Introduction to Literature Reviews

This new edition of the best-selling book offers graduate students in education and the social sciences a road map to developing and writing an effective literature review for a research project, thesis, or dissertation.

This book is written in a very simple and easy to follow format. The chapters are short and to the point, providing just enough information as well as practical examples. It is complete with excellent full length examples at the end of the book.

This easy-to-follow guide instructs students in the preparation of literature reviews for term projects, theses, and dissertations. There are numerous examples from published literature reviews that illustrate the guidelines discussed in this text.

This book provides a step-by-step guide to conducting a literature search and literature review, using cases and examples throughout to demonstrate best practice. Practical strategies are included for conducting a systematic search of the available literature, reading and note taking and writing up your literature review as part of an undergraduate research project, Masters dissertation or PhD thesis.

This article discusses the guidelines on writing a literature review, as well as the purposes and scope of a literature review. Specifically covered are the selection of sources, citation and referencing, and the recommended way to take and keep notes.

This article focuses on writing the literature review as an example of professional practice and uses the constructs of representation, decomposition, and approximation (Grossman et al., 2009) to analyze a seminar designed to support doctoral students in learning how to engage in the practice.