Your Literature Review Is An Argument
As you are preparing to do your literature review, you might be reading up on them. Most research methodology textbooks have a chapter or two on the literature review, as do the many guides you can find on writing your dissertation or thesis project. Such texts can be useful in many ways, and when it comes to the literature review they will typically tell you a host of things. The literature review is where you demonstrate a sophisticated grasp of your field. The literature review is where you critically appraise prior research relevant to your topic. The literature review is where you identify common themes, patterns, and issues in the existing body of research. The literature review is where you assess previous findings in relation to methodological strengths and weaknesses. The literature review is where you define what has been done in your field and delineate what has not been done. A good literature review will do all of these things. Howe...