WHY WRITE A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE?

The literature review is a critical look at the existing research that is significant to the work that you are carrying out. Some people think that it is a summary: this is not true.  Although you need to summarize relevant research, it is also vital that you evaluate this work, show the relationshipsbetween different work, and show how it relates to your work. In other words, you cannot simply give a concise description of, for example, an article: you need to select what parts of the research to discuss (e.g. the methodology), show how it relates to the other work (e.g. What other methodologies have been used? How are they similar? How are they different?) and show how it relates to your work (what is its relationship to your methodology?).

Keep in mind that the literature review should provide the context for your research by looking at what work has already been done in your research area. It is not supposed to be just a summary of other people's work!

Here are some of the questions your literature review should answer: What do we already know in the immediate area concerned? What are the characteristics of the key concepts or the main factors or variables? What are the relationships between these key concepts, factors or variables? What are the existing theories? Where are the inconsistencies or other shortcomings in our knowledge and understanding? What views need to be (further) tested? What evidence is lacking, inconclusive, contradictory or too limited? Why study (further) the research problem? What contribution can the present study be expected to make? What research designs or methods seem unsatisfactory?