SUMMER RESEARCH INTERNSHIP PROGRAM - Hammond Campus

• Gives the historical background of your research
• Describes the current debates  issues and questions in the field
• Situates the current context of your research and how it relates to the field
• Discusses the relevant theories and concepts which underpin your methodology and research
• Introduces the relevant terminology and provides definitions to clarify how those terms are used in your research
• Shows how your research extends or challenges previous research in your filed
• Addresses and identifies the gaps in knowledge that exist in your field
• Provides evidence of the significance and usefulness of your research  

 A literature search is a systematic discovery of text to inform and propel further research for knowledge creation.

• A literature search both answers and gives rise to questions
• A literature search is a process that is iterative and ongoing - not an isolated action
• A literature search must result in you becoming familiar with a body of knowledge.
• know the terminology of your research topic
• know foundational articles of your research topic
• know the researchers of your research topic
• know the important journals of research topic
• know some of the unanswered questions of your research topic
• A literature research looks at different types of information sources: books, articles, chapters, and thesis & dissertations
• A literature search must be comprehensive: do not use just one search tool or database
• A literature search must uncover the relationships between documents, knowledge, and people
• The literature search becomes the basis for future searching
• Searching only improves after you have read and reflected on what you have found previously.
• Comprehensive searching requires that you adjust and modify your searching based on results
• A one shot search is inadequate for comprehensive literature review

------

Taken from The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for Students by Diana Ridley 

p. 81