Review of Related Literature
Re-view
To look again what others have done in the
past, that are similar, though not necessarily
identical to one’s own area of investigation.
Benefits of a literature review
1. It can offer new ideas, perspectives, and
approaches that may not have occurred to
you.
2. It can inform you about other researchers
who conduct work in this area.
3. It can show you how others have handled
methodological and design issues in studies
similar to your own.
Benefits (cont…)
4. It can reveal sources of data that you may
not have known existed.
5. It can introduce you to measurement tools
that other researchers have developed and
used effectively.
6. It can reveal methods of dealing with
problem situations that may be similar to
difficulties you are facing.
Benefits (cont…)
7. It can help you interpret and make sense of
your findings, and ultimately, help you tie
your results to the work of those who have
preceded you.
8. It will bolster your confidence that your
topic is worth studying, because you find
others have invested considerable time,
effort, and resources in studying it.
Strategies for Locating Related
Literature
Major starting points:
• Library catalog
• Indexes and abstracts in the library’s reference
section
• Online databases
Using the Library Catalog
• A good textbook can give you a good general
overview of a topic, including important
concepts, theoretical perspectives, and critical
references.
• Use only books with recent copyright dates.
• The most effective way to locate helpful books
is through the library catalog.
Other strategies:
• Looking at government publications
• Surfing the net
• Using the citations and reference lists of those
who have gone before you
Synthesizing the Literature
• In a good literature review, the researcher
doesn’t merely report the related literature.
He/She evaluates, organizes, synthesizes what
others have done.
• As you read about others’ work and evaluate
their methods and conclusions, never take other
people’s conclusions at face value; determine
whether their conclusions are justified based on the
data presented.
Synthesizing the Literature
• In addition to evaluating what you read,
organize the ideas you’ve encountered during
your review.
• The most important thing is to synthesize what
you’ve learned from review. Pull together the
diverse perspectives and research results
you’ve read into cohesive whole.
Techniques for Writing a Cohesive Review
1. Be clear in your thinking.
2. Develop a plan.
3. Emphasize relatedness.
4. Give credit where credit is due.
5. Review the literature. Don’t reproduce it.
Techniques (cont…)
6. Summarize what you said.
7. Remember that your first draft will almost certainly NOT be your
last draft.
8. Ask others for advice and feedback.
Works cited samples
Scholarly Project
• The Avalon Project: Articles of Confederation, 1781. Co-Directors
William C. Fray and Lisa A. Spar. 1996. Yale Law School. 2
Dec. 2003
<[Link]/lawweb/avalon/[Link]>.
Professional Site
• Guide to Grammar and Writing. Capital Community College. 4
April 2004
<[Link]/grammar/>.
Personal Site
• Jascot, John. Home page. 1 Dec. 1997. 38 Jan. 2004
<[Link]..[Link]/faculty/~jascot/[Link]>.
Course Website
• Darling, Charles. Introduction to Literature. Course Website.
Jan. 2004–May 2004. Dept. of Humanities, Capital
Community College. 20 May 2004
<[Link]>.