How To Write A Lit Review For A Dissertation

The ability to review, and to report on relevant literature is a key academic skill.A literature review: To some extent, particularly with postgraduate research, the literature review can become a project in itself.

You need to be able to demonstrate that you are aware of current issues and research, and to show how your research is relevant within a changing context.Staff and students in your area can be good sources of ideas about where to look for relevant literature.They may already have copies of articles that you can work with.Increased ease of access to a wider range of published material has also increased the need for careful and clear critique of sources.Just because something is ‘published’ does not mean its quality is assured.You can then begin your process of evaluating the quality and relevance of what you read, and this can guide you to more focussed further reading. It can give you a degree of control, in what can feel like an overwhelming and uncontrollable stage of the research process.Taylor and Procter of The University of Toronto have some useful suggested questions to ask yourself at the beginning of your reading: can add other questions of your own to focus the search, for example: What time period am I interested in? Searching electronic databases is probably the quickest way to access a lot of material.With small-scale writing projects, the literature review is likely to be done just once; probably before the writing begins.With longer projects such as a dissertation for a Masters degree, and certainly with a Ph D, the literature review process will be more extended.It is an important showcase of your talents of: understanding, interpretation, analysis, clarity of thought, synthesis, and development of argument.The process of conducting and reporting your literature review can help you clarify your own thoughts about your study.