LITERATURE REVIEW

WHAT IS A LITERATURE REVIEW?

In short: A literature review is a relatively
brief but thorough exploration of past and
current work on your topic

LITERATURE REVIEW QUESTIONS

You should consider the answers of the following questions:

What type of research has been done in the area of study?

What has been found in previous studies?

What has not been investigated?

What is new in the current study (your research)?

LITERATURE REVIEW
The literature review should:
compare and contrast different authors' views on an issue
group authors who draw similar conclusions
note areas in which authors are in disagreement
highlight exemplary studies
highlight gaps in research
show how your study relates to previous studies
show how your study relates to the literature in general
conclude by summarizing what the literature says

PURPOSE OF LITERATURE REVIEW

define and limit the problem you are working on
avoid unnecessary duplication
relate your findings to previous knowledge and suggest further
research

STRUCTURING THE LITERATURE

REVIEW: INTRODUCTION
In the introduction you should:
Identify the general topic, issue or concern of your research
Summarize what has been published about this research: Overall trends,
conflicts in theory, gaps in research, different perspectives
State your reason for reviewing the literature (your point of view)
Explain your criteria for analyzing comparing the literature (why did you pick
those sources)
Outline the organization of your review (Sequence of the body paragraphs)
If there is any literature you chose not to review, explain why

STRUCTURING THE LITERATURE

REVIEW: BODY
Group together research according to something they have in common.
(Example: their opinions, their conclusions, their objectives, their
approaches)
Summarize the sources with as much or little detail needed.
Provide strong umbrella/topic sentences at the beginning of each paragraph
explaining what that paragraph will be about.
Provide so what summary sentences at regular intervals (for example at the
end of each paragraph)

STRUCTURING THE LITERATURE

REVIEW: CONCLUSION
Summarize the main, most important points of your literature review
Link back to your introduction (reminder of what the focus or purpose of the
research was
Evaluate the current available literature. Point out gaps in the research. (what
answers were you looking for but couldnt find because it hadnt been
researched?)
Point out areas that in your opinion need to be researched in the future
Relate your research topic to the field of mass media research

Points to Consider
Use evidence. Your interpretation of the sources must be backed up with
evidence to show what you wrote is valid
Be selective. Take only the most important points from a source.
Quote sparingly. Only quote short quotes like terms or phrases or something
you just cant rewrite in your own words.
Summarize the information from the sources. These summaries must be tied
together with your ideas.
Start and end the paragraphs with your ideas
Use in-text citations to credit authors ideas. Include a works cited page.
Check for plagiarism

Avoiding Plagiarism
Dont copy any text from the source without quotation marks.
Make sure to credit all ideas you got from the source whether it
is facts, quotations, summary or paraphrasing. Use in-text
citations.
Improper paraphrasing is considered plagiarism.
Self-plagiarism: You cant submit work you have submitted
before to another class. Even if it is your work, it is still
plagiarism.