PPA 505 Research Application I: Literature Reviews

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 just a description of your topic, but rather what themes you notice in others' research on your topic, such as:
  • 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 _________________.