How to Write a Literature Review for a Masters Thesis

Are y'all tired of hearing the phrase 'literature review' every five minutes at university and having no thought what information technology means, let alone where to start? Not to worry - we've got you covered with this pace-past-step guide to creating a great dissertation literature review.

What is a literature review?

In short, a dissertation literature review provides a critical assessment of the sources (literature) you have gathered and read surrounding your field of study expanse, and then identifies a "gap" in that literature that your research volition effort to address.

There are a lot of misunderstandings about what exactly a dissertation literature review entails, every bit it can vary. Whilst in some cases a dissertation literature review tin be a elementary summary of of import sources, about often it requires yous to critically engage with the text to convey your positive or negative opinions of it. What is your interpretation of a particular source? Does this interpretation differ considerably from other viewpoints in the literature? This is the sort of critical engagement expected from yous in a literature review.

Whereas a summary will nearly probable provide a simple recap of the general arguments of the source(s), the expectations apropos a literature review extend beyond this. A literature review may provide a new perspective on a archetype research paper or it may combine both new and old interpretations (this is the "gap" – more than on this subsequently). A literature review may also provide a thorough and disquisitional outline of the intellectual developments in a field with a focus on major, and frequently polemical, debates. In other scenarios, a literature review may also provide an assessment of a source and inform a reader virtually its validity, pertinence and relevance to the research subject.

"In a literature review, you're aiming to summarise and provide a critical analysis of the enquiry arguments you have plant in your readings, without making new contributions to the literature. Hence the term: "literature review"."

In that location tends to be defoliation between literature reviews and academic papers in full general, merely they are not one and the same. Generally, academic papers aim to provide new research material about a particular field of study, and a literature review features as part of this objective. In a research paper, the literature review forms the footing of the research – it helps to highlight any research gaps equally support for a new argument or insights you intend to provide. In a literature review, you're aiming to summarise and provide a critical analysis of the enquiry arguments you lot accept establish in your readings, without making new contributions to the literature. Hence the term: "literature review ".

Is a literature review really necessary?

Now that we know what a literature review is, the next stride is to understand the point of writing 1 in the first place. Like information technology or not, a literature review is an essential office of whatever academic slice of writing, as it demonstrates to your tutor or reader that you have a nuanced understanding of the sources apropos your inquiry surface area or question.

Although information technology may seem arbitrary, the literature review helps to persuade the person reading and marking your assignment that what you accept written about is relevant and your arguments are justified and worthwhile. So, in curt, a literature review is essential, and y'all need to put the necessary fourth dimension into getting it right.

How practise you write a dissertation literature review?

As the next department of this blog is quite lengthy, we've broken it down into several fundamental steps which should make it easier to follow when writing your own dissertation literature review. You first by identifying your sources, and so you read and re-read them. Next, yous remember near any gaps in the research or literature you have used, and finally, you write your review using all the preparation and information gathered in the steps prior.

Identify sources

To write a good dissertation literature review, you demand to accept a off-white idea of what sources y'all would similar to review. If y'all oasis't been given a formal reference list by your tutor, refer back to the techniques we recommended earlier.

Make sure that your sources are balanced; include enough books and bookish journals and any useful published work from reputable scholars. To help you choose your sources appropriately, yous might want to retrieve about the parameters and objectives of your inquiry. What are you hoping to find out? In your literature review, what theoretical issues or perspectives do you aim to tackle? How about your methodology? Will you focus on mainly qualitative or quantitative studies, or a mixture of both? These general questions should help guide you in selecting your sources and once again, remember that the abstract of a source is a very useful tool. Having a quick scan of the abstract and its 'keywords' will ofttimes give you an indication of the whether the source will be useful for your research or not.

Equally you're identifying your sources, ensure yous a keep a list as it'southward very easy to lose focus given the wide scope of the Internet. Reference tools such as Mendeley let you to store your sources online and via a desktop app, and are a great way to proceed your bibliography organised. The commendation tools attached to these programmes volition as well allow you to merely export citations in a format of your selection when required later. They will save y'all countless hours trying to figure out how to utilise Harvard or APA referencing correctly.

Read your sources

Now that y'all accept organised your sources efficiently, it'south fourth dimension to read through them. Every bit unnatural equally information technology may feel, it's most effective to read in a few stages, as detailed below:

First, get through all the texts to go a sense of their general content and arguments. This volition besides help you lot guess which sources you mainly want to focus on in your review. During the second stage of your reading, you tin and then accept a more critical, in-depth wait at your sources. Brand a lot of notes, be critical, ask questions. What is your academic opinion on the text? Do yous accept whatever comments on the methodological approach, the theoretical argument or the general hypothesis? Note these down. It will ensure that your literature review is not merely a summary of your readings, and will encourage a clear line of statement so that your work is logical and coherent.

Consider gaps in the research

When writing a dissertation literature review, an essential thing to consider is identifying the enquiry gap. Identifying the gap is particularly of import if your review forms function of a research proposal, as it will highlight the pertinence of your inquiry – bold that your research has been designed to fill this gap. In other instances, identifying the gap is an indication of good critical assay and can score y'all extra points.

To identify the "gap" it is of import that nosotros know what this "gap" is. A research gap is substantially the existence of a enquiry question, perspective or problem that has not been answered in the existing literature on any subject field. Identifying the research gap is important for highlighting the originality of your research; it proves yous're not simply recounting or regurgitating existing research. It also shows that you are very much enlightened of the condition of the literature in your chosen field of study, which in turn, demonstrates the amount of research and effort you have put into your review.

Many students, particularly at post-graduate level, find it extremely difficult to identify inquiry gaps in their subject area area. For post-graduate research papers, identifying inquiry gaps and formulating research questions that can address these gaps class the very essence of a research paper. Identifying research gaps does not have to be a difficult try and there are several ways to overcome this difficulty:

Showtime by reading
A simple approach will exist to read of import parts of key manufactures in your research area. First, note that you'll have to sift through many articles to place the ones that are most suitable for your research. A quick search using keywords on Google Scholar will oft requite you a quick overview of the available literature. Other useful sources include databases such as JSTOR or Wiley Online Library. Yous can so snowball additional articles past clicking on 'related articles' or checking out which other papers accept cited your source.

Abstracts and recommendations
Whichever avenue you choose, reading the abstract is often a good starting point to get a sense of what the articles entails. Y'all should also do a quick examination of the introductory and terminal paragraphs of the paper as these sections always provide some information on the aims and outcomes of the research, as well as 'recommendations for future studies.' These recommendations typically provide some insight on the research gaps in the literature. Some other route would be to only read as much equally you can on your inquiry subject field while considering which research areas still need addressing in the literature – this is usually an indication of enquiry gaps.

Write your review

At present you're well prepared to outset putting fingers to keyboard. Consider the following pointers:

ane. Employ sample literature reviews
Accept a look at sample dissertation literature reviews in your field of study area and read them thoroughly to familiarise yourself with existing key debates and themes. This tin can be a good starting point for framing and structuring your own review. If you lot are not familiar with academic writing, going through samples will assistance you lot to become a sense of what is expected in this regard. Pay attending to the bookish language and formal mode used. Also, think that the bibliography or reference section of your selected texts will assistance you to snowball further references if you need any.

2. Keep information technology elementary
Keep your topic every bit narrowed down equally possible. Call back that there are hundreds – or in some instances, thousands – of sources or perspectives apropos whatsoever subject field or topic. Researchers investigate research problems in many divergent ways and the literature bachelor on any given subject is extremely wide. In your literature review, you won't be expected to address every statement or perspective apropos your topic – this might actually undermine your ability to write a coherent and focused slice. You'll make your work easier if you limit the scope of your work. In your review, ensure that you clearly state what the focus of your piece of work will exist.

3. Brand sure your sources are as current as possible
If you are reviewing scientific work, it's essential your sources are as current as possible given the advancements in the field over the years. In the medical field particularly, research is constantly evolving and a source that's only three years onetime may be even out-dated. In the social sciences this rule may non utilise, as many theoretical works are classics and you volition be expected to be familiar with these perspectives. You might have to the review the work of Marx, or Hobbes, or any other classic scholar. Y'all still need to residuum theory with current approaches, as you volition need to demonstrate the ways in which perspectives in the literature have changed over the years, or you may fifty-fifty want to demonstrate how scholars have used classic theories to inform their piece of work.

4. Consider the organisation of your work
In a dissertation literature review, organising your work goes beyond having an introduction, body and conclusion. You'll be reviewing a number of texts, so you'll also have to think conspicuously about how to organise themes, topics and your statement in general. Below is a detailed guide on how to practise this:

• Think most the basic structure first

  Similar any other academic paper, a dissertation literature review will comprise a basic introduction, body, and conclusion.

  The introduction of a literature review should exist clear, short and focused. It should outline the focus of the review – in other words, it should clearly state the main topics to be covered. A adept literature review volition also state the arguments to be made, also as underlying rationale that underpins these arguments.

  The body of your literature review will include an in-depth discussion of the academic sources you lot have called to review. Y'all may choose to organise your sources according to themes, methodology or even based on a chronological club. In the body of your review, ensure that your arguments are presented clearly and that you link these arguments with the literature. Is there a scholar that agrees with your view? Say so, in a mode that the reader will understand easily. This demonstrates that you are very familiar with the bookish research in your field. Call up to besides make notation of whatever views that do not concur with your position; excluding these arguments will reduce the methodological robustness of your slice. You tin utilise direct quotations in your literature review, however do so sparingly so you don't appear lazy. Virtually tutors volition not approach it kindly; the purpose of a literature review is to demonstrate your ability to critically appoint with a slice of text, and littering your review with direct quotes isn't a good indication of this. Instead, attempt to paraphrase quotations and simply use direct quotes if it really helps to illustrate your argument.

  In the summary of your dissertation literature review, it's important to give a summary of the conclusions you've drawn from your readings. If your literature review forms part of a broader research proposal, reiterate the gaps in the literature here, and clearly country how your proposed research will fill up these gaps. Make recommendations for future inquiry in this section too, which demonstrates your analytical skills and will score y'all some extra points.

• Pay extra attending to the structure of the body

  You now have the bones structure of your research in place, even so it's worth dedicating some time to what the body of your work should entail. The body is the main cadre of your work, so information technology's important to consider how you volition frame and organise it. You lot have options here – you can choose to organise the content of your work based on a chronological method, based on themes, trends or methodology, or based on arguments.

  To structure the body of work chronologically, you will take to organise your sources based on when they were published. A limitation of this approach is that it inhibits continuity in your arguments and in some instances, can undermine the coherence of your piece of work. Employ with caution.

  A more coherent way of organising your work is to group your sources based on the arguments they make in a 'for versus confronting' manner. This enables you to present your work in a more than dynamic manner and what'due south more, makes the cardinal debates in the literature more obvious. Say you were trying to convey the debates on European migration policy, you might want to start by writing something along these lines:

  "While scholars such equally X argue that migration policies must be made more stringent to counteract the increased menses of Syrian refugees to Europe, other scholars such as Y offer a divergent perspective. They specifically espouse a perspective based on a human rights approach…"

  This approach also leaves room for you to insert your voice into the literature. Consider this statement:

  "While Ten argues for the enactment of more stringent migration policies, this paper argues along the lines of Y that migration policies should be based on human rights considerations."

  Using this technique besides allows yous to introduce additional literature that supports your position.

  Some other style of organising your content is co-ordinate to theme; or sub-themes, if your review focuses on 1 overarching topic. This method of organisation still allows you to present an overview of whatsoever polemical debates within these sub-themes. A thematic review can easily shift between chronological periods within each sub-section too.

  Structuring work using a methodological arroyo is quite a common approach, nevertheless it'south often used in tandem with other ways of organising sources. This method is particularly evident in introductory sections whereby researchers may simply want to state that a particular subject field has been mostly studied from a qualitative or quantitative perspective (they will often then cite a number of scholars or studies to support this claim). In scientific reviews all the same, a methodological approach may form the basis of the discussions in the trunk. If this is the instance for you, focus on the methods used past various researchers. How did they get about answering a item research question? Were there any limitations to this method? If and so, what method(s) would have been ameliorate?

You'll shortly realise that organising the body of your literature review is an iterative process and you'll more than often than not employ all of these approaches in your write-up. The body of your inquiry may also include additional sections that do not necessarily form a role of its organisational construction. For instance, you might want to include a 'context section' that provides some insight on whatsoever background detail required for understanding the focus of the literature review. Information technology may also focus on historical considerations. You could include a curt methodology section that details the approach you used in selecting and analysing your sources.

5. Write the paragraphs of the torso
One time you have settled on the approach to writing your trunk, you must at present write each of its paragraphs in a way that is in keeping with academic conventions. Consider this paragraph from a literature review about stakeholder participation for environmental management, to clarify the discussion that follows:

• Despite the rhetoric and the concerns that have been expressed, there have been few attempts to investigate the validity of the many claims that have been made for stake-holder participation (Webler, 1999; Beierle, 2002; Brody, 2003; Blackstock et al., 2007). The few attempts that have been fabricated accept tended to focus on evaluating the process rather than the outcomes (east.g. Beierle, 2002; Renn et al., 1995; Rowe and Frewer, 2000). This may exist partly due to the claiming of selecting advisable evaluation criteria and data collection methods. Blackstock et al., 2007 argue that the evaluation of participatory processes should itself be participatory, with stakeholders selecting and applying the evaluation criteria. However, this is not straightforward. Webler and Tuler (2006) found potent differences of stance between participants that they selected from x case studies, about what constituted a "practiced" participatory procedure. (Source: Reed, M.Due south., 2008. Stakeholder participation for environmental management: a literature review. Biological conservation, 141(ten), pp.2417-2431).

Equally the case above suggests, a dissertation literature review must be written using a formal and academic style. Also, note how sources have been grouped according to both arguments and themes. Retrieve we noted that the process of group sources in the body of your literature review is never a linear one? You volition oftentimes use a combination of the approaches that nosotros accept discussed. Ensure that your writing is concise, coherent and devoid of any personal or strong linguistic communication. Avert any phrases like, "I hate X's work"; a more than academic way of stating your disagreement would be to simply state: "I would argue against X's position that…", or "X's argument is inconsistent with the evidence considering...", or "Ten'southward arguments are based on simulated assumptions because...".

In the sample paragraph higher up, notice the use of words like "argue" – this is a proficient academic alternative to more commonplace words such as "says". Other skilful alternatives include "states", "asserts", "proposes" or "claims". More than academic options include "opine", "posit", "postulate", or "promulgate", however some tutors and readers find these words to be too 'heavy' and archaic, and then ensure that you are familiar with the writing standards in your institution.

If your writing is tailored to a peer-reviewed journal, it's worth having a look at articles within that journal to go a sense of the writing style. Most tutors volition provide a guideline on writing styles, and it's important you adhere to this brief. You will often exist required to besides employ the third person when writing a literature review, thus phrases such as "this paper argues" or "this paper is of the view that…" are advisable.

There are exceptions at post-graduate level or generally – similar when yous have conducted your ain primary inquiry or published your work widely – which give you the academic authority to boldly make claims. In cases like these, the employ of first person is suitable and you may employ phrases such as "I argue" or "I propose".

Retrieve as well to generally use present tense when referring to opinions and theories (although in the context of specific research experiments, the apply of the past tense is better).

Beyond the use of the academic terms suggested above, 'linking' words are besides particularly of import when writing a literature review, since you'll be grouping a lot of writers together with either similar or divergent opinions. Useful linking words and phrases include: similarly, at that place are parallels, in convergence with…

When there is disagreement, you may desire to utilize any of the following: However, conversely, on the other mitt, diverges from, antithetical to, differential from…

half-dozen. Write the conclusion
The conclusion of a dissertation literature review should always include a summary of the implications of the literature, which you should then link to your argument or full general enquiry question.

Some final notes

The overall structure of your literature review will be largely based on your inquiry area and the academic conventions that are in line with it. Yet, there are some essential steps that apply across all disciplines and that you should ensure you follow:

Do not only draw the opinions of writers
Analyse, analyse, analyse, and ensure that your assay is critical (what have the writers missed; where does your stance sit with theirs, etc.).

Structure the trunk of your argument using diverse techniques
Your construction should be organised based on thematic areas, primal debates or controversial issues, and co-ordinate to methodological approaches. Go along your review dynamic, but coherent. Remember to identify literature gaps and link this to your own research.

Use ample prove
This is extremely important and forms the very essence of a dissertation literature review. You must refer to diverse sources when making a point; see the sample paragraph above for an example of this. Your arguments and estimation of a inquiry topic must be backed by evidence. Do not make baseless claims, every bit a literature review is an academic piece of writing and not an opinion piece.

Exist very selective
Not every slice of research has to be reviewed. If you are determined to bear witness that you aware of the available literature out in that location, try writing techniques such equally: There is robust literature bachelor concerning the migration patterns of Syrian refugees. Notable works include: X(2015), y (2013), Z (2014). Once you take acknowledged these works, you do not accept to review them in detail. Exist selective about the sources that y'all will discuss in detail in your review.

Do not rely too much on direct quotes
Simply use them to emphasise a point. Similarly, don't rely too heavily on the work of a single author. Instead, highlight the importance of that author in your research and move on. If you need to go along going back to the work of that writer, then you need to link those discussions with your work. Practise non simply provide a summary of the writer's work. In what ways does your piece of work concur or disagree with his/hers? Be disquisitional.

Make your voice heard
Yeah, the whole point of the literature review is to provide a critical assay and summary of the viewpoints out there, but a critical analysis does include the fact that you need to make your opinion known in the context of the literature. Notation how skilfully, in the before sample paragraph by Reed (2008), he weaves his opinions with references. Read back over the sample and try to perfect this skill.

Ensure that you reference your work correctly
And brand sure you use the appropriate referencing manner. For more assist on this, click here.

Feeling overwhelmed past your literature review? You lot're not alone.

A dissertation literature review can be a time-consuming and challenging affiliate to write, especially given all the inquiry and detailed analysis involved. Our adept academic writers tin can help.

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