Thesis and Dissertation Writing in a Second Language: a handbook for Supervisors

Application: gaps in the research literature
Ask your student to follow the advice given in Table 7.2 about reading
for a literature review and then write a summary of gaps in the research
literature on their topic. Ask them to use this summary to present you
with an argument for carrying out their particular project which comes
from their reading of the literature.
Providing background information
It is important in a literature review to provide enough background infor-
mation to previous research so that the context of the proposed research is
clear; that is, the literature review should describe previous relevant
research, and the results of that research, in such a way as to indicate where
the present proposal is ‘situated’.
There are a number of questions that are useful to consider when describ-
ing previous research. Amongst these are:
●
Who carried out the research?
●
Who were the subjects of the research?
●
Why was it carried out?
●
Where was it carried out?
●
How was it carried out?
●
When was the research published?
●
What was the result of the research?

---

104
Writing the background chapters
Table 7.2 Steps and strategies for writing a literature review
Steps
Strategies
Locate relevant literature
Identify key authors and journals
Use state-of-the-art articles
Use computerized searches
Use Google Scholar
Scan tables of contents from key journals
Use reference lists from articles, books and chapters
Read primary sources
Avoid the popular press
Critically read the literature Identify themes in the literature
Identify strengths and weaknesses of individual articles
Identify strengths and weaknesses of the field as a whole
Collect photocopies of articles
Prepare to write
Investigate expected length and format of the literature 
review
Make a preliminary outline
Organize the literature you will cover
Limit the scope of the review to the topic at hand
Write the review
Write the introduction
Write sub-sections
Use transition markers and metatext (see Chapter 5)
Synthesize and critically evaluate the literature
Be careful not to plagiarize
Practise summarizing and paraphrasing actives (see below)
Indicate the gap
Use the review to lead to your study and research 
question/s