Literature Review
This section will be review of the existing literature
within the area of your study. You will aim to provide a critical summary and
note how your research will contribute to the area.
You may choose a different title for this chapter, but
this will depend on what your project is about. It
is
often useful to start
this chapter with an
overview of its contents, giving the reasoning
behind
why
you have structured it
in
a particular way. The main thrust of the
chapter is a review of relevant work by other
authors.
A good literature review identifies trends and positions in
your research.
The
research
sources you cite should be compared and contrasted.
A literature review is not
simply an
annotated
list of papers you may have read. It
should
be analytical– not a descriptive
overview. It may well be organised
into broad themes, where different pieces of
evidence are
compared and contrasted to
draw out similarities and differences in
an analytic style.
A literature review should
cover a range of relevant
material
to
your project. Everything
you use should be cited by reference and then listed.
Try to make sure that:
· You have started with a brief introductory paragraph explaining to the reader how
you’ve structured your review
and
what aspects of your topic you will
be covering
· You have sketched in, using
key policy literature,
some of the policy
and/ or historical
context and background to the topic?
· You have ‘theorised’ and established terms of reference for the topic by
showing how various theories about your topic have contributed to how it is
understood
· You have ensured
that your review is ‘critical’ throughout. This is important and
means
that you have shown to the reader that your topic is problematic and a subject of debate by comparing and contrasting and/or assessing the strengths
and
limitations of various views and approaches
presented, rather than just describing a series of views and taking them at face
value.
· You have demonstrated close reading by quoting regularly and appropriately from your literature sources and discussing any conceptual frameworks you
present, rather just skimming over the
surface
· You have made
your
review easy to follow for the reader, with well–spaced paragraphs (not
too
short) and subheadings where appropriate
· You have concluded
the review
with a summary
of the
main
concepts
/Conceptual framework/s you have introduced and discussed how that will inform your data
collection