Draft of Introduction and Literature Review Follow the directions below for the completion of the introduction and literature review draft assignment. Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to beg

4

Unit IV

Lesson 2: The Literature Review

Part 1: Getting Started

Introduction

When we speak of literature in academics, we are speaking of a body of information about a particular topic. Unlike literature that might be associated with canonical novels, short stories, fiction, and poetry, this type of literature is essentially all of the material written about an area of study. When academics want to know something, they ask each other, “What does the literature say?” This question is meant to ask, “What have others said about the topic?” Because all arguments are made after knowing what others have said, the literature review becomes an indispensable part of the research paper.

Similarly, when we say that we are going to “review literature,” we do not mean that we are going to give the source a critical thumbs up or thumbs down or that we are going to rate it as four stars out of five. Instead, we are going to “review” the material in very much the same way as you might review a textbook reading before a quiz. To review literature means that you are going to discuss the literature in a written form in order to both summarize and synthesize that material. In many ways, you are reorganizing that information so that the critical conversation is clearer to the reader.

The literature review materials are divided into two lessons: Lesson 2 and Lesson 3. In this lesson, we will be discussing information you need to know in order to understand the task at hand. In Lesson 3, we will discuss the process of writing the literature review.

What Is a Literature Review?

A literature review (LR) is an academic genre of writing, which should tell you right away that there are particular conventions and considerations to constructing your own. A literature review can be a stand-alone document that is created long before the work in an experiment begins. The idea is that the researcher needs to know what others have done in order to ensure that his or her research is novel, meaning that it does not repeat something that someone else has done. Being novel with one’s research is a necessary feature of any large-scale research project.

For your research project for this course, you are being asked to choose a controversy, understand it, and present it back to the reader with your own argument. In many ways, you will be using the LR in the way that many other academics do: You will be using it as a way to better understand your topic by writing about the topic. However, unlike other academics, you will not be conducting an experiment; instead, you will be constructing an argument and supporting that argument.

So what exactly is an LR? A literature review is an assessment of a body of materials written about a particular topic (in our case, a controversy). In this situation, however, you are not critiquing the arguments, ideas, or positions of others. Instead, you are using the space of the literature review to explain the controversy based upon the materials that you have found. Let’s take a look at some of the parts and pieces of an LR.

The Purpose of the Literature Review

The literature review serves a few purposes, all of which are essential to the writing of a research paper.

• Background information: One of the main purposes of an LR is to establish important background information. This background information helps the reader to understand more about the topic so that he or she can appreciate what is at stake in your argument.

• Detailed presentation of the controversy’s sides: As we have so often discussed, your argument does not come from a vacuum. Instead, your argument is a response (agree, disagree, or agree and disagree simultaneously) to a controversy. Therefore, in order to understand your argument, the reader needs to know what you know about the controversy. Further, each side of the controversy must be laid out so that you can better understand the controversy, but it is important to note that the tone of the LR is not one of exploration; instead, you will need to speak with authority about the controversy.

• Credibility: The idea of authority leads us to another key purpose of the LR: It helps to establish your credibility as someone who knows about the controversy. Odds are that the reader will have only cursory knowledge of the topic, and your LR is essential for their understanding. By establishing an LR, you are demonstrating that you have researched the topic and understand it. You want your reader to trust you, and there is no better way to do this than to demonstrate your skills of research and compilation. Your reader will appreciate it!

The Requirements and Considerations

When you begin your literature review, you want to have a few requirements and considerations in mind:

Requirements:

• Five sources: You should include no less than five sources in your literature review alone. You may use sources from your introduction, but you must introduce at least five new sources in the literature review.

• Summarize, paraphrase, and synthesize: In the body of the LR, you must use the techniques of summary, paraphrasing, and synthesis. Remember that if you use one of these techniques, you still need to cite your sources using APA citation style in order to give proper acknowledgement to your sources.

• Sources must be current: A current source is one that is not older than 10 years. The best sources are those that were written within the last five years. However, if you are building a timeline or presenting the historical contextualization for a topic, then you may use sources that are older than 10 years.

• APA citations: You are required to include APA citations within the text of your submission. In effect, it is impossible to write an LR without including in-text and reference list citations. If you are ever unsure about APA citations, contact your professor, the Success Center, or the CSU Online Library for information or clarification.

Considerations:

• No restriction on source types: You may use a variety of sources (e.g., books, journal articles, websites). You are not restricted on the types of sources you may use, but you should consider the quality and reliability of each source before including it. Keep in mind that websites such as Wikipedia contain user-generated content and should not be used in any academic research paper.

• Level headings are highly advised: Use APA level headings to help you organize your materials and to present them in an easy-to-understand way. For more information on these headings and how to present them correctly, please see page 15 of the Citation Guide.

Check for Understanding

1. True/False: “Literature” is only a novel or a short story that is famous.

2. True/False: When you review literature, you give it a positive or negative rating.

3. True/False: You want to avoid presenting your argument in the literature review.

4. True/False: If you include source material (which is a requirement), then you must also include in-text and reference list citations in APA style.

Review

1. “Literature” in the academic sense of the word refers to a body of information about a particular topic.

2. To review literature means that you are going to discuss the literature in a written form in order to both summarize and synthesize that material.

3. A literature review is an assessment of a body of materials written about a particular topic (in our case, a controversy).

4. The purposes of the literature review are to provide vital background information to the reader, to detail the sides of a controversy, and to establish your credibility as a writer.

5. The requirements of the assignment state that you must (1) include five sources; (2) summarize, paraphrase, and synthesize; (3) use current sources; and (4) include APA in-text and reference list citations.

6. Considerations that you should keep in mind are (1) there are no restrictions on source type, and (2) level headings are strongly suggested.

Answer Key

1. False: “Literature” in the academic sense of the word refers to a body of information about a particular topic.

2. False: To review literature means that you are going to discuss the literature in a written form in order to both summarize and synthesize that material.

3. True: You only present the arguments, ideas, and positions of others in the LR.

4. True: Any time you use the work of others, you must cite that work.