literature review

A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources that provides an overview of a particular topic. Literature reviews are a collection of the most relevant and significant publications regarding that topic in order to provide a comprehensive look at what has been said on the topic and by whom. The basic components of a literature review include:
The purpose of a literature review is to provide a review of writings on the given topic in order to establish the reviewer’s own position in the existing field of scholarship on that topic. A literature review provides a reader with a comprehensive look at previous discussions prior to the one the reviewer will be making in his/her own research paper, thesis, or dissertation. In short, a literature review shows readers where the reviewer is entering the academic conversation on a particular topic in the context of existing scholarship.

Besides enlarging your knowledge about the topic, writing a literature review lets you gain and demonstrate skills in two areas

1. be organized around and related directly to the thesis or research question you are developing
2. synthesize results into a summary of what is and is not known
3. identify areas of controversy in the literature
4. formulate questions that need further research

Keywords example

• Social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok
• Body image, self-perception, self-esteem, mental health
• Generation Z, teenagers, adolescents, youth

Example of a paragraph in a literature review

A literature review has four main objectives:
Here’s another way of describing those four main tasks. A literature review:

Frodeman, Robert. The Oxford Handbook of Interdisciplinarity. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.
Use Evidence
A literature review section is, in this sense, just like any other academic research paper. Your interpretation of the available sources must be backed up with evidence [citations] that demonstrates that what you are saying is valid.

References:

http://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/types-of-writing/literature-review/
http://www.scribbr.com/dissertation/literature-review/
http://www.rlf.org.uk/resources/what-is-a-literature-review/
http://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/literaturereview
http://www.oxbridgeessays.com/blog/write-dissertation-literature-review-depth-guide/