Assignment Task
According to John W Creswell, the Review of Literature can be conducted by using the following steps:
1. “Begin by identifying keywords, which is useful in locating materials in an academic library at a college or university. These keywords may emerge in identifying a topic or may result from preliminary readings.
2. With these keywords in mind, go next to the library (or use your home computer) and begin searching the catalog for holdings (i.e., journals and books). Most major libraries have computerized databases, and I suggest you focus initially on journals and books related to the topic. Also, begin to search the computerized databases that are typically reviewed by social science researchers, such as ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center), EBSCO, PsycINFO, Sociofile, the Social Science Citation Index, Google Scholar, ProQuest, and others (these are reviewed later in some detail).”
3. Initially, try to locate about 15-20 reports of research in articles or books related to research on your topic.
4. “Skim this initial group of articles or chapters, and duplicate those that are central to your topic. Throughout this process, simply try to obtain a sense as to whether the article or chapter will make a useful contribution to your understanding of the literature.
5. “As you identify useful literature, begin to draft summaries of the most relevant articles. These summaries are combined into the final literature review that you write for your proposal or research study. Include precise references to the literature using an appropriate style guide, such as the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association(American Psychological Association [APA]) so that you have a complete reference to use at the end of the proposal or study.
6. After summarizing the literature, assemble the literature review, structuring it thematically or organizing it by important concepts. End the literature review with a summary of the major themes and suggest how your particular study further adds to the literature and addresses a gap in the themes. It is at this point as well that you could advance a critique of the past literature and point out deficiencies in it and issues in its methods.
7. Use academic English throughout your assignment. You must incorporate these elements to ensure that your project is professional and academic in terms of tone as well as content.
