Q: How to write the review of related literature in research?
A literature review is a critical analysis of existing literature in a research field. It evaluates the contribution made by other researchers in that field and highlights gaps in knowledge that need to be addressed.
To begin with, you can read a lot of articles, books, and other published works on the topics of your interest. Reading books and articles related to your topic will familiarize you with the research area and help you form an opinion on the existing literature. Note down all the questions and comments that you may have. Once you have gathered enough resources, you can start writing the literature review.
A literature review can be written either as part of the introduction of an original article or as a standalone article. If you wish to know how to write the literature review as part of your research paper, this article will help you:
If however, you wish to know how to write a literature review as a standalone article, here are some resources that you will find useful:
A standalone literature review article typically has five sections, namely, Introduction, Methods, Body, Discussion and conclusion, and Reference list. In the Introduction section, you can provide information about the field of study, the relevance of the chosen topic within the field, and the focus of the literature review. In the methods section you can discuss your approach or the criteria used for selection of the sources used. In the Body, you can speak about the major themes and topics in your research area. You can summarize your findings, highlight their significance, and identify gaps in literature in the discussion and conclusion section. The reference list will contain details of all the sources you have referred in your review.
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This content belongs to the Conducting Research Stage