Welcome to this tutorial for graduate students
on writing a literature review, brought to
you by the Allyn & Betty Taylor Library.
So you’re a graduate student with your thesis
or dissertation topic, and you need to get
started on your literature review.
But… what exactly IS a literature review?
The literature review is often a chapter in
your thesis or dissertation where you will
describe and cite what research has already
been done related to your topic, how this
research has helped inform your own topic,
and how your topic fits into the bigger picture
of research in your discipline.
Sometimes it will be broken up into several
smaller sections in different chapters.
It’s usually done as you get started with
your own research, since it will help you
understand the background of your topic.
How can you learn what research has already
been done on your topic?
Your advisor should be able to point you to
some key articles or authors in the field,
and you can use library resources to find
articles and other information on your topic.
Each of those publications will have reference
lists that will lead you to other relevant
articles.
Scopus and Web of Science will help you find
out who has cited the articles you’re reading
in order to build on their research.
To help you navigate your way through all
of this information, be sure to get in touch
with your subject librarian.
He or she would be happy to help you out!
During this information-gathering process,
you will probably end up with a big pile of
growing papers, or thumb drives or accounts
filling up with articles.
“Reading and understanding an article isn’t
always intuitive, and it certainly takes time.
One tip I often share with students, is to
start with the abstract, introduction and
discussion sections.
After you’ve read these, you should be able
to identify the significance of the research
and how it relates to your own project.
This will help you decide which articles to
take a closer look at.
To keep organized, many students print out
the articles and make notes on them, or keep
their notes on a computer.”
Another method to consider that works well
for a lot of students is to keep what’s
called a ‘synthesis matrix.’
This simple table can be created in Excel
or Word or any similar software, with one
column for each article you read.
As you’re reading your first article, start
to note some of the key points or themes you’re
finding, including the page number, so you
can easily cite it later on.
When you move on to the second article, continue
to note how each new article addresses these
main points or themes.
When you’re done, you’ll have a helpful
table that will keep you organized, and you
can write your literature review according
to the themes you’ve identified.
“Over the years, I have advised many graduate
students and helped them with their literature
reviews.
For a successful review, you need to show
how the literature is related to your actual
project.
The review should include a critical analysis
of approaches used by other researchers.
You should make connections between articles
you have read; this will help you organize
your thoughts and research.
Grouping these connections together by theme
will also help to avoid a review that just
summarizes each article individually.
And remember that citations are still needed
to support the connecting ideas.“
If you’d like to see a sample literature
review for a thesis or dissertation, ask your
advisor or colleagues, or use one of the library’s
theses databases to find examples from Western
and other universities.
The library also has print copies that you
can sign out.
Thanks for watching!
Visit our website for more tutorials on conducting
a literature review, or contact your subject
librarian for more information.
