EDUC 703, Writing a Literature Summary/Review

This guide is a starting point for MEd candidates new to literature review. It provides information and tips on searching for literature and managing your resources.  

What is a literature review?

A literature review is a systematic, comprehensive survey and evaluation of current known/unknown information about a particular research question. It is a discursive process that analyses, connects and identifies biases, inconsistencies and/or controversies among different findings in the field. A comprehensive literature review helps researchers identify unanswered questions and make a case for further studies. Literature review is a continual process; as more information comes to light, researchers assess and reframe their research questions. The literature review serves to narrow the research questions and prepare candidates for developing a proposal.  

Who writes literature reviews?

The humanities, social science and science disciplines use literature reviews to gather and explore prior knowledge, and to identify areas that need further study. The MEd literature review is part of a major paper or a research paper or a graduate thesis/dissertation; they can also be stand-alone pieces in the case of document analysis and survey of literature. 

If your literature review is part of graduate major paper, it is important to ask your instructor for clarification on the following:

• How many sources you are expected to use -  8 to 10 sources for the MEd literature summary/review
• The types of sources that should be consulted are peer-reviewed sources such (e.g. books, scholarly articles, conference papers)
• How in depth you should describe/summarize, assess, and show relevance to your study (see annotated bibliographies from EDUC 702

Here are some of the reasons for doing a literature review:

• Acquire a comprehensive knowledge of the critical works in one’s discipline and how the research area has evolved overtime
• Identify one’s niche, and focus within this area of study
• Explore a research question from different theoretical perspectives
• Discover previously unexplored research design and methodology, and provide possible direction for future studies
• Determine if there are any disagreements within an area of research
• Avoid repeating existing research

Here are some of the necessary skills for conducting a literature review:

• Identify a research question
• Search relevant databases and bodies of literature
• Manage information in an organized and systematic manner
• Describe/summarize, assess, show relevance of the information, critically synthesizing the information you find.  

Check out North Carolina State Library’s video on literature review. This nine-minute video provides a definition for literature review, the purpose it serves, and what pitfalls to avoid when writing your review. While targeted toward graduate students, it's actually useful for anyone conducting a literature review.