How to Write a Literature Review: 3 Minute Step-by-step Guide | Scribbr 🎓

Summary

In this educational video, Jessica from Scribbr demystifies the process of writing a literature review through five straightforward steps. Starting with searching for relevant academic sources using scholarly databases and boolean operators, she guides viewers on evaluating and selecting key sources based on relevance and citation count. Jessica then emphasizes the importance of identifying themes, debates, and research gaps while reading. She outlines various structures for organizing the review and concludes with writing tips, including the necessity of an introduction, main body, and conclusion. The video also directs viewers to a playlist for more detailed guidance.

Takeaways

• 📚 Start by searching for relevant literature using scholarly databases like Google Scholar, JSTOR, and Science Direct.
• 🔍 Use boolean operators to refine your search and filter out the most pertinent academic sources.
• 📝 Evaluate sources by reading abstracts and checking citation counts on Google Scholar to determine their relevance and importance.
• 🔎 Look for additional sources in the bibliographies of the articles you read to expand your literature pool.
• 🧐 Identify key themes, debates, and gaps in the literature as you read and take notes to organize your review's arguments.
• 📈 Pay attention to trends, patterns, influential studies, and contradictions in the literature to build a comprehensive understanding.
• 📋 Organize your literature review by outlining its structure, which can be chronological, thematic, methodological, or theoretical.
• 📝 Choose a structure for your literature review that best suits the findings and emphasizes what you want to convey.
• ✍️ Write your literature review with a clear introduction, main body that synthesizes the sources, and a conclusion, mirroring other academic texts.
• 👩‍🏫 Jessica from Scribbr provides guidance on writing literature reviews and offers a playlist for more detailed steps.
• 📈 The literature review process involves critical recap and synthesis of existing research, making it an essential part of academic writing.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of a literature review?

The main purpose of a literature review is to critically recap what has already been researched on a topic, synthesizing the existing knowledge and identifying gaps for further research.

Who is the presenter in the video?

The presenter in the video is Jessica from Scribbr, who is there to help achieve academic goals.

What are the steps to write a literature review according to the video?

The video outlines five steps to write a literature review: 1) Search for relevant literature, 2) Evaluate and select sources, 3) Identify themes, debates, and gaps, 4) Outline the structure of the literature review, and 5) Write the review.

Which databases are suggested for searching academic sources?

The databases suggested for searching academic sources include Google Scholar, JSTOR, and Science Direct.

What are boolean operators and how can they help in searching for literature?

Boolean operators are logical connectors such as AND, OR, and NOT that help filter and refine search results in scholarly databases to find more precise literature relevant to the topic.

Why is it important to read the abstract when evaluating sources?

Reading the abstract is important because it allows you to quickly scan whether an article is relevant to your topic, helping to efficiently select appropriate sources for your literature review.

What does the citation count on Google Scholar indicate?

The citation count on Google Scholar indicates how often a source has been cited by other works, which can be an indicator of its importance and relevance in the field.

What should you look for while identifying themes, debates, and gaps in the literature?

While identifying themes, debates, and gaps, you should look for trends and patterns in theory, method, or results, influential studies, and areas where there is a lack of research or contradictory findings.

What are the four common approaches to structuring a literature review mentioned in the video?

The four common approaches to structuring a literature review are chronological (from older to more recent publications), thematic (organized around key themes), methodological (comparing different research methods), and theoretical (discussing opposing theories or models).

What are the three main components of a literature review as suggested in the video?

The three main components of a literature review are an introduction, a main body that summarizes and synthesizes the sources, and a conclusion.

Where can viewers find more detailed information about each step of writing a literature review?

Viewers can find more detailed information about each step of writing a literature review in the separate videos included in the playlist provided by Jessica from Scribbr.