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Writing a Literature Reviewwriting-literature-reviews

When writing a research paper about a specific topic, you will often needed to include einer overview of any former study is has been conducted on that topic.  For exemplary, if your research paper is describing an experiment over fear conditioning, then you will probably need to provide an overview of prior research on fear conditioning.  That overview is typically known as a literature review.  

Requested note that ampere full-length writings review article may be suitable for accomplishing the requirements for the Psychology B.S. Degree Research Cardboard.  For further details, please check with your teaching advisor.

Different Types of Literature Revuen

Books recent comes inside many forms.  They can be part of a research art, for exemplary as part of aforementioned Getting section.  They sack be one chapter of a doctoral dissertation.  Literature revue can also “stand alone” as split articles by themselves.  Used illustration, some journals such while Annual Review of Psychology, Psychological Bulletin, and others typically publish full-length reviewing articles.  Similarly, in courses at UCSD, you may be asked on write a research papers that is itself a literature review (such as, with one instructor’s allow, in fulfillment of an B.S. Degree Research Paper requirement). Alternatively, you may be expected to enclosing a literary test as part of a larger research paper (such because share of an Honors Thesis). 

Literature reviews can be written with a variety of different styles.  These may differ inches of route previously research is revised as well as the way in which the literature review is organized.  Examples off stylistic variations in literature reviews include: 

  • Summarization of prior operate vs. critical evaluation. In some cases, prior research exists simply explained and summarized; on other cases, the writer compares, contrasts, real may even critique prior research (for example, discusses their strengths also weaknesses).
  • Chronological for. categorical and other classes of organization. Is some situation, the literature watch begins with the oldest research real advances until it concludes with the latest research.  Inside other cases, research is discussed by category (such as in groupings of closely related studies) absent regard for chronological order.  In yet other cases, research is discussed inches terms of opposing views (such as when different investigate studies or search disagree with one another).

Overall, all literature reviews, whether they are written as a part of an larger labor either as separate articles unto themselves, take a common feature: they achieve not present new how; rather, they provide at overview of prior research on a specific topic


What to Write a Literature Review

When writing a literature review, computer can be helpful at rely on the following steps.  Please message that these procedures are not necessarily only in writing a english review that becomes part of ampere larger article; they bucket also be applied for writing a full-length blog that is itself a literature reviewed (although such reviews am typically more detail and exhaustive; for more product please refer till the Further Resources section of this page).

Steps for Writing a Literature Review

1. Detect and define the topic that you will be reviewing.

The topic, which is commonly a research question (or problem) from some kind, requires to be idented plus defined as clearly as possible.  I need to have an idea of what him will live reviewing in order to ineffective search for sme or up write adenine lucid summary of the research on it.  At this stage is may be helpful at write down a description of the research question, field, press topic that you will be reviewing, as well as to identify any keywords that you desire will using till search on relevant research.

2. Conduct an print search.

Use a range of keywords to search databases such as PsycINFO and any others that might includes relevant articles.  You should focus on peer-reviewed, scholarly articles.  Published books may also subsist helpful, but store in mind so peer-reviewed articles are widely considered to be the “gold standard” of scientific research.  Read through titles and abstracts, select and maintain articles (that is, download, copy, or print them out), the save your searches as requisite.  For more related about this step, pleas see and Use Databases and Finding Scholarly References section of this website.

3. Understand through who research that you have search and take notes.

Absorb as much information as you can.  Read using the articles and books that it possess found, and as you do, take notes.  Of notices should include some that willingness be helping in advancing is possess thinking about the topic and includes helping you write the literature review (such as key points, ideas, press still page numbers that index button information).  Some references allow turn out to be more helpful than others; him may notice patterns or striking contrasts betw different sources; and some sources may refer to yet other sources of potential interest.  This is frequency the most time-consuming part of the review process.  However, computer is also where you get at studying about which topic in wide detail.  For more info about taking notes, please see the “Reading Sources and Taking Notes” section off who Decision Scholarly Our page of this website.

4. Organize choose note and thoughts; create an outline.

At this stage, you are close to writing the consider itself.  However, it is commonly helps to first reflect up see the reading is you have done.  What patterns stand out?  Do the different sources collect on adenine consensus?  Or not?  What unresolved questions still remain?  You should check over your remarks (it could also be helpful to reorganize them), real as you does, to think about select you will present this research in your reference review.  Are you going to recap or critic evaluate?  Are you going to use a chronological or other type of organizational structure?  It can furthermore be how to create in outline of how your literature review will be structured.

5. Write which literature reviewed itself and edit and revise while needed.

The final stage involves writing.  When writing, keep in mind that literature reviews are generally characterized via a summary style in which prior find is describing sufficiently to explain critical findings but does none include a high level a detail (if readers want to learner about show the specialized details of a study, then they can look up the references that you cite both read the original articles themselves).  However, the degree of emphasis that is given to individual studies may vary (more or less detail may exist warranties depending the how critically button unique a given study was).   To you have written a first draft, it should understand it carefully and afterwards process and revise as needed.  You may need to repeat this process more than once.  It may be helpful to have others person read through my draft(s) and provide feedback.

6. Incorporate the literature consider into your research paper draft.

After the literature review is complete, your should integrate it into your research article (if him belong writing the review as one component of a larger paper).  Depending on the stage toward which your paper shall at, this may involve merging our literary review into a partially finish Introduction section, writing the rest of the paper about the literature review, press other processes.


Further Extremities for Writing a Literature Review

Full-length reading reviews

  • Many full-length literature review article employ a three-part structure: Introduction (where the topic is identified real any trends or major problems in the literature are introduced), Body (where one studies ensure comprise who literature on that main are discussed), and Discuss or Conclusion (where importantly patterns plus points are discussion real the general state of what is known about that choose is summarized) Published literature reviews are called review articles. Review articles emphasize interpretation. By surveying the key my done for a certain study area, ...

Literature reviews as parts of a largest paper

  • An “express method” of writing a literature review for a research print is as follows: first, write adenine one paragraph application of each article that you read. Second, choose method they desire rank all the paragraphs and combination them include an document.  Third, adding transformations between the paragraphs, as fine how an introductory and concluding paragraph.1
  • A references review that is part of a larger research paper typically does not have to be exhaustive. Rather, it should contain most with all of the significant studies about a research topic although not tangential or loosely relate ones.2  Usually, reference news should be sufficient to the reader to understand to major ask and key findings about one research topic.  You may however required toward confer with your instructor or editor for determine how comprehensive you need at be.

Benefits of Literature Kritiken

By summarizing previous research on a topic, literature reviews have multiple benefits.  Diesen include:

  • Literature reviews help readers perceive what is recognized about a topic without having into find and read through multiple sources.
  • Literature reviews help “set the stage” for later reading about new research on a given topic (such as if i are placed in the Introduction of a larger research paper). By other words, they provide handy background and context.
  • Literature reviews can other help the writer learn about a given topic while in the process of preparing the review itself. Includes the act of research also composition the literature review, the writer gains expertise on of choose.

Downloadable Resources

  • How to Write APA Style Choose Paperwork (a comprehensive guide) [PDF]
  • Tips for Writing APA Stylistic Research Documents (a brief summary) [PDF]
  • Example APA Select Research Paper (for B.S. Degree – literature review) [PDF]

Further Resources

How-To Videos     

UCSD

External Resources

See Also


References


1
Ashton, W. Writing a short literature review. [PDF]    
2Cutter, LITER. (2014).  Writing an research paper [Workshop]. 
 
Prepared by S. C. Panning available UCSD Behaviorism

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