Literature Review Information Literacy Session

Literature reviews:

1. Why are they important?
2. How are they different from other research papers? How are they different from an annotated bibliography?

Watch the video below from North Carolina State University library and review the box "Research states..."

ACTIVITY:

1. Open Article 1
   1. Where is their literature review? How can you tell?
   2. How can you complete this sentence: "Research on this topic can be characterized by -----------------"
      1. Note: I suggest you read the 1st & 2nd page of this article to determine this. You should not have to read further.
   3. Check your answers on the drop down tab from Literature Review: Article 1 Discussion
2. Open Article 2
   1. Where is their literature review? How can you tell?
   2. How can you complete this sentence: "Research on this topic can be characterized by -----------------"
      1. Note: I suggest you read the 1st & 2nd page of this article to determine this. You should not have to read further.
   3. Check your answers on the drop down tab from Literature Review: Article 2 Discussion

• Reading in graduate school: A survey of doctoral students in clinical psychology 

• A Pilot Study of Meaning-Based Group Counseling for Bereavement 

What are literature reviews?

Watch this video, created by North Carolina State University (NCSU) Library. 

A literature reviews describes research on your topic. 

• It is not a pro/con paper, so be sure to include all scholarly perspectives
• It is not a description of your topic, but rather themes you notice in others' research on your topic:
  • Methodology typically used
  • How key words are defined by prior studies
  • How are the various sources connected?
• Be sure to include even outliers. Maybe most studies are surveys, but if you find a longitudinal study, do not discount it!

Your literature review should be able to finish this sentence:

• Research on this topic can be characterized by _________________.