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Are you looking for someone who can guide you with your dissertation literature review part? Oh, God! You don’t need to panic! It’s your final year journey that would pass easily. Just sit calmly, take a deep breath, read some books, scroll through your IG-feed, and be relaxed. Are you done with your literature review yet? If not then proceed reading to learn the easiest way of writing.
What Is A Literature Review?
Kept it short and easy for you to understand, a literature review fulfills the purpose of providing a critical examination of the literature that you have gathered through your findings. Then, it fills the gap that is lying in your research by addressing it.
We see a lot of confusion that exists for a dissertation literature review. In some places, literature can be a simpler way of writing a summary of all the important sources and emphasizes doing critical examination with the help of texts so that you can deliver your point of view. It may also have any opposition from your side as well.
What do you think of a specific review? Does it marched with other ideas? If you start analyzing this way, you are beginning with your literature review that involves the critical examination.
Writing a summary just provides a brief overview of the arguments generated. Well, it’s not enough that goes into the literature review. It gives a unique and classic research paper by combining both interpretations (the old and the new). However, it will also provide the critical shape of the intellectual part by focusing mainly on the argument, and critics.
The other part of the literature review may also provide an examination of the reviews and develops the understanding in the minds of the audience about the authenticity, and relevance of your research associated with the subject.
Many people confuse between a literature review and an academic paper. But to let you know, they aren’t the same. In an academic paper, you will provide the research material of your allotted topic. Whereas, a literature review contains the part of this objective. With a literature review, you are able to highlight the basis of your research by filling any gaps and support your argument that you have provided or providing here. While writing a literature review you aim to summarize and also develop a critical examination of the arguments based on your research done through reading. Don’t add something new to the literature part.
Is It Important To Write A Literature Review?
After getting your mind clear with what a literature review is, it is now the time to learn the importance of it. Whether you like it or not but, it is an important part of any piece of writing. Because of it, you make your professor able to understand the sources associated with your research. Even though it may sound random to you, but you have to feed in mind that a literature review helps to convince the readers with your relevant arguments. This is the place where you will get readers on your side. Therefore, plan a strategy accordingly and manage your time to put the right efforts into this part.
How To Write A Literature Review For A Dissertation?
The next step that you have reached is finally where you are beginning to write a dissertation. For your help, the steps are broken into steps so that you can follow step-by-step without considering it too much to write. Begin with detecting your sources, and read multiple times. After that, sit and think about the gaps present in the research that is used by you. And then, you pen down your reviews using all the materials that were collected earlier.
Things To Do When You Write A Dissertation Literature Review
- Determine References
In order to write an excellent quality dissertation, it is important to have a clear idea that which references you are planning to review. Maybe you are assigned to write a formal reference, then you are supposed to follow the methods discussed above.
It is important to balance your references. Involvement of books, academic journals, or any other published work of a reputable scholar can go into. To come up with the right references, you must think about the limitations and the objective of the research. Think, what hypothetical problems or views you are planning to deal with? What to do with the methodology? What is your focus, quantitative or qualitative? The questions that you will give birth to in the beginning will help you in selecting the references. Don’t skip the abstract of the reference. This abstract and the keywords in it will guide you and provide you with an idea of whether the references you are using will be beneficial for you or not.
When you are determining sources, make sure to make a list. While searching on the internet there’s a possibility of losing interest and being distracted. Therefore, use a tool such as a citation tool, which will keep your bibliography and citations safe. Through it, you can save a lot of your time discovering what a Harvard or APA referencing is, and how to do it.
- Read Your References
After you are done organizing your references smartly, now give them a read again. You will find it a wastage of time but it is the most compelling to read earlier.
Start with going through all the texts to develop an idea of the content and the arguments. This way you will be able to find the references that you have to keep in focus. After proceeding to the second stage of your reading, start taking a critical, in-depth study of your references. Make as many notes as you can, judge them, and ask questions. What academic question you are referring to here? Are there any comments related to the methodological approach, argument, or hypothesis? Take notes of them all. It will help you detect that your literature review is not just a summary written by readings and will also provide a logical backup to your argument.
- Take Note Off The Gaps
Something very important for you while writing a literature review is to detect the existing gap. This identification will help you at the time of forming a research proposal as it will highlight how relevant your research is. The other importance it holds is, the critical examination is indicated that will help you score extra marks.
Remember, you won’t be able to identify the gap until you know what a “gap” is. It is the existence of a research question, idea, or problem that is unsolved in the existing literature review. Start by identifying the research gap that would show the uniqueness of your research. It shows that your research isn’t just a formality or repletion of existing research. Also, here you show how much you are updated by your chosen literature, as it portrays your effort and hard work done in the research to write the review.
It is seen that post-graduate level, students get stuck in identifying research gaps. However, for them, identifying the research gaps and developing a research question that can serve as an answer to these gaps is the soul of a research paper. Students think that the process is very difficult but, there are ways that can give a solution to this problem.
- Begin with reading
The easiest way to start is by reading important articles based on your research. But, don’t just select a topic relating it to the name only. Sit and read if it really fits your research or not. “Google Scholar” can be a very good help for you as it will detect keywords and provide you with the available literature. Other than this, utilize other beneficial sources that contain useful articles or other sources that have your sources cited.
- Read Abstracts
No matter what source you choose for reading, but build a habit of reading the abstracts, as it will give a start to your writing. Another important way to find information is to give a slight glimpse of the introductory and concluding paragraphs present. Both of them provide an overview of the gaps that can be utilized by you. Apart from these, another way that you can choose considering the research gap is maximum reading. There is no better and smart solution other than reading.
Tips For Writing A Review
After learning about literature review, now’s the time, to begin with the writing process. While writing, consider the following points:
- Acquaint Yourself With Already Existing Reviews
Utilize and read dissertation literature review that already exists and make yourself used to them. A thorough reading of them is a must. It can help you with starting your writing process. Most of the students are not aware of academic writing. Therefore, these samples would be a great help in your work. Also, make sure to consider the tone and style of academic writing.
- Keep As Simple As Possible
Hold your subject as limited as could be expected. Recollect that there are hundreds or, thousands of sources/viewpoints concerning any branch of the topic. Researchers examine some research-related issues from various perspectives and the literature accessible on some random subject is amazingly wide. In your literature review, you will not be required to address each contention or point of view concerning your theme. This may destroy your capacity to compose a reasonable and centered piece. You’ll make your work simpler if you limit the extent of your work. To make the things in your favor, make sure that you carry out the process in a simpler manner.
- Ensure Your Sources Are Updated
When a scientific work is involved, it’s fundamental that your sources are just about as current as conceivable given the progressions in the field throughout the long term. In the clinical field especially, research is continually developing and a source that is just three years of age perhaps outdated. In the sociologies, this standard may not matter, as numerous hypothetical works are the work of art and you will be relied upon to be acquainted with these viewpoints.
Maybe you may come across to review crafted by Marx, or Hobbes, or some other exemplary researcher. But, you need to make a balance between hypotheses with current methodologies, as you should exhibit the manners by which points of view in the literature have changed throughout the long term. You can also show how researchers have utilized exemplary speculations to advise their work.
- Think About The Association Of Your Work
In a dissertation literature review, sorting out your work goes past having a presentation, body, and end. You’ll be reviewing various writings, so you’ll likewise need to ponder how to sort out subjects, points and your contention when all is said is done.
- Compose The Paragraphs Of The Body
Whenever you have chosen the way to deal with composing your body, you should now compose every one of its paragraphs in a manner that is with regards to its academic requirement.
The amount of information you will provide in the body paragraphs, make sure to build an effective introduction in the beginning as well. You must know how to write a dissertation introduction, and if not, check some samples.
- Time To Conclude
The decision of a dissertation literature review ought to consistently incorporate a synopsis of the ramifications of the literature, which you should then connect to your contention or general research question.
A Final Note,
The general construction of your literature review will be to a great extent dependent on your research and obviously with other academic work you are asked to do in accordance with it. However, some fundamental advances apply to all the instructions that you ought to follow all the steps discussed above. Don’t forget, a literature review is the pillar of your dissertation. Therefore, give your best!
