Literature review tips

First of all I just want to disclose that I have never in my life written a literature review, nor do I claim to be an expert on the topic. But I've spent the last couple of days researching what the literature review actually is, how it can be approached and the do's and don'ts so I thought I would put together this little blog that will hopefully help at least one other person.

I could write paragraphs and paragraphs on 'What is a literature review' but if like me your head feels like its going to explode if you read one more book or article you might find this helpful:

1. The module handbook has most of the core information you need about a literature review - read it again!

2. 'Doing your research project' by Judith Bell and Stephen Waters - Part 1 Chapters 6 and 7 has further information on Literature Searching and then The Review of the Literature.

3. If like me you've read all of this over and over but you still don't really understand what it is we have to do, like you know what is required but you still don't feel like you know how to do it then take a look at the following YouTube video:

https://www.scribbr.co.uk/thesis-dissertation/literature-review/

I came across this video after almost tearing my hair out at the idea of the literature review and I can honestly say it has really helped to put my mind at ease over what I saw as quite a daunting task.

The video is broken down into an introduction, a quick run through and then 5 easy steps. This way you can refer back to the video if needed at the stage you currently find yourself at throughout the review. 

If reading is your thing then there is a whole detailed run through of essentially what is in the video but for me it was nice to give my eyes a break for 10 minutes and let my ears do the work!

Bibliography

McCombes. S, (2020), How to write a literature review, [Online], https://www.scribbr.co.uk/thesis-dissertation/literature-review/, [Accessed 21/02/21]