What this handout is about
This handout will explain what a literature review is and offer insights into the form and construction of a literature review in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences.
Introduction
OK. You've got to write the dissertation literature review. You dust off a novel and a book of poetry, settle down in your chair, and get ready to issue a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" as you leaf through the pages. "Literature review" done. Wrong! The "literature" of a dissertation literature review refers to any collection of materials on a topic, not necessarily the great literary texts of the world. "Literature" could be anything from a set of government pamphlets on British colonial methods in
What Is A Literature Review, after that?
A dissertation literature review discusses published information in a particular subject area, and sometimes information in a particular subject area within a certain time period.