Literature Review Exercise

Definition

The Literature Review is a specific technical document that enables an author to identify key materials on a given topic.

It is driven by the interest (key concepts) of the author, and it is the result of a meticulous screening of existing and pertinent literature related to the topic.

PurposeThe purpose of the literature review is twofold:

On the one hand it shows the command of the author over existing materials in the field of study. On the other hand, it gives the author an opportunity to clearly elaborate how will the research provide a new perspective contributing to the understanding of a given phenomenon.

Systematic Annotations

Path of Review Process

Literature Search

Literature Review

Search and find recent and current materials from researchersin the field with findings on your owntopic.

Systematic collection and annotationon books and materials pertaining to your topic of research.

Establishes the relationship of existing literature and your own research.

Literature Review Starts with Your Research Problem

For example: Main Problem: Is the death penalty an effective

deterrent stopping violent crimes. Main Ideas:

Death Penalty’s influence – Statistical Proof DP being considered by people before committing a

crime DP as a means to provide closure to family members DP effectiveness

Drafting the Literature Review

TO CREATE YOUR OWN DRAFT:

1. Write four or more complete grammatical sentences with the central ideas you would like to discuss in your capstone. These ideas should be related to your statement of intent, research question and/or your hypothesis if applicable. For example:

Statement Example

For example:Death Penalty has a measurable influence

in the control of violent crimes and this can be seen throughout the last 3 decades in statistical evidence for the US.

This is a complete grammatical sentence

Literature Review/Annotations

2. Literature Review & Annotations. Identify materials that provide support or talk about either of the four sentences above. Write the name of the author below the sentence. (An author may be repeated in one or more of the sentences). For example:

Match Statement - Authors

For example:

Death Penalty has a measurable influence in the control of violent crimes and this can be seen throughout the last 3 decades in statistical evidence for the US.

Dunkan 2000; Edmunds 1998; Skinner 1990.

The authors below the sentence should have information related to the specific statement.

Elaborate

3. Based on the sentences, create complete paragraphs elaborating your position, indicating how it is supported or contradicted by the authors in question, contrast your point of view with that of the authors. For example:

Extended Statement Example

For example:

Death Penalty has a measurable influence in the control of violent crimes and this can be seen throughout the last 3 decades in statistical evidence for the US. A number of authors have explored this possibility. In his essay on Death Penalty and Gender, Psychologist Ray Dunkan (2000) insists that death penalty confronts people with tendency to violence with their own personal ability to control anger and the use of violence to solve problems. Edmunds is, on the contrary, skeptical that the death penalty does nothing as a deterrent. Based on the comprehensive survey by Skinner (1990) Edmunds shows that the statistical information indicates there is no necessarily direct correlation between the threat of death and existing levels of crime.

Literature Review

These four paragraphs are the first step to complete a thorough literature review, that is always driven by ideas advanced by the author.

End

Literature Review Exercise