A Dissertation Literature Review: The Best Way To Write It

What is a literature review?

A dissertation literature review, in a nutshell, evaluates the sources (literature) you’ve gathered and read about your topic and then identifies a “gap” in that literature that your research will attempt to fill.

Because it varies, there are many misconceptions about what a dissertation literature review entails. While a dissertation literature review can be as simple as a list of important sources, it usually requires critical engagement with the text to express your positive or negative feelings about it. What are your feelings about a particular source? Is there a significant difference between this interpretation and the other interpretations in the literature? This level of critical engagement is expected of you in a literature review.

A summary will most likely provide a simple recap of the general arguments of the source(s), but the expectations for a literature review go beyond that. A literature review can provide a new perspective on an old research paper or combine new and old interpretations (the “gap” – more on that later). A literature review can also provide a comprehensive and critical overview of intellectual developments in a field, with an emphasis on major, often polemical debates. In other cases, a literature review may provide an evaluation of a source and inform a reader about its validity, pertinence, and relevance to the research topic.

In a literature review, you want to summarize and critically analyze the research arguments found in your readings, but you don’t want to add anything new to the literature. As a result, the term literature review was coined.

Writing a literature review for a dissertation paper is not as easy as it looks. To most of the students, it seems more complex than writing a research methodology. But there is no need to stress more. There are professional dissertation experts who can take this important responsibility off your shoulders. To have the best literature review compiled in a dissertation, almost every student is using a professional best dissertation writing help these days.

There is a widespread misconception that literature reviews and academic papers are interchangeable, but they are not. In general, academic papers aim to provide new research material on a specific topic, which includes a literature review. The literature review serves as the foundation for the research in a research paper, highlighting any research gaps as support for a new argument or insight you intend to offer.

Is it really necessary to conduct a literature review?

Now that we know what a literature review is, let’s look at why we should write one in the first place. Whether you like it or not, a literature review is an important part of any academic paper because it shows your tutor or reader that you have a thorough understanding of the sources relevant to your research topic or question.

The literature review, though it may appear arbitrary, aids in persuading the person reading and marking your assignment that what you have written about is relevant, and your arguments are justified and worthwhile. In conclusion, a literature review is critical, and you must devote the necessary time to completing it correctly. Hence, getting dissertation help from qualified experts is more beneficial in so many ways. Most of the time, when students order their professional dissertation help, they end up getting the best grades they have always wanted.

Let’s have a look at the best ways to write a literature review for your dissertation.

1. Select Papers That Are Pertinent To Your Topic

Think about your chosen field of study. Consider both your own and the interests of other researchers in your field.

Discuss your ideas with your professor and go over lecture notes and recent issues of relevant journals.

Limit your focus to a specific topic (for example, France’s role in WWII rather than WWII in general).

2. Conduct a Review of the Literature

Create a list of the criteria you will use to select your sources (ie. articles published between a certain date range, focusing on a specific geographic region, or employing a certain methodology).

Use keywords to search a library database.

Any research that contradicts your point of view should be included.

3. Carefully Read And Evaluate The Articles You’ve Chosen

Analyze and synthesize the findings and conclusions of the studies.

Keep the following in mind:

• Some, if not all, researchers appear to make assumptions.
• Researchers use methodologies, testing procedures, subjects, and material that has been tested.
• Names/labs that are frequently mentioned by experts in the field
• Theories, results, and methodologies that contradict each other
• Theories’ popularity and how it has changed (or not) over time

4. Organize the Papers You’ve Chosen

Keep the following in mind:

•         Findings that are both common and controversial
•         The most important research trends
•         The most popular theories

Tip: If your literature review is lengthy, use a large table surface to organize your findings into categories using post-it notes or filing cards.

Move them around if you decide that (a) they belong under different headings or (b) you need to create new topic headings.

Create headings and subheadings based on the main themes and patterns you discovered.

5. Construct A Thesis Or Goal Statement

Make a one- or two-sentence summary of your conclusion about the major trends and developments in the research on your subject.

How to Include Critical Thinking in Your Literature Review

Review your work

Examine the topic sentences in each paragraph. If you only read these sentences, would you say your paper presented a clear, logically developed position from beginning to end? The topic sentences of each paragraph should include the main points of your literature review.

Outline each section of the paper to see if any information needs to be added, deleted, or sections restructured.

You should read your work aloud to yourself. You’ll be able to see where punctuation marks are required to indicate pauses or divisions within sentences, where grammatical errors have occurred, and where your sentences are unclear.

Check to make sure you’ve covered all of the important, up-to-date, and relevant texts, as the goal of a literature review is to show that the writer is familiar with the important professional literature on the chosen subject. Recent literature is essential in the sciences and some social sciences; however, it is less important in the humanities.

Check that all of your citations and references are correct and that you are using the appropriate referencing style for your discipline. If you’re not sure which style to use, talk to your professor.

Check to see if you’ve plagiarized by failing to cite a source or by using words directly quoted from one. (If you use three or more words from another source, put them in quotation marks and cite the source page.)

The text should be written in an academic style that is clear and concise; it should not be descriptive or use the common language.

Keep a check on the grammatical errors. Proofread your literature reviews properly. In your literature review, there should be no mistakes in spelling or grammar.

Sentences should be simple to read and comprehend.

The best way to keep your dissertation paper properly structured is to get professional dissertation help in your desired subject. Getting the best dissertation help will not only help you secure better grades but it is also intended to polish your grammar.