The literature review is more than a simple summary of texts. It is like a book review or review essay. It asks you to briefly summarise the MAIN arguments of each text, assess their strengths and weaknesses, and provide an overall critique, meaning a detailed positive and/or negative evaluation of the texts.
The best literature review is one
1. that identifies main themes and questions in the text being reviewed;
2. that identifies the main approaches in the text, evaluating their relative merits;
3. considers, where appropriate, the strength of the empirical material on which the arguments of the text are based;
4. sets up a ‘debate’ with the text;
5. and assesses its contribution to our understanding of the topic.
You can do this best by focusing on the most controversial or problematic elements of the article.
Frequently asked question:
Do we need to compare the text for review with other texts for the week?
Answer: You do not need to “compare”. However, to do 1-5 listed above, it is useful to refer to other texts as appropriate.
