How to write a literature__ review

Howtowritealiteraturereview?Howtowritealiteraturereview?Whatisareviewoftheliterature?Aliteraturereviewisanaccountofwhathasbeenpublishedonatopicbyscholarsandresearchers.Occasionallyyouwillbeaskedtowriteoneasaseparateassignmentbutmoreoftenitispartoftheintroductiontoanessay,researchreport,orthesis.Inwritingtheliteraturereview,yourpurposeistoconveytoyourreaderwhatknowledgeandideashavebeenestablishedonatopic,andwhattheirstrengthsandweaknessesare.Asapieceofwriting,theliteraturereviewmustbedefinedbyaguidingconcept(e.g.,yourresearchobjective,theproblemorissueyouarediscussing,oryourargumentativethesis).Itisnotjustadescriptivelistofthematerialavailable,orasetofsummaries.YoucangainanddemonstrateskillsintwoareasBesidesenlargingyourknowledgeaboutthetopic,writingaliteraturereviewlets:informationseeking:theabilitytoscantheliteratureefficiently,usingmanualorcomputerizedmethods,toidentifyasetofusefularticlesandbookscriticalappraisal:theabilitytoapplyprinciplesofanalysistoidentifyunbiasedandvalidstudies.Aliteraturereviewmustdothesethings:beorganizedaroundandrelateddirectlytothethesisorresearchquestionyouaredevelopingsynthesizeresultsintoasummaryofwhatisandisnotknownidentifyareasofcontroversyintheliteratureformulatequestionsthatneedfurtherresearchAskyourselfquestionsliketheseWhatisthespecificthesis,problem,orresearchquestionthatmyliteraturereviewhelpstodefine?WhattypeofliteraturereviewamIconducting?AmIlookingatissuesoftheory?methodology?policy?quantitativeresearch(e.g.ontheeffectivenessofanewprocedure)?qualitativeresearch(e.g.,studies)?Whatisthescopeofmyliteraturereview?WhattypesofpublicationsamIusing(e.g.,journals,books,governmentdocuments,popularmedia)?WhatdisciplineamIworkingin(e.g.,nursingpsychology,sociology,medicine)?Howgoodwasmyinformationseeking?HasmysearchbeenwideenoughtoensureI'vefoundalltherelevantmaterial?Hasitbeennarrowenoughtoexcludeirrelevantmaterial?IsthenumberofsourcesI'veusedappropriateforthelengthofmypaper?HaveIcriticallyanalysedtheliteratureIuse?DoIfollowthroughasetofconceptsandquestions,comparingitemstoeachotherinthewaystheydealwiththem?Insteadofjustlistingandsummarizingitems,doIassessthem,discussingstrengthsandweaknesses?HaveIcitedanddiscussedstudiescontrarytomyperspective?Willthereaderfindmyliteraturereviewrelevant,appropriate,anduseful?Askyourselfquestionsliketheseabouteachbookorarticleyouinclude:Hastheauthorformulatedaproblem/issue?Isitclearlydefined?Isitssignificance(scope,severity,relevance)clearlyestablished?Couldtheproblemhavebeenapproachedmoreeffectivelyfromanotherperspective?Whatistheauthor'sresearchorientation(e.g.,interpretive,criticalscience,combination)?Whatistheauthor'stheoreticalframework(e.g.,psychological,developmental,feminist)?Whatistherelationshipbetweenthetheoreticalandresearchperspectives?Hastheauthorevaluatedtheliteraturerelevanttotheproblem/issue?Doestheauthorincludeliteraturetakingpositionssheorhedoesnotagreewith?Inaresearchstudy,howgoodarethebasiccomponentsofthestudydesign(e.g.,population,intervention,outcome)?Howaccurateandvalidarethemeasurements?Istheanalysisofthedataaccurateandrelevanttotheresearchquestion?Aretheconclusionsvalidlybaseduponthedataandanalysis?Inmaterialwrittenforapopularreadership,doestheauthoruseappealstoemotion,one-sidedexamples,orrhetorically-chargedlanguageandtone?Isthereanobjectivebasistothereasoning,oristheauthormerelyprovingwhatheorshealreadybelieves?Howdoestheauthorstructuretheargument?Canyoudeconstructtheflowoftheargumenttoseewhetherorwhereitbreaksdownlogically(e.g.,inestablishingcause-effectrelationships)?Inwhatwaysdoesthisbookorarticlecontributetoourunderstandingoftheproblemunderstudy,andinwhatwaysisitusefulforpractice?Whatarethestrengthsandlimitations?HowdoesthisbookorarticlerelatetothespecificthesisorquestionIamdeveloping?FinalNotes:Aliteraturereviewisapieceofdiscursiveprose,notalistdescribingorsummarizingonepieceofliteratureafteranother.It'susuallyabadsigntoseeeveryparagraphbeginningwiththenameofaresearcher.Instead,organizetheliteraturereviewintosectionsthatpresentthemesoridentifytrends,includingrelevanttheory.Youarenottryingtolistallthematerialpublished,buttosynthesizeandevaluateitaccordingtotheguidingconceptofyourthesisorresearchquestion.1文献综述的分类根据写作目的和内容的侧重点动态性综述(developmentalreview)成就性综述(resultreview)争鸣性综述(contentiousreview)按时间来划分可分为回顾性综述(retrospectivereview)前瞻性综述(prospectivereview)。根据作者的参与情况，可分为归纳性综述(inductivereview)评论性综述(criticalreview)2文献综述的写作标题与作者(titleandauthor)摘要与关键词(abstractandkeywords)引言(introduction)述评(review)结论(conclusion)参考文献(references)其中最为核心的部分是引言、述评和结论2.1引言(Introduction)两个内容：一是提出问题；二是介绍综述的范围和内容。提出问题时，作者要给出定义性解释、交代研究背景、简单介绍不同文献的看法和分歧所在并介绍该文献的写作目的介绍该综述的范围和主要内容时，作者应使用简明扼要的语句加以概括。引言部分通常为200~300词。引言的内容和结构特点（1）综述的引言通常包括定义性解释、研究背景、现存问题或分歧、综述的目的、内容和范围；（2）使用一般现在时介绍背景知识，使用现在完成时叙述他人成果，使用一般将来时或一般现在时简介本文内容；（3）句子结构力求简洁明了，多用简单句，并列成份较为常见；（4）以第三人称主语为主，间或使用第一人称复数充当主语。表定义或解释①……被定义为……:…isdefinedas…/…hasbeendefinedas…②所谓……是指……:By…ismeant…/By…wemean…③……指的是……:…refersto…④……包括……:…includes…⑤…