How to Write an Outline for a Literature Review

Writing a literature review might be easier than you call back. You should only understand its basic rules, and that'southward it! This commodity is just about that.

Why is the literature review important? What are its types? We volition uncover these and other possible questions.

Whether yous are an experienced researcher or a student, this article will come up in handy. Go along reading!

Tabular array of Contents

1. What Is a Literature Review?

What Is a Literature Review?

Let'due south get-go with the literature review definition.

Literature review outlooks the existing sources on a given topic. Its main goal is to provide an overall moving-picture show of the studied object. It clears upwardly the context and showcases the assay of the paper'south theoretical methodology.

In case you want to see the examples of this type of piece of work, cheque out our drove of free student essays.

Importance of Literature Review

In most cases, you demand to write a literature review as a part of an academic projection. Those can be dissertations, theses, or research papers.

Why is it of import?

Imagine your final research as a 100% bar. Let'south recall Pareto law: 20% of efforts make eighty% of the result. In our case, twenty% is preparing a literature review. Writing itself is less of import than an in-depth analysis of current literature. Practice y'all want to avoid possible frustration in academic writing? Make a confident start with a literature review.

Sure, it'southward impossible to find a topic that hasn't been discussed or cited. That is why nosotros cannot but use the works of other authors. You lot don't take to concord with them. Discuss, critique, analyze, and fence.

Then, the purpose of the literature review is to make an outlook of existing ideas or thoughts. Abstracting from personal opinions and judgments is a crucial aspect.

Types of Literature Review

You lot can attain the purpose we have discussed above in several ways. Considering that ways at that place are several types of literature review.

What indicates them?

In short, it'south enquiry methods and structure. Let'due south find out why and interruption downward each type:

• Systematic literature review is the nearly precise and well-defined type. It identifies, evaluates, and appraises the studied topic. The purpose is to go the lay of the land in a given research area.
  It falls into meta-analysis and meta-synthesis. They differ in the undertaken approach: deductive or inductive.

  • Meta-assay implies the deductive research approach used. At first, y'all gather several related research papers. Then, you conduct out its statistical analysis. Equally a event, y'all answer a formulated question.

  • Meta-synthesis goes along with the inductive inquiry arroyo. It bases qualitative data assessment.

• Theoretical literature review implies gathering theories. Those theories use to studied ideas or concepts. Links between theories get more explicit and clear. Why is it useful? It confirms that the theoretical framework is valid. On meridian of that, it assists in new hypothesis-making.

• Argumentative literature review starts with a trouble statement. In other words, in making an statement. So, you select and study the topic-related literature to confirm or deny the stated question. At that place is one sufficient trouble in this blazon, by the way. The writer may write the text with a grain of bias.

• Narrative literature review focuses on literature mismatches. It indicates possible gaps and concludes the body of literature. The principal step here is stating a focused enquiry question. Another proper name for this type — a traditional literature review.

• Integrative literature review drives scientific novelty. It generates new statements around the existing researches. The primary tool for that is secondary information. The thing you need is to review and criticize it. When is the all-time pick to write an integrative literature review? It'due south when you lack primary data analysis.

Remember: earlier writing a literature review, specify its blazon. Another pace you should take is to argue your choice. Make sure it fits the research framework. It will save your time every bit you lot won't need to freeze on strategies and methods.

Annotated Bibliography vs. Literature Review

Some would inquire: isn't what you are writing most is just an annotated bibliography? Sure, both annotated bibliography and literature review list the enquiry topic-related sources. But no more than that. Such contextual attributes every bit goal, construction, and components differ a lot.

For a more than visual illustration of its deviation, nosotros made a table:

To sum up: an annotated bibliography is more referral. It does not require reading all the sources in the list. On the reverse, you won't attain the literature review purpose without examining all the sources cited.

Literature Review: Footstep-past-Step Strategy

Later on choosing a type, it'south time for step-past-pace literature review guidelines. We are getting closer to a perfect literature review!

✔️ Step 1. Select the Topic

Selecting a topic requires looking from 2 perspectives. They are the following:

1. Stand up-alone paper. Choose an engaging topic and state a key problem. Then, investigate the trusted literature sources in scholarly databases.

2. Part of a dissertation or thesis. In this case, you should dig around the thesis topic, research objectives, and purpose.

Regardless of the case, you should not just list several literature items. On the opposite, build a decent logical connection and analysis. Just that style, you'll answer the research question.

✔️ Step 2. Identify the Review Scope

One more essential thing to do is to define the inquiry boundaries. Find a remainder: don't make information technology either long or narrow.

Push dorsum on the chosen topic and define the number and level of comprehensiveness of your paper. Define the historical flow equally well. After that, select a pool of credible sources for further synthesis and assay.

✔️ Stride three. Work with Sources

Investigate each chosen source. At this stride, yous should outset writing your review. Annotation each important insights yous come across. Learn how to cite a literature review to avoid plagiarism.

✔️ Footstep iv. Write a Literature Review Outline

No affair what the writing purpose is: research, informative, promotional, etc. The ability of your future text is in the proper planning. If y'all offset with a well-defined construction, it's about 100% y'all'll reach exceptional results. What you need is writing the literature review outline.

✔️ Step 5. Review the Literature

Once you've outlined your literature review, you're prepare for a writing function. While writing, endeavour to uncover insights, be selective and critical-thinking, and don't forget to proceed your voice. In the cease, make a compelling literature review conclusion.

On top of that, explore some other working tips to make your literature review as informative as possible.

Literature Review Outline

Nosotros've already discussed the importance of a literature review outline. At present, information technology'south time to understand how to create it.

An outline for literature review has a bit different structure comparing with other types of paper works. It has the following parts:

1. Introduction. In this part, you should outline the post-obit characteristics:

   • Selected topic

   • Research question

   • Related research question trends and prospects

   • Enquiry methods

   • Expected research results

2. Body. Each paragraph should focus on one of the sources. The number of literature is equivalent to the number of paragraphs. What do yous demand to outline here? Write a summary of each selected resource. The following are examples of subjects to cover:

   • Overview of literature core areas

   • Research trouble consideration through the prism of this piece of literature

   • Methods, controversial points, gaps

   • Outcomes

3. Conclusion. Make clear points of inference and explain the relationships between the studied literature. A good conclusion should contain:

   • Cumulative list of arguments around the research question

   • Links to existing literature and a identify of your paper in the existing system of noesis.

It can be a plus if yous analyze the applicability of your literature review in farther inquiry.

Once you outline your literature review, you can slightly shorten your writing path. Permit'southward move on to bodily samples of literature review.

Literature Review Examples

To consolidate the above, let's look through some examples. How does a well-prepared literature review look like? Check three samples at StudyCorgi to understand. Follow the table:

Have your fourth dimension and read literature review examples to solidify knowledge and sharpen your skills. You lot'll get a more definite moving picture of the literature review length, methods, and topics.

Now you understand the core milestones regarding the introduction to the literature review. Understanding its purpose, types, outline rules, and examples will aid you to kick off.

Practise you lot still accept any questions? Don't hesitate to contact u.s.a.! Our writing experts are set to help you with your paper on time.

✏️ FAQ

❓ What Is the Purpose of a Literature Review?

Literature review solves several issues at once. Its purpose is to place and gather the top insights, gaps, and answers to research questions. Those help to get a general idea of the degree of topic exploration. As a upshot, it builds a basement for further enquiry. Or vice versa: information technology reveals a lack of demand for additional studies.

❓ How Do Y'all Structure a Literature Review?

Like whatsoever other academic paper, a literature review consists of certain conceptual parts. These are 3: introduction, master body, and the conclusion. Each of them needs total disclosure and logical interconnection

The introduction contains the topic overview, its problematics, research methods, and other general attributes of academic papers.

The body reveals how each of the selected literature sources answers the formulated questions from the introduction.

The conclusion summarizes the key findings from the body, connects the enquiry to existing studies, and outlines the need for farther investigation.

To ensure the success of your analysis, y'all should as uphold all of these parts.

❓ What Must a Literature Review Include?

A bones literature review includes the introduction with the research topic definition, its arguments, and bug. Then, it has a synthesis of the picked pieces of literature. It may consist of possible gaps and contradictions in existing researches. The practical relevance and contribution to new studies are also welcome.

❓ What Are the 5 C'due south of Writing a Literature Review?

Don't forget about these five C's to make things easier in writing a literature review:

Cite. Make a listing of references for enquiry you've used and apply proper citation rules. Use Google Scholar for this.

Compare. Make a comparison of such literature attributes as theories, insights, trends, arguments, etc. It's better to use tables or diagrams to brand your content visual.

Contrast. Use listings to categorize detail approaches, themes, so on.

Critique. Critical thinking is a must in any scientific inquiry. Don't accept individual formulations as truth. Explore controversial points of view.

Connect. Discover a place of your research between existing studies. Propose new possible areas to dig further.

❓ How Long Should a Literature Review Be?

In nigh cases, professors or educational establishment guidelines make up one's mind the length of a literature review. Written report them and stick to their requirements, and then you don't get information technology wrong.

If there are no specific rules, brand sure it is no more than 30% of the whole enquiry paper.

If your literature review is not a part of the thesis and goes equally a stand-alone newspaper — be curtailed but explore the research area in-depth.

References

fosterlaus1945.blogspot.com

Source: https://studycorgi.com/blog/literature-review-outline-strategies-and-examples/

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