how to write a literature review apa

how to write a literature review apa

How to Write a Literature Review in APA Style

1. Introduction

Purpose The purpose of a literature review is to convey to the reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic and what are the strengths and weaknesses. The literature review allows the reader to be brought up to date regarding the state of research in the field and familiarizes him or her with any contrasting viewpoints and consistencies. An in-depth literature review also shows the reasons and rationale that the research question is important and answers to it are necessary. A well-done literature review also evaluates areas for future research and points out methodological and conceptual flaws in the existing research. (http://www.apastyle.org/learn/tutorials/lit-review-tutorial.aspx)

The literature review is an important component of any study. A literature review is a comprehensive but concise summary of the research that has been done on a particular topic. The emphasis is on integration and interpretation of primary research articles. It may be written as a stand-alone paper or to provide a theoretical framework and rationale for a research study (such as a thesis or dissertation).

2. Understanding the Purpose of a Literature Review

A literature review is a text of a scholarly paper, which includes the current knowledge including substantive findings, as well as theoretical and methodological contributions to a particular topic. Literature reviews are secondary sources, and as such, do not report any new or original experimental work. Most often associated with academic-oriented literature, such as a thesis, dissertation or a peer-reviewed journal, a literature review usually precedes the methodology and results section and serves as a first step of a research study. The focus of a literature review, however, is to summarize and synthesize the arguments and ideas of others without adding new contributions. Literature reviews are important reports of current thinking. This requires in-depth knowledge in a subject area and the ability to adopt an effective research strategy. The process of reviewing the literature requires different kinds of activities and ways of thinking. It is not a linear process, in that there is not a neat linear path to follow. Rather, it is a more recursive process, in that a researcher will find himself engaged in several of the activities identified in the following discussion and moving back and forth between them.

3. Organizing and Structuring Your Literature Review

Focusing on content Think about the organization of your work. Before you begin to write your literature review for the dissertation, module, or thesis, you need to first plan your approach. Having a well-defined plan will make it easier to write. A good plan will also help you to avoid any confusion or disorganization. Your work must be in an area where you have some expertise, or at least where you are interested. You already have the dissertation proposal, which is a preliminary outline for the actual dissertation. However, you must be prepared to revise the proposal as your literature review may lead to a change in your topic. A good literature review is comprehensive, critical and informative. You should, therefore, begin by reading and understanding the works to be critiqued. Read, take notes, and photocopy everything you need. Then organize your notes as to what is most important, and what is purely informative. A literature review often has four main functions: – To survey the literature on a topic – To compare what is known with what you believe or think – To provide the background for a research study – To communicate ideas or the framework of a research study The information and the way in which it is presented will depend on the type of review being written. Usually, it will be systematic and comprehensive, or may have a specific focus on a certain aspect. A critical examination of the quality and quantity of material is often the most time-consuming part of the literature review. Here you will be looking for methodological flaws, inadequate research, or areas which need further study. You should compare what you find with your own ideas, and make some evaluative comments. This will lead nicely into your research proposal or study. All work should be paraphrased and referenced. Remember to distinguish between your comments and those of your sources. Use reporting verbs and phrases (e.g. Smith suggests that… Argyris found that…) to indicate the source of the information you are discussing.

4. Writing and Formatting Your Literature Review in APA Style

Now that your document is set up, begin with a brief introduction of your topic and why the literature on this topic is significant. This will help the reader to better understand the issues you are addressing in your review.

Step One: Start by using a header to put the page number in the upper right-hand corner. Type the title of the document in the header; use the “save as” function, and the file dialog will appear. Use your pointer to save the document to your file. Save the document with a descriptive file name as a palitreveiw.doc, where you replace “yours” with your information. This will save you from needing to change the header to the correct information later.

When creating a literature review in APA style, it is essential to understand the formatting guidelines. There are some simple steps to begin building your APA literature review format. These steps will help you to create a context for your overall argument effort.

5. Conclusion

The discussion of sources is the most crucial point of a literature review. Usually, it could also be a main obstacle for people who are trying to write a review. Diamond Shambala has made it easy for us to understand through 5 guidelines to a good literature review.

Actually, writing a literature review in APA style is not too difficult. The problem usually comes up in determining the topic and discussing sources. If the writer is right in choosing the topic, he or she is already halfway in finishing an important literature review. This is because nothing is more difficult than thinking of a topic that motivates us to discuss sources. For that reason, the book “How to Write a Literature Review in APA Style” by Step by Step always emphasizes the need for writer ideas. Because there’s no coincidence when a writer has a catching topic, it could also interest the reader to always understand more about the topic.

To check those three criteria, this book suggests having someone read it. Whether the reader understands the review, and the most important thing is that the reader has to catch the same point as the writer.

Conciseness, precision, and clarity are the most important criteria for a good literature review. They must know how to write and they should know what to write. Using various words or bad grammar might put a distance between a writer and reader. Therefore, the result could be that the reader misunderstands the material of a literature review. This is the most important part that should be mastered from here on how to write a literature review in APA style, as quoted from Diamond Shambhala’s book.