REVIEW OF RELATED

LITERATURE
INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH WRITING
 01
Defining Review
of Related
Literature
 Review of Related Literatyre
A literature review is a comprehensive summary of previous
research on a topic. The literature review surveys scholarly
articles, books, and other sources relevant to a particular
area of research. The review should enumerate, describe,
summarize, objectively evaluate and clarify this previous
research. It should give a theoretical base for the research
and help you (the author) determine the nature of your
research. The literature review acknowledges the work of
previous researchers, and in so doing, assures the reader that
your work has been well conceived. It is assumed that by
mentioning a previous work in the field of study, that the
author has read, evaluated, and assimiliated that work into
the work at hand.
 Review of Related Literatyre
A literature review creates a "landscape" for the reader,
giving her or him a full understanding of the developments
in the field. This landscape informs the reader that the
author has indeed assimilated all (or the vast majority of)
previous, significant works in the field into her or his
research.
 02
Purposes of
Review of Related
Literature

Identify areas of prior
scholarship to prevent
duplication and give credit to
other researchers
Identify the relationship
of works in context of its
contribution to the topic
and to other works
Identify inconstancies: gaps
in research, conflicts in
previous studies, open
questions left from other
research

Place your own research

within the context of
existing literature making a
Provide foundation of
case for why further study
knowledge on topic
is needed.
 03
Styles and
Approaches of
RRL
Approaches of Selective Approach
RRL

Comprehensive
Approach
SELECTIVE APPROACH

In the selective approach, a single or

limited number of sources are
reviewed (e.g. as in an annotated
bibliography assignment, or the
introduction of a journal article).
COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH

A comprehensive approach requires the

review of numerous books and articles
(e.g. as in a review article), which can be
presented as a substantial chapter in a
research thesis or published on its own as
a scholarly review article.
 04
Sources of RRL
 PRIMARY RESOURCES
The term primary source is used broadly to embody all sources
that are original. Primary sources provide first-hand
information that is closest to the object of study. Primary
sources vary by discipline.
1. In the natural and social sciences, original reports of
research found in academic journals detailing the
methodology used in the research, in-depth descriptions,
and discussions of the findings are considered primary
sources of information.
2. Other common examples of primary sources include
speeches, letters, diaries, autobiographies, interviews,
official reports, court records, artifacts, photographs, and
drawings.
 SECONDARY RESOURCES
A secondary source is a source that provides non-original or
secondhand data or information.

1. Secondary sources are written about primary sources.

2. Research summaries reported in textbooks, magazines, and
newspapers are considered secondary sources. They
typically provide global descriptions of results with few
details on the methodology. Other examples of secondary
sources include biographies and critical studies of an
author's work.
 05
Process of Writing
RRL
PROCESS OF WRITING RRL

● Narrow your topic and select papers

accordingly
● Search for literature
● Read the selected articles thoroughly and
evaluate them
● Organize the selected papers by looking for
patterns and developing subtopics
● Develop a thesis or purpose statement
● Write the paper
● Review your work

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Narrow your topic and select papers accordingly
1. Consider your specific area of study. Think about what
interests you and what interests other researchers in your
field.
2. Talk to your professor, brainstorm, and read lecture notes
and recent issues of periodicals in the field.
3. Limit your scope to a smaller topic area (ie. focusing on
France's role in WWII instead of focusing on WWII in
general).
Search for literature
1. Define your source selection criteria (ie. articles published
between a specific date range, focusing on a specific
geographic region, or using a specific methodology).
2. Using keywords, search a library database.
3. Reference lists of recent articles and reviews can lead to
other useful papers.
4. Include any studies contrary to your point of view

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Read the selected articles thoroughly and
evaluate them
1. Evaluate and synthesize the studies' findings and
conclusions.
2. Note the following:
3. assumptions some or most researchers seem to make
4. methodologies, testing procedures, subjects, material
tested researchers use
5. experts in the field: names/labs that are frequently
referenced
6. conflicting theories, results, methodologies
7. popularity of theories and how this has/has not changed
over time

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Organize the selected papers by looking for
patterns and by developing subtopics
1. Note the following:
2. Findings that are common/contested
3. Important trends in the research
4. The most influential theories

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Write the paper
1. Follow the organizational structure you developed above,
including the headings and subheadings you constructed.
2. Make certain that each section links logically to the one
before and after.
3. Structure your sections by themes or subtopics, not by
individual theorists or researchers.
4. Prioritize analysis over description.

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Review your work
Look at the topic sentences of each paragraph. If you were to read only these
sentences, would you find that your paper presented a clear position,
logically developed, from beginning to end? The topic sentences of each
paragraph should indicate the main points of your literature review. Make an
outline of each section of the paper and decide whether you need to add
information, to delete irrelevant information, or to re-structure sections. Read
your work out loud. That way you will be better able to identify where you
need punctuation marks to signal pauses or divisions within sentences, where
you have made grammatical errors, or where your sentences are unclear.

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Review your work
Since the purpose of a literature review is to demonstrate that
the writer is familiar with the important professional literature
on the chosen subject, check to make certain that you have
covered all of the important, up-to-date, and pertinent texts. In
the sciences and some of the social sciences it is important that
your literature be quite recent; this is not so important in the
humanities. Make certain that all of the citations and references
are correct and that you are referencing in the appropriate style
for your discipline. If you are uncertain which style to use, ask
your professor.

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Review your work
Check to make sure that you have not plagiarized either by
failing to cite a source of information, or by using words
quoted directly from a source. (Usually if you take three or
more words directly from another source, you should put those
words within quotation marks, and cite the page.) Text should
be written in a clear and concise academic style; it should not
be descriptive in nature or use the language of everyday
speech. There should be no grammatical or spelling errors.
Sentences should flow smoothly and logically.

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