A review of the literature is a standard procedure that is followed in writing scholarly papers. The review informs the student what scholars and researchers have learned about the problem. It is an opportunity for the student to examine what solutions have been tried and implemented to correct a specific discrepancy or to solve a problem. The review of literature also informs the reader that the topic or the problem is a legitimate one, recognized by the educational community.
The steps in organizing a review of the literature are simple. After the search of abstracts is completed, follow these steps.
Review abstracts to remove obviously unrelated or inappropriate material.
If information is scant, or most of the information appears to be inappropriate to the student's topic, perhaps the concern should be restated in more appropriate terms.
Determine whether the available research is on theory, strategies, or solutions. This is a good time to obtain assistance from the e-mentor. Individuals working on a change paper are not encouraged to test new methodologies never tried by anyone else. Rather, they are to consider existing solutions in new and innovative ways to improve the situation.
Obtain full text of each selected research study relevant to the topic. Check the bibliography of the research for possible connections to other authors.
Write a summary of each selected research study using the full article as a guide for your notes. Build a framework from information in the collected articles to support your argument that the problem exists. Writing a review from abstracts will result in an incomplete analysis.
Look at your collection of summaries to find subtopics from among them. Organize them by concept to create a verbal picture of viable solutions.
Put them all together starting with a brief description of the issues or problem area found in this literature. This should require only a few sentences.
At the end, add your idea of how to make improvements that are supported in this research. This is a possible solution strategy.
Conclude with one or two paragraphs relating the final set of information to the idea being addressed.
