If you are reading this article right now, it means that you either simply demonstrate interest in the principles of dissertation literature review writing or you have been assigned one and you are now looking for some tips on how to cope with it. At first sight, it may seem quite simple to work on a literature review — you just have to devote enough time to studying a variety of sources and then have time for their detailed analysis. However, since writing a review differs a lot from providing a simple book summary, keep in mind that you need to follow some specific recommendations. To get in-depth understanding regarding what they are, read on the article and find out.
What Is a Literature Review?
To put it bluntly, a dissertation literature review first intends to critically analyze a set of sources collected in relation to the assigned dissertation topic with the further aim of identifying a gap in the research. As such, based on the wide array of sources, you are then able to find out what this research still lacks and what possible contribution your dissertation paper can bring.
There is a lot of misunderstanding when it comes to the structure and requirements of a dissertation literature review. Sometimes it can simply be a concise summary of crucial sources, whereas it can also refer to a detailed and in-depth analysis of the chosen sources, where you will also convey your personal opinion and evaluation of the highlighted ideas.
At times, you may even have to include your own interpretation of the sources. Once you realize that your evaluation or interpretation differs from those provided in the literature, you can actually organize your overview on this aspect.
Despite the fact that many students find a lot of similarities between a review and a summary, keep in mind that the latter merely focuses on the general overview of the main arguments. On the other hand, a review is more specific and concise as it provides in-depth explanations. When it comes to summary writing, it does not bring any novelty into the research field or a specific area of expertise. A review, however, can provide a brand-new perspective on a specific topic and suggest some interpretations. A literature review may even sometimes serve a function of a critique of the existent sources on a specific topic.
It is also important to differentiate academic paper writing from literature review writing. Normally, a literature review can be a constituent part of an academic paper (an essay, a research paper or a dissertation whatsoever). The main aim of academic papers is to provide some kind of a new vision or perspective on a specific subject but a review can be one of the instruments that carry out this function.
When it comes to the role of a literature review in a research paper, it is actually one of the most important chapters in it since a review focuses on the material and information already existent within the subject area. As such, its function is limited to helping outline any existent gaps in the topic or propose some new insights that you have personally gained from the studying process.
When you compose a literature review, be sure that you can put forward new arguments on the topic and find for new ways of proving them. As such, when you are working on a review, you are not actually required to contribute to the area of research with some peculiar originality or novelty.
Is It Always Necessary to Write Literature Reviews for Research?
Hopefully, the point of writing a literature review will be more understandable once you are aware of the peculiarities of this writing type and its underlying essence. So, if you are eager to know whether a literature review is an inseparable part of research paper writing, we should admit that it really is. One of the fundamental meanings of a review is that it helps your target audience understand that you provide a credible research and that you are good at analyzing the data.
Even if it may seem strange to you at first, but a literature review actually helps a writer to convince target readers of the credibility of the study. With the help of review writing, you actually persuade the readers that the information is worth trusting and relying on.
How to Write a Literature Review for a Dissertation: Top Tips
Normally the process of working on a literature review starts with a general preparatory stage, when you search for the sources, skim read them according to the area of interest, then pick those that you find credible and relevant, and only after that you can start their analysis in a written form. Once you have identified the sources and read them, you can think of the possible gaps in the research area.
- Identify sources for your review. The fundamental step towards delivering a successful review is to have a clear idea what sources are relevant and appropriate to your topic. Only after you have realized then can you be sure what sources to look for and review. Sometimes, the task may be easier once you have been given a comprehensive list of sources to use by your professor. In other cases, you need to come up with the sources on your own and make sure you have chosen appropriate ones. Another valuable tip here is to send the list of sources you have chosen to your instructor or academic supervisor for approval. As you work with the sources, make sure they are well balanced: you should have a sufficient number of books, articles, journals, online sources, and other types of sources. The core thing to consider here is to make sure they are peer-reviewed and come from reputable libraries and databases. If you wonder what can help you choose appropriate sources, try thinking of the main aims and objectives of your research and then try to conform the sources to these parameters. Another question you may ask yourself is what you expect to find out after you conduct your literature review. Are there any specific theoretical or practical issues you would like to handle? What methods would you choose for researching the topic? Would you mainly focus on quantitative or qualitative sources? If you want to draw attention of your readers to a specific topic or concept, just provide a list of keywords in the abstract.
- Read the sources. If you have no sufficient time to read each source in detail, keep in mind that you should at least scan through them. Skim reading may be also helpful especially if you have an immensely long list of sources. If you want to manage your time effectively and not waste many efforts on this reading process, make sure that you can use some specific techniques. First, it is recommended to skim read all of the sources to get the general idea that unites all of them (i.e. why these specific sources are good to use specifically within this realm). This fast reading may also help you to get the gist of the general content as well as the main arguments presented there. Second, reading all sources will help you decide which of them you will mainly rely on in the very paper. Afterwards, as you are proceeding to the next stage, you may pay closer attention to the narrowed list of sources and you may also cast a critical look at them. This is the perfect stage for asking questions.
- Pay attention to the possible gaps or contradictions in the research. When working on a dissertation literature review, one of the basic tasks is to be able to identify the existent gap in the research and try to bring some novelty in the process of conducting a study. As a rule, each consequent research intends to identify the existent gap and bring some novelty or a fresh perspective on the topic. However strange it may sound, but it is first essential to identify the gap before you can actually fill it in. Normally, a gap can be found somewhere at the core of your research question that you formulate after the research introduction. Thus, the research you are conducting has the core aim — to bridge this gap and provide some new findings. Many students find it difficult and challenging to identify a gap in a research and then provide original findings. If you have faced such a complexity while performing the task, check out the main ways that will help you overcome this difficulty:
- Start reading more. Investigate different scholarly sources in your research area, pay attention to keywords and then have a look at some blank areas. You will definitely identify some specific keywords that repeat throughout different sources whereas some others will be missing at all. Apart from extensive reading, you can also use Google Scholar for help; specifically it provides overview of the existing methodology and the existing keywords from findings.
- Pay attention to abstracts and recommendation sections. While reading numerous research works, be sure that you pay specific attention to the abstract page and recommendation section. The abstract page is a brilliant starting point to get familiar with the main notion or essence of the paper and to notice some of the main keywords. Furthermore, when you look through recommendation section, you should also pay attention to the information that provides some facts and details on the gaps and contradictions or specific recommendations for the future research.
- Write the body of your review. Now once you have undergone all of the aforementioned stages, keep in mind that you are ready for working on the very body of your review. However, some preliminary planning or composing an outline will definitely come in handy for you. When developing the main body of your review, please consider the following:
- If you lack ideas or clear understanding what you are required to write, address sample literature review writing for help.
- Make the literature review simple and easy to comprehend.
- Use only credible and up-to-date sources.
- Think ahead of the mode of organization of your paragraph.
- Once you have devised a detailed plan or an outline, be sure to develop body paragraphs.
- Write a conclusive paragraph.
As you are writing the text of your review, keep in mind that it is not some kind of a narration or summary of the sources. You should not merely describe what each author said — you should rather focus on your personal analysis of the ideas that you have found in each of the sources. Make sure your analysis is critical and that you provide evaluation of different types of information.
When it comes to structuring the paper, keep in mind that you choose the technique that you find most convenient for you as well as relevant to the topic of your research. It is recommended to structure the ideas appearing in the review according to different thematic aspects or methodology.
When appealing to some sources, be sure to use only those ones that are credible and reliable. However, all of them should come from different sources. When you analyze and interpret them, be sure to back them up with solid evidence.
Be particularly selective when it comes to reviewing different sources you have found. Without a doubt, you need to demonstrate that you have processed a huge variety of sources but on the other hand, you also need to refer to those ones that are specifically relevant and from which you can derive some benefit for your research.
Do not overuse direct quotes. You may cite some specific aspects or facts or even include direct quotes but make sure that you use them only as supporting evidence or illustration. The quotes should not compose the major part of the review. So, make sure there is reason behind using specific quotes.
Make your voice heard. Keep in mind that you have your own peculiar writing style even when it comes to review writing. When it comes to providing a critique of sources for a dissertation, make sure that you analyze them in-depth and provide your expert analytic opinion.
After you have completed the review, make sure you get back to the initial paragraph and review the whole of it.
Dissertation Literature Review on The Second Boer War And The Events Leading Up To It
Introduction
The Boer Wars as the turn of the 20th century significantly influenced not on the history of South Africa, especially in respect to the conception of the apartheid system, but it also transformed the possibilities of warfare. The armed conflicts between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republic –Transvaal (South African Republic) and the Orange Free State too place between from 1880 to 1881 and from 1899 to 1902. Even though the two wars are connected, the focus of this review is on the Second Boer War (1889-1902) also known as the South African War or the Last of the Gentlemen’s Wars. The war was caused by a number of interrelated factors including the scramble for Africa, conflicting political ideologies of republicanism and imperialism; the discovery of massive deposits of gold in Transvaal’s Witwatersrand; outlander-Boer tensions and the Jameson Raid. For this reasons, the review covers the period before the Second Boer War, the discovery of gold, the Boer offensive, the British offensive, the annexation of the Orange Free State and Transvaal, Guerilla warfare, Scorched Earth Policy, Concentration camps and the Treaty of Vereeniging.
Conflicting Political Ideologies
One of the causes of the Second Boer War is linked to the political ideologies of the British and Boers. These ideologies are traced back to industrialization in Europe, which led to the scramble for Africa in order to secure raw material and mineral for the European industries. At the peak of imperialism and the scramble for Africa, the British Empire was at crossroads with other colonial powers such as Belgium, France and Germany in the fight for control of the continent’s minerals are other natural resources. By 1880, the Empire had already secured two colonies in the southern region of the continent: Natal and the Cape Colony. The Cape Colony and Natal were annexed from the Dutch through British military expeditions. At the center of the region was two independent republics established by the Boers, who had migrated further inland away from the British in what was termed as the Great Trek. The Boers are descendants of...
Custom Dissertation Writing Services
Today it seems to be not so hard to find professional writing services that will help you to deal with writing assignments. We want to propose you to use our superb custom paper writing service, cooperation with which will definitely bring benefits to your college life.
If you have been searching the web for a high quality custom writing service or have been disappointed by a service that did not deliver what was promised, then you do not need to look longer. EssaysBank.com is the premier custom dissertation writing service available, providing authentic, customized academic papers of all types to students who are seeking superior quality and service. EssaysBank began its service with the goal of providing only premium quality academic writing to its clients. To that end, we have built our business by utilizing the services of professional writers who have graduate degrees in virtually every academic field of study and who have passed our rigorous evaluation of their writing abilities.
Enjoy Benefits while Working with Our Custom Paper Writing Service
- We provide custom writing services for essays of all types, book reviews, analyses, research papers, theses, and dissertations and virtually any other type of writing assignment an instructor may give.
- We provide the most current and relevant research resources, no matter what the topic and no matter the level of complexity required.
- We provide complete reviewing and editing services for students who have begun a project, for example a term paper writing, and are unable to complete it appropriately, or for those who have completed a work and need it revised and polished prior to submission.
- Our custom paper writing service incorporates any requirements and specifications provided by the client, including reference formatting, length, structure, organization, and style.
- We target our market to students in American institutions and, as such, employ only those writers who are proven academicians with graduate degrees, primarily from the US, UK, Canada and Australia.
- Each client's order is assigned to a writer whose academic background is in the specific content area.
- Each client's order is begun as ordered and is guaranteed to be completely original.
- We meet each client's deadline, without exception. There is, in fact, no deadline we cannot meet and no paper we cannot produce.
- Each paper is adjusted to the style of the client, and this is accomplished by receiving a sample of the client's own writing prior to beginning the project.
- Once delivered, the product is yours and yours alone. It will never be resold to anybody else who is also using our custom essay writing service.
- We guarantee complete confidentiality. No one will ever know that you have used our term paper writing service.
Under normal circumstances, I refrain from purchasing academic papers over the internet. However, since I have discovered your service, I find it a much more frequent and acceptable practice. It is refreshing to work with a service that is this professional and that does what your service does. The work you create is exemplary, and your customer service, unsurpassed. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you sincerely, for helping me. You lend a whole new name to the writing industry by providing a truly valuable service.
Donald C., Kansas, United States
I am pleased to inform you that the essay your writers did for me earned an A+ from my professor! He even wrote comments in the margins, paying me some very bold compliments! The writer wrote the paper in my voice, completely, and I am very happy with the whole transaction. Thank you very much for offering this valuable writing service. I plan recommend this essay site to my classmates. I have never tried another writing service, but it would be difficult for me to believe that any other service could possibly be this good.
Jackie B., California, United States
In my opinion, your online writing service is ideal for those individuals who are seeking excellent writing assistance. It is available 24 hours a day, which really helps those of us who wake up in the middle of the night and realize that we have a paper due in 2 days. The work that I have bought from you has been beautifully written and well-organized. I just could not ask for a better writing service. Thank you so much. Up to this point, I do not think there could even be a better writing service. You guys do it all, and I will not be using anyone else.
Katie A., Louisiana, United States
I found your website very user friendly. I was able to log on, order my paper and get out in minutes flat. The end result was a perfectly written paper! Thank you, EssaysBank.com! You did outstanding work. When I decided to use your writing service, I made a great decision. This is a service that obviously cares about the customers and puts us first. Other writing companies just want our money. That is not true with this one. The prices are reasonable, and the staff is friendly and caring. The writers are easy to work with, too.
Dale B., Virginia, United States
Our custom writing services are here for anyone who is struggling with a writing task. It is important to remember that numerous highly intelligent individuals are unable to transfer that intelligence to the written word. This is not to be considered a failing, for each of us has strengths and weaknesses. If your weakness is dissertation writing, then turn to the professionals to accomplish for you what you struggle to accomplish on your own.
EssaysBank.com offers honest and reliable custom writing services, and you may view our prices on our site. While we are certainly not the one of the cheapest professional writing services available, we are the most reliable, providing guarantees of quality and originality not offered by others.
In sum, EssaysBank.com offers you a full range of custom dissertation writing services. We employ only top academic professionals to produce works for our clients, and we guarantee completely plagiarism-free products, delivered on time and according to the client's specifications. Try our professional writing services once and we know you will return throughout your academic career!
