Useful Tips on How to Write Literature Reviews
Literature review should make the research direction more definite and specific, should serve a stimulus to the advance of the researcher’s own thoughts and ideas, should become the basis for new knowledge acquisition. Literature review must present only highly relevant information; at the same time much of the acquired data will remain unused (or at least may be resorted to later in the course of a further in-depth research) and behind the research brackets. There are three steps of a source study: preparatory (to examine the overall context of a source creation); main (to analyze the main ideas and logics of a source: to single them out and compare with the context); main (to analyze the main ideas and logics of a source: to single them out and compare with the context);
Here are some pieces of advice how to organize the work with sources:
Take notes conscientiously in order not to be confused with the ever-increasing portions of analyzed information as you read more and more with the course of your research.
Work methodically, systematically and regularly in order not to be buried under the accumulated mountain of newly-acquired sources. Mind your deadlines.
Read selectively in order not to waste your precious and limited research time. While getting acquainted with a new source, pay prime attention to the preface; scan the table of contents and the index; then read the promising sections.
Be careful with the copyright and do not copy everything. You will need only the limited range of citations pertinent to your paper. Sometimes it is better to paraphrase the citation than to use it verbatim. It will launch your own creative thinking mechanism.
Weave every piece of information coherently and cohesively into the overall research picture. Classify and compare your data to find interconnections.
Be objective and critical while selecting research