MD3008 Assignment: Guidelines for Conducting a Comprehensive Literature Review

Purpose

By completing this assignment, you will learn how researchers review existing
relevant literature on a topic before starting new research.

 Skills: This assignment will help you practice skills essential to research:

o Find a range of academic print and digital publications that offer
different viewpoints on a subject.

o Critically read, annotate, engage, compare, and draw
conclusions from sources to analyse them.

 Knowledge: This assignment will help you become familiar with the
following important knowledge:

o Techniques for obtaining information and evaluating the
reliability of sources

o Techniques for recognizing and addressing different points of
view in research

Assignment Task

A study of the literature establishes the need for more research and gives context.
You will synthesize and evaluate existing research on your subject in your literature
review by pointing out the advantages, disadvantages, similarities, and differences
between your sources.

To complete this assignment, you will investigate your subject and then write a
comprehensive, well-structured literature review that incorporates your own
evaluation of at least six academic sources and their contributions to your subject.

An academic source is usually a peer-reviewed journal article or book/book chapter
written by experts on the subject. Literature can be sourced by entering key words
into data bases such as Google Scholar, Pub-Med, Science Direct etc… and a
process of inclusion and exclusion is described to explain why literature was
selected for the assignment. An annotated bibliography, which merely enumerates
sources and provides summaries, is not the same as a literature review.

Another way that a literature review varies from a research paper is that it doesn’t contain any
fresh arguments or unreported primary research.

Your literature review should have three parts: an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.

Introduction

Describe your research subject and any relevant background information in the
beginning to make the context of your source review clear. Additionally, you want to
note any overlaps, contradictions, and/or gaps in the literature. Briefly describe how
you decided on the literature for review. Lastly, you should describe the standards by
which you have analysed, contrasted, and compared the sources.

Body ( this heading must reflect the content – do not use the term ‘body”)
Discuss your sources in the main body of the assignment. Sort the sources you discuss
according to a shared feature, such as the goals, conclusions, or findings of the writers;
research methods; or chronological order. Give a succinct synopsis of each source and a
description of its advantages and disadvantages. Determine, evaluate, and discuss the
contributions made by each source to the subject. Use lead-in words and citations to
incorporate source information.

Conclusion

Begin this section by stating the purpose of the review. The conclusion should give
the reader a summary of the main arguments and conclusions drawn from the
literature. Describe how your sources have advanced knowledge and
comprehension of the subject and point out any weaknesses you have identified.
Respond to the following questions: What information about the subject has your
review of the literature revealed or demonstrated? Can you recommend areas for
further research following your review of the literature on the chosen subject?
General Tips for success.

General criteria:

o The text is comprehensible, coherent, and clear.
o The language and tone are suitable.
o The writing follows punctuation and grammar rules.
o Every source is correctly referenced, both on the references

page and in the literature review.

In the introduction:

 Determine the broad subject or problem you have studied.
 Clearly state the purpose of the literature review.
 In order to make clear the context in which you will be reviewing sources,
provide the necessary background information. (This is considered part of
methodology)

 Determine overarching patterns, disputes, and/or scholarly and research
gaps; also, pinpoint a specific issue or fresh viewpoint. (This is considered
part of methodology)

 Describe the standards you used to evaluate, contrast, and compare the
sources. (This is considered part of methodology)

 Explain how you sourced the literature for review including inclusion and
exclusion criteria. (This is considered part of methodology)

 Don’t forget to signpost what will be discussed in the next section.
In the body section: – remember to title this correctly

o At least six academic sources should be used.

o Arrange the discussion of the sources logically based on a
shared feature (e.g., the goals, conclusions, or findings of the
writers; research techniques; or chronology).

o Give a succinct synopsis of each source.

o Describe the advantages of every source.

o Describe the shortcomings of every source.

o Determine and evaluate the contribution of each source to the subject.
o Discuss contrasting opinions.
o Use properly referenced quotes where appropriate to support
the argument.

In the conclusion:

o Discuss the ways your sources have contributed to greater
knowledge and understanding of the topic.

o Address shortcomings in the existing research.

o Note new information or understanding the literature review has
revealed about the topic.

o Note new questions that have been raised.

o Note areas where further study is needed.
The literature review must adhere to all formatting criteria:

o Word count is 2000 words +/- 10% – does not include the cover
page, reference or references page.

o Follow Harvard referencing throughout the literature review and on the references page.

o The entire document should be double-spaced.

o The font should be Calibri or Times New Roman in size 12.

o The margins should be set to ‘normal’ when using MS Word.

o Do not apply borders anywhere on the document or add logos or images to the cover page.

o Do not add anything to the provided cover sheet. You are required to amend the coversheet to add your name, student number and word count.

o The footer must include the page number only. Do not place you
name anywhere other than on the first page of the summitted assignment.

o Submitted files shall be word documents only. .docx. PDF
versions will not be accepted.