Literature Reviews - GSEP

A literature review offers a detailed examination of research connected to your project. It goes beyond summarizing by discussing how the literature engages with key themes and concepts relevant to your study. It provides context by looking at previous authors’ contributions, highlighting how these works relate to each other and to your own research. The review also identifies gaps in the existing knowledge that your research aims to address. Additionally, it explains why your study matters and how it contributes to ongoing academic discussions.

A literature review serves a crucial role in your research. It is not simply a collection of article summaries, but rather an integral part of your project that:

• Positions your research within the broader academic context.
• Establishes your credibility within your field.
• Shows how your work builds on, challenges, or diverges from previous studies.

A well-organized literature review should be directly related to your thesis or research question. It should:

• Summarize what is known and what remains uncertain in the field.
• Identify key debates or areas of disagreement in the literature.
• Highlight questions that still need further investigation.

• What gap or issue in the existing research does my study address?
• What conflicts, unresolved questions, or unexplored areas is my research tackling?
• How does my research challenge or build upon the work of others?
• What is the scope of my literature review?
  • What sources am I using (e.g., scholarly journals, books, official reports)?
  • What discipline is my research aligned with (e.g., sociology, psychology, medicine)?
• Have I critically examined the sources I’ve selected?
  • Am I comparing how different sources address key concepts or questions?
  • Do I evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each source rather than simply summarizing?
  • Have I included studies that present alternative viewpoints or contradict my argument?