Doing a Literature Review

Students entering a graduate program often encounter a new type of assignment that differs from the papers they had to write in high school or as college undergraduates: the literature review (also known as a critical review essay). Put briefly, a literature review summarizes and evaluates a body of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PS, political science & politics political science & politics, 2006-01, Vol.39 (1), p.127-132
Main Author: Knopf, Jeffrey W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic journals
Bayesian Statistics
Beliefs
College students
Criticism
Encyclopedias
Graduate studies
Internet
Literature
Literature Reviews
Masters Programs
Mathematical Applications
Mathematical Formulas
Political science
Political Science Research
Prior Learning
Program Proposals
Public policy
Reading Assignments
Reasoning
Research Methodology
Research methods
Research Projects
Research Proposals
Research Reports
Scholarly publishing
Terrorism
THE TEACHER
Undergraduate Students
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Summary:Students entering a graduate program often encounter a new type of assignment that differs from the papers they had to write in high school or as college undergraduates: the literature review (also known as a critical review essay). Put briefly, a literature review summarizes and evaluates a body of writings about a specific topic. The need to conduct such reviews is by no means limited to graduate students; scholarly researchers generally carry out literature reviews throughout their research careers. In a world where the Internet has broadened the range of potentially relevant sources, however, doing a literature review can pose challenges even to an experienced researcher.In drafting this overview, I have incorporated some points made by Paul Pitman in a lecture delivered to students at the Naval Postgraduate School. I have also incorporated some suggestions contained in a handout prepared by John Odell for students in the School of International Relations at the University of Southern California.
ISSN:1049-0965
1537-5935
DOI:10.1017/S1049096506060264