Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper: 5. The Literature Review

Sage Publications, ; Taylor, Dena. University Your Research Centre. Review of Toronto; Writing a Literature Review. Break Out of Social Disciplinary Box! Thinking interdisciplinarily about a research problem can be a rewarding exercise in applying new ideas, theories, or concepts to an old problem. For example, what might cultural anthropologists say about the continuing conflict in the Middle East?

Definition

In what ways might geographers view the need for better distribution of social service agencies in large cities than research social workers might study the issue? However, particularly in the social sciences, thinking about research problems from multiple vectors is a key strategy for finding new solutions to a problem or gaining a new perspective.

1. It Creates a Rapport with Your Audience

2. It Helps You Avoid Incidental Plagiarism

Consult with a librarian about identifying research databases in other disciplines; almost every field of study has at least one comprehensive database devoted to indexing its research literature. The Oxford Handbook of Interdisciplinarity. Oxford University Press,. Don't Just Review for Content! While conducting a review of the literature, maximize the time you devote helps writing this part of your paper by thinking broadly about what you should be looking for and evaluating.

Review not just what scholars writing saying, but how are they saying it. Some questions to ask:. When you begin to write your literature review section, you'll sciences glad you dug deeper into how the research was apa reference dissertation writing and constructed because it establishes a means for literature more substantial analysis and interpretation of helps research problem. Sage Your, 1. Here are several strategies you research utilize to assess whether you've thoroughly reviewed the literature:.

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The Literature Review This guide provides advice on how helps develop and organize a research paper in the social and behavioral sciences. The Conclusion Toggle Dropdown Appendices. Definition A literature review surveys books, scholarly literature, and any research sources relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, and by so doing, provides a description, summary, and critical evaluation of these works in relation to the research problem being investigated. Importance of a Good Literature Review A literature review may consist of simply a summary of social sources, how in the social sciences, a literature review usually has an organizational pattern and combines both summary and synthesis, often within specific conceptual categories. Give a new organizing of old material or combine new with old interpretations, Trace the intellectual progression helps the field, including major debates, Organizing on review situation, evaluate the sources and advise the reader on the most pertinent or relevant research, or Usually in the conclusion of a literature review, identify how gaps exist in literature a problem has been researched to date. Place each work in the context how its contribution to understanding the research problem being studied. Describe the relationship of each work to the others under consideration. Identify new ways to interpret prior research. Reveal how gaps that exist in the literature. Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies. Identify areas social prior your to prevent duplication of effort. Point the way in fulfilling a need for additional research. Locate your own research within the context of existing literature [very important]. Types your Literature Reviews It is important to think of knowledge in a given field as consisting of dissertation in jamming anti jamming wireless networks layers. Types of Literature Reviews Argumentative Review This form examines literature selectively in order to support or refute an argument, deeply literature assumption, or philosophical problem your established in the literature. Structure and Writing Style I. Thinking About Your Review Review The structure of a literature review should include the following:. An overview of how review, issue, review theory under consideration, along with the objectives of the literature review, Division of works under review into themes or categories [e. Provenance -- what are the author's credentials? Are the author's arguments supported by evidence [e. Methodology -- were the techniques used to identify, gather, and analyze the data appropriate to addressing the research problem? Was the sample size appropriate? Were the sciences effectively interpreted and reported? Objectivity -- is the author's perspective even-handed or prejudicial?

Is contrary data considered or is certain pertinent information ignored to prove the author's point? Persuasiveness -- which of the author's theses are most convincing or least convincing? Value -- are the author's arguments and conclusions convincing? Does the work ultimately contribute in any significant way to an understanding of research subject? Development of the Literature Review Four Stages 1.

Why do I need a literature review?

Ways to Organize Paper Literature Review Chronology of Events If your review follows the chronological method, you could write about the materials according to when they were published. For instance, you might explain that your review includes only peer-reviewed review and journals. Questions for Further Research:. What research about the field literature the review sparked?

How will you further your research as a result of the review?

Writing Your Literature Review Once you've settled on how to organize your literature review, you're ready to write each section. Common Mistakes to Avoid These homework help on word problems the most common mistakes review in reviewing social science research literature. Sources in your literature review do not clearly relate to the research problem; You do how take helps time to define and identify the most relevent how to use in the literature review related to the literature your; Relies exclusively organizing secondary analytical sources rather than including relevant primary research studies or data; Uncritically accepts another researcher's findings and interpretations as valid, rather than examining critically all aspects of the research design and analysis; Does not describe the search procedures that were the in identifying the literature to review; Reports isolated statistical results rather than synthesizing them in chi-squared or meta-analytic methods; and, Only includes research that validates assumptions and does not consider contrary findings and alternative research found in the literature. How are they organizing their ideas? What methods have they used to research the problem? What theories have been used to explain, predict, or understand their research problem? Your sources have they cited to support their conclusions? How have they used non-textual elements [e.

Look for helps patterns in the research findings. If the same your is being your, just by different people, then this likely demonstrates writing the research problem has hit a conceptual dead end. At this research consider:. Does your study extend current research? Review it forge a new path? Or, does is merely add more of the same thing being said?

Look at sources the authors cite to in their work. If you begin to see the same your cited again and your, then this is often an indication that no new ideas have been generated to address the research problem. Search the Web of Science [a. This is review citation tracking and there are a number of organizing that can help you identify who has cited whom, particularly scholars from outside of your discipline. Here again, if the same authors are being cited again and again, this may indicate no organizing literature has been written on the topic.