How to write a literature review

A literature review might be just a word for most of us. Some of us may not even know the meaning of it. But literature reviews are an important assignment type for students. It is often assigned to university students to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of a particular subject or topic. Students writing a literature review are required to make a critical evaluation of the material and give their opinion on it. Literature reviews are a part of dissertations, essays, and research reports. Even though it is an essential part of academic writing, most students struggle with it. They found conducting a summary to be a difficult task as they lacked the required knowledge and skills to work on it.

A literature summary is different from other academic writing. To write this, you must have proper guidance and advice. In this blog post by AllAssignmentHelp.com, we have listed everything that will help students investigate and write the best literature reviews. We have briefly discussed different points in the process of researching and writing your review.

What is a Literature Review?

A literature review is an evaluation report of other critics’ work on a topic related to your area of interest. It discusses the published information or data of other scholars. It could be merely a summary of previous works, or it may evaluate or clarify your topic for the readers. The literature review is always included in the beginning sections of a thesis or dissertation. It is because the researcher could give the readers an idea of previous discoveries on the same topic. A literature review is a combination of summary and synthesis. The summary of previous sources is a recap of the critical information related to that topic, and the synthesis is a reorganization or shuffling of the information.

In his book “How to Write a Literature Review,” Jim Ollhoff defines and explains what a literature review is in the following words:

“What do researchers know and what do they not know? What has been researched and what has not been researched? Is the research reliable and trustworthy? Where are the gaps in knowledge? When you compile all that together, you have yourself a literature review.”

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Types of Literature Review

The main purpose of a literature review is to summarise and analyze previous written research and theories. Do you know that there are different types of reviews of literature? Each type helps in briefly discussing and investigating published information. Are you curious to know more about these types and how they differ? Below in this blog post, we have broken down those types to help you learn more about these concepts. If you ever get stuck with any of your school and college assignments and feel the need for assistance, you can get online assignment help from the best online writers. Under the guidance of professional writers, you can not only score well but also understand literature better.

1- Argumentative review

As the names suggest, argumentative reviews analyze previous works to support or refute an argument or already established assumption. The purpose is to accumulate a list of previous opinions of other scholars that directly or indirectly support your argument.

2- Integrative review

If your research does not have sufficient primary data to support your point, you can use secondary data and information as well. Hence, integrative reviews are a synthesis of those secondary pieces of information. The synthesis is done in such a way that there should be the possibility of generating new ideas. It should help you get a new perspective on your work.

3- Historical review

Historical reviews often focus on researching the topic or concept from its beginning. It examines the research and works that contributed to the progress of your research. It serves as a historical re-evaluation of your work. Suppose you are evaluating a text based on deconstruction theory. Before the evaluation, you must start by introducing the deconstruction theory while giving details about the critics and philosophers who contributed to and supported it. This process is called Historical review.

4- Methodological review

The proper definition of a literature review goes beyond just compiling the opinions of other academics. It also has to do with how it was delivered. As a result, the Methodological review concentrates on the various methodologies and how various scholars approached and resolved a specific topic.

5- Systematic review

If you observe a systematic literature review sample, you will notice it is better organized and has a clearer approach as compared to the other literature review sample. It can be categorized into two sections: meta-analysis and meta-synthesis.

When the researcher conducts meta-analysis, he or she collects information from several studies on the same topic while analyzing the statistical techniques.
However, meta-synthesis is based on non-statistical procedures. Hence, it evaluates the different information based on multiple qualitative research studies.
Emotional intelligence (EI) in information technology leaders and its Impact on performance is one of the best literature review topics. Here you can learn more about these concepts and how secondary research sources support the research question.

6- Theoretical review

This literature review structure helps in evaluating the established theories, the relationship between the elements, and the depth of the investigated theory. It is done to highlight the direction of your research work. It gives the readers an insight into the possibilities of where the research work could go.

These are the six different types of literature reviews: We hope that with the knowledge of various types of Literature reviews, it will be easier for you to conduct your research work accordingly. This knowledge will help you write the best summary for your research paper or dissertation.

Importance of Literature Review

We all know that literature reviews are an important part of college assignments. But do you know the importance of these reviews and why you are being assigned their work at your university? If not, you may look at the information given below to learn more about the review of research papers and dissertations.

(l) Demonstrates research skill

A literature review reveals to the reader how thoroughly you have investigated the dissertation topic you have chosen. A literature review format typically discusses the perspectives of other authors on the subject you have chosen. The goal of creating a literature review is to inform your audience about the accepted theories and body of knowledge surrounding the topic you have chosen.

(II) Beneficial to readers

It aids the reader in a better analysis of the researcher’s subject. To help us gain understanding, the literature review provides a historical overview of the contributions made by prior scholars to the subject. It sort of directs the readers’ analysis of the research effort.

(III) Authorises your written work

In a research paper, you will be required to present new ideas to readers. For this, you will be required to use previous works to show the authenticity of your work. The literature review convinces them that your work is sound and validates it.

(IV) Provides a new context for your subject.

Research is all about giving a new perspective to an old topic. Hence, it helps in giving a new interpretation of the old materials available on the topic. In this way, it contributes to tracing the intellectual progress of your research topic. In one word, it offers a guide to the readers on the related topic. For beginners, it could be useful as it acts as a stepping stone for their research work.

In many graduate or postgraduate courses, students are required to submit a literature review. There are only a handful of students who complete a review successfully and on time. However, others often feel clueless about writing a literature summary and wonder, “I wish I could pay someone to take my online class.” With the professional writer’s help, they manage to submit their summary of the literature on time and score well. Securing help is good, but for a literature student, it is better to know what a literature review is and how to proceed with its writing. Below, in this blog post, we will look at every crucial piece of information to help you with your writing.

Contents of the Literature Review

Are you assigned to write a literature review in English? Are you confused about how to proceed with your literature review? No worries; we’re here to help you. Like every other writing structure, the Literature review template also consists of three main parts. They are the introduction, main body, and conclusion. Further guidance on how and what to do is listed below.

(A)- Introduction

In this first part, you have to introduce the topic you are going to discuss. Furthermore, give an idea of the authors whose theories you are going to work with or whose theories support your viewpoint.

(B)- Main body

This is the central section where you show your real research work on the sources and information related to your topic. Here you will explain the investigated information that helps provide a different perception of the established theory.

(C)- Conclusion

Now that you have explained your part of the review work to the readers, here comes the concluding section. In this part, you will outline areas for future study and link your research to existing knowledge.

1: Decide on your topic.

The primary step is to select the topic for your research before deciding how to write a literature review. The topic will help you analyze the type of review you should do on your topic. Be careful while selecting your topic, as it is the main essence of your literature summary. Any mistakes in this part can be difficult for you to process further.

2: Search relevant sources that support your topic.

Here comes the important part of your literature review, which needs hard work, dedication, and concentration. Spend enough time in libraries to investigate the relevant sources related to your topic. This investigation will further help you to support your viewpoint, giving it credibility among the readers.

3: Re-read and evaluate.

You must have read many online and offline sources to get information about your topic. Now re-read all that collected data to shortlist the information that is important to note. The evaluation of the data should be based on perfectly synchronizing the materials.

4: Review APA guidelines.

Let’s suppose you have the perfect Literature review structure for your topic. Now you should read the guidelines to write it better. APA is the most common reference format used in almost all literature reviews. There are also other reference styles like MLA, AP, and Chicago that you can follow to present your work in a better format.

We hope that these suggestions will help you well in writing a literature review. After writing your work, make sure you check and correct it before submission. Verify for all the grammatical and spelling errors and correct them all. You may also get a third-party opinion to learn more about your literature reviews.

Conclusion

We have reached the end of this blog post. Let us now get a quick recap of what we have all discussed so far in this write-up to help you understand things better. A literature review acts as a stepping stone for the research scholars to begin their work. This literature review is beneficial for the readers as well as helping them get a clue about the whereabouts of the content of the topic. Hence, you need to know how to write a literature review. There are three components to a review of the literature. They are the introduction, main body, and conclusion. These steps are important because they address the methodology of your research paper.

About Us

Are you thinking of asking, Can I pay someone to take my online English class for me? Well, most college students reach out to our online class takers with this request in the hope of reducing their stress. Our online writers not only write the best literature reviews but also manage all other online assessments, discussions, exams, and quizzes on every subject. Although you are seeking help online, you must know everything that will help you write your Literature Review. To learn about your literature review writing from top to bottom, you may refer to the information given in this blog post. We have listed everything, like types, contents, importance, and tips for writing a literature summary.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question 1: How many types of literature reviews are there?
Answer 1: There are six types of literature reviews. They are argumentative reviews, integrative reviews, historical reviews, methodological reviews, systematic reviews, and theoretical reviews.

Question 2: Does the literature review demonstrate research skills?
Answer 2: A literature review improves students’ research abilities and encourages them to learn more about their topics or themes. It also shows the reader how extensively they have researched the selected themes.