Where Do You Put a Literature Review in a Research Paper
Writing a Literature Review
When writing a research newspaper on a specific topic, y'all will often need to include an overview of any prior inquiry that has been conducted on that topic. For example, if your research paper is describing an experiment on fearfulness conditioning, and so yous volition probably need to provide an overview of prior research on fear workout. That overview is typically known as a literature review.
Please note that a full-length literature review commodity may exist suitable for fulfilling the requirements for the Psychology B.S. Caste Enquiry Paper . For further details, delight check with your faculty advisor.
Different Types of Literature Reviews
Literature reviews come in many forms. They can be part of a research paper, for example as part of the Introduction section. They can exist i chapter of a doctoral dissertation. Literature reviews can also "stand alone" as separate articles past themselves. For example, some journals such as Annual Review of Psychology, Psychological Bulletin, and others typically publish full-length review articles. Similarly, in courses at UCSD, yous may be asked to write a research paper that is itself a literature review (such equally, with an instructor'south permission, in fulfillment of the B.S. Degree Research Newspaper requirement). Alternatively, you may exist expected to include a literature review every bit part of a larger research newspaper (such as part of an Honors Thesis).
Literature reviews can be written using a diverseness of different styles. These may differ in the mode prior research is reviewed every bit well equally the fashion in which the literature review is organized. Examples of stylistic variations in literature reviews include:
- Summarization of prior work vs. critical evaluation. In some cases, prior research is but described and summarized; in other cases, the author compares, contrasts, and may even critique prior research (for instance, discusses their strengths and weaknesses).
- Chronological vs. categorical and other types of arrangement. In some cases, the literature review begins with the oldest research and advances until it concludes with the latest research. In other cases, research is discussed by category (such as in groupings of closely related studies) without regard for chronological guild. In yet other cases, research is discussed in terms of opposing views (such as when dissimilar research studies or researchers disagree with one some other).
Overall, all literature reviews, whether they are written as a role of a larger work or equally separate articles unto themselves, have a common characteristic: they do not present new inquiry; rather, they provide an overview of prior inquiry on a specific topic.
How to Write a Literature Review
When writing a literature review, it can be helpful to rely on the following steps. Please annotation that these procedures are not necessarily only for writing a literature review that becomes part of a larger article; they can as well be used for writing a full-length article that is itself a literature review (although such reviews are typically more detailed and exhaustive; for more than information please refer to the Farther Resources section of this folio).
Steps for Writing a Literature Review
ane. Identify and define the topic that you lot will be reviewing.
The topic, which is normally a research question (or trouble) of some kind, needs to exist identified and defined equally clearly as possible. Yous need to accept an thought of what you will be reviewing in lodge to effectively search for references and to write a coherent summary of the research on information technology. At this
ii. Conduct a literature search.
Use a range of keywords to search databases such as PsycINFO and any others that may contain relevant articles. You should focus on peer-reviewed, scholarly articles. Published books may likewise be helpful, merely keep in mind that peer-reviewed manufactures are widely considered to exist the "golden standard" of scientific inquiry. Read through titles and abstracts, select and obtain articles (that is, download, copy, or print them out), and save your searches as needed. For more information about this step, delight meet the Using Databases and Finding Scholarly References section of this website.
3. Read through the enquiry that you have found and take notes.
Absorb every bit much information equally you lot can. Read through the articles and books that y'all have institute, and as you exercise, take notes. The notes should include anything that will be helpful in advancing your ain thinking about the topic and in helping yous write the literature review (such as key points, ideas, or even page numbers that index cardinal information). Some references may turn out to be more helpful than others; you may detect patterns or hit contrasts between different sources
iv. Organize your notes and thoughts; create an outline.
At this phase, you are shut to writing the review itself. Withal, it is often helpful to first reverberate on all the reading that you have done. What patterns stand up out? Do the different sources converge on a consensus? Or not? What unresolved questions nevertheless remain? You should wait over your notes (information technology may also be helpful to reorganize them), and every bit yous do, to think nearly how you will nowadays this research in your literature review. Are you going to summarize or critically evaluate? Are you going to utilise a chronological or
5. Write the literature review itself and edit and revise as needed.
The final stage involves writing. When writing, continue in listen that literature reviews are generally characterized by a summary way in which prior enquiry is described sufficiently to explain critical findings but does not include a high level of detail (if readers want to acquire about all the specific details of a study, then they tin look up the references that you cite and read the original articles themselves). Notwithstanding, the caste of accent that is given to private studies may vary (more or less detail may exist warranted depending on how critical or unique a given study was). Subsequently you have written
vi. Contain the literature review into your inquiry paper draft.
After the literature review is consummate, you should comprise it into your research paper (if you are writing the review equally one component of a larger newspaper). Depending on the stage at which your paper is at, this may involve merging your literature review into a partially complete Introduction department, writing the remainder of the paper effectually the literature review, or other processes.
Further Tips for Writing a Literature Review
Full-length literature reviews
- Many total-length literature review manufactures utilise a three-part structure: Introduction (where the topic is identified and any trends or major issues in the literature are introduced), Torso (where the studies that contain the literature on that topic are discussed), and Discussion or Determination (where major patterns and points are discussed and the general country of what is known virtually the topic is summarized)
Literature reviews as part of a larger paper
- An "express method" of writing a literature review for a research newspaper is as follows: first, write a
one paragraph description of each article that you read. 2nd, choose how y'all will lodge all the paragraphs and combine them in one document. 3rd, add transitions between the paragraphs, likewise equally an introductory and concluding paragraph.1
- A literature review that is function of a larger inquiry newspaper typically does not have to exist exhaustive. Rather, it should contain most or all of the significant studies near a research topic just not tangential or loosely related ones.2 Generally, literature reviews should be sufficient for the reader to understand the major bug and key findings about a enquiry topic. You may however need to confer with your instructor or editor to determine how comprehensive you need to be.
Benefits of Literature Reviews
By summarizing prior research on a topic, literature reviews have multiple benefits. These include:
- Literature reviews help readers understand what is known almost a topic without having to detect and read through multiple sources.
- Literature reviews help "set the stage" for later reading nearly new research on a given topic (such as if they are placed in the Introduction of a larger research paper). In other words, they provide helpful background and context.
- Literature reviews can also aid the writer acquire about a given topic while in the process of preparing the review itself. In the act of research and writing the literature review, the writer gains expertise on the topic
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Downloadable Resources
- How to Write APA Style Enquiry Papers (a comprehensive guide) [PDF]
- Tips for Writing APA Style Research Papers (a cursory summary) [PDF]
- Example APA Style Research Paper (for B.S. Degree – literature review) [PDF]
Farther Resources
How-To Videos
- Writing Enquiry Paper Videos
UCSD
- UCSD Library Psychology Research Guide: Literature Reviews
External Resources
- Developing and Writing a Literature Review from N Carolina A&T State University
- Example of a Brusque Literature Review from York College CUNY
- How to Write a Review of Literature from UW-Madison
- Writing a Literature Review from UC Santa Cruz
Run into Also
- Pautasso, M. (2013). 10 Simple Rules for Writing a Literature Review. PLoS Computational Biology, ix(7), e1003149.
doi : 1371/journal.pcbi.1003149
References
iAshton, W. Writing a short literature review . [PDF]
iiCarver, L. (2014). Writing the enquiry paper [Workshop].
Prepared by South. C. Pan for UCSD Psychology
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Source: https://psychology.ucsd.edu/undergraduate-program/undergraduate-resources/academic-writing-resources/writing-research-papers/writing-lit-review.html
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