MSC Thesis Supervision Brief Literature review

A good way to start your thesis work is to undertake a review of the relevant literature (related
to your work) to improve your understanding of the subject under investigation. I expect you
to review not less 7 key papers in your chosen study area by end of this month, hopefully earlier
for those who can work faster (you can review more if you wish and that increases your
understanding of your study area). You could start by identifying one paper and then looking
up the reference list of the first paper and this helps you in getting as many papers as possible.
This will help you to decide whether the topic you have chosen is something that can be
completed given the timelines you have, and give you a good guide on how to proceed with
your thesis. This will also give you a very good guide to writing your chapter one as you get to
know what issues to discuss in the chapter one (you will get to know how others have discussed
their introductory chapters, problem statement and justification for the study). Additionally, it
will give you a good guide to writing your chapter three since you get to see the theories and
methodologies, the datasets used and the justifications offered for the methods employed in the
empirical literature you have reviewed. I have explained how I want you to go about this brief
literature review below. THIS MUST BE DONE AND SUBMITTED TO ME FOR
DISCUSSION BEFORE YOU MAKE ANY EFFORTS TO SUBMIT A PROPOSAL
(CHAPTER ONE) TO ME.

2.1 Introduction
Write something brief about the chapter you are writing and the various sections in the chapter.
2.3 Theoretical framework
This is a review of theoretical literature relevant to the problem being investigated, which
clearly shows the linkage between theory and the research questions/objectives. Provide a
review of the theories that can be used in investigating your topic. The theoretical literature
should be reviewed chronologically i.e. from the earliest theories to the latest.
2.2 Empirical review of literature
This is a review of what other researchers have done on the area under review. Only review
empirical works that are in line with the objectives of your study. This should include the title
of the study and objective of each of the studies you review, the methodology employed by the
study, the type of data used and the methodology employed and the findings from the study.
Write a separate paragraph for each paper. Empirical literature should be reviewed
chronologically i.e. from the earliest to the latest. Please ensure that these papers are related to
your study.
2.4 Conclusion
Provide a brief conclusion to your review by indicating what has been done by other researchers
in relation to your objectives and identify gaps (what you think have not been done or could be
done to improve the area in which you are writing and hence you wish to do). This is where
you are able to define your area well as you have a good idea of what is missing from the
empirical literature and what your study intends to do. The research/knowledge gaps identified
in the reviewed literature could be in terms of the methodology used, theory used, data used,
variables etc).