Dissertation Deadline Looming? 5 Top Tips for Your Literature Review
Have a dissertation deadline looming? Still wrestling with your literature review chapter? Or just generally stuck on what to do with that pile of notes and papers? Here are my top five tips for you, just in time for the start of 2024. 1. Remember that your literature review is an argument . You are not describing the articles you read to show what you know. You show what you know by using the findings, conclusions, and insights from previous work in your field as evidence in an argument that establishes why your research question should be asked. 2. Approach your literature review like an explorer. Think of previous work in your field as the unknown terrain you have to make sense of. Invest time in the card-sorting technique up front as you venture into this terrain to save time later. Convert your notes into cards, with one thought, sentence, quote, finding, etc. per card, and then begin sorting. 3. As you sort, say to yourself, 'My research question needs to b...