Journal #6

Consider what you know about literature reviews- what's their purpose?   How could they serve to benefit researchers? How could a literature review be manipulated to reflect bias? How do you choose what literature to include in a literature review? Is it just based on search results? If not, what else might you consider?

    According to Sarnecka (2019), there are three different literature reviews.  They all serve different purposes.  The first is stand-alone literature reviews, which provide an overview of literature on a particular topic.  The second is an introductory literature review, which is included near the beginning of an article or book.  The purpose is to present new, original research and provide background knowledge that the reader needs to understand that new research.  Finally, the third is the student’s literature review.  This is the type of literature review we are going to focus on.  It helps a student learn about a research area and allows a faculty committee to check the student’s understanding.

          The student’s literature review is for a researcher new to the field of study.  Students benefit from lit reviews by letting them practice reading and writing, which they need to do to familiarize themselves with the scholarly literature in their new discipline.  It is not published.  It is submitted by the student to a faculty committee.  The committee reads it to check that the student is aware of the literature most relevant to their proposed work and understands the major issues in that field reasonably well.  It is like building a house.  Articles found form a foundation for new researchers to build upon.  The whole house is the point of scientific research.

          There is an exercise that can help you choose what literature to include in a literature review.  Reviewing literature involves three things: (1) building a reading list, (2) reading the literature, and (3) writing about the literature.  Choose a platform for your reading list.  The easiest way to build a reading list is to start with a review article or chapter, look at the works cited in it, and decide which to add to your reading list.