be as short as one paragraph and as long as a page. Writing a summary in the first few paragraphs involves identifying the information contained in the source and condensing it in order to structure this information in terms of its relevance to your project. Imagine that the real purpose is to give the reader an overall understanding of the source, with an emphasis on how it relates to your own work. This means that you shouldn’t just write a list of a source’s key points or a paraphrase of its contents. You can write in question and answer format in order to identify the questions an answer informs. Writing a summary also involves working out the types of information and a statement of the main thesis (or argument). The best method for whether you have successfully written a summary is to give your writing to someone who hasn’t read the original work. This way you can read aloud the original and then your writing and then the listener can explain what your source was about and how it’s relevant. In listening to this your source will understand where there is confusion and areas which need improvement.

3. Strategies for Conducting an Effective Literature Review

A new emerging tool is the use of a wide-ranging general search of all articles in computerized databases followed by sifting through titles, abstracts, and index terms. This “pearl growing” approach decreases the chance of missing a key article in a narrowly focused search but requires more time in sifting through the information. Another alternative is the use of newly developing computer software that can help refine the choice of search terms. This software is complex and has limited availability to those with a sufficient budget. A recurring theme in the literature is the lack of resources and difficulty in obtaining funds necessary for the quality of a review. This is reflected in our experience, whether it be in the too narrow range of a focused search, the use of only one database, or limitations in the language of the article.

Strategies for efficient literature searching are described. The importance of identifying an exhaustive and unbiased selection of articles from which to extract data is highlighted. Consistency in searching is essential, whether using the services of a reference librarian or searching computerized databases. Some researchers are discouraged by the time dedicated to identifying the right search terms. When the index term language is not consistent across different databases, it can be extremely time-consuming.

4. Common Challenges in Writing a Literature Review

In a related challenge, students generally don’t learn about the issues and trends in the field from their literature review, resulting in a poorly focused review. They end up with a laundry list of article summaries, and this does not help the reader understand whether there is a coherent trend in the results of these articles. The article might have been written before several seminal studies were published, so it can be quite important to explain what has changed in the field, and what are the questions that no longer have good answers. This also shows the reader that you have actually learned something from the articles.

Without a doubt, from the initial stage of formulating a research question, the students or researchers are usually stumped on how to begin to tackle their literature review. This is an important question, and the answer is often “the wrong way.” Students attempt to do a literature review as their first step in trying to understand the research area. Invariably what happens is, students end up with a huge stack of printouts, or a massive folder of links to articles, and little idea about what each article was about. This often results in a significant amount of wasted effort and time.

5. Tips for Writing a Well-Structured Literature Review

Understandably, the decision of the best structure of your review often depends on the type of review that you’re writing. There are several types, including systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and narrative reviews. These articles are often best read in the sequence that they happened. This means that if the review is an introduction to the research field, it’s best to order the review chronologically to show the steps in the development of the area; including an order that uses a general to specific or vice versa sequence, and it’s also possible that such a review could just be an evaluative overview of a piece of research. This type of review would generally be best structured using an inverted triangle, moving from the broad issue to a specific question or problem. Before you start to write your review, keep in mind that it’s impossible to write a comprehensive review in one sit. I’ve heard it said that the literature review is a research project in itself. This is true to the extent that writing a review takes much thinking and organizing, and will likely take several sittings to complete. This is perfectly normal. Let the ideas flow and try not to put too much pressure on yourself at first. The most important thing is to just get your thoughts down on paper without them being hindered by thoughts of style or grammar. Then provide yourself with a couple of weeks to revise your thoughts and transform them into a well-written review.