Crafting a dissertation is an arduous journey, one that demands unwavering dedication, exhaustive

research, and meticulous attention to detail. Among its various components, the literature review
stands as a critical pillar, providing the foundation upon which your research is built. However,
navigating the complexities of structuring a literature review can prove to be a daunting task for
many scholars.

The literature review serves as a comprehensive survey of existing scholarly works relevant to your
research topic, showcasing your understanding of the current state of knowledge in your field. Its
structure should not only demonstrate your grasp of relevant theories, methodologies, and findings
but also present a coherent narrative that guides readers through the evolution of ideas and debates
surrounding your research area.

To effectively structure your literature review, consider organizing it thematically, chronologically, or

Regardless of the chosen approach, a well-structured literature review should begin with a concise
introduction that contextualizes the research problem and outlines the scope and objectives of the
review. This should be followed by a systematic presentation and analysis of relevant literature, with
each section or subsection focusing on a specific theme, time period, or methodological approach.
Throughout the review, strive to critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of existing studies,
identify gaps in the literature, and articulate how your research contributes to advancing knowledge
in the field.

While the task of structuring a literature review may seem daunting, it is not one you have to
undertake alone. At ⇒ HelpWriting.net ⇔, we understand the challenges faced by doctoral
candidates and offer expert assistance to guide you through every stage of the dissertation process.
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Most databases have one simple, basic Google-like search box and one advanced search form.
Resources Dive into our extensive resources on the topic that interests you. Impact of the COVID-19
pandemic on workplace violence at an academic emergency department. If you are writing a review
on, for example, how epidemiological approaches are used in modelling the spread of ideas, you may
be inclined to include material from both parent fields, epidemiology and the study of cultural
diffusion. Help Center Here you'll find an answer to your question. If your lit review is a standalone
piece, the introduction and conclusion take up more space and give you a place to discuss your
goals, research methods, and conclusions separately from where you discuss the literature itself. Or
the review might focus on the fundraising impact of the Internet on a particular political party. But
you’re still a bit away from actually writing about the literatures. It it crucial as a part of your
qualifying exams and the accompanying literature reviews that you elaborate on the context of the
studies being cited. In simple words, what key points will be added to the body part. Keeping the
logical sequence is very important, so having a good writing example will be a serious advantage. It
is very important to have an argument in the literary review otherwise it would be simply a summary
of your topic. When you’ve finished writing and revising your literature review, don’t forget to
proofread thoroughly before submitting. Reading combined with critical analysis can help to refine a
topic and frame research questions. More Features Connections Canva Create professional content
with Canva, including presentations, catalogs, and more. Delete Replies Reply Reply Unknown 3
December 2017 at 05:18 Wow,great post. Literature was selected for further review based on the
inclusion of keywords relevant to workplace violence in healthcare in study titles and abstracts. The
review should enumerate, describe, summarize, objectively evaluate and clarify this previous
research. A nice literature review is a mix of scientific facts and easy-to-read descriptions. We can
also say that you can earn the most marks from this section only if you write it effectively or can
lose them if it is written incorrectly. In essence, you need to identify any words or phrases that will
assist you in gaining more information regarding a particular topic. Now’s the time to try to improve
the linkage from each section to the next, tighten up the writing to be more concise, trim down word
count and sand it down into a more digestible read. It provides an overview of current knowledge,
allowing you to identify relevant theories, methods, and gaps in the existing research. Connections
should be made linking those sources to one another. The Creative Commons Public Domain
Dedication waiver ( ) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a
credit line to the data. There are five key steps to writing a literature review: Search for relevant
literature Evaluate sources Identify themes, debates, and gaps Outline the structure Write your
literature review A good literature review doesn’t just summarize sources—it analyzes, synthesizes,
and critically evaluates to give a clear picture of the state of knowledge on the subject. You will
definitely have to work on a theoretical part to show the aims within paradigms, working
assumptions, and other aspects. Once the issue is clarified, sticking to it without giving any
unnecessary information is essential. We identify new and additional research by performing targeted
keyword searches on large databases such as ProQuest, EBSCOHost, and ScienceDirect, and include
full information on the details of what and how we searched for easy replication. Many studies
applying these indicators reported positive outcomes with regards to reducing the burden of WPV
and improving patient care outcomes.
A critical, analytical summary and synthesis of the current knowledge of a topic. Identify the most
relevant and recent studies, including theoretical and empirical research, to provide a comprehensive
understanding of the research field. In total, the rapid review process identified 84 structural quality
indicators, 121 process quality indicators, 24 outcome quality indicators, 57 survey-type questions
and 17 survey instruments. What sources have they cited to support their conclusions. For example, a
literature review that focuses on continuing research about the emergence of German economic
power after the fall of the Soviet Union. Once you consider the key message of your literature
review, you can know the relevant and irrelevant content and edit them accordingly. Some research
topics make it difficult to collect data on. However, progression of time may still be an important
factor in a thematic review. Structuring a Literature Review Learn how to structure your literature
review depending on the aims, purpose and function of your review. Then this Historical Literature
Review Example voices your familiarity with the topic. When searching the literature for pertinent
papers and reviews, the usual rules apply: be thorough, use different keywords and database sources
(e.g., DBLP, Google Scholar, ISI Proceedings, JSTOR Search, Medline, Scopus, Web of Science),
and look at who has cited past relevant papers and book chapters. Connections should be made
linking those sources to one another. It’s certainly the most lengthy and detailed, and requires some
very advanced skills in terms of literature searching, review and interpretation of existing research,
and composition. Literature Review Table One way to organize your thought process, and your
writing, is to create a Literature Review Table. An individual may write a literature review for a
journal, books, articles, or any published material. The trauma-informed approach recognizes that a
patient’s individual circumstances can influence how they interact with healthcare services. Writing a
literature review is not a walk in the park since it requires an individual to dedicate a lot of their time
and efforts. It is advisable then to reformulate such quotes with your own words in the final draft. I
requested to download the free literature review template, however, your website wouldn’t allow
me to complete the request or complete a download. Definition: A literature review is a systematic
examination and synthesis of existing scholarly research on a specific topic or subject. Use Quotes
Sparingly Some short quotes are okay if you want to emphasize a point, or if what an author stated
cannot be easily paraphrased. Methodology -- were the techniques used to identify, gather, and
analyze the data appropriate to addressing the research problem. It is important to be careful in
noting the references already at this stage, so as to avoid misattributions. The central theme of the
paper offers a clear guideline on what research work is relevant and which is not. There are various
approaches to organising the body of a literature review. I am doing two papers on my final year
thesis, and I must stay I feel very confident to face both headlong after reading this article. For the
literature review, we ensure discussion of all literature is presented in past tense, as you are
discussing previously published work in your field. Note that, generally, the search engine
capabilities of these databases are poor, so make sure you search for the exact article name, or you
might not find it. The review should enumerate, describe, summarize, objectively evaluate and clarify
this previous research. You need to draw out the key contributions of each corpus of literatures and
their relevance to your research.
The difference between theoretical framework and conceptual framework is the former focuses on
theories and themes that explain the research while the latter discusses elements of theoretical
framework and centers attention on them in the study (Taylor, 2010). Recapitulate important features
of a research study, but then synthesize it by rephrasing the study's significance and relating it to
their own work. In this process, one is required to delve into citation reports and analysis of content
further broadening their knowledge spectrum (Moeini, 2014). If the same authors, books or articles
keep appearing in your reading, make sure to seek them out. For health systems without tiered WPV
response levels, intervention utilization indicators are applicable for all risk levels. There should be
your topic and its significance mentioned, background theories, and a brief explanation of your
methodology and outline in the introduction. On the same note, we always want to be entertained,
which makes us lose our attention to come up with quality academic papers. This is also where you
describe any manual searches that you did. Essentially, you need to be looking for any existing
literature that potentially helps you answer your research question (or develop it, if that’s not yet
pinned down). It should be a comprehensible paper that touches upon the achievements of
outstanding writers and theorists in the chosen field. Video Say more by seamlessly including video
within your publication. Sometimes different aspects of the study are scored separately. Writing
literature reviews is a particularly important skill if you want to apply for graduate school or pursue a
career in research. Now’s the time to try to improve the linkage from each section to the next, tighten
up the writing to be more concise, trim down word count and sand it down into a more digestible
read. Check the abstracts to make sure they are relevant to your topic. Then this Literature Review
Examples may help you to write your thesis in no time. Even though a chronology is linear, you need
to also trace threads and associations through your chosen timeline. Don’t be afraid to do more
research if you discover a new thread as you’re writing. After the introduction, it grounds your
research in a scholarly field and leads directly to your theoretical framework or methodology. Let’s
move on and discuss the strategies you can use for organizing your review. The introduction should
clearly establish the focus and purpose of the literature review. MA reviewed the rapid review
manuscript critically for important intellectual content, provided final approval of the version to be
published and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work. The literature review has a two-
fold purpose: to justify the focus of your study and to provide a rationale for your methodological
approach. The easiest way to do this is to copy and paste your search history from the database into
a text document. These previous works usually highlight the main topic points focused on and enable
one to provide an overview of the topic. Also, note any issues you feel arise due to the methodology.
Expertise with the requirements of all major online universities. Summarize and synthesize all the
materials presented. More Features Connections Canva Create professional content with Canva,
including presentations, catalogs, and more. A great literature review should have a flawless logical
cohesiveness.
There’s actually a fairly large range in terms of length for this chapter. Second, you need to develop
this chapter so that it provides a rationale for your chosen methodological approach. Your examiner
will most probably not expect you to read all the information you come across in every source. It
should: - Go through our key themes in order (eg, by importance or chronologically). - Explore
relevant material, theme by theme; - Clearly show why certain studies are important - Draw
conclusions from our literature as we go - Explore the ideas of experts AND our underpinning
research theories - Contain all the materials needed for our research project - Explain how individual
studies relate to and advance theory. As a publication, a lit review usually is meant to help make
other scholars’ lives easier by collecting and summarizing, synthesizing, and analyzing existing
research on a topic. Lecture 29 th. RECAP. Getting started with writing. However, if it’s a
dissertation, the literature review might need to take up as much as twenty-five percent of your
whole piece. All you have to do is skim through literature review chapters of existing dissertations
related to your topic and you’ll find a gold mine of potential literature. Sort through other current
bibliographies or literature reviews in the field to get a sense of what your discipline expects. As
shown in the video, above, the body should NOT be organised author by author (for that, there are
annotated bibliographies ). The specialists of our service synthesize and critically evaluate them to
deliver a detailed and objective copy. One of the best ways for students to use the thematic way is
by asking a certain question to themselves. For example, what type of databases you will use and
where you will get your concern research literature. The author states that the majority of children
with ASD are likely to engage in disruptions. Scribbr slides are free to use, customize, and distribute
for educational purposes. When you have multiple sources cited in a paragraph, you are more likely
to be synthesizing them (not always, but often Read more about synthesis here. The questions and
instruments for healthcare providers and staff inquired about feelings of safety and anxiety regarding
WPV, satisfaction with their organization, exposure to workplace violence, confidence managing
aggressive behaviours, and inquired about staff’s perspectives on effective methods to address WPV.
Subject headings and keywords were selected for concepts of psychiatric emergency or violence,
hospital settings, and quality measures, with the aim of maximizing the specificity of the search
results while also not focusing on any one kind of violence, setting or measure. You may know that
an essay has three parts: introduction, main body and conclusion. Nobody wants to have their
reputation damaged by a written literature review that contains plagiarism. Another important aspect
of a good literature review sample is the use of appropriate citation styles. Structuring a literature
review Learn how to structure a literature review in a similar way to a standard essay, with an
introduction, a body and a conclusion. A research is also able to create a new idea or merge existing
concepts during the evaluation process. Once you’re satisfied that you have digested and distilled all
the relevant literature in your mind, it’s time to put pen to paper (or rather, fingers to keyboard).
Ensure that your writing is well-structured and flows logically, with each paragraph focusing on a
specific theme or aspect of the literature. However, the significance of the literature review is either
taken for granted or foggily understood. Finally, when doing your literature review, ensure that you
can differentiate between credible and non-credible sources of information. Moreover, one has to
determine how to transfer the findings of these studies to their current scope of study. Furthermore,
we noted a limited amount literature defining comprehensive and pertinent sets of indicators for
measuring WPV in healthcare. You can also try to explain your literature review structure to someone
who knows little about the field, to test whether it is clear and logical.
In the context of WPV, they point to the historic mistreatment of certain identities and groups as
stress-inducing factors that contribute to disproportionate rates of violence. When searching the
literature for pertinent papers and reviews, the usual rules apply: be thorough, use different
keywords and database sources (e.g., DBLP, Google Scholar, ISI Proceedings, JSTOR Search,
Medline, Scopus, Web of Science), and look at who has cited past relevant papers and book
chapters. You are often asked to write it for three purposes. This is mind blowing, the detailed
explanation and simplicity is perfect. Getting a full understanding of all concepts pertinent to a topic
enables one to also understand the research topic in general. For instance, indicators originally
designed for acute or inpatient care settings, where security resources are more abundant, may fail to
address the unique needs of less-equipped outpatient primary care. As you might know, all papers
follow the universal scheme: introduction, main body, and conclusion. Your task is to be explicit in
presenting your rationale and your personal position. The same point applies to the dichotomy of
descriptive vs. Introduction Define the topic of the literature review, including any terminology.
Start with strong, ideas-focused claims, expose methodological weaknesses, and point out
unresolved issues or controversies. You might argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical
approach, or combine various theoretical concepts to create a framework for your research. Besides,
you can gain even more knowledge on the topic while going through all the previous studies. It
should not merely be descriptive—it should present definitions, theories, debates, and research data
in the field of interest. The theoretical or conceptual framework provides the basis for developing
your research questions, as well as interview questions in qualitative research. Understanding the
implementation of complex interventions in health care: the normalization process model. Moreover,
allows the researcher to offer criticism and detect loopholes in research providing potential ideas for
future research (Rewhorn, 2018). Review not just what scholars are saying, but how are they saying
it. This is of course your research gap — and if you check out our video on the problem statement,
you’ll see that this gap in knowledge is of central importance in justifying the need for your study.
The following study designs were eligible for inclusion in this review: abstracts, case studies, cluster-
randomized control studies, commentaries, comparative studies, cross-sectional studies, database
analysis, Delphi method studies, letters to the editor, literature reviews, meta-analysis, mixed method
studies, qualitative studies, quality improvement studies, quantitative studies, quasi-experiments,
systematic reviews, and validating method studies. The similarity score of your literature overview
will be low if you use our writing service. You can begin doing this by first making notes of the
phrases or words that you will use in searching for more information regarding a particular topic.
There are so many issues in contemporary science that you could spend a lifetime of attending
conferences and reading the literature just pondering what to review. You might look at databases
including ERIC and Academic Search Premier. You are a high schooler who deals with a literature
review for the first time. Review article: identifying occupational violence patient risk factors and
risk assessment tools in the Emergency Department: a scoping review. This entire process further
illuminates on more information in the field of interest for the researcher (Ridley, 2012). It also helps
you to highlight the most impactful research. Related items that provide additional information but
that are not key to understanding the research problem can be included in a list of further readings.
CSQ made substantial contributions to the conception and design of the rapid review, the acquisition,
analysis and interpretation of the data for the rapid review.
A methodological scope will influence either the types of documents in the review or the way in
which these documents are discussed. You’ve already developed this, obviously, in the course of
identifying your topic and key foundational elements. For example, if you are reviewing literature
about women and religion, key themes can include the role of women in churches and the religious
attitude towards women. The literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (eventually
your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis).
Survey the literature Develop an understanding of the issues Subject your understanding to critical
thinking processes. Moreover, the review should be written in a way that sets a direction for the
entire research. Interventions for workplace violence prevention in emergency departments: a
systematic review. It is important to keep track of your sources with citations to avoid plagiarism. In
your conclusion, you should summarize your review’s findings, describe the common points between
the sources, and justify your research proposal if you are making one. When addressing contrasting
arguments in different research papers on a particular topic, a researcher has to either form an
opinion from their own wealth of knowledge or embark on further reading to draw conclusions;
consequently one continues to build their knowledge in the area (Torracro, 2005). As human beings
are susceptible to errors and short memories it is of utmost importance to jot down short notes while
looking into various sources of literature. Having read the review with a fresh mind, reviewers may
spot inaccuracies, inconsistencies, and ambiguities that had not been noticed by the writers due to
rereading the typescript too many times. This can be especially helpful for students or scholars
getting into a new research area, or for directing an entire community of scholars toward questions
that have not yet been answered. Each subtopic should use groups of articles as evidence to support
the ideas. It allows one to justify what procedure they have used in their research. Professional
Practice Dissertation: A Guide for Doctoral. Include an objective topical sentence that introduces
your readers to the purpose of that paragraph. Using referencing software from the very beginning of
your endeavour will save you time. The review should enumerate, describe, summarize, objectively
evaluate and clarify this previous research. Sometimes methodologies picked fail to address the
research problem and that is where literature review can help. A literature review does not
demonstrate what you know but what you have learned from your analysis of the topic or field.
Check the abstracts to make sure they are relevant to your topic. The pyramid A pyramid literature
review places your research in its context. To retrieve as many relevant studies as possible, you will
need to include free-text search terms as well as subject headings in your final search strategy. But,
scholarly books and a small number of published dissertations are commonly acceptable. The best
way to assess this is to ask them to explain the chapter back to you. The introduction should clearly
establish the focus and purpose of the literature review. How to structure a Literature Review There
are a lot of resources out there explaining what a lit review is, but not so many explaining how to
structure them. As much as new research may be developed to fill in gaps, sometimes well-structured
and developed research can be done on existing research areas. For example: Look at what results
have emerged in qualitative versus quantitative research Discuss how the topic has been approached
by empirical versus theoretical scholarship Divide the literature into sociological, historical, and
cultural sources Theoretical A literature review is often the foundation for a theoretical framework.