{"id":304,"date":"2022-03-19T17:04:47","date_gmt":"2022-03-19T21:04:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/undergradresearch\/?post_type=chapter&p=304"},"modified":"2022-05-13T02:04:56","modified_gmt":"2022-05-13T06:04:56","slug":"literature-reviews-daunting-but-clarifying","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/undergradresearch\/chapter\/literature-reviews-daunting-but-clarifying\/","title":{"raw":"Introduction: Literature Reviews \u2013Daunting but Clarifying","rendered":"Introduction: Literature Reviews \u2013Daunting but Clarifying"},"content":{"raw":"The [pb_glossary id=\"687\"]literature review[\/pb_glossary] is that section of your thesis that provides an analytical summary of published materials relating to your research question. It categorizes, compares and evaluates the findings of key works in the field. The review points out strengths and weaknesses in this existing research to establish a context and need for new research (KSU Writing Center, 2021).\r\n\r\nThis might seem straightforward but the literature review can be either the most daunting task of undergraduate research or it can be surprisingly fun. Daunting, because it supposes the valuable but painful endeavour of seeing how your limited work-in-progress<\/em> will compare to the seemingly unending run of expansive final products<\/em> in peer-reviewed journals. Besides being a gobsmacking amount of information to summarize, reading papers which are often meticulously written, researched, and edited by experts in the field can produce a rousing feeling of impossibility at completing one\u2019s research to a similar degree. Simply put, an amateur belting Mariah Carey\u2019s \u201cAlways Be My Baby\u201d at a karaoke bar would tend to have their confidence shaken if asked to compare their \u2018cover\u2019 against Carey\u2019s. One might think of the literature review similarly, as it asks new researchers to consider where their work can exist alongside a pantheon of experienced minds and passionate contributions. Naturally, it can be hard to see how one can contribute. This chapter is aimed at helping you to build the confidence to confront what might seem to be a daunting challenge.\r\n\r\nOn the fun side, Greetham (2019) likens the searching process to a treasure hunt. Doing a literature review entails hunting through books, chapters, articles, conference papers, websites dissertation, new sites or any place else that contains information relating to your topic (Gretham, 2019, p. 92). The mere task of skimming through titles, abstracts and content can inspire ideas on how you will do your own research. The materials you source provide ideas on methods, arguments, and analytical strategies, which can be useful to your own project. Hence, the literature review can be the most clarifying part of the research process.\r\nGreetham (2019) suggests that, apart from treasure hunting, the literature review entails mapping out the territory. The mapping exercise entails systematically taking stock of and recording the following:\r\n