THE LITERATURE REVIEW
This document is organized into four sections including:
1) An explanation of the final assignment
2) An explanation of what is a research question and a literature review
3) A step by step guide for how to conduct a literature review
4) Very brief examples of literature reviews
1. FINAL ASSIGNMENT EXPLANATION
The final assignment for SOC6003H is a stand-alone literature review on a topic within
the broad field of non-citizenship as laid out in the first two weeks of class. The
assignment has three components including:
• A research problematic that identifies the research topic and its importance as
well as research question(s) that can be answered (1 page)
• A review of the literature (8 pages)
• A preliminary discussion of research methods appropriate to conduct the research
(1 page)
We will work on the different pieces of the final assignment throughout the semester.
You will be expected to discuss, present and hand-in work-in-progress for feedback from
the instructor and your student colleagues.
Calendar: Working towards a Stand-Alone Literature Review
Steps Item with description Due date
1 1-2 page research topic and tentative research questions February 10
2 List of 10 excellent sources with some annotations reflecting
an active reading process. You will use more than 10 but this
is to get you started
February 24
3 Point form outline of literature review. You might be
connecting pieces of the outline to specific citations at this
point.
March 16
4 Second draft of 1-page research topic and research questions March 23
5 First draft of literature review March 30
6 First draft concept map, graded separately March 30
7 Final assignment due April 6
Grading Scheme:
The literature review is worth 30% of your final grade. The grade is broken down into
three pieces:
• Completing the seven steps (5%). This is an all or nothing. If you skip a step you
will get zero for this component of the assignment.
• Reflection on formative feedback (5%). Please use the Literature Review
worksheet to reflect on the impact of formative feedback received during the
term. The question is always how has formative feedback changed your thinking
on some piece, focus, part of your literature view. Submit this worksheet as part
of the final paper.
• The final literature review (20%)
2. WHAT IS A RESEARCH QUESITON AND LITERATURE REVIEW
Research topic and question(s) – 1 page or approximately 250 words
The research process often begins with the presentation of a topic and a research
question(s) that you would like to answer. Briefly:
• Your research topic should be clearly specified and the relevant field bounded
• Your research question should have the capacity to generate complex results.
Avoid questions with “yes” or “no” answers.
• Your question should have the capacity to surprise. If you already know the
answer or have a pretty good idea of what your research will find, then you don’t
need to do the study.
• Your research question needs to be answerable. Is your question(s) clearly and
specifically enough stated that you would be able to recognize an answer when
you have it?
Suggested resource: http://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/introduction/researchproblem
Literature Review ~ 8 pages or approximately 2000 words
In order to identify what other research has addressed your research question and to find
out what is already known about it, you need to conduct a literature review. A literature
review is an overview of previous research on the chosen topic. It identifies and
describes and sometimes analyzes related research that has already been done and
summarizes the state of knowledge about the topic. Writing a properly structured
literature review is an extremely important component in the research process and is a
very important skill.
There are different types of literature reviews and they play different roles in the research
process. Your goal for this course is simply to state and evaluate what exists. It is not to
generate new knowledge or a new perspective or ‘take’ on an existing field. Your review
should capture contributions with regards to theory and concepts, methodology and
methods, evidence and findings. The review is not a summary of types of findings. A
literature review can be broad making tentative links across fields, publications, or more
specific and narrow. This depends in part on how much you are able to specify your
research problematic, topic and questions and on the state of the field.
There are different ways to organize a literature review. The review can be chronological,
tracking advancements in field; it can be geographical by covering existing literature on
different regions; or according ot key debates and/or methods of study. It is up to you to
choose an approach that is appropriate to your research field. The review should be
succinct and well organized.
It is helpful to think of the Literature Review as an exercise that has a purpose in your
own understanding and training and a parallel purpose for other readers. The literature
review should demonstrate your knowledge of a topic, introduce the novice reader and
update the expert reader on the literature. The review should be a helpful review for
readers who are already familiar with the topic and an essential background for readers
who are new to the topic. When the reader completes reading of the literature review, she
or he should be able to say, “I now know what previous research has learned about this
topic.”
As the architect of the literature review, the process of producing the document should
build your understanding and expertise on a topic provide. Briefly, it should hopefully
allow you to think about and begin to answer some of these questions:
• How your research topic and question(s) fit into the broader, sociological
understanding of the topic.
• How your topic and questions fits into a tradition. In other words, it will help you
understand your intellectual genealogy including the concepts and methods you
have inherited.
• The purpose is to position your work not as Unique (Ie no one else has done this
before) but as a topic within a field, to recognize the degrees of distance and
overlap with the extant literature. To acknowledge what exists, to raise
problematic in relation to what exists and situate yr research question within it
Goal -- Lit review should tell us: What are key works or ‘classics’ in the field? What are
key splits or debates?
Goal – the lit review should be able to tell us: What methods of inquiry, measures,
instruments, and ways of recording data exist? You may want to consider how do
particular methods generate certain kinds of findings (and not others)?
3. STEP BY STEP GUIDE FOR WRITING A LITERATURE REVIEW
• Step 1: Allocate reasonable and doable segments of time for each step in the
literature review. Set up a work plan and calendar for the different tasks required
for the literature review.
• Step 2: Search for literature
Conduct a comprehensive bibliographic search of books and articles in your area. Don’t
just sit at your desk. Move around. Make an appointment with the reference librarian.
Explore: Identify 1 or 2 relevant books and go wander through that section of the library
bookshelves. Look forward: search dissertation abstracts, search for research grant
funding announcements (e.g. SSHRC, NSF, etc.) to see what is upcoming. Use Google
scholar to map the field (i.e. Who is citing whom, what is cited a lot). Read the abstracts
online and download and/or print those articles that pertain to your area of research.
Identify the books in the library that are relevant and check them out. Set a specific time
frame for how long you will search. It should not take more than two or three dedicated
time sessions.
• Step 3: Active Reading of Sources
Use step-one and step-two of the active reading strategy as posted on BB to review
materials. In sum, look for these five things:
1. Claims, conclusions, and findings about the constructs you are investigating
2. Definitions of terms
3. Calls for follow-up studies relevant to your project
4. Gaps you notice in the literature
5. Disagreement about the constructs you are investigating
When you find any of these five things, type the relevant excerpt directly into a Word
document. Don’t summarize, as summarizing takes longer than simply typing the excerpt.
Make sure to note the name of the author and the page number following each excerpt.
Do this for each article and book that you have in your stack of literature. When you are
done, print out your excerpts.
• Step 4: Code the literature
Use software, concept mapping, use hardware (a table) – do whatever works for you. Get
out a pair of scissors (real or metaphorical) and cut each excerpt out. Now, sort the pieces
of paper into similar topics. Figure out what the main themes. Place each excerpt into a
themed pile. Make sure each note goes into a pile. If there are excerpts that you can’t
figure out where they belong, separate those and go over them again at the end to see if
you need new categories. When you finish, place each stack of notes into an envelope
labeled with the name of the theme.
• Step 5: Begin to Write Your Literature Review
Choose any section of your conceptual schema to begin with. You can begin anywhere,
because you already know the order. Find the envelope with the excerpts in them and lay
them on the table in front of you. Figure out a mini-conceptual schema based on that
theme by grouping together those excerpts that say the same thing. Use that miniconceptual
schema to write up your literature review based on the excerpts that you have
in front of you. Don’t forget to include the citations as you write, so as not to lose track of
who said what. Repeat this for each section of your literature review.
Once you complete these steps, you will have a complete draft of your literature review.
4. EXAMPLES OF LITERATURE REVIEWS
This documented is adapted from different sources including:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK6Lsl1tcm0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiDHOr3NHRA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2d7y_r65HU
http://getalifephd.blogspot.ca/2011/10/writing-literature-review-six-steps-to.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2d7y_r65HU
Example #1: A Brief Section of a Literature Review (Lin and Dembo 2008)
The first example presented is from a research article (Lin and Dembo 2008:35) that
sought to explain why some juveniles use illegal drugs and others do not. One of the
theories being used by the authors is social control theory. The following section is part
of the literature review that discusses previous research findings on the role of this theory
in predicting juvenile drug use.
Hirschi’s (1969) social control theory argued that adolescents who had no strong bond to
conventional social institutions were more likely to commit delinquency. Many empirical
studies that follow Hirschi’s theory found general support that juveniles who have strong
social bonds are engaged in fewer delinquent acts (Agnew 1985; Costello and Vowell
1999; Erickson, Crosboe, and Dornbush 2000; Hindelang 1973; Hirschi 1969; Junger-Tas
1992; Sampson and Laub 1993; Thornberry et al. 1991). Some studies that specially
employed social control theory to explain juvenile drug use have also found support for
this theory (Ellickson et al. 1999; Krohn et al. 1983; Marcos et al. 1986; Wiatrowski,
Griswold, and Roberts 1981). By reviewing these studies, one can find that during the
adolescent period (12-17), family and school play influential roles in influencing
youngsters’ behavior. Whereas a defective family bond increases the probability of
youthful drug use or juvenile delinquency (Denton and Kampfe 1994; Wells and Rankin
1991; Rankin and Kern 1994; Radosevich et al. 1980), students who have a weak school
bond also have a higher risk of drug use (Ahlgren et al. 1982; Bauman 1984; Radosevich
et al. 1980; Tec 1972).
Notice especially the following: (1) the thorough overview of previous research, (2) the
large number of previous research studies referenced, (3) the succinct and well-organized
writing style, and (4) the manner in which previous studies are cited.
Reference: Lin, Wen-Hsu and Richard Dembo. 2008. “An Integrated Model of Juvenile
Drug Use: A Cross-Demographic Groups Study.” Western Criminology Review 9(2):
33-51.
Example #2: A Brief Section of a Literature Review (Rogoeczi 2008)
The second example is from a research article (Rogoeczi 2008) that examines whether
living in crowded conditions has the same or a different effect on women and men. The
following section is part of the literature review that discusses previous research findings
on the effect of lack of space in a room on aggressive actions by women and men. Note
that the section comments on the fact that not all previous research is consistent. This
sometimes is the case and is important to note.
Experimental research varying room size reveals a relatively consistent pattern of gender
differences, with more aggressive responses to limited space found among males than
those observed among women (Baum and Koman 1976; Epstein and Karlin 1975;
Freedman et al. 1972; Mackintosh, Saegert, and West 1975; Stokols et al. 1973). Studies
examining the effects of density on children also report sex differences in response to
density, with boys displaying heightened aggression (Loo 1972, 1978). Research on
gender differences in withdrawal has produced more mixed findings (e.g., Loo 1978).
Still other research finds no evidence of sex differences in discomfort as a result of
crowding (Aiello, Epstein, and Karlin 1975; Baum and Valins 1977) or in the impact of
crowding (Evans et al. 2000). Several longitudinal studies of the impact of household
crowding on psychological distress among college students reveal no differential effect
by gender (Evans and Lepore 1993; Lepore, Evans, and Schneider 1991). However
Karlin, Epstein, and Aiello (1978) report more physical and psychological effects among
crowded women than men.
Once again, notice the following: (1) the thorough overview of previous research, (2) the
large number of previous research studies referenced, (3) the succinct and well-organized
writing style, and (4) the manner in which previous studies are cited.
Reference: Regoeczi, Wendy C. 2008. “Crowding in Context: An Examination of the
Differential Responses of Men and Women to High-Density Living Environments.”
Journal of Health and Social Behavior 49(5): 254-268.
Example #3: An Extended Section of a Literature Review (Durkin, Wolfe, and
Clark 2005).
Durkin, Keith F., Timothy W. Wolfe, and Gregory A. Clark. 2005. “College Students and
Binge Drinking: An Evaluation of Social Learning Theory.” Sociological Spectrum
25(3): 255-272.
As an example of an extended section of a literature review, an article by Keith Durkin,
Timothy Wolfe, and Gregory Clark (2005: 256-261) in Sociological Spectrum is used.
The research examines the ability of social learning theory to explain binge drinking by
college students.
Introduction
Research Purpose
The abuse of alcohol by college students has been the focus of considerable concern for
several decades. However, one specific pattern of alcohol consumption, known as binge
drinking, has recently received a tremendous amount of attention from the media, college
personnel, healthcare professionals and researchers in the behavioral sciences. Binge
drinking involves the consumption of large quantities of alcohol in a single drinking
episode. A number of researchers have operationally defined binge drinking as the
consumption of five or more alcoholic drinks in a single setting (Alva 1998; Borsari and
Carey 1999; Haines and Spear 1996; Hensley 2001; Ichiyama and Kruse 1998; Jones et
al. 2001; Meilman, Leichliter, and Presley 1999; Nezlek, Pilkington, and Bilbro 1994;
Page, Scanlan, and Gilbert 1999; Shulenberg et al. 1996). Research has indicated that this
behavior is a prevalent phenomenon on college campuses nationwide. For instance, a
1993 survey of 17,592 students from 140 colleges and universities, which was conducted
by the Harvard School of Public Health, found that 44% of students reported they had
engaged in binge drinking during the previous two weeks (Weschler et al. 1994).
Subsequent studies conducted in 1997, 1999, and 2001 produced nearly identical results
(Weschler et al. 2002).
There is a growing consensus that binge drinking constitutes a very serious threat to the
well being of many of today’s college students. In fact, binge drinking has been
characterized as the foremost public health hazard facing college students (Weschler et
al. 1995). Research has indicated that compared to other college students, binge drinkers
are more likely to experience negative consequences as a result of consuming alcoholic
beverages. These include blackouts, hangovers, missing class because of drinking, falling
behind in their studies, doing something that they later regretted, arguing with friends,
getting involved in physical fights, and getting into trouble with the police (Weschler et
al. 1994; Weschler et al. 2000). The most recent research suggests that many of these
aforementioned negative consequences are on the rise nationally (Weschler et al. 2002).
Binge drinking is also related to engaging in high-risk sexual behaviors, thus putting
these students in danger of contracting sexually transmitted diseases or having an
unplanned pregnancy (Ichiyama and Kruse 1998; Meilman 1993; Smith and Brown
1998). Moreover, recent research has found that students who report getting drunk
frequently have significantly higher odds of being victims of assault than their peers
(Hensley 2001; Mustaine and Tewsbury 2000). Furthermore, it is estimated that more
than half of the young adults who binge drink on a daily basis exhibit indicators of
alcohol abuse or dependency (Shulenberg et al. 1996). Finally, the tragic alcohol-related
deaths of students at several colleges and universities highlight the potentially fatal
consequences of this activity (Jones et al. 2001; Vicary and Karshin 2002).
Research has further revealed that the negative consequences of binge drinking are not
limited to the students who participate in this behavior. This activity also has an adverse
impact on other members of the university community. The concepts of “secondary binge
effects” (Weschler et al. 1994; Weschler et al. 1995) and “secondhand effects” (Weschler
et al. 2002) have emerged in the literature to describe the problems that are the direct
result of other students’ binge drinking. Some of these secondary binge effects include
being verbally insulted or abused, being physically assaulted, having one’s property
damaged, experiencing unwelcome sexual advances, and having sleep or studying
disturbed because of the conduct of intoxicated students. The recent alcohol-related riots
on a number of campuses and neighboring communities are also examples of these
secondary consequences (Vicary and Karshin 2002). Neighbors living near campuses
frequently report a lower quality of life as a result of student binge drinking because of
noise disturbances, litter, drunkenness, vandalism, vomiting, and urination (Weschler
2002).
Although a number of recent studies have sought to identify factors that are associated
with binge drinking by college students (Alva 1998; Ichiyama and Kruse 1998; Page et
al. 1999; Turrisi 1999; Weschler, et al. 1995), research that applies the various
sociological perspectives, particularly theories of deviant behavior to this phenomenon is
particularly limited. For instance, Durkin, Wolfe, and Clark (1999) applied social bond
theory to the binge drinking behavior of undergraduate students at one private college.
Also, Workman (2001) conducted an ethnographic study at one university to examine the
social construction and communication of norms about excessive drinking among
fraternity members. The relative absence of sociological research on binge drinking is an
extremely significant oversight. Given the fact that sociological theories of deviance
typically have a strong explanatory value, the current undertaking can make an important
contribution to understanding this problematic behavior. The purpose of the current
undertaking is to apply one of the leading sociological explanations of deviant behavior,
social learning theory (Akers 1985, 2000), to binge drinking by college students.
Once again, notice the following: (1) the thorough overview of previous research, (2) the
large number of previous research studies referenced, (3) the succinct and well-organized
writing style, and (4) the manner in which previous studies are cited. In addition, notice
how the authors use the last paragraph to explain the need for a sociological study of
binge drinking.
More Helpful References
Galvan, Jose L. 2009. Writing Literature Reviews: A Guide for Students of the Social and
Behavioral Sciences. 4th
ed. Glendale, CA: Pyrczak Publishing. (This source
provides a detailed step-by-step process of conducting and writing a literature
review.)
Johnson, William A., Richard P. Rettig, Gregory M. Scott, and Stephen M. Garrison.
2008. The Sociology Student Writer’s Manual. 3rd
ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice Hall.
Pan, M. Ling. 2008. Preparing Literature Reviews: Qualitative and Quantitative
Approaches. 3rd
Ed. Glendale, CA: Pyrczak Publishing.
Machi, Lawrence A. and Brenda T. McEvoy. 2008. The Literature Review: Six Steps to
Success. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.