Writing Literature Review Psychology
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON Psychology Writing Center 3937 15th Avenue NE Box 351525
Phone: 206.685.8278 psywc@u.washington.edu http://depts.washington.edu/psywc/handouts.shtml
Writing a Psychology Literature Review
There are two main approaches to a literature review in psychology. One approach is to choose an area of research, read all the relevant studies, and organize them in a meaningful way. An example of an organizing theme is a conflict or controversy in the area, where you might first discuss the studies that support one side, then discuss the studies that support the other side. Another approach is to choose an organizing theme or a point that you want to make, then select your studies accordingly. Regardless of how you decide to organize your literature review, it will have two purposes: (1) to thoroughly describe work done on a specific area of research and (2) to evaluate this work. Both the descriptive and evaluative elements are important parts of the review. You can 't do one or the other. If you just describe past research without evaluating it, you are merely summarizing information without digesting it. If you just discuss recent theories in an area without describing the work done to test those theories, then your arguments lack supporting empirical evidence. What to Evaluate Authors of literature reviews evaluate a body of literature by identifying relations, contradictions, gaps, and inconsistencies in the literature and by suggesting the next step needed to solve the research problem (APA Manual 1994, p.5). A literature review may compare studies in terms of assumptions about the research question, experimental method, data analysis, and any conclusions drawn. Literature Reviews versus Research Articles Literature reviews survey research done in a particular area. Although they also evaluate methods and results, their main emphasis is on knitting together theories and results from a number of studies to describe the "big picture" of a
Phone: 206.685.8278 psywc@u.washington.edu http://depts.washington.edu/psywc/handouts.shtml
Writing a Psychology Literature Review
There are two main approaches to a literature review in psychology. One approach is to choose an area of research, read all the relevant studies, and organize them in a meaningful way. An example of an organizing theme is a conflict or controversy in the area, where you might first discuss the studies that support one side, then discuss the studies that support the other side. Another approach is to choose an organizing theme or a point that you want to make, then select your studies accordingly. Regardless of how you decide to organize your literature review, it will have two purposes: (1) to thoroughly describe work done on a specific area of research and (2) to evaluate this work. Both the descriptive and evaluative elements are important parts of the review. You can 't do one or the other. If you just describe past research without evaluating it, you are merely summarizing information without digesting it. If you just discuss recent theories in an area without describing the work done to test those theories, then your arguments lack supporting empirical evidence. What to Evaluate Authors of literature reviews evaluate a body of literature by identifying relations, contradictions, gaps, and inconsistencies in the literature and by suggesting the next step needed to solve the research problem (APA Manual 1994, p.5). A literature review may compare studies in terms of assumptions about the research question, experimental method, data analysis, and any conclusions drawn. Literature Reviews versus Research Articles Literature reviews survey research done in a particular area. Although they also evaluate methods and results, their main emphasis is on knitting together theories and results from a number of studies to describe the "big picture" of a
Citations: A Guide for Copyright 1997-2004, University of Washington 04/09/04 litrev.pdf Psychology Undergraduates, available from the Psychology Writing Center website. Reference American Psychological Association (1994). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association. Copyright 1997-2004, University of Washington 04/09/04 litrev.pdf