Tips for Creating a Literature Review

Presented by Dr. K. ScottFall 2010

What is a literature review?

Comprehensive & up-to-date

Inform intellectual framework

Synthesis

Past & Present

Purpose of a Literature Review

Focus

Scholar’s Identity via conceptual frame

New direction

Suggestive

Gaps & flaws

Avoid repetition

Highlights controversy

Tests assumptions

How it fits/shapes within your paper?

Abstract One-page or les overview Essence No footnotes or citations

Introduction What are you studying?

Why is it important?

How original is it? Will it fill an empirical void? Extend theory?

Cause action? How will you unpack your argument?

Main Body/Literature Review

Longest Part

Citations

Developing the thesis—what should the reader learn (clearly stated in Introduction)

Clear focus

Conclusion What does it all mean?

Read independently…

Podcast Link : http://www.public.asu.edu/~gsingh9/LitReview.m4a

Final Suggestions… One-sentence thesis

Support your thesis 100%

Figures

Stringy Sentences

Proofread

Passion

Consider feedback not the grade

The Story Line

Introduction – foreshadow the

story

Theoretical framework

Big Arena 1

Big Arena 2

Big Arena 3Why are these three arenas so

critical?

How does this story end?

What do we need to know?

What do you want your learners to

have learned?