Resources
Your research will begin with a literature review, which is a synthesis of published scholarly work directly related to your topic. A literature review provides a background or foundation to your readers for your topic, establishing a common body of knowledge before moving in your specific research idea.
Writing Guides
Use this guide from Sage Research Methods to learn more about literature reviews as a research process -- why and how you should conduct one. This guide is part of a larger research project planning tool that you may want to consult as you work on your paper.
Byrne, D. (2017). Reviewing the literature. Project Planner. https://methods-sagepub-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/project-planner/reviewing-the-literature
Conducting Your Literature Review by Call Number: BF76.5.H45 2020ISBN: 9781433830921Publication Date: 2019-09-10This book is a step-by-step guide to writing a literature review, and includes tips for modifying the process as needed depending on your audience, purpose, and goals. The lessons in this book can be applied to writing the background section for a thesis or an original research publication. Literature reviews are now much more challenging to compile today than they used to be. You need a structured approach to handle the sheer volume of published research available. This book will help you formulate a strategy for making decisions about what to include and not include in your review, and produce a reliable and unbiased summary of the existing research. You will learn skills for defining research questions, using search tools and managing citations.
Overview and Project Planner
Annotated Bibliographies
Annotations are short (75-150 words) ORIGINAL (meaning it needs to be your thoughts and words) summaries of each individual article you plan to include in your paper. The annotation should also describe how each article contributes to your research. What is the most important take away? Writing these points down before you start writing your paper will help you think through your outline. Be sure to use APA format.