College life is all rainbows and butterflies until you get to write research papers. To mark the end of the academic year, students are often required to conduct comprehensive research on the topic of their specified field. A research paper is the collection of information gathered from different sources such as scholarly articles, books, or previously published research work. It’s not only the collection of information but more like a literature review for a particular field.
Most of the students find it difficult to write one, especially when they lack knowledge of basic format and rules. So, before diving into the organised chaos, let us focus on the most fundamental part of every research paper- Literature Review! If you are struggling to write literature reviews or you don’t have any idea how to write one, then you have to come to the right place! With the help of assignment help, we have jotted down all the information required to write a comprehensive literature review.
What is a Literature Review?
A literature review is based on the critical analysis of already published scholarly articles, literature or a particular topic relevant to the field of your research. It provides an overview of the selected topic more emphasised on the author’s assessment of the literature rather than the summary.
A literature review aims to identify and evaluate the theories presented in published papers that provide useful material to carry on the research further. It helps to develop a comprehensive understanding of the patterns, research approaches and the concepts that have been written on a topic. It serves as a solid background to a research paper’s investigation.
How to write a literature review?
Before writing a literature review, you should be certain about what exactly are you seeking in the published papers? Clarify and list the key points that have to be assessed in the sources such as theories, research approaches or the results. If you are writing ten pages argumentative research paper, you need to review at least 5-6 sources for establishing your arguments.
However, the number of reviewing sources is totally dependent on the advancement of your research. For instance, postgraduates are required to review more articles than the undergraduate researchers. It may also vary from the topic selection and the type of research proposal.
Systematic guide for drafting a research review:
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Define your objective
At the beginning of any research paper, it is necessary to mention the purpose or objective of the investigation. An argumentative paper should have a comprehensive thesis statement that supports the arguments throughout the paper. Similarly, if you are evaluating scientific theories, make sure to write a hypothesis to assess further in the paper. If you are reviewing previously published writings, then state your project’s objective. It is necessary to define the purpose of research so that the reviewing methods would be anchored towards a specific perspective.
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Do extensive research for the selection of sources
Choosing sources that come first on the search bar is a bad approach! You need to make sure that if the selected sources would be of any help in the process of your research. You can also take help from Google scholar or Sci-hub to review several kinds of literature that are closely related to your topic and are written by relevant scholars. Analyse the topic of your domain and enclose only those sources that are deemed to be the most pertinent to your research discipline.
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Establish the relevancy of the selected literature
As you start reviewing the literature, make sure to develop relevancy to your topic. Describe the rationale of choosing that particular article and mention the key points that you think are useful during your research. Identify the concepts that will help you analyse your data and mention the context of the publication that leads to your investigation.
Keep this thing in mind that a literature review is not merely about summarising the published literature, but also about evaluating how particular research has been done.
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Discuss the logic behind the selected review
Consider your Literature review as a solid background to your research topic that can help to develop arguments in the paper throughout. Mention the ideas and events that can lead to a particular academic discussion. Critically read each of the sources and seek arguments mentioned in the paper rather than for facts. Moreover, your literature review should include any identified gaps that require further study.
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Cite all the references in the references section
Your literature review MUST consist of the author’s name and year explicitly written in the chosen format. Make sure to follow APA, Harvard or Chicago guidelines as you are instructed to use. Do not forget to enclose all the citations in the references list at the end of the paper. We recommend you to use the most recent references that are not older than ten years.
