The Process of Literature Review in a Research Paper

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The Process of Literature Review in a Research Paper

The Process of Literature Review in a Research Paper

Adlen Y. Garza

PSJA Southwest Early College High School

Miss. Vazquez/ Mr. Perez

February 20, 2018

A Literature Review is a summary of information based on a specific study topic. A literature review should describe, summarize, evaluate and clarify a studied topic. The purpose of a literature review is to convey the reader about the knowledge and wrote ideas based on a specific topic.Also, the strengths and weaknesses of it(“Review of Literature” UW-Madison Writing Center Writer’s Handbook,”2017). The main idea of a literature review is to summarize and synthesize the arguments or ideas without adding new contributions.

A Literature review requires four stages: “Problem formulation, Literature search, Data evaluation, and Analysis and interpretation” (“Library Guides: Write a Literature Review: Home” n.d.). In the Problem Formulation, the topic and the issues with it are to be examined. In Literature Search, materials are going to be found in accordance with the subject. In the Data Evaluation stage, the sources are going to be selected according to the ones that are more useful to the topic. In Analysis and Interpretation, the findings and conclusion are going to be discussed.

In general, the literature review should provide a context for the research, justify the research, illustrate how the subject was studied, and the results of the study. Literature reviews are written in order to increase the credibility of the writer in his field(“What is a literature review, “n.d.).

A Literature Review can take many different forms like integrative review, historical review, methodological review, systematic review, argumentative review, theoretical review depending on the area of specialization(Yoon Silk Kim, 2013). An argument review is written to present an opposing view to a given position. An integrative review is a critical analysis in a given topic in order to introduce a need for a new research. A historical review assesses the historical records chronologically. Methodological review examines the research methods alone.

A literature review is important in any field because it gives a comprehensive overview on the studied topic.It gives a reader a sense of focus and a direction of what the new research is going to be(“University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill- rejected Request,” n.d.).

Work Cited

“Library Guides”: Write a Literature Review: Home. (n.d.). Retrieved from

"Review of Literature" UW-Madison Writing Center Writer's Handbook. (2017, August

25). Retrieved from

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - Rejected Request. (n.d.). Retrieved from

What is a literature review? (n.d.). Retrieved from

Yoon Sik Kim. (2013, August 2). The Importance of Literature Review in Research Writing. Retrieved from