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KG604 Graduate Research & Critical Analysis
Lesson Plan: Week 8
Dr. D. Tennyson, DBA
Constructing a Literature Review
Week 8 Learning Objectives
After reviewing this week’s materials, students should be able to:
2. Distinguish a research article from other types of articles.
4. Analyze scholarly research, evaluating its validity.
5. Identify the elements of a scholarly research article: who conducted the research
(plus credentials or affiliation), when and where it was conducted, why the research
was undertaken, how it was conducted (methodology), and what was found (results).
8. Write an APA-7-compliant research paper:
a) title page,
b) effective opening paragraph including opening sentence and thesis statement,
c) literature review,
d) discussion of solution to the research problem based on literature,
e) conclusion, and
f) references page.
9. Apply effective research techniques and proper APA-7 style to all written
assignments.
I. How to write a literature review (Concordia University Library website)
A. What is a literature review?
The literature review is a written overview of major writings and other sources on a
selected topic.
• Sources covered in the review may include scholarly journal articles, books,
government reports, Web sites, etc.
• The literature review provides a description, summary and evaluation of each
source.
• It is usually presented as a distinct section of a graduate thesis or dissertation.
B. Purpose of the literature review
The purpose of the literature review is to provide a critical written account of the
current state of research on a selected topic:
• Identifies areas of prior scholarship
• Places each source in the context of its contribution to the understanding of the
specific issue, area of research, or theory under review.
• Describes the relationship of each source to the others that you have selected.
• Identifies new ways to interpret, and shed light on any gaps in, previous
research.
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KG604 Graduate Research & Critical Analysis
Lesson Plan: Week 8
Dr. D. Tennyson, DBA
Constructing a Literature Review
• Points the way forward for further research.
C. Steps in the literature review process
Preparation of a literature review may be divided into four steps:
1. Define your subject and the scope of the review.
2. Search the library catalogue, subject specific databases and other search tools
to find sources that are relevant to your topic.
3. Read and evaluate the sources and to determine their suitability to the
understanding of topic at hand.
4. Analyze, interpret and discuss the findings and conclusions of the sources you
selected.
Relationship Between Objective Summaries & Literature Review
Objective Summary – Introduction, Summary, & Conclusion
Literature Review – Introduction, Review of Literature, & Analysis of Literature
Write the Introduction
II. Components of the Literature Review section (2022-2023, Foundations of
Secondary Research).
The literature review section, of the Term Project – Research Paper should
include the following 3 sections: Introduction, Review of Literature, and
Analysis of Literature.
1. Introduction
• 1
st paragraph of paper:
a. Includes an overview of the topic under consideration (topic of the
group/individuals Term Project – Research Paper
b. Specific topics that were researched to collect data.
c. Sub-topics that were researched to collect data.
• 2
nd paragraph: Describes where literature was obtained and how literature
was accessed.
Example from Dr. Tennyson’s Literature Review:
The following pages contain a review of the literature related to the experiences of
several people who survived Hurricane Sandy and other natural disasters. Climate change,
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KG604 Graduate Research & Critical Analysis
Lesson Plan: Week 8
Dr. D. Tennyson, DBA
Constructing a Literature Review
natural disasters, and the decision-making process that occurs with people who face
disasters are also addressed. This literature review focuses on obtaining information about
the weather anomalies that resulted in Hurricane Sandy, the experiences of disaster
survivors, and the decision-making processes related to preparing for disasters.
The scholarly literature used for this study was obtained from the PROQUEST and
EBSCOhost databases in the [Name of college] library. Additional information used for
this study was obtained from peer reviewed journals, government websites and
publications, dissertations, and published books. Several well-recognized newspapers were
used to obtain information about Hurricane Sandy and the cities most impacted by the
hurricane. Newspaper articles and peer-reviewed journals were accessed online using
various search engines or through direct entry into the website of the publisher of the
newspaper or journal.
2. Review of the Literature (2022-2023, Foundations of Secondary Research,
p. 43).
A. Note the following concerning the Review of the Literature section of the
Literature Review.
• Include the Introduction and Summary sections of objective summaries.
• Objective summaries should contain in-text citations at the end of
sentences containing information that is paraphrased from sources or
direct quotes for information copied verbatim from sources.
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KG604 Graduate Research & Critical Analysis
Lesson Plan: Week 8
Dr. D. Tennyson, DBA
Constructing a Literature Review
− Ensure that you add citations to your objective summaries if you have
not already done so.
• Refer to Citations [2022-2023 Foundations of Secondary Research,
Bouteneff & Ramlochan, 2022] document in Course Resources Folder in
Blackboard for information about APA 7 formatting for in-text citations and
direct quotes.
• Use 2nd level headings to identify the sections of the literature review.
• Organize the literature review to include related materials in the same
section.
OR
Organize the literature review according to the sections in the Term
Project – Research paper.
OR
Organize the literature review according to the sections that make sense
for the topic being discussed.
2. Analysis of Literature (2022-2023, Foundations of Secondary Research, p.
43).
A. Analysis of literature discussion should include:
− Include the Conclusion section of objective summary if it contains
analysis type of information.
− an analysis and evaluation of the information in the sources.
− Information contained in the source that contributed to enhanced
understanding or knowledge of the topic of the research project.
− both the distinctiveness of each source and its similarities with the other
sources.
− an evaluation of the suitability of the source for gaining an
understanding of the topic of the research project.
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KG604 Graduate Research & Critical Analysis
Lesson Plan: Week 8
Dr. D. Tennyson, DBA
Constructing a Literature Review
References
How to write a literature review. (2017, 14 September) Concordia University Library
website. Retrieved from https://library.concordia.ca/help/writing/literaturereview.php
