An effective literature review sometimes called background and significance or theoretical orientation is essential to every successful proposal, from art history to chemical engineering, and from early graduate study fellowships and small grants to completion fellowships and postdocs. In the humanities and social sciences, this section identifies theories shaping the project and articulates the contribution to the current conversation. Biological or physical scientists discuss the previous findings that have inspired the question and consider how that research will open up new avenues for future inquiry and refine existing hypotheses. Engineers explain what others have done and justify the new approach to the problem.

How to Create An Outline for An Expository Essay

Regardless of the discipline, a good literature review demonstrates to the reviewer the larger context in which your research question is situated, the current state of knowledge about your question, and why answering the question is critical to moving the field forward in a concrete way. The following set of dos and don’ts will help you craft a lit review that demonstrates your work’s intellectual lineage. do start by talking about your project and the relevant literature with your faculty advisor. Even before you begin writing applications, you will want to explore existing publications to familiarize yourself with the state of the discipline. Your advisor has already spent years engaging with that same literature, and can quickly help you identify the most influential papers or books from which to begin.

do plan to devote approximately 20% of your entire proposal length to the literature review/background and significance/theoretical orientation section two pages for a ten page proposal, one for a five page proposal, and just one paragraph in a two page proposal. don’t attempt to describe all the relevant published literature on your topic. Instead, select the one to three most important bodies of literature that inform your understanding of the question, and then select only the most important citations from each of those fields. In a two page proposal, this may mean identifying only a total of 3 5 sources! do use citations to appeal to the funding program’s goals and the reviewers’ expertise. For example, if you are applying for an nsf doctoral dissertation research improvement grant in geography and spatial sciences which aims to advance the state of knowledge on geography and spatial sciences and is reviewed by scholars in that field , your literature review should focus on relevant scholarship and publications from geography and spatial science journals and researchers. If you are building an interdisciplinary literature review, consider work on the topic by scholars outside your field, and how your discipline’s approach will complement those other perspectives.

do stay up to date with the literature on your topic, and try to make use of the most current citations in your bibliography and background section. Drawing primarily on citations that are five or more years old can suggest to the reviewer that you are not well informed about your topic and recent, relevant scholarship that should inform your approach. Rather than seeking to correct flaws or gaps in the literature, imagine the existing publications as creating the foundation for your work. Describe the scope of the prior work and the ways in which that literature points to the timeliness and relevance of your own research question and approach. Remember that in the small world of academia, the person whose work you have disparaged can easily end up being your reviewer! do use the literature review, background and significance, or theoretical orientation section to lead the reviewer directly into the next section of the proposal, the research plan and design including the methods, approach, analysis, and timeline for research activities.

For example, if your background section points to a need for greater documentation of the evolution of an idea, the examination of archival materials about that idea from a specific historical era, location, and type of source might be in order. don’t forget to schedule an individual appointment with a gradfund fellowship advisor for feedback on your lit review and overall application! welcome to the research guide for communication. the communication collection is located in edward l. The communication collection supports the curricular and research needs of the annenberg school for communication through the doctoral level in humanistic, behavioral, and linguistic approaches to communication. Subjects include communication policy, management, new technology, and the media with the following areas of specialization: entertainment management marketing communication strategic and corporate communication management law and policy information and communication technologies the collection also supports teaching and independent study through the undergraduate level in almost all areas of communication. This guide is intended to help you organize and write a quality academic research paper. Also included are recommendations regarding how to manage specific course assignments.

Note that, if you have specific questions about how to write a research paper, you should always seek advice from your professor before you begin. Specific requirements stated by your professor will always supersede instructions provided in these general guidelines. jandrisevits learning center jlc page content as 160 part of a research study or paper you may need to identify and review relevant information on a specific topic. 160 160 often times your instructor will ask you to conduct a 160 review of the literature. The first goal of a literature search is to ensure that you are aware of other research in your field.

160 160 the goal is to become familiar with the knowledge base of scientific information on the topic so that 1 you can understand the topic and its major concepts 2 you can place your research in context and 3 you can further develop your own ideas. The literature reviews 58 an overview for graduate students video from north carolina state university provides an excellent introduction to conducting an extensive literature review for a course assignment, 160 thesis, or other research. In conducting a literature review you will want to survey scholarly journal 160 articles, books, and other sources e.g. Scientific monograms, government documents and publications, dissertations, and grey literature, 160 etc. That 160 are relevant to a particular issue, area of study, research, 160 or theory. 160 your task in writing a literature review will be to provide a description, summary and critical evaluation of each work. 160 this will give you and your reader an overview of the significant literature published on a topic.

Expected Essays for Ib Acio 2013

Four steps in writing a literature review 1. 160 determine the topic or field that is being examined and its components or issues. 3. 160 evaluate the data to determine which literature makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the topic. 4. 160 separate out those materials which contain the best argument or those that are the most convincing of their opinions and which make the greatest contribution to the understanding and development of their area of research. Primary historical materials, case studies, narratives, statistics, recent scientific findings ? as you evaluate materials for inclusion in the literature review, be sure to look for objectivity. 160 ask yourself 58 is the author's perspective even handed or prejudicial? is contrary data considered or is certain pertinent information ignored to prove the author's point? are the author's arguments and conclusions convincing? does the work contribute in a signficant way to an understanding of the subject? determine, if possible, the value of the work.

160 the literature review does not present new primary scholarship, but it does allow you to place each work in the context of its contribution to the understanding of the subject under review. 160 the following section will outline the fundamentals of literature review writing. The literature review goes through various stages – the first phase literature review you are asked to produce at the beginning by your supervisors will be used to demonstrate your familiarity with the field.