In the structure of the literature review section of a dissertation, you will be summarizing existing research on a topic you have chosen.
This means that what you write should not only be informative but also engaging, relevant, and accessible to your reader.
It is therefore essential that you follow some simple guidelines to ensure that all of these qualities are present in your work:
Make a clear plan for your literature review
Planning is a key part of the process.
Make a plan for your literature review, and then follow it to the letter.
You can use this plan as a template for creating your own research paper or dissertation:
-Before you start writing, decide what kind of literature review you want to write.
Is it going to be a narrative review?
An analytical review?
A critical analysis? -Once you’ve decided on the type of review, think about how many sources you need to use and what types of sources would best support your arguments.
For example, if you are writing a critical analysis paper then using only peer-reviewed articles would be appropriate; however for a narrative review, including popular media sources like magazines and newspapers might be useful.
Explain clearly the role of existing research
When you begin your literature review dissertation, you should make sure that the reader understands exactly how your research is different from existing studies.
Explain how it is relevant to your thesis and how it builds on past work.
For example: “In this study, I will compare my findings with those of other researchers who have studied similar topics.”
“This study examined whether children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) could improve their reading comprehension skills by using a novel technology called ‘storytelling apps’.”
Once readers understand this key difference between yours and others’ work, they can better understand why it’s important for them to read through your dissertation and why they might want to take notes while reading it!
This is a good place to start.
You should make sure that your literature review dissertation is clear and concise.
It should be easy for readers to understand what you are trying to say and how this new study fits into the existing body of research on the topic.
Have a logical structure of your literature review dissertation and flow to your review
A literature review should be organized in a logical and sequential way.
For example, if you are researching the effects of the sun on skin cancer, it would be appropriate to start with research on melanoma (the most common type of skin cancer), then move through studies that looked at less serious types of skin cancers like squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma—and finally end with studies about other types of cancers such as breast cancer and prostate cancer.
When organizing your literature review according to these subcategories, remember that each subcategory will have its own set of authors who have published similar research within that field.
Because there’s so much overlap between these subgroups (for example: some researchers may have examined both squamous cell carcinomas and basal cell carcinomas), it’s important not only for them but also for readers interested in seeing how different types affect each other when exposed over time or under specific conditions.”
The next step is to create a bibliography.
A bibliography is a list of all the sources that you used in your literature review, organized by author and publication date (if possible).
This can be done using any type of spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel or Google Docs.
Prioritize important points over less significant points
It’s important to prioritize the most important points over less significant ones.
In order to do this, you need a framework that is easy and quick to use.
I recommend using the following steps:
Choose your main question(s).
For example: “What are some of the key issues related to student retention?” or “How can we improve student retention?” etc.
The more specific your question is (in terms of what it includes), the easier it will be for you later on when looking at possible solutions or ways forward with your literature review dissertation project.
Identify your sub-questions.
For example: “What are some of the main reasons why students drop out?” or “How can we improve retention rates at our university?” etc.
Write down as many questions as you can think of, even if they seem irrelevant at first glance.
Note: These questions should be about the same topic and should fit with your main question(s).
They could be related to one another or stand alone, depending on what you find most helpful during this process.
Keep Things Relevant to Structure a Literature Review Dissertation
When reading other studies, you should be critical of their results and conclusions.
Don’t just include research that supports your ideas, but also include studies that challenge them.
You don’t want to be biased or have blind spots when writing a dissertation; this is where a good professor comes in handy!
A good professor will help you identify these problems and correct for them before submitting your work as part of your review process.
You want to be critical of other studies and try to find ways in which they could be improved.
A good professor will help you develop these skills by providing feedback on your work and pointing out areas where improvements could be made.
You can use this advice to write a great literature review.
You can use this advice to write a great literature review.
Use your own words. Don’t copy other people’s work, even if it’s on the Internet—you are not them!
Don’t use jargon or slang; these tend to sound pretentious and unnecessary in academic writing.
Don’t contractions in titles (e.g., “the preface” vs “the preface” or “the introduction”).
In general, avoid using contractions in titles of more than three words unless they’re part of a longer title (e.g., “Theses on Mainstreet” instead of Theses On Mainstreet).
Do not use pronouns (e.g., “we,” “you,” or “they”). Instead of saying “I think it is important to note that…” say “Note that…” Keep sentences short and simple—no more than 15 words. Use active voice as often as possible, instead of passive voice.
Use the active voice and present tense as often as possible.
If you’re describing a study, don’t say “the researcher found that people who ate more fruit had healthier hearts than people who didn’t eat much fruit.”
Instead, say “People who ate more fruit had healthier hearts than people who didn’t eat much fruit.”
Conclusion of How to Structure a Literature Review Dissertation
We hope this blog has given you some valuable advice on how to write a literature review.
You don’t need to be an expert in the field or have written many academic papers, there are plenty of resources out there that can help you get started.
The most important thing is to have a clear plan for your project and stick with it as much as possible so that when it comes time for submission deadlines and peer reviews don’t distract from all those other important things! Good luck!