The main purpose of a literature review is to demonstrate to the reader that you have knowledge on a specific topic that you are researching. It may be in an assignment, report, dissertation or thesis depending on your level of study. Before you start looking for information and reading, it is important to compile a list of the main areas and questions that need to be answered by your research. Thereafter, the first step in writing a literature review is to decide what literature you need to read to expand your knowledge about the topic.
You then need to ensure that you have the relevant information literacy skills to find the information needed for your topic. Once you have found the information relevant to your topic, you must then start reading! You must synthesis what you read so that you can provide a review of what you have read. Remember, a good literature review always needs a clear line of argument and includes a short introduction which gives an outline of the review. Other aspects to be considered are the main topics to be covered in your review, the order of the argument based on the literature read and a brief motivation (rationale) for the research, assignment or report.
