Reviewing Relevant Literature in Research
Literature review: Identifying and synthesizing relevant sources, critically evaluating existing research, and situating your work in the larger field.
Literature review is an essential part of research that involves identifying, evaluating, and synthesizing relevant sources to provide a comprehensive understanding of the topic under investigation. A well-conducted literature review enables researchers to identify gaps in existing research, establish the significance of their work, and situate their research within the larger field. Here are some key aspects of literature review:
Identifying Relevant Sources: The first step in conducting a literature review is identifying relevant sources. Researchers can use academic databases, search engines, and reference lists of existing literature to locate relevant sources. Keywords and search terms should be carefully chosen to ensure that the search results are relevant to the research question.
Evaluating Existing Research: Once relevant sources have been identified, the next step is to critically evaluate the existing research. This involves analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the research design, methods, and findings of each source. Researchers need to determine the credibility and reliability of the sources and assess their relevance to the research question.
Synthesizing Information: After evaluating the existing research, the next step is to synthesize the information to provide a comprehensive understanding of the topic under investigation. Researchers need to identify the main themes, concepts, and arguments presented in the literature and organize them into a coherent narrative.
Situating Your Work: Finally, researchers need to situate their work within the larger field. This involves identifying the gaps in existing research that their work addresses and establishing the significance of their research. Researchers need to demonstrate how their work builds upon and contributes to the existing literature.
In summary, a well-conducted literature review is an essential part of research that enables researchers to identify gaps in existing research, establish the significance of their work, and situate their research within the larger field.
