Teacher Training College-Bouzareah/ Department of English/ Writing a

Scientific Report in Education/ Fourth year/ 2019-2020/Mrs Hamdoud

I. Theoretical Part : The review of the literature

Definitions

A literature review surveys books, scholarly articles, and any other 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. Literature reviews are designed to provide an overview of sources you have
explored while researching a particular topic and to demonstrate to your readers how
your research fits within a larger field of study.

A literature review is a critical and in depth evaluation of previous research. It is a

summary and synopsis of a particular area of research, allowing anybody reading the
paper to establish why you are pursuing this particular research program.

It is not a chronological catalog of all of the sources, but an evaluation, integrating the
previous research together, and also explaining how it integrates into the proposed
research program. All sides of an argument must be clearly explained, to avoid bias, and
areas of agreement and disagreement should be highlighted.

It is not a collection of quotes and paraphrasing from other sources. A good literature
review should also have some evaluation of the quality and findings of the research.

Reviews of the literature are not summaries, they are arguments (that there is a gap that
needs filling) plus an exposition of the particular background knowledge needed to make
progress with the research.

Why writing literature reviews?

 It supports and validates the research area and problem

 It helps to contextualize or frame the research
 It provides the reader with the background to understand the research problem in
context
  It helps to generate theory and refine research questions and hypotheses
 It enables the researcher to identify a gap in previous research and justify a
proposed study (i.e. it provides rationale for a study)
 The literature can help in the choice of a research method for the study (selecting
an appropriate methodology)
 The literature provides important findings of previous investigations

http://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/literaturereview