Literature review workshop for STEM and Business majors held by the University of Nebraska at Omaha Criss Library as part of the Graduate Student Workshop series. For more information, see www.unomaha.edu/criss-library
6. “…the literature…”
The literature forms a type of
conversation.
Your review will show the different
topics the conversation has covered
and how they can be applied.
11. Literature Review Components
• Objective of the literature review
• Overview of the subject under consideration
• Clear categorization of sources selected:
• Support your position
• Opposed to your position
• Alternative arguments
• Discussion of distinctiveness of each source
• Similarities of sources with others
12. My Literature Review
I. Introduction
II. Article 1
III. Article 2
IV. Book Chapter 1
V. Article 3
VI. Article 4
VII. Conference Presentation
VIII. Article 5
IX. Book Chapter 2
X. Conclusion
My Literature Review
I. Introduction (Overviews)
II. Concept A
a) Article 1
b) Article 3
c) Book Chapter 2
III. Concept B
a) Article 2
b) Book Chapter 1
IV. Concept C
a) Article 4
b) Conference Presentation
c) Article 5
V. Conclusion
Formatting Your Review
13. Recap
Purpose of a Literature Review
• Place each work in the context
• Describe the relationship of each work to the others
• Identify new ways to interpret previous research
• Look for areas needing further research
• Place your work in the context of existing literature
• Apply literature to practice
Editor's Notes
Visually, the literature may look like this. CLICK Often there are major works that have been written on a topic, and then other, CLICK later works that build on them. These later works tend to be extending or responding to these major works in some way. CLICK
Basically the literature is a continuously evolving network of scholarly works that interact with each other. As you do your own research, you will begin to understand the relationships between these works and how your own ideas relate within the network.
CLICK
Don’t fall into the trap of making your review a list of summaries of the works you read. CLICK A literature review is not an annotated bibliography. Your goal should be to go one step further to integrate and combine what you find into something new. CLICK
Ideally, you will create your own conceptual framework or outline of the literature on your topic. CLICK
For example, as you read, let’s say you find three major concepts that are important in the literature and relevant to your research. CLICK
You should then identify how the content from the individual articles ties into each concept. Some articles may be relevant to several concepts; others may apply to only one concept. What’s important is that you develop and present your own organization and understanding of the literature. CLICK
Then, when you write your literature review you will end up with a document that is organized by the concepts and relationship you found and developed based on your reading and thinking. Your review will not only include the background on your topic, but also your own ideas. CLICK
By creating your own organization for the literature, you be showing the significance of your own research within the context of the scholarly conversation that has come before.
CLICK
Don’t fall into the trap of making your review a list of summaries of the works you read. CLICK A literature review is not an annotated bibliography. Your goal should be to go one step further to integrate and combine what you find into something new. CLICK
Ideally, you will create your own conceptual framework or outline of the literature on your topic. CLICK
For example, as you read, let’s say you find three major concepts that are important in the literature and relevant to your research. CLICK
You should then identify how the content from the individual articles ties into each concept. Some articles may be relevant to several concepts; others may apply to only one concept. What’s important is that you develop and present your own organization and understanding of the literature. CLICK
Then, when you write your literature review you will end up with a document that is organized by the concepts and relationship you found and developed based on your reading and thinking. Your review will not only include the background on your topic, but also your own ideas. CLICK
By creating your own organization for the literature, you be showing the significance of your own research within the context of the scholarly conversation that has come before.
CLICK