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 be asked because . . . . '.  You should have between 3 and 5 main reasons.  These are the steps in your argument. Carry on sorting to assemble the evidence for each step.   

4. You will inevitably be confused for a while, as your job in the literature review is to make sense of a chaotic jumble of publications. Don't fear confusion or run away from it. Embrace it, as it is a sign that you are moving out of your comfort zone towards new understanding. Each successive draft is a step closer to clarity, so give yourself time and space re-draft.  Remember that the card-sorting technique applies to your drafts as well as to your notes.

5. And finally, remember that your literature review is a key component of your work.  It is not simply something to get through so that you can move on to the more 'important' parts.  It is an important part. If you do your job right, the sense you make of previous work will be part of what makes your work original.  No one is asking your question in quite the way you are, so your argument for why it needs to be asked should be equally unique to you.  No one else can make your argument.