SOC/CRJ 3610 Social Research Literature Review Literature Review: Connected to the background and significance of your study is a more deliberate review and synthesis of prior studies related to the research problem under investigation. The purpose here is to place your project within the larger whole of what is currently being explored, while demonstrating to your readers that your work is original and innovative. Think about what questions other researchers have asked, what methods theyve used, and what is your understanding of their findings. Assess what you believe is still missing, and state how previous research has failed to examine the issue that your study addresses. Since a literature review is information dense, it is crucial that this section is intelligently structured to enable a reader to grasp the key arguments underpinning your topic in relation to that of other researchers.
A good strategy is to break the literature into conceptual categories [themes] rather than systematically describing materials one at a time. DO NOT simply summarize various works, but rather discuss the work of others by topic. You MUST use headings for each topic you discuss in the literature review.
Instructions: This assignment will require approximately 3 pages (not to exceed 5 pages) and should be double-spaced, in Times New Roman, and 12 point font. You should use APA format and provide both in-text citations and a reference page that includes full citations for all of the items mentioned in the literature review. (guidelines for APA format provided in the course resource module). You should include a minimum of 10 scholarly sources in your review. This assignment is worth a maximum of 50 points and should address the following: The introduction paragraph of the literature review should define the topic and set the context for the review. It will include the authors perspective or point of view on the topic, how they have defined the scope of the topic (including whats not included), and how the review will be organized. It can point out overall trends, conflicts in methodology or conclusions, and gaps in the research.
In the body of the review, the author should organize the research into major topics and subtopics. These groupings may be by subject, (e.g., rape among college women), type of research (e.g., case studies), methodology (e.g., qualitative), genre, chronology, or other common characteristics. Within these groups, the author can then discuss the merits of each article and analyze and compare the importance of each article to similar ones.
The conclusion paragraph will summarize the main findings, make clear how this review of the literature supports (or not) the research to follow, and may point the direction for further research.