Dissertation Review of Literature

Now that you have a topic selected for your dissertation, the work of identifying and utilizing existing information from previously completed research and other resources begins. You are now facing one of the most difficult tasks in the dissertation process – the Dissertation Literature Review. This section points out some property that will help make this job easier.

The biggest cause why so many doctoral candidates have difficulty to completing their dissertation is because they get caught up in the dissertation literature review process. There is so much literature out there it seems like an never-ending swamp. It all starts to look the same, and many people have a very hard time shaping just where to start. Even when one does get started the problem of how to keep path of everything comes up. How should it be prioritized, indexed, and cross-referenced? Should a new software program be purchased (and learned)? To answer these and other questions, let's first look at what a Review of Literature should do:

• A Review of Literature is the most important chapter in a dissertation.
• It identifies, describes, evaluates, and summarizes the current information in your field.
• It presents and analyzes the empirical and theoretical sources covering your variables.
• It demonstrates your mastery and understanding of your chosen field.
• Almost immediately after starting your Dissertation Literature Review you might be tempted to buy specialized software marketed for notes and citation management. Be very careful.

Do not be swayed by promises of putting everything into APA or MLA format at the click of a button. Right now you need help to find and utilize those things that are useful. Nothing in APA format is still nothing.

Also, be very careful about software that forces you to spend time learning new procedures and techniques.

Doing a thorough Review of Literature takes time. Each book, article, or web site must be read and reviewed for ideas that will help your project. Identify how each piece can help you, and where.

A thorough Review of Literature is critical to all other aspects of your dissertation! A good review is so crucial that Diane Kennedy, owner of the Academic Research Group, Inc. and one of the best-qualified dissertation consultants with over thirty years in the field, recommends to her clients that a Literature Review be done first, before anything else!