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General Sociology (Soci 1163) Research Guide: Writing a Literature Review

Purpose & Arrangement of a Literature Review

Features of a Literature Review

  • Presents a detailed review of professional scientific literature that is pertinent to your research problem
  • Will synthesize relevant research and lay a foundation so a reviewer can understand your research and its significance
  • Presents a succinct summary of the finds of previous research related to your research problem
  • Will provide a reviewer with context about what is known about your problem and what still remains to be learned
  • Will bring the reviewer up to date on the state of research in the field pertaining to your problem
  • A literature review is NOT a book report!
  • Use APA formatting for in-text citations