How to Write a Categorical Literature Review Sample
Writing a Literature Review
When writing a inquiry paper on a specific topic, yous volition often need to include an overview of any prior research that has been conducted on that topic. For instance, if your inquiry newspaper is describing an experiment on fear conditioning, then you will probably need to provide an overview of prior research on fear conditioning. That overview is typically known every bit a literature review.
Please annotation that a full-length literature review article may exist suitable for fulfilling the requirements for the Psychology B.S. Degree Research Paper . For farther details, please check with your faculty counselor.
Different Types of Literature Reviews
Literature reviews come up in many forms. They tin be part of a research paper, for instance as part of the Introduction section. They can exist one chapter of a doctoral dissertation. Literature reviews tin can also "stand solitary" as separate articles by themselves. For instance, some journals such every bit Annual Review of Psychology, Psychological Message, and others typically publish full-length review articles. Similarly, in courses at UCSD, you may be asked to write a enquiry paper that is itself a literature review (such as, with an instructor'southward permission, in fulfillment of the B.S. Caste Research Paper requirement). Alternatively, you lot may be expected to include a literature review as office of a larger enquiry paper (such as part of an Honors Thesis).
Literature reviews can be written using a variety of different styles. These may differ in the manner prior enquiry is reviewed as well every bit the way in which the literature review is organized. Examples of stylistic variations in literature reviews include:
- Summarization of prior piece of work vs. critical evaluation. In some cases, prior research is simply described and summarized; in other cases, the writer compares, contrasts, and may even critique prior research (for example, discusses their strengths and weaknesses).
- Chronological vs. categorical and other types of organization. In some cases, the literature review begins with the oldest enquiry and advances until it concludes with the latest research. In other cases, enquiry is discussed past category (such as in groupings of closely related studies) without regard for chronological order. In yet other cases, research is discussed in terms of opposing views (such as when unlike research studies or researchers disagree with i some other).
Overall, all literature reviews, whether they are written every bit a office of a larger work or as divide articles unto themselves, have a common characteristic: they do not nowadays new research; rather, they provide an overview of prior inquiry on a specific topic.
How to Write a Literature Review
When writing a literature review, it tin be helpful to rely on the following steps. Delight note that these procedures are not necessarily only for writing a literature review that becomes office of a larger article; they can as well be used for writing a full-length article that is itself a literature review (although such reviews are typically more detailed and exhaustive; for more information delight refer to the Further Resources section of this folio).
Steps for Writing a Literature Review
1. Place and define the topic that y'all volition be reviewing.
The topic, which is commonly a inquiry question (or trouble) of some kind, needs to be identified and defined as clearly every bit possible. You need to have an thought of what you will exist reviewing in order to effectively search for references and to write a coherent summary of the inquiry on it. At this
ii. Behave a literature search.
Employ a range of keywords to search databases such as PsycINFO and any others that may contain relevant articles. You should focus on peer-reviewed, scholarly articles. Published books may also be helpful, but keep in mind that peer-reviewed articles are widely considered to be the "gilt standard" of scientific research. Read through titles and abstracts, select and obtain manufactures (that is, download, copy, or print them out), and save your searches as needed. For more information about this step, please see the Using Databases and Finding Scholarly References section of this website.
three. Read through the research that you have found and take notes.
Absorb as much information as you tin can. Read through the manufactures and books that you accept plant, and as y'all do, accept notes. The notes should include anything that will be helpful in advancing your own thinking virtually the topic and in helping you lot write the literature review (such every bit key points, ideas, or even page numbers that index key data). Some references may turn out to be more helpful than others; y'all may notice patterns or striking contrasts between different sources
4. Organize your notes and thoughts; create an outline.
At this phase, you are shut to writing the review itself. However, it is often helpful to first reflect on all the reading that you have washed. What patterns stand out? Do the different sources converge on a consensus? Or not? What unresolved questions still remain? Y'all should look over your notes (it may likewise be helpful to reorganize them), and as you do, to think about how you lot will nowadays this inquiry in your literature review. Are y'all going to summarize or critically evaluate? Are you going to use a chronological or
5. Write the literature review itself and edit and revise every bit needed.
The concluding stage involves writing. When writing, keep in mind that literature reviews are generally characterized by a summary style in which prior enquiry is described sufficiently to explicate critical findings only does not include a high level of item (if readers want to larn most all the specific details of a study, then they can look up the references that you lot cite and read the original manufactures themselves). However, the degree of emphasis that is given to individual studies may vary (more than or less item may be warranted depending on how critical or unique a given study was). Afterward you have written
6. Comprise the literature review into your research paper draft.
Later the literature review is consummate, you should comprise information technology into your research paper (if you lot are writing the review every bit 1 component of a larger newspaper). Depending on the stage at which your newspaper is at, this may involve merging your literature review into a partially complete Introduction section, writing the remainder of the paper around the literature review, or other processes.
Farther Tips for Writing a Literature Review
Full-length literature reviews
- Many total-length literature review manufactures use a three-part structure: Introduction (where the topic is identified and any trends or major problems in the literature are introduced), Body (where the studies that incorporate the literature on that topic are discussed), and Word or Conclusion (where major patterns and points are discussed and the full general state of what is known almost the topic is summarized)
Literature reviews as part of a larger paper
- An "express method" of writing a literature review for a enquiry newspaper is as follows: kickoff, write a
one paragraph clarification of each commodity that y'all read. Second, choose how you will guild all the paragraphs and combine them in i document. Third, add transitions between the paragraphs, also as an introductory and concluding paragraph.1
- A literature review that is part of a larger research paper typically does not accept to exist exhaustive. Rather, information technology should contain most or all of the pregnant studies about a research topic just not tangential or loosely related ones.2 Generally, literature reviews should be sufficient for the reader to sympathize the major issues and primal findings about a research topic. You may nonetheless need to confer with your instructor or editor to determine how comprehensive yous need to be.
Benefits of Literature Reviews
By summarizing prior enquiry on a topic, literature reviews have multiple benefits. These include:
- Literature reviews help readers sympathize what is known about a topic without having to 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 they are placed in the Introduction of a larger research newspaper). In other words, they provide helpful background and context.
- Literature reviews can also help the writer learn about a given topic while in the process of preparing the review itself. In the act of research and writing the literature review, the writer gains expertise on the topic
.
Downloadable Resources
- How to Write APA Style Research Papers (a comprehensive guide) [PDF]
- Tips for Writing APA Style Enquiry Papers (a brief summary) [PDF]
- Example APA Way Research Newspaper (for B.S. Degree – literature review) [PDF]
Further Resources
How-To Videos
- Writing Research Paper Videos
UCSD
- UCSD Library Psychology Research Guide: Literature Reviews
External Resource
- Developing and Writing a Literature Review from N Carolina A&T State University
- Example of a Curt Literature Review from York College CUNY
- How to Write a Review of Literature from UW-Madison
- Writing a Literature Review from UC Santa Cruz
Run into Also
- Pautasso, Thousand. (2013). X Simple Rules for Writing a Literature Review. PLoS Computational Biology, 9(7), e1003149.
doi : 1371/journal.pcbi.1003149
References
iAshton, W. Writing a curt literature review . [PDF]
2Carver, 50. (2014). Writing the research paper [Workshop].
Prepared by S. C. Pan for UCSD Psychology
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Source: https://psychology.ucsd.edu/undergraduate-program/undergraduate-resources/academic-writing-resources/writing-research-papers/writing-lit-review.html
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