Dissertation Literature Review

Dissertation writing is one of the thorniest tasks which require a lot of time and efforts to be spent. But having the enthusiasm one can be come to the task in hand. Just think over the inspiration and you will definitely get an actual success. For one person gaining of the higher status can serve as the motivation, for another-the possibility to assert him/her.

Similarly review of the literature for dissertation writing is the task which demands some special attention from students. A literature review discusses published information in a particular subject area, and sometimes information in a particular subject area within a certain time period.

Writing a literature review can be just a simple summary of the sources, but it usually has an organizational pattern and combines both summary and synthesis. A summary is a recap of the important information of the source, but a synthesis is a re-organization, or a reshuffling, of that information. It might give a new explanation of old material or combine new with old interpretations. Or it might trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates. And depending on the situation, the literature review may evaluate the sources and advise the reader on the most pertinent or relevant.

Here are some points that will help you in evaluating your review of literature

1. Does the researcher start by identifying a particular problem area?
2. Does the researcher institute the importance of the problem area?
5. Is the research a coherent essay with logical transitions from topic to topic?
6. Has the researcher provided conceptual definitions of key terms?
7. Has the researcher indicated the basis for “factual” statements?
8. Do the specific research purposes, questions, or hypotheses logically flow from the introductory material?
9. Are any underlying theories adequately described?
10. Does the introduction move from topic to topic instead of from citation to citation?
11. Overall, is the introduction effective and appropriate?

And for a closer look at Evaluating Dissertation Literature Reviews, consider these additional points

1. If there is extensive literature on a topic, has the researcher been selective?
2. Is the literature review critical?
3. Is current research cited?
4. Has the researcher distinguished between opinions and research findings?

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