Literature Review in a doctoral dissertation

Introduction

An effective literature review is a critical part of any dissertation. It should not be thought of as a mere way-station on the way to “the meat,” or main body of your work. Instead, it should guide your research by identifying gaps in existing knowledge and providing an overview of what has been written about your topic by others before you start writing (this includes professional journals).

Review what has been written and published on your topic to form a summary of the state of affairs.

The literature review is a critical step in the dissertation process. It helps you to identify gaps in your knowledge, and it provides evidence for why you should continue your research. A good one will answer these questions:

• What is the existing body of scholarship on this topic?

• What have others found relevant or useful?

• Who are your primary sources?

The literature review should include references to all sources used in writing up your findings (including journal articles and books). You may also want to mention other secondary sources that support or challenge your arguments, such as case studies or social science studies published outside academic journals.

Identify literature gaps and inconsistencies in previous research.

To identify literature gaps and inconsistencies in previous research, you must first find a way to identify the areas where there are gaps. You can do this by reading through your own dissertation and identifying what information is missing from your paper. If you don’t know how to do this yourself, ask a friend or professor who has some experience writing papers like yours if they could help. They will be able to point out any areas where there are holes in your paper that need filling before moving on with other parts of the process (such as designing an experiment).

Once you have identified these gaps, another important step is finding ways around them so that they don’t prevent you from finishing an otherwise successful thesis project! For example: say one day while researching something related specifically related only within one field but not others would lead me down an alleyway full of dead ends because none of those roads lead anywhere interesting – then maybe instead I’d look into other topics related within our same field area but not elsewhere; perhaps even outside our field altogether? These types Of questions might help me get past my current blockage when trying figure out what direction next should go down so long as we stick together through thick & thin no matter whether it means going back home again without ever having seen anything new since leaving last time around.”

Identify the strongest opposing arguments and refute them, if possible (although this is not always necessary).

In the literature review, you should identify the strongest opposing arguments and refute them, if possible (although this is not always necessary). How do you do this?

The best way to identify the strongest opposing arguments is by looking at their structure. The first thing to look for is whether there are any commonalities between these two ideas or theories. If there are many similarities between two opposing views on a topic, then it makes sense to consider whether one view could be viewed as more correct than another. For example: “Aristotle’s belief that human beings are rational animals was contradicted by Descartes’ claim that humans were merely machines with no capacity for thought or feeling” (1). This suggests that Aristotle was wrong in his belief that humans were rational animals; instead, Descartes’ machine theory may actually explain better what happens inside our brains when we think!

Next step: analyzing each word used within each passage so that we can understand why it’s so important (or relevant) before moving forward with our own ideas about how things work together overall.”

Make suggestions for further research, without a lot of detail.

The literature review is the backbone of your dissertation. It should be written in a way that makes it easy for readers to understand and follow, but not so detailed that it becomes overwhelming. If you choose not to include any details about how you plan on conducting further research, then it’s best to make these suggestions for further research brief and direct:

• “I would like to conduct more research on this topic.”

• “In order for me to complete my project in this area, I need access to additional data.”

The literature review should establish the context of your topic in relation to existing knowledge and scholarship on the subject

The literature review is a key component of your dissertation. It provides you with information on the state of knowledge in this field, so that you can make informed decisions about your topic and its related research.

The literature review should establish the context of your topic in relation to existing knowledge and scholarship on the subject matter. This includes answering three main questions: What are some key terms? What types of research have been done before? How does this relate to what we’re studying now?

Conclusion

The literature review is crucial to your dissertation. If you don’t do it carefully, your argument will be weak and your conclusions may be wrong. So, take some time and make sure that you start with a good understanding of the field before you begin writing up your review.