Performing a Literature Review Based on a Study Objective
The Literature Review should be 3-4 pages double spaced using APA format. In addition to the
3-4 pages, include a bibliography at the end of your Literature Review. When submitting your
Literature Review, be sure to attach at least 5 annotated bibliographies from articles cited in the
Literature Review. You will need to include the annotated bibliographies in one Word
documented to be uploaded in Moodle.
As part of good research practice (but not written as a part of the assignment), document your
search strategies and keep your search records and notes in a folder (you may have to go back to
what you have found): key words, how many abstracts skimmed and rejected, papers accessed,
and other sources found. You do not need to report on this, but I may ask you how you
conducted your search if I do not understand your review.
The following is a guide to help you complete your Literature Review and all sections are
required.
1. State your study objective, and identify the specific areas in the literature that you need to
examine.
Including:
a. Historically, how have authors tried to illuminate your problem of interest?
b. What is currently known about the issue?
c. What type of data or evidence is used in this ty
pe of scholarly work?
d. What approach or types of study designs have been applied to this problem over time? Have
these evolved from more to less sophisticated approaches?
e. Given what is known from the literature, what approach/ type of study design would be the
Βnext stepΒ in examining this issue?
f. How have other authors organized their inquiry, designed their study and/or measured their
variables (or specified study questions in qualitative studies)?
g. What analytical or statistical approaches have been employed? Can these be improved? How?
2. Write a 3-4 page Literature Review that PARSIMONEOUSLY documents your answers to
the questions above, and any other issues/measures/approaches that you find are of importance
for the design of a study that will meet your specified research objective.
Be aware that at this point you are using a literature review to present the key issues that must be
considered in the problem, objective, approach and analysis you will use in your proposal
synopsis, not as evidence that you having done a lot of related reading. Use your time and page
allocation wisely. You will lose points if you exceed the page limit.
Conclude the paper with a brief summary in one paragraph (3-4 sentences) of what you have
learned from this assignment