Reading and Assignment for October 7 Class

Excerpts from Focus Groups: Theory and Practice

+ Chapter 4 (pp. 65-92) in Writing Up Qualitative Research

Literature Reviews are due by 12 p.m. on October 7. We are posting an outline to our research blogs, sending an e-copy to CAP, and bringing one hard copy to class.

Remember that your goal is to take the reader from “what is known” (and relevant to your topic) to “what is unknown” (and needs to be known)

KNOWN → UNKNOWN

The literature review should:

1. Be organized around and related directly to your RQ
2. Synthesize results of other research into a summary of what is known
3. Identity gaps or controversies in the current literature
4. Situate the current project within these gaps or controversies

You also need to explain:

• Why the literature you cite is relevant to your topic
• Why the knowledge you seek to contribute is important

One of the big problems I see in literature reviews is that the subject of the current study gets lost in the summary. Try not to go more than 2 paragraphs without a reference to the current topic or an explanation of why this literature is relevant.

Q: How long should a literature review be?

A: Look at the journal(s) you are targeting. What percentage of the articles does the literature reviews make up? We tend to write too much. Remember to and synthesize results (multiple studies in citation) rather than summarize each study that is relevant to your project. Generally, your literature review should not be longer than 5 pages.