Thesis and Dissertation Writing: The Importance of A Literature Review

A literature review refers to an analysis of published materials on a specific topic by university scholars and accredited researchers. However, it is not uncommon to write a a literature review as an independent assignment. In such a case, the objective is for the student to have an idea of how to conduct a dissertation or thesis review of literature when the time comes for him or her to complete a full-blown thesis or dissertation project. The purpose of writing a literature review is to determine the current status of an area of study. In order to do so, the thesis or dissertation writer will need to figure out the established knowledge and ideas on a topic. From there, the writer can identify opportunities to enrich existing knowledge, to shed light on important issues or to explore a relatively uncharted territory in an area of study.

Writing a dissertation or thesis review does not mean merely listing down and providing a brief description of available published materials. A well-written literature review must have a guiding concept, such as your research objective, the topic you are discussing or your argumentative thesis. A literature review must be able to accomplish the following for your thesis or dissertation:

• Organised around and directly related to the topic or research question you are investigating
• Provide a synthesised result of what is and what is not known regarding the topic
• Identify areas of dispute or controversy in the published materials
• Provide the opportunity to create questions requiring further research

Aside from it being an important step in dissertation or thesis writing, a literature review also widens the researcher's knowledge about the topic. The process of gathering materials for a literature review will allow students to demonstrate their skills in two crucial areas:

• Information research. Reading many journal articles as well as theses and dissertations done by previous students will allow a student to enhance his or her research skills and his or her ability to quickly scan a document using manual or computerised methods in order to identify books or articles that will be useful for his or her own thesis or dissertation.
• Critical appraisal. The student will also be able to develop his or her skills at analysis and apply it to identify previous research studies that are valid and unbiased.