Assessment Brief
This is an individual assignment. You are required to provide a Literature Review by critical reviewing at least five research articles taken from reputable published sources.
As discussed in the module, a literature review is a comprehensive overview of research studies and theoretical arguments in a particular field or on a specific topic. In this case, your dissertation topic. The purpose of a literature review is to enable you to collect, critically analyse, compare and evaluate current knowledge and research in a particular field of study. It is an opportunity to engage with the current literature in the subject you have chosen, or are interested in. The literature review should help explain and justify your research project.
Content
Your literature review should be more than a collection of commentaries on current literature in your topic of interest. By engaging critically with the literature you are expected to present an evaluation of the field by means of a discussion of the differences and similarities, weaknesses and strengths, of the existing knowledge and research findings. This means that the focus and purpose of the literature review needs to be clearly defined. Therefore, the introductory section of your report must include a concise description of the research topic or research area for which you are conducting this review (200 words maximum).
A typical structure for a literature review might look like this:
- Introduction. Concise description of the research topic for which you are conducting this review. A summary using the SCR model used in class will be acceptable.
- Body. Critical review of the current literature in relation to the purpose of the review. Literature must be grouped in relevant themes, areas of controversy and disagreement will be highlighted and commented upon, as will any limitations and asumptions.
- Conclusion. This should contain the key points and arguments in relation to the purpose and scope of the review. It should help identify the gap in current kowledge your aim to addres and in that way justify your project.
- References [not included in words count]. References should be cited in the main body of your text to back your arguments up. At the end of your assignment you must include the list of the references cited in APA style.
It will be acceptable to have a mix of resources of different nature – e.g., empirical research, implementation and testing, ‘review’ articles, qualitative or quantitative research, etc. The main criterion is that the articles must be taken from reputable sources
