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What is the Purpose of a Literature Review?
4-minute read
- 23rd October 2023
If you’re writing a research paper or dissertation , then you’ll most likely need to include a comprehensive literature review . In this post, we’ll review the purpose of literature reviews, why they are so significant, and the specific elements to include in one. Literature reviews can:
1. Provide a foundation for current research.
2. Define key concepts and theories.
3. Demonstrate critical evaluation.
4. Show how research and methodologies have evolved.
5. Identify gaps in existing research.
6. Support your argument.
Keep reading to enter the exciting world of literature reviews!
What is a Literature Review?
A literature review is a critical summary and evaluation of the existing research (e.g., academic journal articles and books) on a specific topic. It is typically included as a separate section or chapter of a research paper or dissertation, serving as a contextual framework for a study. Literature reviews can vary in length depending on the subject and nature of the study, with most being about equal length to other sections or chapters included in the paper. Essentially, the literature review highlights previous studies in the context of your research and summarizes your insights in a structured, organized format. Next, let’s look at the overall purpose of a literature review.
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Literature reviews are considered an integral part of research across most academic subjects and fields. The primary purpose of a literature review in your study is to:
Provide a Foundation for Current Research
Since the literature review provides a comprehensive evaluation of the existing research, it serves as a solid foundation for your current study. It’s a way to contextualize your work and show how your research fits into the broader landscape of your specific area of study.
Define Key Concepts and Theories
The literature review highlights the central theories and concepts that have arisen from previous research on your chosen topic. It gives your readers a more thorough understanding of the background of your study and why your research is particularly significant .
Demonstrate Critical Evaluation
A comprehensive literature review shows your ability to critically analyze and evaluate a broad range of source material. And since you’re considering and acknowledging the contribution of key scholars alongside your own, it establishes your own credibility and knowledge.
Show How Research and Methodologies Have Evolved
Another purpose of literature reviews is to provide a historical perspective and demonstrate how research and methodologies have changed over time, especially as data collection methods and technology have advanced. And studying past methodologies allows you, as the researcher, to understand what did and did not work and apply that knowledge to your own research.
Identify Gaps in Existing Research
Besides discussing current research and methodologies, the literature review should also address areas that are lacking in the existing literature. This helps further demonstrate the relevance of your own research by explaining why your study is necessary to fill the gaps.
Support Your Argument
A good literature review should provide evidence that supports your research questions and hypothesis. For example, your study may show that your research supports existing theories or builds on them in some way. Referencing previous related studies shows your work is grounded in established research and will ultimately be a contribution to the field.
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What is a Literature Review? How to Write It (with Examples)
A literature review is a critical analysis and synthesis of existing research on a particular topic. It provides an overview of the current state of knowledge, identifies gaps, and highlights key findings in the literature. 1 The purpose of a literature review is to situate your own research within the context of existing scholarship, demonstrating your understanding of the topic and showing how your work contributes to the ongoing conversation in the field. Learning how to write a literature review is a critical tool for successful research. Your ability to summarize and synthesize prior research pertaining to a certain topic demonstrates your grasp on the topic of study, and assists in the learning process.
Table of Contents
- What is the purpose of literature review?
- a. Habitat Loss and Species Extinction:
- b. Range Shifts and Phenological Changes:
- c. Ocean Acidification and Coral Reefs:
- d. Adaptive Strategies and Conservation Efforts:
How to write a good literature review
- Choose a Topic and Define the Research Question:
- Decide on the Scope of Your Review:
- Select Databases for Searches:
- Conduct Searches and Keep Track:
- Review the Literature:
- Organize and Write Your Literature Review:
- How to write a literature review faster with Paperpal?
- Frequently asked questions
What is a literature review?
A well-conducted literature review demonstrates the researcher’s familiarity with the existing literature, establishes the context for their own research, and contributes to scholarly conversations on the topic. One of the purposes of a literature review is also to help researchers avoid duplicating previous work and ensure that their research is informed by and builds upon the existing body of knowledge.
What is the purpose of literature review?
A literature review serves several important purposes within academic and research contexts. Here are some key objectives and functions of a literature review: 2
1. Contextualizing the Research Problem: The literature review provides a background and context for the research problem under investigation. It helps to situate the study within the existing body of knowledge.
2. Identifying Gaps in Knowledge: By identifying gaps, contradictions, or areas requiring further research, the researcher can shape the research question and justify the significance of the study. This is crucial for ensuring that the new research contributes something novel to the field.
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3. Understanding Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks: Literature reviews help researchers gain an understanding of the theoretical and conceptual frameworks used in previous studies. This aids in the development of a theoretical framework for the current research.
4. Providing Methodological Insights: Another purpose of literature reviews is that it allows researchers to learn about the methodologies employed in previous studies. This can help in choosing appropriate research methods for the current study and avoiding pitfalls that others may have encountered.
5. Establishing Credibility: A well-conducted literature review demonstrates the researcher’s familiarity with existing scholarship, establishing their credibility and expertise in the field. It also helps in building a solid foundation for the new research.
6. Informing Hypotheses or Research Questions: The literature review guides the formulation of hypotheses or research questions by highlighting relevant findings and areas of uncertainty in existing literature.
Literature review example
Let’s delve deeper with a literature review example: Let’s say your literature review is about the impact of climate change on biodiversity. You might format your literature review into sections such as the effects of climate change on habitat loss and species extinction, phenological changes, and marine biodiversity. Each section would then summarize and analyze relevant studies in those areas, highlighting key findings and identifying gaps in the research. The review would conclude by emphasizing the need for further research on specific aspects of the relationship between climate change and biodiversity. The following literature review template provides a glimpse into the recommended literature review structure and content, demonstrating how research findings are organized around specific themes within a broader topic.
Literature Review on Climate Change Impacts on Biodiversity:
Climate change is a global phenomenon with far-reaching consequences, including significant impacts on biodiversity. This literature review synthesizes key findings from various studies:
a. Habitat Loss and Species Extinction:
Climate change-induced alterations in temperature and precipitation patterns contribute to habitat loss, affecting numerous species (Thomas et al., 2004). The review discusses how these changes increase the risk of extinction, particularly for species with specific habitat requirements.
b. Range Shifts and Phenological Changes:
Observations of range shifts and changes in the timing of biological events (phenology) are documented in response to changing climatic conditions (Parmesan & Yohe, 2003). These shifts affect ecosystems and may lead to mismatches between species and their resources.
c. Ocean Acidification and Coral Reefs:
The review explores the impact of climate change on marine biodiversity, emphasizing ocean acidification’s threat to coral reefs (Hoegh-Guldberg et al., 2007). Changes in pH levels negatively affect coral calcification, disrupting the delicate balance of marine ecosystems.
d. Adaptive Strategies and Conservation Efforts:
Recognizing the urgency of the situation, the literature review discusses various adaptive strategies adopted by species and conservation efforts aimed at mitigating the impacts of climate change on biodiversity (Hannah et al., 2007). It emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary approaches for effective conservation planning.
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Writing a literature review involves summarizing and synthesizing existing research on a particular topic. A good literature review format should include the following elements.
Introduction: The introduction sets the stage for your literature review, providing context and introducing the main focus of your review.
- Opening Statement: Begin with a general statement about the broader topic and its significance in the field.
- Scope and Purpose: Clearly define the scope of your literature review. Explain the specific research question or objective you aim to address.
- Organizational Framework: Briefly outline the structure of your literature review, indicating how you will categorize and discuss the existing research.
- Significance of the Study: Highlight why your literature review is important and how it contributes to the understanding of the chosen topic.
- Thesis Statement: Conclude the introduction with a concise thesis statement that outlines the main argument or perspective you will develop in the body of the literature review.
Body: The body of the literature review is where you provide a comprehensive analysis of existing literature, grouping studies based on themes, methodologies, or other relevant criteria.
- Organize by Theme or Concept: Group studies that share common themes, concepts, or methodologies. Discuss each theme or concept in detail, summarizing key findings and identifying gaps or areas of disagreement.
- Critical Analysis: Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each study. Discuss the methodologies used, the quality of evidence, and the overall contribution of each work to the understanding of the topic.
- Synthesis of Findings: Synthesize the information from different studies to highlight trends, patterns, or areas of consensus in the literature.
- Identification of Gaps: Discuss any gaps or limitations in the existing research and explain how your review contributes to filling these gaps.
- Transition between Sections: Provide smooth transitions between different themes or concepts to maintain the flow of your literature review.
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Conclusion: The conclusion of your literature review should summarize the main findings, highlight the contributions of the review, and suggest avenues for future research.
- Summary of Key Findings: Recap the main findings from the literature and restate how they contribute to your research question or objective.
- Contributions to the Field: Discuss the overall contribution of your literature review to the existing knowledge in the field.
- Implications and Applications: Explore the practical implications of the findings and suggest how they might impact future research or practice.
- Recommendations for Future Research: Identify areas that require further investigation and propose potential directions for future research in the field.
- Final Thoughts: Conclude with a final reflection on the importance of your literature review and its relevance to the broader academic community.
Conducting a literature review
Conducting a literature review is an essential step in research that involves reviewing and analyzing existing literature on a specific topic. It’s important to know how to do a literature review effectively, so here are the steps to follow: 1
Choose a Topic and Define the Research Question:
- Select a topic that is relevant to your field of study.
- Clearly define your research question or objective. Determine what specific aspect of the topic do you want to explore?
Decide on the Scope of Your Review:
- Determine the timeframe for your literature review. Are you focusing on recent developments, or do you want a historical overview?
- Consider the geographical scope. Is your review global, or are you focusing on a specific region?
- Define the inclusion and exclusion criteria. What types of sources will you include? Are there specific types of studies or publications you will exclude?
Select Databases for Searches:
- Identify relevant databases for your field. Examples include PubMed, IEEE Xplore, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar.
- Consider searching in library catalogs, institutional repositories, and specialized databases related to your topic.
Conduct Searches and Keep Track:
- Develop a systematic search strategy using keywords, Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT), and other search techniques.
- Record and document your search strategy for transparency and replicability.
- Keep track of the articles, including publication details, abstracts, and links. Use citation management tools like EndNote, Zotero, or Mendeley to organize your references.
Review the Literature:
- Evaluate the relevance and quality of each source. Consider the methodology, sample size, and results of studies.
- Organize the literature by themes or key concepts. Identify patterns, trends, and gaps in the existing research.
- Summarize key findings and arguments from each source. Compare and contrast different perspectives.
- Identify areas where there is a consensus in the literature and where there are conflicting opinions.
- Provide critical analysis and synthesis of the literature. What are the strengths and weaknesses of existing research?
Organize and Write Your Literature Review:
- Literature review outline should be based on themes, chronological order, or methodological approaches.
- Write a clear and coherent narrative that synthesizes the information gathered.
- Use proper citations for each source and ensure consistency in your citation style (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).
- Conclude your literature review by summarizing key findings, identifying gaps, and suggesting areas for future research.
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How to write a literature review faster with Paperpal?
Paperpal, an AI writing assistant, integrates powerful academic search capabilities within its writing platform. With the Research feature, you get 100% factual insights, with citations backed by 250M+ verified research articles, directly within your writing interface with the option to save relevant references in your Citation Library. By eliminating the need to switch tabs to find answers to all your research questions, Paperpal saves time and helps you stay focused on your writing.
Here’s how to use the Research feature:
- Ask a question: Get started with a new document on paperpal.com. Click on the “Research” feature and type your question in plain English. Paperpal will scour over 250 million research articles, including conference papers and preprints, to provide you with accurate insights and citations.
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- Cite with Confidence: Paperpal makes it easy to incorporate relevant citations and references into your writing, ensuring your arguments are well-supported by credible sources. This translates to a polished, well-researched literature review.
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Frequently asked questions
A literature review is a critical and comprehensive analysis of existing literature (published and unpublished works) on a specific topic or research question and provides a synthesis of the current state of knowledge in a particular field. A well-conducted literature review is crucial for researchers to build upon existing knowledge, avoid duplication of efforts, and contribute to the advancement of their field. It also helps researchers situate their work within a broader context and facilitates the development of a sound theoretical and conceptual framework for their studies.
Literature review is a crucial component of research writing, providing a solid background for a research paper’s investigation. The aim is to keep professionals up to date by providing an understanding of ongoing developments within a specific field, including research methods, and experimental techniques used in that field, and present that knowledge in the form of a written report. Also, the depth and breadth of the literature review emphasizes the credibility of the scholar in his or her field.
Before writing a literature review, it’s essential to undertake several preparatory steps to ensure that your review is well-researched, organized, and focused. This includes choosing a topic of general interest to you and doing exploratory research on that topic, writing an annotated bibliography, and noting major points, especially those that relate to the position you have taken on the topic.
Literature reviews and academic research papers are essential components of scholarly work but serve different purposes within the academic realm. 3 A literature review aims to provide a foundation for understanding the current state of research on a particular topic, identify gaps or controversies, and lay the groundwork for future research. Therefore, it draws heavily from existing academic sources, including books, journal articles, and other scholarly publications. In contrast, an academic research paper aims to present new knowledge, contribute to the academic discourse, and advance the understanding of a specific research question. Therefore, it involves a mix of existing literature (in the introduction and literature review sections) and original data or findings obtained through research methods.
Literature reviews are essential components of academic and research papers, and various strategies can be employed to conduct them effectively. If you want to know how to write a literature review for a research paper, here are four common approaches that are often used by researchers. Chronological Review: This strategy involves organizing the literature based on the chronological order of publication. It helps to trace the development of a topic over time, showing how ideas, theories, and research have evolved. Thematic Review: Thematic reviews focus on identifying and analyzing themes or topics that cut across different studies. Instead of organizing the literature chronologically, it is grouped by key themes or concepts, allowing for a comprehensive exploration of various aspects of the topic. Methodological Review: This strategy involves organizing the literature based on the research methods employed in different studies. It helps to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of various methodologies and allows the reader to evaluate the reliability and validity of the research findings. Theoretical Review: A theoretical review examines the literature based on the theoretical frameworks used in different studies. This approach helps to identify the key theories that have been applied to the topic and assess their contributions to the understanding of the subject. It’s important to note that these strategies are not mutually exclusive, and a literature review may combine elements of more than one approach. The choice of strategy depends on the research question, the nature of the literature available, and the goals of the review. Additionally, other strategies, such as integrative reviews or systematic reviews, may be employed depending on the specific requirements of the research.
The literature review format can vary depending on the specific publication guidelines. However, there are some common elements and structures that are often followed. Here is a general guideline for the format of a literature review: Introduction: Provide an overview of the topic. Define the scope and purpose of the literature review. State the research question or objective. Body: Organize the literature by themes, concepts, or chronology. Critically analyze and evaluate each source. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the studies. Highlight any methodological limitations or biases. Identify patterns, connections, or contradictions in the existing research. Conclusion: Summarize the key points discussed in the literature review. Highlight the research gap. Address the research question or objective stated in the introduction. Highlight the contributions of the review and suggest directions for future research.
Both annotated bibliographies and literature reviews involve the examination of scholarly sources. While annotated bibliographies focus on individual sources with brief annotations, literature reviews provide a more in-depth, integrated, and comprehensive analysis of existing literature on a specific topic. The key differences are as follows:
Annotated Bibliography | Literature Review | |
Purpose | List of citations of books, articles, and other sources with a brief description (annotation) of each source. | Comprehensive and critical analysis of existing literature on a specific topic. |
Focus | Summary and evaluation of each source, including its relevance, methodology, and key findings. | Provides an overview of the current state of knowledge on a particular subject and identifies gaps, trends, and patterns in existing literature. |
Structure | Each citation is followed by a concise paragraph (annotation) that describes the source’s content, methodology, and its contribution to the topic. | The literature review is organized thematically or chronologically and involves a synthesis of the findings from different sources to build a narrative or argument. |
Length | Typically 100-200 words | Length of literature review ranges from a few pages to several chapters |
Independence | Each source is treated separately, with less emphasis on synthesizing the information across sources. | The writer synthesizes information from multiple sources to present a cohesive overview of the topic. |
References
- Denney, A. S., & Tewksbury, R. (2013). How to write a literature review. Journal of criminal justice education , 24 (2), 218-234.
- Pan, M. L. (2016). Preparing literature reviews: Qualitative and quantitative approaches . Taylor & Francis.
- Cantero, C. (2019). How to write a literature review. San José State University Writing Center .
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- UConn Library
- Literature Review: The What, Why and How-to Guide
- Introduction
Literature Review: The What, Why and How-to Guide — Introduction
- Getting Started
- How to Pick a Topic
- Strategies to Find Sources
- Evaluating Sources & Lit. Reviews
- Tips for Writing Literature Reviews
- Writing Literature Review: Useful Sites
- Citation Resources
- Other Academic Writings
What are Literature Reviews?
So, what is a literature review? "A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers. In writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. As a piece of writing, the literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g., your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries." Taylor, D. The literature review: A few tips on conducting it . University of Toronto Health Sciences Writing Centre.
Goals of Literature Reviews
What are the goals of creating a Literature Review? A literature could be written to accomplish different aims:
- To develop a theory or evaluate an existing theory
- To summarize the historical or existing state of a research topic
- Identify a problem in a field of research
Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1997). Writing narrative literature reviews . Review of General Psychology , 1 (3), 311-320.
What kinds of sources require a Literature Review?
- A research paper assigned in a course
- A thesis or dissertation
- A grant proposal
- An article intended for publication in a journal
All these instances require you to collect what has been written about your research topic so that you can demonstrate how your own research sheds new light on the topic.
Types of Literature Reviews
What kinds of literature reviews are written?
Narrative review: The purpose of this type of review is to describe the current state of the research on a specific topic/research and to offer a critical analysis of the literature reviewed. Studies are grouped by research/theoretical categories, and themes and trends, strengths and weakness, and gaps are identified. The review ends with a conclusion section which summarizes the findings regarding the state of the research of the specific study, the gaps identify and if applicable, explains how the author's research will address gaps identify in the review and expand the knowledge on the topic reviewed.
- Example : Predictors and Outcomes of U.S. Quality Maternity Leave: A Review and Conceptual Framework: 10.1177/08948453211037398
Systematic review : "The authors of a systematic review use a specific procedure to search the research literature, select the studies to include in their review, and critically evaluate the studies they find." (p. 139). Nelson, L. K. (2013). Research in Communication Sciences and Disorders . Plural Publishing.
- Example : The effect of leave policies on increasing fertility: a systematic review: 10.1057/s41599-022-01270-w
Meta-analysis : "Meta-analysis is a method of reviewing research findings in a quantitative fashion by transforming the data from individual studies into what is called an effect size and then pooling and analyzing this information. The basic goal in meta-analysis is to explain why different outcomes have occurred in different studies." (p. 197). Roberts, M. C., & Ilardi, S. S. (2003). Handbook of Research Methods in Clinical Psychology . Blackwell Publishing.
- Example : Employment Instability and Fertility in Europe: A Meta-Analysis: 10.1215/00703370-9164737
Meta-synthesis : "Qualitative meta-synthesis is a type of qualitative study that uses as data the findings from other qualitative studies linked by the same or related topic." (p.312). Zimmer, L. (2006). Qualitative meta-synthesis: A question of dialoguing with texts . Journal of Advanced Nursing , 53 (3), 311-318.
- Example : Women’s perspectives on career successes and barriers: A qualitative meta-synthesis: 10.1177/05390184221113735
Literature Reviews in the Health Sciences
- UConn Health subject guide on systematic reviews Explanation of the different review types used in health sciences literature as well as tools to help you find the right review type
- << Previous: Getting Started
- Next: How to Pick a Topic >>
- Last Updated: Sep 21, 2022 2:16 PM
- URL: https://guides.lib.uconn.edu/literaturereview
How to write a Literature Review: Purpose of a literature review
- Literature review process
- Purpose of a literature review
- Evaluating sources
- Managing sources
- Request a literature search
- Selecting the approach to use
- Quantitative vs qualitative method
- Summary of different research methodologies
- Research design vs research methodology
- Diagram: importance of research
- Attributes of a good research scholar
Books on writing a literature review
by Diana Ridley
by Dave Harris Conducting your literature review by Susanne Hempel The purpose of a literature reviewConducting a literature review is a means of demonstrating the author’s knowledge about a particular field of study, including vocabulary, theories, key variables and phenomena, and its methods and history. Conducting a literature review also informs the student of the influential researchers and research groups in the field (Randolph, 2009). Literature reviews:
Writing a literature review also allows you to:
Source: Randolph, J.J. 2009. A guide to writing the dissertation literature review . Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation . 14 (13): 1-13. A literature review is meant to help you to ...Source: Hart, C. 1998. Doing a literature review: releasing the social science research imagination. London: Sage, p 27. S helf No: 300.72 HART Video clips from the InternetClick on the links below for video clips on how to write literature reviews:
Books on writing a liteature reviewDoing a systematic literature review in legal scholarship by Marnix Snel and Janaína de Moraes 340.072 SNEL Doing a literature review in nursing, health and social care by Michael Coughlan & Patricia Cronin 610.73072 COUG 7 steps to a comprehensive literature review : a multimodal & cultural approach by Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie & Rebecca Frels 001.42 ONWU Writing the literature review : a practical guide by Sara Efrat Efron & Ruth Ravid 808.02 EFRO
Reference management. Clean and simple. What is a literature review? [with examples]What is a literature review?The purpose of a literature review, how to write a literature review, the format of a literature review, general formatting rules, the length of a literature review, literature review examples, frequently asked questions about literature reviews, related articles. A literature review is an assessment of the sources in a chosen topic of research. In a literature review, you’re expected to report on the existing scholarly conversation, without adding new contributions. If you are currently writing one, you've come to the right place. In the following paragraphs, we will explain:
Tip: It’s not always mandatory to add a literature review in a paper. Theses and dissertations often include them, whereas research papers may not. Make sure to consult with your instructor for exact requirements. The four main objectives of a literature review are:
Ultimately, the main goal of a literature review is to provide the researcher with sufficient knowledge about the topic in question so that they can eventually make an intervention. The format of a literature review is fairly standard. It includes an:
➡️ Take a look at our guide on how to write a literature review to learn more about how to structure a literature review. First of all, a literature review should have its own labeled section. You should indicate clearly in the table of contents where the literature can be found, and you should label this section as “Literature Review.” ➡️ For more information on writing a thesis, visit our guide on how to structure a thesis . There is no set amount of words for a literature review, so the length depends on the research. If you are working with a large amount of sources, it will be long. If your paper does not depend entirely on references, it will be short. Take a look at these three theses featuring great literature reviews:
Literature reviews are most commonly found in theses and dissertations. However, you find them in research papers as well. There is no set amount of words for a literature review, so the length depends on the research. If you are working with a large amount of sources, then it will be long. If your paper does not depend entirely on references, then it will be short. No. A literature review should have its own independent section. You should indicate clearly in the table of contents where the literature review can be found, and label this section as “Literature Review.” The main goal of a literature review is to provide the researcher with sufficient knowledge about the topic in question so that they can eventually make an intervention. Libraries | Research GuidesLiterature reviews, what is a literature review, learning more about how to do a literature review.
A literature review is a review and synthesis of existing research on a topic or research question. A literature review is meant to analyze the scholarly literature, make connections across writings and identify strengths, weaknesses, trends, and missing conversations. A literature review should address different aspects of a topic as it relates to your research question. A literature review goes beyond a description or summary of the literature you have read.
Literature Review - what is a Literature Review, why it is important and how it is doneWhat are literature reviews, goals of literature reviews, types of literature reviews, about this guide/licence.
Help is Just a Click AwaySearch our FAQ Knowledge base, ask a question, chat, send comments... Go to LibAnswers What is a literature review? "A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers. In writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. As a piece of writing, the literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g., your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries. " - Quote from Taylor, D. (n.d) "The literature review: A few tips on conducting it" Source NC State University Libraries. This video is published under a Creative Commons 3.0 BY-NC-SA US license. What are the goals of creating a Literature Review?
- Baumeister, R.F. & Leary, M.R. (1997). "Writing narrative literature reviews," Review of General Psychology , 1(3), 311-320. When do you need to write a Literature Review?
In all these cases you need to dedicate a chapter in these works to showcase what have been written about your research topic and to point out how your own research will shed a new light into these body of scholarship. Literature reviews are also written as standalone articles as a way to survey a particular research topic in-depth. This type of literature reviews look at a topic from a historical perspective to see how the understanding of the topic have change through time. What kinds of literature reviews are written?
Guide adapted from "Literature Review" , a guide developed by Marisol Ramos used under CC BY 4.0 /modified from original.
The Library, Technological University of the Shannon: Midwest University LibrariesLiterature review.
A literature review is a comprehensive summary of previous research on a topic. The literature review surveys scholarly articles, books, and other sources relevant to a particular area of research. The review should enumerate, describe, summarize, objectively evaluate and clarify this previous research. It should give a theoretical base for the research and help you (the author) determine the nature of your research. The literature review acknowledges the work of previous researchers, and in so doing, assures the reader that your work has been well conceived. It is assumed that by mentioning a previous work in the field of study, that the author has read, evaluated, and assimiliated that work into the work at hand. A literature review creates a "landscape" for the reader, giving her or him a full understanding of the developments in the field. This landscape informs the reader that the author has indeed assimilated all (or the vast majority of) previous, significant works in the field into her or his research. "In writing the literature review, the purpose is to convey to the reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. The literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (eg. your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries.( http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/specific-types-of-writing/literature-review ) Recommended Reading
Introduction to Literature ReviewsIntroduction.
A literature review is a written work that :
From these analyses, the writer then offers an overview of the current status of a particular area of knowledge from both a practical and theoretical perspective. Literature reviews are important because they are usually a required step in a thesis proposal (Master's or PhD). The proposal will not be well-supported without a literature review. Also, literature reviews are important because they help you learn important authors and ideas in your field. This is useful for your coursework and your writing. Knowing key authors also helps you become acquainted with other researchers in your field. Look at this diagram and imagine that your research is the "something new." This shows how your research should relate to major works and other sources. Olivia Whitfield | Graduate Reference Assistant | 2012-2015
Frequently asked questionsWhat is the purpose of a literature review. There are several reasons to conduct a literature review at the beginning of a research project:
Writing the literature review shows your reader how your work relates to existing research and what new insights it will contribute. Frequently asked questions: Academic writingA rhetorical tautology is the repetition of an idea of concept using different words. Rhetorical tautologies occur when additional words are used to convey a meaning that has already been expressed or implied. For example, the phrase “armed gunman” is a tautology because a “gunman” is by definition “armed.” A logical tautology is a statement that is always true because it includes all logical possibilities. Logical tautologies often take the form of “either/or” statements (e.g., “It will rain, or it will not rain”) or employ circular reasoning (e.g., “she is untrustworthy because she can’t be trusted”). You may have seen both “appendices” or “appendixes” as pluralizations of “ appendix .” Either spelling can be used, but “appendices” is more common (including in APA Style ). Consistency is key here: make sure you use the same spelling throughout your paper. The purpose of a lab report is to demonstrate your understanding of the scientific method with a hands-on lab experiment. Course instructors will often provide you with an experimental design and procedure. Your task is to write up how you actually performed the experiment and evaluate the outcome. In contrast, a research paper requires you to independently develop an original argument. It involves more in-depth research and interpretation of sources and data. A lab report is usually shorter than a research paper. The sections of a lab report can vary between scientific fields and course requirements, but it usually contains the following:
A lab report conveys the aim, methods, results, and conclusions of a scientific experiment . Lab reports are commonly assigned in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. The abstract is the very last thing you write. You should only write it after your research is complete, so that you can accurately summarize the entirety of your thesis , dissertation or research paper . If you’ve gone over the word limit set for your assignment, shorten your sentences and cut repetition and redundancy during the editing process. If you use a lot of long quotes , consider shortening them to just the essentials. If you need to remove a lot of words, you may have to cut certain passages. Remember that everything in the text should be there to support your argument; look for any information that’s not essential to your point and remove it. To make this process easier and faster, you can use a paraphrasing tool . With this tool, you can rewrite your text to make it simpler and shorter. If that’s not enough, you can copy-paste your paraphrased text into the summarizer . This tool will distill your text to its core message. Revising, proofreading, and editing are different stages of the writing process .
The literature review usually comes near the beginning of your thesis or dissertation . After the introduction , it grounds your research in a scholarly field and leads directly to your theoretical framework or methodology . A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources (such as books, journal articles, and theses) related to a specific topic or research question . It is often written as part of a thesis, dissertation , or research paper , in order to situate your work in relation to existing knowledge. Avoid citing sources in your abstract . There are two reasons for this:
There are some circumstances where you might need to mention other sources in an abstract: for example, if your research responds directly to another study or focuses on the work of a single theorist. In general, though, don’t include citations unless absolutely necessary. An abstract is a concise summary of an academic text (such as a journal article or dissertation ). It serves two main purposes:
Abstracts are often indexed along with keywords on academic databases, so they make your work more easily findable. Since the abstract is the first thing any reader sees, it’s important that it clearly and accurately summarizes the contents of your paper. In a scientific paper, the methodology always comes after the introduction and before the results , discussion and conclusion . The same basic structure also applies to a thesis, dissertation , or research proposal . Depending on the length and type of document, you might also include a literature review or theoretical framework before the methodology. Whether you’re publishing a blog, submitting a research paper , or even just writing an important email, there are a few techniques you can use to make sure it’s error-free:
If you want to be confident that an important text is error-free, it might be worth choosing a professional proofreading service instead. Editing and proofreading are different steps in the process of revising a text. Editing comes first, and can involve major changes to content, structure and language. The first stages of editing are often done by authors themselves, while a professional editor makes the final improvements to grammar and style (for example, by improving sentence structure and word choice ). Proofreading is the final stage of checking a text before it is published or shared. It focuses on correcting minor errors and inconsistencies (for example, in punctuation and capitalization ). Proofreaders often also check for formatting issues, especially in print publishing. The cost of proofreading depends on the type and length of text, the turnaround time, and the level of services required. Most proofreading companies charge per word or page, while freelancers sometimes charge an hourly rate. For proofreading alone, which involves only basic corrections of typos and formatting mistakes, you might pay as little as $0.01 per word, but in many cases, your text will also require some level of editing , which costs slightly more. It’s often possible to purchase combined proofreading and editing services and calculate the price in advance based on your requirements. There are many different routes to becoming a professional proofreader or editor. The necessary qualifications depend on the field – to be an academic or scientific proofreader, for example, you will need at least a university degree in a relevant subject. For most proofreading jobs, experience and demonstrated skills are more important than specific qualifications. Often your skills will be tested as part of the application process. To learn practical proofreading skills, you can choose to take a course with a professional organization such as the Society for Editors and Proofreaders . Alternatively, you can apply to companies that offer specialized on-the-job training programmes, such as the Scribbr Academy . Ask our teamWant to contact us directly? No problem. We are always here for you.
Our team helps students graduate by offering:
Scribbr specializes in editing study-related documents . We proofread:
Scribbr’s Plagiarism Checker is powered by elements of Turnitin’s Similarity Checker , namely the plagiarism detection software and the Internet Archive and Premium Scholarly Publications content databases . The add-on AI detector is powered by Scribbr’s proprietary software. The Scribbr Citation Generator is developed using the open-source Citation Style Language (CSL) project and Frank Bennett’s citeproc-js . It’s the same technology used by dozens of other popular citation tools, including Mendeley and Zotero. You can find all the citation styles and locales used in the Scribbr Citation Generator in our publicly accessible repository on Github . Literature Review: Purpose of a Literature Review
The purpose of a literature review is to:
Videos & TutorialsVIDEO: What is the role of a literature review in research? What's it mean to "review" the literature? Get the big picture of what to expect as part of the process. This video is published under a Creative Commons 3.0 BY-NC-SA US license. License, credits, and contact information can be found here: https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/tutorials/litreview/ Elements in a Literature Review
What Is A Literature Review?A plain-language explainer (with examples). By: Derek Jansen (MBA) & Kerryn Warren (PhD) | June 2020 (Updated May 2023) If you’re faced with writing a dissertation or thesis, chances are you’ve encountered the term “literature review” . If you’re on this page, you’re probably not 100% what the literature review is all about. The good news is that you’ve come to the right place. Literature Review 101
What is a literature review?The word “literature review” can refer to two related things that are part of the broader literature review process. The first is the task of reviewing the literature – i.e. sourcing and reading through the existing research relating to your research topic. The second is the actual chapter that you write up in your dissertation, thesis or research project. Let’s look at each of them: Reviewing the literatureThe first step of any literature review is to hunt down and read through the existing research that’s relevant to your research topic. To do this, you’ll use a combination of tools (we’ll discuss some of these later) to find journal articles, books, ebooks, research reports, dissertations, theses and any other credible sources of information that relate to your topic. You’ll then summarise and catalogue these for easy reference when you write up your literature review chapter. The literature review chapterThe second step of the literature review is to write the actual literature review chapter (this is usually the second chapter in a typical dissertation or thesis structure ). At the simplest level, the literature review chapter is an overview of the key literature that’s relevant to your research topic. This chapter should provide a smooth-flowing discussion of what research has already been done, what is known, what is unknown and what is contested in relation to your research topic. So, you can think of it as an integrated review of the state of knowledge around your research topic. What’s the purpose of a literature review?The literature review chapter has a few important functions within your dissertation, thesis or research project. Let’s take a look at these: Purpose #1 – Demonstrate your topic knowledgeThe first function of the literature review chapter is, quite simply, to show the reader (or marker) that you know what you’re talking about . In other words, a good literature review chapter demonstrates that you’ve read the relevant existing research and understand what’s going on – who’s said what, what’s agreed upon, disagreed upon and so on. This needs to be more than just a summary of who said what – it needs to integrate the existing research to show how it all fits together and what’s missing (which leads us to purpose #2, next). Purpose #2 – Reveal the research gap that you’ll fillThe second function of the literature review chapter is to show what’s currently missing from the existing research, to lay the foundation for your own research topic. In other words, your literature review chapter needs to show that there are currently “missing pieces” in terms of the bigger puzzle, and that your study will fill one of those research gaps . By doing this, you are showing that your research topic is original and will help contribute to the body of knowledge. In other words, the literature review helps justify your research topic. Purpose #3 – Lay the foundation for your conceptual frameworkThe third function of the literature review is to form the basis for a conceptual framework . Not every research topic will necessarily have a conceptual framework, but if your topic does require one, it needs to be rooted in your literature review. For example, let’s say your research aims to identify the drivers of a certain outcome – the factors which contribute to burnout in office workers. In this case, you’d likely develop a conceptual framework which details the potential factors (e.g. long hours, excessive stress, etc), as well as the outcome (burnout). Those factors would need to emerge from the literature review chapter – they can’t just come from your gut! So, in this case, the literature review chapter would uncover each of the potential factors (based on previous studies about burnout), which would then be modelled into a framework. Purpose #4 – To inform your methodologyThe fourth function of the literature review is to inform the choice of methodology for your own research. As we’ve discussed on the Grad Coach blog , your choice of methodology will be heavily influenced by your research aims, objectives and questions . Given that you’ll be reviewing studies covering a topic close to yours, it makes sense that you could learn a lot from their (well-considered) methodologies. So, when you’re reviewing the literature, you’ll need to pay close attention to the research design , methodology and methods used in similar studies, and use these to inform your methodology. Quite often, you’ll be able to “borrow” from previous studies . This is especially true for quantitative studies , as you can use previously tried and tested measures and scales. How do I find articles for my literature review?Finding quality journal articles is essential to crafting a rock-solid literature review. As you probably already know, not all research is created equally, and so you need to make sure that your literature review is built on credible research . We could write an entire post on how to find quality literature (actually, we have ), but a good starting point is Google Scholar . Google Scholar is essentially the academic equivalent of Google, using Google’s powerful search capabilities to find relevant journal articles and reports. It certainly doesn’t cover every possible resource, but it’s a very useful way to get started on your literature review journey, as it will very quickly give you a good indication of what the most popular pieces of research are in your field. One downside of Google Scholar is that it’s merely a search engine – that is, it lists the articles, but oftentimes it doesn’t host the articles . So you’ll often hit a paywall when clicking through to journal websites. Thankfully, your university should provide you with access to their library, so you can find the article titles using Google Scholar and then search for them by name in your university’s online library. Your university may also provide you with access to ResearchGate , which is another great source for existing research. Remember, the correct search keywords will be super important to get the right information from the start. So, pay close attention to the keywords used in the journal articles you read and use those keywords to search for more articles. If you can’t find a spoon in the kitchen, you haven’t looked in the right drawer. Need a helping hand?How should I structure my literature review?Unfortunately, there’s no generic universal answer for this one. The structure of your literature review will depend largely on your topic area and your research aims and objectives. You could potentially structure your literature review chapter according to theme, group, variables , chronologically or per concepts in your field of research. We explain the main approaches to structuring your literature review here . You can also download a copy of our free literature review template to help you establish an initial structure. In general, it’s also a good idea to start wide (i.e. the big-picture-level) and then narrow down, ending your literature review close to your research questions . However, there’s no universal one “right way” to structure your literature review. The most important thing is not to discuss your sources one after the other like a list – as we touched on earlier, your literature review needs to synthesise the research , not summarise it . Ultimately, you need to craft your literature review so that it conveys the most important information effectively – it needs to tell a logical story in a digestible way. It’s no use starting off with highly technical terms and then only explaining what these terms mean later. Always assume your reader is not a subject matter expert and hold their hand through a journe y of the literature while keeping the functions of the literature review chapter (which we discussed earlier) front of mind. Example of a literature reviewIn the video below, we walk you through a high-quality literature review from a dissertation that earned full distinction. This will give you a clearer view of what a strong literature review looks like in practice and hopefully provide some inspiration for your own. Wrapping UpIn this post, we’ve (hopefully) answered the question, “ what is a literature review? “. We’ve also considered the purpose and functions of the literature review, as well as how to find literature and how to structure the literature review chapter. If you’re keen to learn more, check out the literature review section of the Grad Coach blog , as well as our detailed video post covering how to write a literature review . Psst… there’s more!This post is an extract from our bestselling short course, Literature Review Bootcamp . If you want to work smart, you don't want to miss this . 16 CommentsThanks for this review. It narrates what’s not been taught as tutors are always in a early to finish their classes. Thanks for the kind words, Becky. Good luck with your literature review 🙂 This website is amazing, it really helps break everything down. Thank you, I would have been lost without it. This is review is amazing. I benefited from it a lot and hope others visiting this website will benefit too. Timothy T. Chol [email protected] Thank you very much for the guiding in literature review I learn and benefited a lot this make my journey smooth I’ll recommend this site to my friends This was so useful. Thank you so much. Hi, Concept was explained nicely by both of you. Thanks a lot for sharing it. It will surely help research scholars to start their Research Journey. The review is really helpful to me especially during this period of covid-19 pandemic when most universities in my country only offer online classes. Great stuff Great Brief Explanation, thanks So helpful to me as a student GradCoach is a fantastic site with brilliant and modern minds behind it.. I spent weeks decoding the substantial academic Jargon and grounding my initial steps on the research process, which could be shortened to a couple of days through the Gradcoach. Thanks again! This is an amazing talk. I paved way for myself as a researcher. Thank you GradCoach! Well-presented overview of the literature! This was brilliant. So clear. Thank you Submit a Comment Cancel replyYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
Literature Review: The What, Why and How-to Guide: Literature Reviews?
What is a Literature Review?So, what is a literature review . "A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers. In writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. As a piece of writing, the literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g., your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list of the material available or a set of summaries." - Quote from Taylor, D. (n.d)."The Literature Review: A Few Tips on Conducting it".
What kinds of literature reviews are written?Each field has a particular way to do reviews for academic research literature. In the social sciences and humanities the most common are:
What are the Goals of Creating a Literature Review?
When do you need to write a Literature Review?
In all these cases you need to dedicate a chapter in these works to showcase what has been written about your research topic and to point out how your own research will shed new light into a body of scholarship. Where I can find examples of Literature Reviews? Note: In the humanities, even if they don't use the term "literature review", they may have a dedicated chapter that reviewed the "critical bibliography" or they incorporated that review in the introduction or first chapter of the dissertation, book, or article.
Where to Find Standalone Literature ReviewsLiterature reviews are also written as standalone articles as a way to survey a particular research topic in-depth. This type of literature review looks at a topic from a historical perspective to see how the understanding of the topic has changed over time.
Social Sciences
Hard science and health sciences:
Research Methods
Literature Review
Literature Review is a comprehensive survey of the works published in a particular field of study or line of research, usually over a specific period of time, in the form of an in-depth, critical bibliographic essay or annotated list in which attention is drawn to the most significant works. Also, we can define a literature review as the collected body of scholarly works related to a topic:
The objective of a Literature Review is to find previous published scholarly works relevant to an specific topic
A literature review is important because it:
All content in this section is from Literature Review Research from Old Dominion University Keep in mind the following, a literature review is NOT: Not an essay Not an annotated bibliography in which you summarize each article that you have reviewed. A literature review goes beyond basic summarizing to focus on the critical analysis of the reviewed works and their relationship to your research question. Not a research paper where you select resources to support one side of an issue versus another. A lit review should explain and consider all sides of an argument in order to avoid bias, and areas of agreement and disagreement should be highlighted. A literature review serves several purposes. For example, it
As Kennedy (2007) notes*, it is important to think of knowledge in a given field as consisting of three layers. First, there are the primary studies that researchers conduct and publish. Second are the reviews of those studies that summarize and offer new interpretations built from and often extending beyond the original studies. Third, there are the perceptions, conclusions, opinion, and interpretations that are shared informally that become part of the lore of field. In composing a literature review, it is important to note that it is often this third layer of knowledge that is cited as "true" even though it often has only a loose relationship to the primary studies and secondary literature reviews. Given this, while literature reviews are designed to provide an overview and synthesis of pertinent sources you have explored, there are several approaches to how they can be done, depending upon the type of analysis underpinning your study. Listed below are definitions of types of literature reviews: Argumentative Review This form examines literature selectively in order to support or refute an argument, deeply imbedded assumption, or philosophical problem already established in the literature. The purpose is to develop a body of literature that establishes a contrarian viewpoint. Given the value-laden nature of some social science research [e.g., educational reform; immigration control], argumentative approaches to analyzing the literature can be a legitimate and important form of discourse. However, note that they can also introduce problems of bias when they are used to to make summary claims of the sort found in systematic reviews. Integrative Review Considered a form of research that reviews, critiques, and synthesizes representative literature on a topic in an integrated way such that new frameworks and perspectives on the topic are generated. The body of literature includes all studies that address related or identical hypotheses. A well-done integrative review meets the same standards as primary research in regard to clarity, rigor, and replication. Historical Review Few things rest in isolation from historical precedent. Historical reviews are focused on examining research throughout a period of time, often starting with the first time an issue, concept, theory, phenomena emerged in the literature, then tracing its evolution within the scholarship of a discipline. The purpose is to place research in a historical context to show familiarity with state-of-the-art developments and to identify the likely directions for future research. Methodological Review A review does not always focus on what someone said [content], but how they said it [method of analysis]. This approach provides a framework of understanding at different levels (i.e. those of theory, substantive fields, research approaches and data collection and analysis techniques), enables researchers to draw on a wide variety of knowledge ranging from the conceptual level to practical documents for use in fieldwork in the areas of ontological and epistemological consideration, quantitative and qualitative integration, sampling, interviewing, data collection and data analysis, and helps highlight many ethical issues which we should be aware of and consider as we go through our study. Systematic Review This form consists of an overview of existing evidence pertinent to a clearly formulated research question, which uses pre-specified and standardized methods to identify and critically appraise relevant research, and to collect, report, and analyse data from the studies that are included in the review. Typically it focuses on a very specific empirical question, often posed in a cause-and-effect form, such as "To what extent does A contribute to B?" Theoretical Review The purpose of this form is to concretely examine the corpus of theory that has accumulated in regard to an issue, concept, theory, phenomena. The theoretical literature review help establish what theories already exist, the relationships between them, to what degree the existing theories have been investigated, and to develop new hypotheses to be tested. Often this form is used to help establish a lack of appropriate theories or reveal that current theories are inadequate for explaining new or emerging research problems. The unit of analysis can focus on a theoretical concept or a whole theory or framework. * Kennedy, Mary M. "Defining a Literature." Educational Researcher 36 (April 2007): 139-147. All content in this section is from The Literature Review created by Dr. Robert Larabee USC Robinson, P. and Lowe, J. (2015), Literature reviews vs systematic reviews. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 39: 103-103. doi: 10.1111/1753-6405.12393 What's in the name? The difference between a Systematic Review and a Literature Review, and why it matters . By Lynn Kysh from University of Southern California Systematic review or meta-analysis? A systematic review answers a defined research question by collecting and summarizing all empirical evidence that fits pre-specified eligibility criteria. A meta-analysis is the use of statistical methods to summarize the results of these studies. Systematic reviews, just like other research articles, can be of varying quality. They are a significant piece of work (the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination at York estimates that a team will take 9-24 months), and to be useful to other researchers and practitioners they should have:
Not all systematic reviews contain meta-analysis. Meta-analysis is the use of statistical methods to summarize the results of independent studies. By combining information from all relevant studies, meta-analysis can provide more precise estimates of the effects of health care than those derived from the individual studies included within a review. More information on meta-analyses can be found in Cochrane Handbook, Chapter 9 . A meta-analysis goes beyond critique and integration and conducts secondary statistical analysis on the outcomes of similar studies. It is a systematic review that uses quantitative methods to synthesize and summarize the results. An advantage of a meta-analysis is the ability to be completely objective in evaluating research findings. Not all topics, however, have sufficient research evidence to allow a meta-analysis to be conducted. In that case, an integrative review is an appropriate strategy. Some of the content in this section is from Systematic reviews and meta-analyses: step by step guide created by Kate McAllister.
Literature ReviewThe purpose of a literature review is to collect relevant, timely research on your chosen topic, and synthesize it into a cohesive summary of existing knowledge in the field. This then prepares you for making your own argument on that topic, or for conducting your own original research. Depending on your field of study, literature reviews can take different forms. Some disciplines require that you synthesize your sources topically, organizing your paragraphs according to how your different sources discuss similar topics. Other disciplines require that you discuss each source in individual paragraphs, covering various aspects in that single article, chapter, or book. Within your review of a given source, you can cover many different aspects, including (if a research study) the purpose, scope, methods, results, any discussion points, limitations, and implications for future research. Make sure you know which model your professor expects you to follow when writing your own literature reviews. Tip : Literature reviews may or may not be a graded component of your class or major assignment, but even if it is not, it is a good idea to draft one so that you know the current conversations taking place on your chosen topic. It can better prepare you to write your own, unique argument. Benefits of Literature Reviews
Choosing Your SourcesWhen selecting your sources to compile your literature review, make sure you follow these guidelines to ensure you are working with the strongest, most appropriate sources possible. Topically RelevantFind sources within the scope of your topic Appropriately AgedFind sources that are not too old for your assignment Find sources whose authors have authority on your topic Appropriately “Published”Find sources that meet your instructor’s guidelines (academic, professional, print, etc.) Tip: Treat your professors and librarians as experts you can turn to for advice on how to locate sources. They are a valuable asset to you, so take advantage of them! Organizing Your Literature ReviewSynthesizing topically. Some assignments require discussing your sources together, in paragraphs organized according to shared topics between them. For example, in a literature review covering current conversations on Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home , authors may discuss various topics including:
In this case, you would cluster your sources on these three topics. One paragraph would cover how the sources you collected dealt with Bechdel’s graphic style. Another, her allusions. A third, her implications. Each of these paragraphs would discuss how the sources you found treated these topics in connection to one another. Basically, you compare and contrast how your sources discuss similar issues and points. To determine these shared topics, examine aspects including:
Summarizing IndividuallyDepending on the assignment, your professor may prefer that you discuss each source in your literature review individually (in their own, separate paragraphs or sections). Your professor may give you specific guidelines as far as what to cover in these paragraphs/sections. If, for instance, your sources are all primary research studies, here are some aspects to consider covering:
Each section of your literature review, in this case, will identify all of these elements for each individual article. You may or may not need to separate your information into multiple paragraphs for each source. If you do, using proper headings in the appropriate citation style (APA, MLA, etc.) will help keep you organized. If you are writing a literature review as part of a larger assignment, you generally do not need an introduction and/or conclusion, because it is embedded within the context of your larger paper. If, however, your literature review is a standalone assignment, it is a good idea to include some sort of introduction and conclusion to provide your reader with context regarding your topic, purpose, and any relevant implications or further questions. Make sure you know what your professor is expecting for your literature review’s content. Typically, a literature review concludes with a full bibliography of your included sources. Make sure you use the style guide required by your professor for this assignment. Literature Reviews and Annotated BibliographiesInitial databases for a literature review. What is a Literature Review?
The databases listed here are interdisciplinary and suitable for most disciplines. For databases specific to your discipline see our Research Guides Academic Search Ultimate Includes some full text A great place to start to search for magazine and journal articles on almost all topics. Tip : Check "peer reviewed" box to limit your search to scholarly journals. Dissertations and Theses (1861+) Indexes dissertations accepted for doctoral degrees by accredited North American educational institutions and over 200 other institutions. Also covers masters theses since 1962. Starting in the early to mid-1900's, the full text is included for an increasingly comprehensive number of dissertations and theses. Google Scholar Enables you to search specifically for scholarly literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports from all broad areas of research. Use Google Scholar to find articles from a widevariety of academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories and universities, as well as scholarly articles available across the web Humanities and Social Science Retrospective Bibliographic database that provides citations to articles in a wide range of English language journals in the humanities and social sciences for the period 1907-1984. JSTOR Includes full text Includes long runs of backfiles of scholarly journals. Subjects covered include Anthropology, Asian Studies, Ecology, Economics, Education, Finance, History, Mathematics, Philosophy, Political Science, Population Studies, and Sociology. Periodical Archives Online- (1770-1995) Includes full text; Full text archive of hundreds of periodicals in the humanities and social sciences from their first issues to 1995 Allows date-limited searching. Periodical Index Online, 1665 - 1995 "A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers. Occasionally you will be asked to write one as a separate assignment, ..., but more often it is part of the introduction to an essay, research report, or thesis. In writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. As a piece of writing, the literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g., your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries." --Written by Dena Taylor, Health Sciences Writing Centre and available at http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/specific-types-of-writing/literature-review (Accessed August 8th, 2011) Writing the Literature Review sites : Literature Reviews: UNC - Chapel Hill Write a Literature Review: UC-Santa Cruz Writing a Literature Review: Perdue OWL Methods Map: Literature Review What are the goals of creating a Literature Review?
Type of Literature Reviews:
The ASU Library acknowledges the twenty-three Native Nations that have inhabited this land for centuries. Arizona State University's four campuses are located in the Salt River Valley on ancestral territories of Indigenous peoples, including the Akimel O’odham (Pima) and Pee Posh (Maricopa) Indian Communities, whose care and keeping of these lands allows us to be here today. ASU Library acknowledges the sovereignty of these nations and seeks to foster an environment of success and possibility for Native American students and patrons. We are advocates for the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge systems and research methodologies within contemporary library practice. ASU Library welcomes members of the Akimel O’odham and Pee Posh, and all Native nations to the Library. Literature Review GuideThe literature review, database search tips.
What is a Literature Review? What is its purpose? The purpose of a literature review is to offer a comprehensive review of scholarly literature on a specific topic along with an evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of authors' arguments . In other words, you are summarizing research available on a certain topic and then drawing conclusions about researchers' findings. To make gathering research easier, be sure to start with a narrow/specific topic and then widen your topic if necessary. A thorough literature review provides an accurate description of current knowledge on a topic and identifies areas for future research. Are there gaps or areas that require further study and exploration? What opportunities are there for further research? What is missing from my collection of resources? Are more resources needed? It is important to note that conclusions described in the literature you gather may contradict each other completely or in part. Recognize that knowledge creation is collective and cumulative. Current research is built upon past research findings and discoveries. Research may bring previously accepted conclusions into question. A literature review presents current knowledge on a topic and may point out various academic arguments within the discipline. What a Literature Review is not
From the Online Library SAGE Research Methods is a web-based research methods tool that covers quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods. Researchers can explore methods and concepts to help design research projects, understand a particular method or identify a new method, and write up research. Sage Research Methods focuses on methodology rather than disciplines, and is of potential use to researchers from the social sciences, health sciences and other research areas.
The Literature Review: Step by Step Follow this step-by-step process by using the related tabs in this Guide.
Getting Started Consider the following questions as you develop your research topic, conduct your research, and begin evaluating the resources discovered in the research process:
What is Academic Literature? What is the difference between popular and scholarly literature? To better understand the differences between popular and scholarly articles, comparing characteristics and purpose of the publications where these articles appear is helpful. Popular Article (Magazine)
Examples of magazines that contain popular articles: Scholarly Article (Academic Journal)
Examples of academic journals that contain scholarly articles: Define your research question Selecting a research topic can be overwhelming. Consider following these steps: 1. Brainstorm research topic ideas - Free write: Set a timer for five minutes and write down as many ideas as you can in the allotted time - Mind-Map to explore how ideas are related 2. Prioritize topics based on personal interest and curiosity 3. Pre-research - Explore encyclopedias and reference books for background information on the topic - Perform a quick database or Google search on the topic to explore current issues. 4. Focus the topic by evaluating how much information is available on the topic - Too much information? Consider narrowing the topic by focusing on a specific issue - Too little information? Consider broadening the topic 5. Determine your purpose by considering whether your research is attempting to: - further the research on this topic - fill a gap in the research - support existing knowledge with new evidence - take a new approach or direction - question or challenge existing knowledge 6. Finalize your research question NOTE: Be aware that your initial research question may change as you conduct research on your topic. Searching the Literature Research on your topic should be conducted in the academic literature. The Rasmussen University Online Library contains subject-focused databases that contain the leading academic journals in your programmatic area. Consult the Using the Online Library video tutorials for information about how to effectively search library databases. Watch the video below for tips on how to create a search statement that will provide relevant results Need help starting your research? Make a research appointment with a Rasmussen Librarian . TIP: Document as you research. Begin building your references list using the citation managers in one of these resources:
Recommended programmatic databases include: Data Science Coverage includes computer engineering, computer theory & systems, research and development, and the social and professional implications of new technologies. Articles come from more than 1,900 academic journals, trade magazines, and professional publications. Provides access to full-text peer-reviewed journals, transactions, magazines, conference proceedings, and published standards in the areas of electrical engineering, computer science, and electronics. It also provides access to the IEEE Standards Dictionary Online. Full-text available. Computing, telecommunications, art, science and design databases from ProQuest. Healthcare Management Articles from scholarly business journals back as far as 1886 with content from all disciplines of business, including marketing, management, accounting, management information systems, production and operations management, finance, and economics. Contains 55 videos from the Harvard Faculty Seminar Series, on topics such as leadership, sustaining competitive advantage, and globalization. To access the videos, click "More" in the blue bar at the top. Select "Images/ Business Videos." Uncheck "Image Quick View Collection" to indicate you only wish to search for videos. Enter search terms. Provides a truly comprehensive business research collection. The collection consists of the following databases and more: ABI/INFORM Complete, ProQuest Entrepreneurship, ProQuest Accounting & Tax, International Bibliography of Social Sciences (IBSS), ProQuest Asian Business and Reference, and Banking Information Source. The definitive research tool for all areas of nursing and allied health literature. Geared towards the needs of nurses and medical professionals. Covers more than 750 journals from 1937 to present. HPRC provides information on the creation, implementation and study of health care policy and the health care system. Topics covered include health care administration, economics, planning, law, quality control, ethics, and more. PolicyMap is an online mapping site that provides data on demographics, real estate, health, jobs, and other areas across the U.S. Access and visualize data from Census and third-party records. Human Resources Articles from all subject areas gathered from more than 11,000 magazines, journals, books and reports. Subjects include astronomy, multicultural studies, humanities, geography, history, law, pharmaceutical sciences, women's studies, and more. Coverage from 1887 to present. Start your research here. Cochrane gathers and summarizes the best evidence from research to help you make informed choices about treatments. Whether a doctor or nurse, patient, researcher or student, Cochrane evidence provides a tool to enhance your healthcare knowledge and decision making on topics ranging from allergies, blood disorders, and cancer, to mental health, pregnancy, urology, and wounds. Health sciences, biology, science, and pharmaceutical information from ProQuest. Includes articles from scholarly, peer-reviewed journals, practical and professional development content from professional journals, and general interest articles from magazines and newspapers. Joanna Briggs Institute Academic Collection contains evidence-based information from across the globe, including evidence summaries, systematic reviews, best practice guidelines, and more. Subjects include medical, nursing, and healthcare specialties. Comprehensive source of full-text articles from more than 1,450 scholarly medical journals. Articles from more than 35 nursing journals in full text, searchable as far back as 1995. Analyzing Your Research Results You have completed your research and discovered many, many academic articles on your topic. The next step involves evaluating and organizing the literature found in the research process. As you review, keep in mind that there are three types of research studies:
Consider these questions as you review the articles you have gathered through the research process: 1. Does the study relate to your topic? 2. Were sound research methods used in conducting the study? 3. Does the research design fit the research question? What variables were chosen? Was the sample size adequate? 4. What conclusions were drawn? Do the authors point out areas for further research? Reading Academic Literature Academic journals publish the results of research studies performed by experts in an academic discipline. Articles selected for publication go through a rigorous peer-review process. This process includes a thorough evaluation of the research submitted for publication by journal editors and other experts or peers in the field. Editors select articles based on specific criteria including the research methods used, whether the research contributes new findings to the field of study, and how the research fits within the scope of the academic journal. Articles selected often go through a revision process prior to publication. Most academic journal articles include the following sections:
TIP: To begin selecting articles for your research, read the highlighted sections to determine whether the academic journal article includes information relevant to your research topic. Step 1: Skim the article When sorting through multiple articles discovered in the research process, skimming through these sections of the article will help you determine whether the article will be useful in your research. 1. Article title and subject headings assigned to the article 2. Abstract 3. Introduction 4. Conclusion If the article fits your information need, go back and read the article thoroughly. TIP: Create a folder on your computer to save copies of articles you plan to use in your thesis or research project. Use NoodleTools or APA Academic Writer to save APA references. Step 2: Determine Your Purpose Think about how you will evaluate the academic articles you find and how you will determine whether to include them in your research project. Ask yourself the following questions to focus your search in the academic literature:
Step 3: Read Critically Before reading the article, ask yourself the following:
As you read the article make note of the following:
Managing your Research Tip: Create APA references for resources as you discover them in the research process Use APA Academic Writer or NoodleTools to generate citations and manage your resources. Find information on how to use these resources in the Citation Tools Guide . Writing the Literature Review Once research has been completed, it is time to structure the literature review and begin summarizing and synthesizing information. The following steps may help with this process:
Boolean Operators connect keywords or concepts logically to retrieve relevant articles, books, and other resources. There are three Boolean Operators: Using AND
Venn diagram of the AND connector Example: The result list will include resources that include both keywords -- "distracted driving" and "texting" -- in the same article or resource, represented in the shaded area where the circles intersect (area shaded in purple).
Venn diagram of the OR connector Example: The result list will include resources that include the keyword "texting" OR the keyword "cell phone" (entire area shaded in blue); either is acceptable.
Venn diagram of the NOT connector Example: The result list will include all resources that include the term "car" (green area) but will exclude any resource that includes the term "motorcycle" (purple area) even though the term car may be present in the resource. A library database searches for keywords throughout the entire resource record including the full-text of the resource, subject headings, tags, bibliographic information, etc.
Example: The keyword list above was developed to find resources that discuss how texting while driving results in accidents. Notice that there are synonyms (texting and "text messaging"), related terms ("cell phones" and texting), and spelling variations ("cell phone" and cellphone). Using keywords when searching full text requires consideration of various words that express an idea or concept.
Example 1: In EBSCO's Academic Search Complete, clicking on the "Subject Terms" tab provides access to the entire subject heading list used in the database. It also allows a search for specific subject terms. Example 2: A subject term can be incorporated into a keyword search by clicking on the down arrow next to "Select a Field" and selecting "Subject Terms" from the dropdown list. Also, notice how subject headings are listed below the resource title, providing another strategy for discovering subject headings used in the database. When a search term is more than one word, enclose the phrase in quotation marks to retrieve more precise and accurate results. Using quotation marks around a term will search it as a "chunk," searching for those particular words together in that order within the text of a resource. "cell phone" "distracted driving" "car accident" TIP: In some databases, neglecting to enclose phrases in quotation marks will insert the AND Boolean connector between each word resulting in unintended search results. Truncation provides an option to search for a root of a keyword in order to retrieve resources that include variations of that word. This feature can be used to broaden search results, although some results may not be relevant. To truncate a keyword, type an asterisk (*) following the root of the word. For example: Library databases provide a variety of tools to limit and refine search results. Limiters provide the ability to limit search results to resources having specified characteristics including:
In both the EBSCO and ProQuest databases, the limiting tools are located in the left panel of the results page. EBSCO ProQuest The short video below provides a demonstration of how to use limiters to refine a list of search results. Each resource in a library database is stored in a record. In addition to the full-text of the resources, searchable Fields are attached that typically include:
Incorporating Fields into your search can assist in focusing and refining search results by limiting the results to those resources that include specific information in a particular field. In both EBSCO and ProQuest databases, selecting the Advanced Search option will allow Fields to be included in a search. For example, in the Advanced Search option in EBSCO's Academic Search Complete database, clicking on the down arrow next to "Select a Field" provides a list of fields that can be searched within that database. Select the field and enter the information in the text box to the left to use this feature. Stop words are short, commonly used words--articles, prepositions, and pronouns-- that are automatically dropped from a search. Typical stop words include: In library databases, a stop word will not be searched even if it is included in a phrase enclosed in quotation marks. In some instances, a word will be substituted for the stop word to allow for the other words in the phrase to be searched in proximity to one another within the text of the resource. For example, if you searched company of America, your result list will include these variatons:
Creating an Search StringThis short video demonstrates how to create a search string -- keywords connected with Boolean operators -- to use in a library database search to retrieve relevant resources for any research assignment.
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4. Discussion4.1. akis and fas in the foreground through the new cap, 4.2. improving the effectiveness of an akis, 5. conclusions, author contributions, institutional review board statement, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.
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Share and CiteKountios, G.; Kanakaris, S.; Moulogianni, C.; Bournaris, T. Strengthening AKIS for Sustainable Agricultural Features: Insights and Innovations from the European Union: A Literature Review. Sustainability 2024 , 16 , 7068. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16167068 Kountios G, Kanakaris S, Moulogianni C, Bournaris T. Strengthening AKIS for Sustainable Agricultural Features: Insights and Innovations from the European Union: A Literature Review. Sustainability . 2024; 16(16):7068. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16167068 Kountios, Georgios, Spyridon Kanakaris, Christina Moulogianni, and Thomas Bournaris. 2024. "Strengthening AKIS for Sustainable Agricultural Features: Insights and Innovations from the European Union: A Literature Review" Sustainability 16, no. 16: 7068. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16167068 Article MetricsArticle access statistics, further information, mdpi initiatives, follow mdpi. Subscribe to receive issue release notifications and newsletters from MDPI journals To read this content please select one of the options below:Please note you do not have access to teaching notes, the current state of integrating equity, diversity and inclusion into knowledge mobilization: a systematic literature review. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion ISSN : 2040-7149 Article publication date: 15 August 2024 The purpose of this paper is to systematically review and analyze the academic literature on integrating equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) into knowledge mobilization (KMb). Design/methodology/approachThis systematic literature review of the body of scholarly literature published on integrating EDI with KMb follows established methods and protocols proposed by Popay et al . (2006) and Page et al . (2021). Using a relevant keyword string, a search was conducted in ProQuest and SCOPUS to find peer-reviewed articles, which were then screened using predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Finally, inductive and deductive analyses were conducted on the selected articles. The findings suggest that most of the authors are based in the Global North, the majority of literature was published in the last two years, and that it is conceptual. This synthesis highlights five solution-oriented themes: acknowledging inherent bias, centering marginalized groups, promoting responsible knowledge mobilization, establishing partnerships, and advocating for transformational and systemic change. This study also identifies four broad barriers: inherent, unconscious, and implicit biases, a lack of evidence-based best practices, siloing of research and information, and a lack of institutional support and resources. Findings also highlight the value of further research into barriers, gaps and opportunities. Originality/valueBy studying the intersection of EDI and KMb, this contemporary synthesis of the state of the field presents opportunities for future research into gaps, barriers and potential solutions.
Cornelius-Hernandez, T. and Clarke, A. (2024), "The current state of integrating equity, diversity and inclusion into knowledge mobilization: a systematic literature review", Equality, Diversity and Inclusion , Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-04-2023-0134 Emerald Publishing Limited Copyright © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited Related articlesAll feedback is valuable. Please share your general feedback Report an issue or find answers to frequently asked questionsContact Customer Support What is the purpose of the Democratic National Convention?Harris has already been officially nominated, but another, ceremonial vote will be an opportunity for spectacle and celebration.. The Democratic National Convention is when the Democratic National Committee gathers to officially choose its presidential nominee, sets its policy priorities for the coming election and rallies support with speeches and other performances. The convention is the final step in a long process that started early in the spring with the primary elections. How do primaries work?In the primaries, registered members of each party voted for a presidential nominee to represent their party. Republicans had a choice between former President Donald Trump and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley while Democrats chose between President Joe Biden and others including Rep. Dean Phillips, D-MN. But, much like with the electoral college for presidential elections, there’s a kind of “middle-man” process after that and before the party nominee is officially decided on. When voters make their choice in the primary, they’re actually choosing party delegates —representatives who go to the convention later in the year and vote among themselves to choose a presidential candidate. They do this much in the same way that members of Congress are elected to vote among themselves on laws, though delegates aren’t legally elected officials, just party members. Like the electoral college or the House of Representatives, different states have different numbers of delegates, in this case that's based on how many party-registered voters live there. Rules are different between states but in certain places delegates have to vote for the candidate that won their state or their district. When some people called for an “open convention,” after the Democratic Party’s crisis of faith in Biden as a candidate this summer, they meant they wanted all the delegates to be allowed to vote for whoever they wanted. In the past, there was a lot of uncertainty and a wide range of possibility at the convention — it was hard to predict who would come out ahead and there were often several rounds of voting before the nominee eventually rose to the top. In more recent times, the primaries usually decide the party’s nomination. The delegates’ vote is more of a rubber stamp on voters’ choice than a decision they make when they gather in the stadium. What changed when Biden stepped aside?This year is unusual because of Joe Biden’s decision to end his campaign and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris , after many Democrats said publicly that he wasn’t a strong enough candidate to win. Harris didn’t run in the primary this time around but, since Biden dropped out, the convention became open and the delegates could vote however they chose. Harris officially won an online vote among Democratic delegates in early August — the first time a vote’s ever been held remotely. Because of that, this week’s in-person vote at the convention will be ceremonial. The convention will be more about drumming up enthusiasm and unity than the procedure of nailing down a candidate. You can watch a livestream of the Democratic National Convention, which runs Monday through Thursday, here . Pacific Accounting Review in 2013-2023: A Bibliometric AnalysisPacific Accounting Review, 2024 [10.1108/PAR-03-2024-0049] 52 Pages Posted: 8 Aug 2024 Curtin University Zijie HuangCurtin University - School of Accounting Ari Budi KristantoSatya Wacana Christian University; Curtin University Auckland University of Technology Date Written: March 15, 2024 Purpose This literature review portrays the thematic landscape of the Pacific Accounting Review (PAR) from 2013 to 2023. We also synthesise the special issues in PAR and identify the main research streams that facilitate contemplating the dialogic interactions between PAR and realworld challenges. Furthermore, we align these streams with the emerging concerns in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and technological disruptions to propose impactful future directions for publications in PAR. Design/methodology/approach This review adopts bibliometric analysis to establish the main research streams and objective measures for directing future publications. We acquire the data of 310 PAR articles from the Web of Science and ensure the data integrity before the analysis. Based on this technique, we also analyse PAR's productivity, authorship, and local and global impacts. Findings Our bibliometric analysis reveals three key research streams: (1) ESG practices and disclosures, (2) informal institutions in accounting, and (3) accounting in transition. This finding affirms PAR's relevance to real-world accounting challenges. Using a thematic map, we portray the current state of PAR's topics to identify potential directions for future publications. Further, we propose three future paths for PAR: (1) the research agenda for non-financial reporting, (2) research relating to and from diverse countries considering both formal and informal contemporary contextual factors, and (3) the future of the evolving accounting profession. Originality This study adds value to the existing PAR reviews by extending our knowledge with the latest publications, demonstrating an objective and replicable approach, and offering future directions for PAR publications. Keywords: bibliometric analysis, Pacific Basin region, main research streams, future research direction. Paper type -Literature review Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation June Cao (Contact Author)Curtin university ( email ). Kent Street Bentley Perth, WA WA 6102 Australia Curtin University - School of Accounting ( email )Ari kristanto, satya wacana christian university ( email ). Diponegoro Street 52-60 Salatiga, Central Java 50711 Indonesia HOME PAGE: http://www.uksw.edu Kent St Bentley, WA 6102 Australia Auckland University of Technology ( email )AUT City Campus Private Bag 92006 Auckland, 1142 New Zealand Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?Paper statistics, related ejournals, other accounting research ejournal. Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic MIT researchers release a repository of AI risksWhich specific risks should a person, company or government consider when using an AI system, or crafting rules to govern its use? It’s not an easy question to answer. If it’s an AI with control over critical infrastructure, there’s the obvious risk to human safety. But what about an AI designed to score exams, sort resumes or verify travel documents at immigration control? Those each carry their own, categorically different risks, albeit risks no less severe. In crafting laws to regulate AI, like the EU AI Act or California’s SB 1047 , policymakers have struggled to come to a consensus on which risks the laws should cover. To help provide a guidepost for them, as well as for stakeholders across the AI industry and academia, MIT researchers have developed what they’re calling an AI “risk repository” — a sort of database of AI risks. “This is an attempt to rigorously curate and analyze AI risks into a publicly accessible, comprehensive, extensible and categorized risk database that anyone can copy and use, and that will be kept up to date over time,” Peter Slattery, a researcher at MIT’s FutureTech group and lead on the AI risk repository project, told TechCrunch. “We created it now because we needed it for our project, and had realized that many others needed it, too.” Slattery says that the AI risk repository, which includes over 700 AI risks grouped by causal factors (e.g. intentionality), domains (e.g. discrimination) and subdomains (e.g. disinformation and cyberattacks), was born out of a desire to understand the overlaps and disconnects in AI safety research. Other risk frameworks exist. But they cover only a fraction of the risks identified in the repository, Slattery says, and these omissions could have major consequences for AI development, usage and policymaking. “People may assume there is a consensus on AI risks, but our findings suggest otherwise,” Slattery added. “We found that the average frameworks mentioned just 34% of the 23 risk subdomains we identified, and nearly a quarter covered less than 20%. No document or overview mentioned all 23 risk subdomains, and the most comprehensive covered only 70%. When the literature is this fragmented, we shouldn’t assume that we are all on the same page about these risks.” To build the repository, the MIT researchers worked with colleagues at the University of Queensland, the nonprofit Future of Life Institute, KU Leuven and AI startup Harmony Intelligence to scour academic databases and retrieve thousands of documents relating to AI risk evaluations. The researchers found that the third-party frameworks they canvassed mentioned certain risks more often than others. For example, over 70% of the frameworks included the privacy and security implications of AI, whereas only 44% covered misinformation. And while over 50% discussed the forms of discrimination and misrepresentation that AI could perpetuate, only 12% talked about “pollution of the information ecosystem” — i.e. the increasing volume of AI-generated spam. “A takeaway for researchers and policymakers, and anyone working with risks, is that this database could provide a foundation to build on when doing more specific work,” Slattery said. “Before this, people like us had two choices. They could invest significant time to review the scattered literature to develop a comprehensive overview, or they could use a limited number of existing frameworks, which might miss relevant risks. Now they have a more comprehensive database, so our repository will hopefully save time and increase oversight.” But will anyone use it? It’s true that AI regulation around the world today is at best a hodgepodge: a spectrum of different approaches disunified in their goals. Had an AI risk repository like MIT’s existed before, would it have changed anything? Could it have? That’s tough to say. Another fair question to ask is whether simply being aligned on the risks that AI poses is enough to spur moves toward competently regulating it. Many safety evaluations for AI systems have significant limitations , and a database of risks won’t necessarily solve that problem. The MIT researchers plan to try, though. Neil Thompson, head of the FutureTech lab, tells TechCrunch that the group plans in its next phase of research to use the repository to evaluate how well different AI risks are being addressed. “Our repository will help us in the next step of our research, when we will be evaluating how well different risks are being addressed,” Thompson said. “We plan to use this to identify shortcomings in organizational responses. For instance, if everyone focuses on one type of risk while overlooking others of similar importance, that’s something we should notice and address. More TechCrunchGet the industry’s biggest tech news, techcrunch daily news. Every weekday and Sunday, you can get the best of TechCrunch’s coverage. Startups WeeklyStartups are the core of TechCrunch, so get our best coverage delivered weekly. TechCrunch FintechThe latest Fintech news and analysis, delivered every Tuesday. TechCrunch MobilityTechCrunch Mobility is your destination for transportation news and insight. 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The primary purpose of a literature review in your study is to: Provide a Foundation for Current Research. Since the literature review provides a comprehensive evaluation of the existing research, it serves as a solid foundation for your current study. It's a way to contextualize your work and show how your research fits into the broader ...
A literature review is a critical analysis and synthesis of existing research on a particular topic. It provides an overview of the current state of knowledge, identifies gaps, and highlights key findings in the literature. 1 The purpose of a literature review is to situate your own research within the context of existing scholarship ...
What kinds of literature reviews are written? Narrative review: The purpose of this type of review is to describe the current state of the research on a specific topic/research and to offer a critical analysis of the literature reviewed. Studies are grouped by research/theoretical categories, and themes and trends, strengths and weakness, and gaps are identified.
Examples of literature reviews. Step 1 - Search for relevant literature. Step 2 - Evaluate and select sources. Step 3 - Identify themes, debates, and gaps. Step 4 - Outline your literature review's structure. Step 5 - Write your literature review.
Conducting a literature review is a means of demonstrating the author's knowledge about a particular field of study, including vocabulary, theories, key variables and phenomena, and its methods and history.Conducting a literature review also informs the student of the influential researchers and research groups in the field (Randolph, 2009). ...
The purpose of a literature review. The four main objectives of a literature review are:. Studying the references of your research area; Summarizing the main arguments; Identifying current gaps, stances, and issues; Presenting all of the above in a text; Ultimately, the main goal of a literature review is to provide the researcher with sufficient knowledge about the topic in question so that ...
A literature review is a review and synthesis of existing research on a topic or research question. A literature review is meant to analyze the scholarly literature, make connections across writings and identify strengths, weaknesses, trends, and missing conversations. A literature review should address different aspects of a topic as it ...
"A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers. In writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. As a piece of writing, the literature review must be ...
A literature review is a comprehensive summary of previous research on a topic. The literature review surveys scholarly articles, books, and other sources relevant to a particular area of research. ... "In writing the literature review, the purpose is to convey to the reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what ...
A literature review is a written work that: Compiles significant research published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers; Surveys scholarly articles, books, dissertations, conference proceedings, and other sources; Examines contrasting perspectives, theoretical approaches, methodologies, findings, results, conclusions.
What is the purpose of a literature review? There are several reasons to conduct a literature review at the beginning of a research project: To familiarize yourself with the current state of knowledge on your topic. To ensure that you're not just repeating what others have already done. To identify gaps in knowledge and unresolved problems ...
The purpose of a literature review is to: Provide a foundation of knowledge on a topic; Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication and give credit to other researchers; Identify inconstancies: gaps in research, conflicts in previous studies, open questions left from other research;
The word "literature review" can refer to two related things that are part of the broader literature review process. The first is the task of reviewing the literature - i.e. sourcing and reading through the existing research relating to your research topic. The second is the actual chapter that you write up in your dissertation, thesis or ...
A literature review is a piece of academic writing demonstrating knowledge and understanding of the academic literature on a specific topic placed in context. A literature review also includes a critical evaluation of the material; this is why it is called a literature review rather than a literature report.
Most literature reviews are embedded in articles, books, and dissertations. In most research articles, there are set as a specific section, usually titled, "literature review", so they are hard to miss.But, sometimes, they are part of the narrative of the introduction of a book or article. This section is easily recognized since the author is engaging with other academics and experts by ...
Literature Review is a comprehensive survey of the works published in a particular field of study or line of research, usually over a specific period of time, in the form of an in-depth, critical bibliographic essay or annotated list in which attention is drawn to the most significant works. Also, we can define a literature review as the ...
The purpose of an integrative literature review is to generate new knowledge on a topic through the process of review, critique, and then synthesis of the literature under investigation. George et al (2023) [5] offer an extensive overview of review approaches and describe six different types of review, each with their own unique purpose. First ...
Typically, a literature review concludes with a full bibliography of your included sources. Make sure you use the style guide required by your professor for this assignment. The purpose of a literature review is to collect relevant, timely research on your chosen topic, and synthesize it into a cohesive summary of existing knowledge in the field.
Literature review purpose. The purpose of a literature review is to gain an understanding of the existing research and debates relevant to a particular topic or area of study, and to present that knowledge in the form of a written report. Conducting a literature review helps you build your knowledge in your field.
In writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. As a piece of writing, the literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g., your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your ...
A formal literature review is an evidence-based, in-depth analysis of a subject. There are many reasons for writing one and these will influence the length and style of your review, but in essence a literature review is a critical appraisal of the current collective knowledge on a subject. Rather than just being an exhaustive list of all that ...
The purpose of a literature review is to offer a comprehensive review of scholarly literature on a specific topic along with an evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of authors' arguments. In other words, you are summarizing research available on a certain topic and then drawing conclusions about researchers' findings.
Definition: A literature review is an objective, critical summary of published research literature relevant to a topic under consideration for research. Its purpose is to create familiarity with current thinking and research on a particular topic, and may justify future research into a previously overlooked or understudied area.
The present literature review was based on the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses) method, using a checklist, which is linked to a flow diagram of three phases: identification, screening and inclusion. PRISMA is an evidence-based minimum set of items for reporting in systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
The purpose of this paper is to systematically review and analyze the academic literature on integrating equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) into knowledge mobilization (KMb).,This systematic literature review of the body of scholarly literature published on integrating EDI with KMb follows established methods and protocols proposed by Popay ...
The centerpiece of a convention is usually the nomination of a presidential candidate. Here's how that works and how this year is different.
PurposeThis literature review portrays the thematic landscape of the Pacific Accounting Review (PAR) from 2013 to 2023. We also synthesise the special issues in PAR and identify the main research streams that facilitate contemplating the dialogic interactions between PAR and realworld challenges. Furthermore, we align these streams with the ...
The article reviewed a set of 100 research articles in online customer experience research with respect to various theories and approaches applied. 328 research articles, which are published during 2000-2022 were collected from Scopus database out of which 100 were chosen for critical review. Literature on OCE perceives on various levels and ...
A prospective non-randomised study and literature review. Stylianos Kapetanakis a Spine Department and Deformities, Interbalkan European Medical Center, Thessaloniki, ... Purpose . The aim of this study is to investigate the clinical outcomes of transforaminal lumbar endoscopic discectomy (TLED) in patients with L5-S1 lumbar disc herniation ...
They could invest significant time to review the scattered literature to develop a comprehensive overview, or they could use a limited number of existing frameworks, which might miss relevant risks.