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Review of the Literature Document Description: TEAM ASSIGNMENT!!!

A literature review is a synthesis of the results of your research of a particular topic. It is not simply a summary of all of the information, though it does require some summarization; but rather a synthesis of the information, generally in one of five different types of organization:

1. State-of-the-art - (most current research)
   
2. Historical review
3. Comparison-of-perspectives review
4. Synthesis-of-two-fields
5. Theoretical or model-building
6. May be a combination of the above 

Journal of Young Investigators also has information on writing a Review Article

• Review Article from JYI

The purpose of a literature review is to help you  contextualize the topic...and you will be tasked to explore...

• What studies have been conducted previously about this topic?

• What are the controversies, disagreements, debates that have occurred in previous research?

• What inconsistencies, contradictions, and gaps appear?

• What further research is indicated?

This differs from a research paper where you present your own research about a topic. In this literature review - you are presenting your research of the research of  others on the topic. You will then draw your own conclusions based on your evaluation of the research. Much the same as you did in the synthesis paper.

Some ideas about how to begin: 

• Formulate your thesis, or research question.  What are you trying to answer? This is really important and will help you to remain focused.

• Formulate an outline of what your review will cover and in what order. Annotate your outline with the sources from your research journals.

• Look at other Literature Reviews to get an idea of how to organize this - find one about your topic.

Some considerations:

1.  Are you presenting a specific thesis, problem, or research question? Remember...you are not just summarizing a field of study.

2.  Who is my audience? Will they find my research relevant?

3.  What is the scope of my review? Scientific journal articles, government documents....

4.  Is your search for studies broad enough to contain all the relevant studies? Have you become stuck in one database?

5. Are you narrow enough to exclude sources that are not really contributing to your thesis?

6. Do you have enough sources?

7. Have you critically analyzed the studies or have you simply summarized the studies?

8. Does every study shed some light on the problem that my article is addressing?

9. Have I cited studies that contradict my perspective?

10. Is your literature review more than just a descriptive summary of the topic? Is it organized into useful, informative sections that present different ideas revolving around my thesis?

The NUTS and BOLTS of the document:

 APA Formatting.

This includes but is not limited to: cover sheet, 12 pt font, Times New Roman, parenthetical citations, and references. Organize your citations early and often.  

• Here is a template to use for the Literature Review

Abstract.

A brief summary of your thesis, the major studies investigated, and conclusions drawn

Introduction

Introduce your topic and let your audience know why this topic is important. This will be based on Swales' CARS Model

Body.

This will depend on your topic. If your topic discusses and evaluates three different methodologies, you might divide the body into three sections, each discussing one of the methods. In these sections, be sure to describe and evaluate the studies in detail, comparing them and discussing their implications. Again, your topic will somewhat drive how the body of this paper will be written. We can work on this aspect together.

Discussion and Conclusions. 

You should conclude your review by restating your thesis and the purpose of the article, then discussing the conclusions you have drawn. You should also discuss the implications of your study and where you think research in this field should go from here or how this research is beneficial for your TEAM research project.

References.

The paper will have a minimum of 12 sources. The TEAM can break this down however, they like. 

• These will be from peer-reviewed journals only. 
• No websites
• No textbooks
• No magazine articles 
• Your seminar leader may allow websites, textbooks, and magazine articles for the Interdisciplinary Research Project, but they are not acceptable for the Literature Review. 
•  There should be articles that could be used as an experimental design model for your Interdisciplinary Research Project. 

Length.

This is always a tough question and I'll tell you why. If I set minimum and maximum page or word counts...I receive a lot of groaning about how you don't like to be given these parameters...you are certain you knock this thing out in fewer words than required. If I don't set these parameters, I receive a lot of groans that you're lost and don't have any idea about how much to write. Are you with me here? So, here's the deal. In life, parameters are generally set unless you are writing your own novel. As you become more and more experienced the word count seems to decrease. You're expected to say more with less words. Crazy, right?

Here are some samples of review articles:

1. Ammonia excretion in aquatic and terrestrial crabs
2. Review Article: Pathways and Pathology in Cell Nuclear Migration and Anchorage
1. Published in the undergraduate research journal: Journal of Young Investigators 
3. Review on Animal Hybridization’s Role in Evolution and Conservation: Canis rufus (Audubon and Bachman) 1851—A Case Study
4.  The catastrophic impact of invasive mammalian predators on birds of the UK Overseas Territories: a review and synthesis
5. Biological Invasion of the Lionfish in the Atlantic 
1. Published in the undergraduate research journal: Eukaryon 

Some parting advice.

In evaluating studies, describe them briefly, then discuss the relevant areas (e.g., research assumptions, theories tested, hypothesis stated, methodology, variables examined, results, interpretations, speculations, etc.) All studies have strengths and weaknesses. Identify them and discuss how they are relevant to your thesis. Be sure to compare the study with others that you have discussed.

 Adapted from Journal of Young Investigators with thanks.

Thanks to Dr. Frances Johnson