Literature

Review
Group 4
What is a
Literature
Review?
 A literature review discusses published
information in a particular subject area, and
sometimes information in a particular subject
area within a certain time period.
In writing the literature review, your purpose is
to convey to your reader what knowledge and
ideas have been established on a topic, and
what their strengths and weaknesses are.
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 A literature review can be just a simple
summary of the sources, but it usually has an
organizational pattern and combines both
summary and synthesis. A summary is a recap of
the important information of the source, but a
synthesis is about summarizing and linking
different sources in order to review the
literature on a topic, make recommendations,
and connect your practice to the research.
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A literature review must do these things:
❑ be organized around and related directly to the
thesis or research question you are developing
❑ synthesize results into a summary of what is
and is not known
❑ identify areas of controversy in the literature
❑ formulate questions that need further research

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Strategies for writing the literature review:
❑ Find a focus ❑ Summarize and
❑ Convey it to your reader synthesize
❑ Consider organization ❑ Keep your own voice
❑ Begin composing ❑ Use caution when
❑ Use evidence paraphrasing
❑ Be selective ❑ Revise
❑ Use quotes sparingly

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The Literature Review Process:
1. Select a topic

2. Search and choose the literature

3. Analyze and Interpret the

Literature
4. Write the review

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Step 1: Select a Topic
❑ Choose a research interest:

Mass Communication – Media

❑ Select a research interest from the everyday interest:

Film Industry - the recent rise of Superhero films

❑ Use the research interest to choose the research topic:

The effects of Superhero films on the perception of

masculinity among Trinidadian adolescent males.

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Step 2: Search & Choose the Literature
❑ Find materials relevant to the research subject:

Example: Effects of films (superhero), factors that influence

adolescent behaviour etc.

❑ Where can the appropriate literature be found?

Mostly from primary sources of literature such as: academic
journals, conference proceedings, government pamphlets,
theses and dissertations.

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Step 2: Search & Choose the Literature
In scanning literature manage your data properly by
documenting the author, book title etc., and the key
idea(s) expressed.
Example: Author: Cowan, Angela Title: Boys, Masculinity
and Television Violence: What is the difference between
superheroes and football heroes?
Key Ideas: Cowan’s research concluded that the way male
superhero characters are televised teaches young boys that
masculinity is associated with aggression.
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Step 3: Analyze & Interpret the Literature
Developing our argument and critiquing the literature to
ensure that it supports our thesis.
Example: In 1995 both Boyatzis and Levin published papers in
which they described that boys engaged in play that was a
type of heroic-warrior behavior, more frequently than girls.
This indicates that these children have determined the ways
that their genders should be performed in recreation.
(As the boys displayed characteristics that they deemed to be
masculine, and the girls refused to participate because they
too saw it as masculine in nature.)
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Step 4: Write the Review
Composing, molding and refining the literature.
• The written literature review becomes a work that
accurately conveys the research that can be understood by
the intended audience. Beginning the Literature Review
• Introduce your Literature Review by defining or explaining
your research problem.
Example: Explain this concept of superhero culture and the
increase of produced films of this genre within the last five
years. Highlighting its popularity among young adults.

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Literature can be reviewed from two
sources:

1. Primary sources
2. Secondary sources
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Primary Sources
Literature review mostly relies on primary
sources, i.e. research reports, which are
description of studies written by researchers who
conducted them. A primary source is written by a
person who developed the theory or conducted
the research, or is the description of an
investigation written by the person who
conducted it.
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Most primary sources are found in published
literature. For example, a nursing research article.
A credible literature review reflects the use of
mainly primary sources.
Example of a primary source: An original
qualitative on patient experiences in the ICU:
Hupcey, J. E. (2000). The psychosocial needs of
ICU patients. Journal of Nursing Scholarship.

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Secondary Sources
Secondary source research documents are
description of studies prepared by someone other
than the original researcher. They are written by
people other than the individuals who developed the
theory or conducted the research. The secondary
sources may be used when primary sources are not
available or if researchers want external opinions on
an issue or problem or even the results of their own
research.
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Example of a Secondary Source: A literature
review on patient experiences in the ICU: Stein-
Parbury, J. & Mckinley,S. (2000) patient
experiences of being in an intensive care unit: a
select literature review. American Journal of
critical care

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Things to avoid when writing a Literature
Review:
1. Use of emotional phrases
2. Giving your personal opinions
3. The absence of background/definition section
4. Bad organization and structure
5. Irrelevant content

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Writing a literature review allows you to gain and
demonstrate skills and abilities in two areas:

1. Information Seeking
>the ability to scan the literature efficiently, using
manual or computerized methods, to identify a set of
useful articles and books

2. Critical Appraisal
>the ability to apply principles of analysis to
identify unbiased and valid studies. 19