Literature Reviews

1. Literature Reviews Research abhors a vacuum.

2. Burke’s Parlor • How to join a conversation that’s been going on since the dawn of time.

5. What is a Lit Review? A lit review is a type of research paper that answers these sorts of questions: • What is known and unknown about this issue? • What research has been done, is being done, should be done? • What methods have been/are being used to research this?

6. What does a Lit Review do? • It synthesizes the “literature”—all the research and debate concerning an issue. • It doesn’t deal with one source at a time in list-like fashion; it arranges itself topically and discusses sources simultaneously.

8. Virtually all fields use lit reviews in one way or another.

9. Science and Medicine • You want to ensure that you aren’t uselessly repeating someone else’s research. • You want to convince your investors that you are doing valuable, original work and that you know what you’re talking about. • You want to discover the best methods to answer your research questions.

10. Engineering • You want to discover what approaches have been taken to solve similar problems. • You want to better understand how much time and money a project you are bidding for will take. • You need to get up to date on the most current findings concerning materials, procedures, etc.

11. Journalism • You want to get up to speed on an issue you will be researching. • You want to discover what questions have not been answered yet—i.e. who should you interview, what should you ask. • You want to convince your editor to buy or print the piece you are working on.

12. Humanities • You want to know what has already been said about a work of art so that you can further the conversation. • You want to know what hasn’t been said about a work of art so that you can say something original. • You want to bring together various critical approaches and techniques to analyze a work of art in a new way.

13. Law • You want to know what happened in similar cases in order to predict how a judge or jury might respond. • You want to know of any precedents so you know what is possible concerning the interpretation of the law or sentencing. • You want to familiarize yourself with how similar cases were argued.

14. How do lit reviews differ from other informative papers?

15. What the reader discovers Encyclopedia Article Literature Review General info on a general topic Focuses on the bare facts, not the researchers discovering those facts Little or no discussion of controversy, debate, or disagreement among scholars Focuses on what is known for sure Detailed info on a very specific topic or issue Reveals the research and researchers as a conversation happening over time Foregrounds controversy, debate, and disagreement among scholars Focuses on identifying gaps in our knowledge

16. What the reader discovers Encyclopedia Article Literature Review Titles: “Quantum entanglement” “Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event” “Glaciation” Titles: “Critical success factors for sustainable improvement in technical education excellence: A literature review” “Double-bundle anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: a review of literature” “Clinical Implications of Cognitive Bias Modification for Interpretative Biases in Social Anxiety: An Integrative Literature Review”