How to Conduct a Literature Review for a Dissertation
How to Conduct a Literature Review for a Dissertation
The literature review serves as the foundation for your dissertation, providing a comprehensive overview of existing research and identifying gaps that your study will address. Conducting a literature review involves systematically searching for, reviewing, and analyzing sources that are relevant to your research question.
Steps to Conducting a Literature Review:
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Define the Scope: Narrow down your focus to ensure you review only relevant sources. Decide which keywords and search terms you will use in databases.
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Conduct a Systematic Search: Use academic databases like Google Scholar, JSTOR, and ProQuest to find peer-reviewed articles, books, and dissertations.
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Organize the Literature: Group studies by themes or methodologies. This will help structure the review logically.
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Evaluate Sources: Critically analyze each source for credibility, relevance, and contribution to your research topic.
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Synthesize the Findings: Summarize the findings from different sources, highlighting agreements, disagreements, and identifying gaps.
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Identify the Gaps: Discuss the gaps in the literature that your dissertation will address. This demonstrates the need for your research.
