Literature Reviews - A Practical Guide to Improve Your Knowledge

Research reports relate the results of evaluation research. The exercise of reading evaluation research will be beneficial for two reasons: (1) It will demonstrate the value of doing literature reviews in evaluation and (2) You will begin to develop a foundation for reading research that can be built on in the future. I hope what you learn here will help you be a better professional by enabling you to plan and deliver more effective programs based on the best available knowledge.

A literature review is very important for the sake of evaluation. You can learn a great deal from literature reviews, including:

· the problem or need you're interested in,

· programs other professionals have designed to address the problem or need, and evaluation designs that have been used to measure the effectiveness of programs.

Don't try to hold reseachers up to ideal standards. They conduct research under less than ideal conditions, usually with limited resources. They usually have to make compromises given the practical realities of their situation.

Here are some guidelines for evaluating research reports:

Title and Abstract


Does the title of the report clearly describe the topic of the report?

Does the abstract (a summary of the research report that appears just below the title of the report):

Refer to the purpose of the study

Highlight the research methodology

Highlight the results

Avoid making vague references to the study

The introduction and literature review is the beginning of every important piece of professional caliber research. Its how we respect the intellectual efforts of others and acknowledge their contribution to the field. What can you learn from it and what should you look for?

Research reports should begin with an introduction in citing literature. The introduction and literature review has five purposes:


Introduce the problem area

Establish its importance

Provide an overview of the relevant literature

Show how the current study will advance knowledge in the area

Describe the researcher's specific research questions, purposes, or hypotheses, which are usually stated in the last paragraph of the introduction.

Does the introduction and literature review in general:


Introduced the problem area clearly and specifically?

Persuade you of the study's importance by providing specific evidence?

Provide conceptual definitions of key terms?

Flow logically from the introductory material to the research purposes, questions, or hypotheses?

Ken Long, Chief of Research, Tortoise Capital Management [http://www.tortoisecapital.com]

Adding value through independent research, combining technical analysis and human behavioral psychology. 30 day free trial of reports and live trader chatroom. Providing mentoring and coaching for professional traders.

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Literature Reviews For Technical Students

Need to write a literature review? Do you have any problems on how to start writing one properly and effectively? How are you going to recognize and write one? As the name implies, examine materials previously done in a field of study, evaluating them in relation to a research that you are proposing. It's an activity you are likely to come across both in the academe and research fields, along with some specialized industries.

Goals of a Literature Review

Most of this kind of writing will take on one or more of these goals:

To provide a justification for your study.
To identify gaps among the existing materials in the field, particularly ones that your research can fill.
To demonstrate scholarly ability by identifying relevant studies and outlining existing knowledge.
To evaluate existing information in the field.
To synthesize existing information in line with the concepts you have set in your research.

When To Do Literature Reviews

Some people do informal way of writing literature reviews before tackling a research in depth. This allows them to set a clearer context for the study, as well as define its actual relevance to the field. Doing so can help you refine your research topic, establishing a concrete perspective from which you can proceed.

In some situations, though, you will be asked to write a formal literature review as part of your course requirements or to justify a research proposal. In those situations or either of those situations, it will be in your best interest to crack open an academic writing software or manual to help you produce one with proper content and format.

Watch how innovative Academic Writing Software instantly can improve your writing on a daily basis and learn how advanced NLP technology can help you to write perfect emails, essays, letters or reports. Read more

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Assessing The Different Examples Of Literature Reviews

When it comes to examples of literature reviews, it is good to understand that it carries many parts. It concerns scholarly scripts that tend to assess different reference resources as well as present details for the person reading the literature. A comprehensively written work piece should have good research methods as well as functional methodologies.

Writers have to produce key information by simply evaluating selected papers concerning the particular topic being researched on. The written material is created to assist learners to comprehend how to make efficient assessments that will offer a clue into the research background. In addition, it is created to show the relevance of the area that is being assessed.

Writers are in a position to make good use of this to make a distinction between things that have been carried out before so that they can use it to do the prospective study. Instructors often ask the students to write the research so that it complies with the needed expectations of larger educational matters.

It is important that writers look for written material then sieve the information they want from it. It is also important to plan before evaluating the literature. This is supposed to show its relevance as it concerns the subject under study. At this stage, comparing different areas of study is important so that the writers can plan the information clearly.

The illustrations come in handy when it comes to assisting writers and teachers. They are expected to assess the materials for quality purposes. For this reasons, the materials must posses the pieces of educational writing with regard to the opening paragraphs, the body and the conclusion paragraphs. In the opening paragraphs, the general idea including structure must be shown.

The opening helps in defining the larger sphere of the materials being researched on. The body on the other hand must be highly extensive so that it touches on all the information relevant to the area under study. The writer must also give explanations for likeness and dissimilarities that exists in the field of study.

It is also important to ensure that the work is well constructed in terms of paragraphs and the segments. The beginning must coordinate well with the ending to help the recipient of the information to comprehend what is being talked about.

The other important bit of examples of literature reviews is the ending segment. The writer has to come up with a summary that will maintain the focus that is displayed in the opening segments. In addition, the writer must assess the current state of the resources to make a concrete study.

To help you understand how to properly review literature, please check out our guide to finding the perfect Examples Of Literature Reviews.

Classic Books - ClassicBook.info is your essential resource to help you find, evaluate, and read classic books. Book reviews, reading lists, and free online book editions are provided.

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Literature Reviews - Start on the Right Track

Starting and creating a literature review can be a tricky problem. For a start you need to know what your review should achieve and what sources you are going to use. The first step is always to revisit the research Aims and Objectives and ask yourself:

1. What do you want to find out?

2. What do you want to know about the topic?

3. What would help you write your thesis?

It can be easy to forget that the literature review also helps you to understand a topic. So it's not only a requirement of a thesis, it is a learning experience for you.


For example, if my aim were to research "User Generated Content in the context of museums", the literature that would interest me would be in these areas:

1. User Generated Content - defining what it is and how it is used?

2. User Generated Content in the context of museums - are any museums using it? Are there journal papers on the subject? Has someone already reviewed the area?

3. What alternatives are there to User Generated Content - as it's a relatively new topic then what did museums use before?

Even if your research aim is to only look at one particular topic, then use this topic as a starting point and start writing these down.

By now, you hopefully have a written list of possible topics so I recommend writing a short overview of these topics of about 200-300 words in total. The process of trying to write about these topics, will make you focus on what you need to know and what literature you need to be reading! Use coursework notes or your own experience and if you are stuck, then right down what you need to know. It's unlikely that you know nothing about your research topic, so try to take a few minutes to think about what it is you are trying to achieve and write this down.

Try to make your research topics clear before starting a literature review. This will make it easier and avoid you becoming overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information available to you. So returning to my example, I'd start by using the search terms:

Keyword Search 1: User + Generated + Content + museums

Keyword Search 2: User + Generated + Content + museums + review

Keyword Search 3: Website + content + museums

Keyword Search 4: User + Generated + Content

This should give me enough journals and information to start writing a draft review.

Now from these searches, start to create headings for each of your main topics. As this is in draft format then it doesn't matter too much about the order. You'll find that once you start writing, the logical order will become clearer. It's very easy to quickly copy and paste words from one section to another, so the key thing here is to make sure your headings reflect what is in your Aims and Objectives!

A really good hint here is to search for a review on your subject, in a well-known journal database such as EmeraldInsight or ScienceDirect. If it's a popular topic, then there will be reviews on it. These are invaluable as the previous researcher will already have identified gaps in the literature and categorised the main headings.

As you write each part of the review, remember to write a brief introduction and conclusion at the end of each heading. The introduction may only be 50-100 words but it is important to explain why this area of the literature is being covered and how it relates to the Aims & Objectives. Similarly the conclusion briefly lists the main findings and helps to confirm that the work is relevant to the Aims and Objectives.

So to recap, an example of how to start is:

1. Write a short overview of what you need to know based on your Aims & Objectives and discuss this with your tutor or supervisor (200-300 words)

2. Search journal databases using keywords relating to your research

3. Search for a review on your topic (great if you can find one!)

4. Identify key topic headings and split your chapter into sub-headings

5. Write a draft review under each headings, with an introduction and conclusion at the end of each topic

Remember that your supervisor should always be able to help you. Ask them to review your work as you go along to make sure it's OK and on the right track.

If you are interested in learning more about the stages of a literature review then please visit our site dedicated to literature reviews and writing your dissertation: http://www.literaturereviewof.com

This article was written by Dr Thomas Parsons, the founder of sites dedicated to helping students complete their thesis and dissertations.

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.