APA Writing Tip of the Week

APA Writing Tip of the Week:
Writing Literature Reviews

Writing literature reviews can be daunting. Keep in mind the purpose of the lit review:

· to describe the available research surrounding a particular research question

· to evaluate the available research

· to integrate the available research

· to place your research in context with the existing research

· to identify areas for further research

In writing your literature review, select a research topic that has enough breadth so there are enough articles written about the topic and enough depth that there are not too many. After you have read enough (33-50% of the total written on the subject) you will be ready to write the review. The review should contain:

· Description of the studies

· Evaluation of the studies

· Integration of the studies

· Implications of the studies--what they showed or didn't show.

Some resources: http://www.deakin.edu.au/library/findout/research/litrev.html

http://library.ucsc.edu/ref/howto/literaturereview.html

http://depts.washington.edu/psywc/handouts/pdf/litrev.pdf