Centre for Nursing and Health Studies

A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers.

In writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. As a piece of writing, the literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g., your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries.

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Writing a Literature Review

A literature review is a piece of discursive prose, not a list describing or summarizing one piece of literature after another. It's usually a bad sign to see every paragraph beginning with the name of a researcher. Instead, organize the literature review into sections that present themes or identify trends, including relevant theory. You are not trying to list all the material published, but to synthesize and evaluate it according to the guiding concept of your thesis or research question.

• to identify gaps in the literature
• to avoid reinventing the wheel (at the very least this will save time and it can stop you from making the same mistakes as others)
• to carry on from where others have already reached (reviewing the field allows you to build on the platform of existing knowledge and ideas)
• to identify other people working in the same fields (a researcher network is a valuable resource)
• to increase your breadth of knowledge of your subject area
• to identify seminal works in your area
• to provide the intellectual context for your own work, enabling you to position your project relative to other work
• to identify opposing views
• to put your work into perspective
• to demonstrate that you can access previous work in an area
• to identify information and ideas that may be relevant to your project
• to identify methods that could be relevant to your project

Framework for a Literature Review

Introduction

• Define the topic, or issue to provide context for reviewing the literature.
• Identify trends, conflicts, or gaps in the literature.
• Describe your thesis and reason for reviewing the literature;
• Explain the criteria used in analyzing and comparing literature, and state the scope of the review.

Body of Paper

• Group research studies and other types of literature according to a central theme or topic. For example:
  • current mainstream versus alternative theoretical or ideological viewpoints, including differing theoretical assumptions, or other conflicts;
  • definitions in use;
  • current research studies;
  • current discoveries about the topic;
  • principal questions that are being asked;
  • general conclusions that are being drawn;
  • methodologies and methods in use;

Discussion of Findings

• Organize your findings according to your thesis
• What were the most important points you learned?
• What is your position based on the findings of your review?

Conclusion

• Summarize your major findings and identify gaps in the literature, maintaining the focus established in the introduction.
• Conclude by providing some insight into the relationship between the central topic of the literature review and the nursing profession.

Originality

The aim of these papers is for you to show that you understand the material and that you're able to think critically about it. To do this, your paper does have to show some independent thinking.

But you should try to come up with your own arguments, or your own way of elaborating or criticizing or defending some issue we looked at in this course. Merely summarizing what the literature has said won't be enough.

Quotations

When a passage from a text is particularly useful in supporting your interpretation of some author's views, it may be helpful to quote the passage directly. (Be sure to specify where the passage can be found.) However, direct quotations should be used sparingly. It is seldom necessary to quote more than a few sentences. Often it will be more appropriate to paraphrase what X says, rather than to quote him directly. When you are paraphrasing what somebody else said, be sure to say so. (And here too, cite the pages you're referring to.)

Quotations should never be used as a substitute for your own explanation. And when you do quote an author, you still have to explain what the quotation says in your own words. If the quoted passage contains an argument, reconstruct the argument in more explicit, straightforward terms. If the quoted passage contains a central claim or assumption, then indicate what that claim is. You may want to give some examples to illustrate the author's point. If necessary, you may want to distinguish the author's claim from other claims with which it might be confused.

Grammar, Writing Style, and Editing

Spelling, punctuation, grammar, as well as the overall appearance and readability of the paper, will also significantly influence your grade. Every written product or presentation you turn out, now and in the future, will be judged on both its content and appearance. As such it will reflect directly on you as a professional and will influence the effectiveness of your presentation. Do not submit any paper that you would not be willing to give a client or your manager. Prepare your discussion paper carefully and turn in a quality product.

[Reference: Hopkins, G. (1999). How to write a literature review. School of Health Sciences, University of Otago, New Zealand.]