Reviewing the Literature

A critical review

Tertiary students are often required to write a literature review as part of their undergraduate or post graduate work.
While the length and complexity of a literature review varies depending on the academic level, how a literature review differs from an essay that uses the literature is often confusing for students.

A literature review both discusses and critically evaluates current literature on a chosen topic
An essay uses the literature to discuss a topic or answer a question.

The aim of a critical review is to demonstrate that the writer has extensively researched the literature and critically evaluated its quality.
It is not enough to describe what others have discovered: You need to view their work with your own insight.
Thus an effective review presents, analyses and synthesises material from a range of sources.
The final product of the literature review should be an hypothesis, not an answer.
An effective literature review should have a clear focus and direction and be presented in a logical, clear and well organised manner using academic style both correctly and consistently.

Getting Started

To write a literature review you need to find, and read, a wide range of literature about the topic.
Begin writing as soon as you begin reading about your topic area.
This writing may take the form of notes or ideas from the literature and will help in formulating what sections are to be included and in developing a broad plan for the review.

Locating the literature

The first step towards a good literature review is a comprehensive literature search.
You need to access a wide range of the available literature in your area of study.
Remember that the age of material is important.
Generally references should reflect recent information.
Start with the seminal reference everyone else quotes and use bibliographies and reference lists from this and other major texts to direct you to more articles.
Methods of locating literature include: library catalogues (both on and off campus), relevant CD-ROM databases, online library searches and library links on the web and other WWW resources

Reading the literature

To critically review the literature you must thoroughly evaluate the material, ask questions and sift through infor mation.
To do this you must read both critically and actively and keep your purpose for reading in mind while you read.
Previewing and skim reading will help you to focus your thoughts, identify key issues or arguments under discussion or even help ito evaluate the value of the contents and its relative merits.
Keep questioning as you read, keeping the main focus of your review in mind.

Organising the information

You will need an organised system to keep track of your references. Methods include:

• Endnote or another computerised referencing program
  
• A computer application such as an electronic card file or spread-sheet or database program
  
• A paper-based file of bibliographic information, with cross-referencing.
  

When you find an article, put the publication details straight into your referencing system, listing the material by content area, call number or web site, and source. If you photocopied the material, make a note of where it was copied from and where you filed it.

Asking questions

Have specific questions before you begin to focus your reading.
The following questions will help you read the material in an active manner and sharpen your analytical skills.

The author

• Who wrote the information and where and when was this work published?
  

The purpose

• Why and for whom was the information written?
  
• What was the author trying to discover and why is this information / research important?
  

The approach

• What is the theoretical perspective of the author and does it differ from current belief about the topic area?
  
• What issue, paradigm or philosophy influenced the writer’s perspective and how does s/he develop their ideas?
  
• Are underlying assumptions and/or knowledge explicitly stated?
  
• Is there any bias or inconsistencies in information presented?
  

The content

• What is the controlling focus in the material?
  
• Does this author focus on breadth or depth of information.?
  
• Is supporting information well researched and accurate and does it support or link to discussion?
  
• What aspects are included / omitted, both from literature examinations and research projects?
  
• Can you accept the findings as true and do the authors conclude as to what do they attribute their findings?
  
• Are findings/discussion and conclusions logical?
  
• How does this perspective / results differ from others and how do these findings apply to your own work?
  

The structure

• Does the introduction indicate aims, thesis and main points of information?
  
• Is the framework used to organise the material clearly explained and logical?
  
• Is the argument or focus balanced and does the content link well?
  

Style and format

• Is the presentation style simple, complex, narrative, analytical, persuasive, or didactic and how does this style influence the reaction to the material?
  

These questions are not exhaustive.
They will form the basis of your written review.
Asking them as you read will tend to slow your reading process down, because you will be thinking as you go. However, doing your analytical work early will make the process of writing a critical review much easier.
If you take comprehensive notes in your own words as you read and think, you will have done the really hard work before you start to write.

Beginning to write

One of the most difficult things about a literature review is to know when to stop reading and start writing.
As writing is part of the process of researching your review, you should begin writing as soon as you have a basic understanding of your topic area. This will then inform you of the need for and areas of further reading.
Continually review your drafts and add comments, questions and ideas.
This is a good way to make connections and comparisons between different articles, particularly if your reading is spread out over a long period of time.

Structuring your review

To ensure that your literature review is a coherent piece of work you need a plan and an overall structure.
Some of this planning work can happen as you read, but you may also need to do a brainstorming session to work out a plan for the review as a whole.
The concepts must be presented in an order that makes sense with clear divisions in the sets of ideas to be discussed.
There are usually many different ways to organise information in a literature review. For example:

• Chronologically
  
• By theoretical perspective
  
• In order of importance
  
• By methodological type
  
• Using any structure that is logical and fits the content
  

A common error in literature reviews is for writers to present material from one author, followed by information from another, then another ...eg. Brown (1995) found this, Smith (1997) found that, Jones (2000) found the other and Green, Sanders and Jackson (1999) found something else.
This reads more as a list rather than a discussion of the similarities, differences, strengths, etc.
Making decisions about the way in which you group authors and link ideas will help you to avoid this problem.
Attempt to synthesise the material in a way that allows you to not only report what has been said about a particular subject but also to compare and contrast and critically review and comment on the relative merits of the presented literature.

Constructing an argument

To write a cohesive literature review, you need to present a clear line of argument.
That means taking all those critical comments you made in your reading notes, and using them to express an academic opinion. Facts and theory in the literature substantiate these opinions. Examples, citation and quotations are used where appropriate.
Each section of the review is clearly connected. The outline statement in the introduction makes the order of the arguments clear, and gives some reason for the author’s choice in ordering the material.
The literature review is written in academic prose that is clear, concise, unambiguous, objective and accurate.
It should not be pompous or difficult to read.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism occurs when you paraphrase or directly quote ideas, facts or arguments without citation.
Anything you get from a reference, even if you write it in your own words, needs to have a citation or footnote.
Because a literature review is based on the work of other authors, you must be very careful to separate an author’s ideas from your own. The examiner understands that information that is not referenced is your idea.
Organisation and scrupulous note taking and referencing are the best ways to ensure that your work is correctly referenced. Make sure that you clearly understand what needs to be referenced:

How is a literature review judged?

Generally the following questions are considered in the evaluation of a literature review:

Structure

• Is the review clearly introduced and concluded?
  
• Does the content flow logically?
  
• Is the material organised according to issues?
  
• Does it conform to academic writing requirements?
  

Selection of the material

• Is all relevant information included?
  
• Is the literature from a range of sources?
  

Referencing

• Are all bibliographic details (both in-text and reference list) accurate, complete and consistently documented?
  

Critical evaluation of the literature

• Has the literature been presented and evaluated clearly and objectively?
  
• Does the amount of detail included on an issue relate to its importance?
  
• Is there sufficient evaluation of design and methodological issues?
  
• Are authors conflicting and complementary ideas presented and discussed?
  

Interpretation

• Has this discussion of the current literature contributed to the reader's understanding? How?
  
• Do the conclusions present outcomes or implications of the review?
  

References

Allen, M. 1997. Smart thinking: Skills for critical understanding and writing. Oxford University Press: Melbourne.
Caulley, D.N. 1992. Writing a critical review of the literature. La Trobe University: Bundoora.
Creme, P. & Lea, M.R. 1997. Writing at university : A guide for students Open University Press: Buckingham.
Glatthorn, A.A. 1998. Writing the winning dissertation: A step-by-step guide. Corwin Press:California.
Hanson, R. 1996. Writing successfully. Allyn and Bacon: Needham Heights Ma.
Joseph, N.L. 1999. Research writing using traditional and electronic sources. Prentice Hall:New Jersey.
Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers. 1995 (5th Ed.). AGPS, Canberra.