What and How of your Literature Review – Explained

According to Cresswell (2008) , “A literature review is a written summary of journal articles, books, and other documents  that describe the past and current state of information; organizes the literature into topics; and documents a need for a proposed study”.

Reviewing the literature involves locating, analyzing, synthesizing, organizing previous research and documents (periodicals, books, abstracts, etc.)  related to your study area. The goal is to obtain a detailed, cutting-edge knowledge of your particular topic. To do this, you must immerse yourself in your subject by reading extensively and voraciously. A solid and comprehensive review of the literature accomplishes several important purposes. It helps you to do the following:

1. Focus the purpose of your study more precisely.
2. Develop a conceptual or theoretical framework that might be used to guide your research.
3. Identify key variables for study and suggest relationship among them if you are completing a quantitative study; if you are conducting a qualitative study, identify and concepts or topics  you plan to study
4. Provide a historical background for your study 
5. Uncover previous research similar to your own that can be meaningfully extended                                     
6. Determine the relationship of your topic relative to current and past studies
7. Identify scholars and theorists in your area of study
8. From a basis for determining the significance of your study
9. Uncover questionnaires or tests previously validated
10. Link your findings to previous studies (Do your findings support or contradict them?)