Literature Review - Youth exposed to Violence

What is a literature review?

The focus of a literature review is to summarize and synthesize sources of published information in a particular subject area.  A summary is a recap of the important information in the source.  A synthesis is a re-organization of the information.

          Literature reviews provide an overview of information and may help us trace the history of a topic or keep us current in our field.  A literature review provides a foundation for a research paper.

What about this assignment?

            This assignment is a simple literature review.  Do not include your opinion in the review. You will have the usual title page, the body of the paper, and a reference list in the completed literature review.

      Include a minimum of 12 sources in your literature review.  A minimum of five (5) of those sources must come from the Annotated Bibliography that you have completed as one of the requirements for this course.  At the same time, please note that we do not want reviews based entirely or even partially on websites. Refer to the 7th edition of the APA manual for formatting the paper, citations, and reference list.  (If you don’t have a manual, you need one!) 

Why this assignment?

            The literature review that you complete will be the basis for Chapter Two in your final research proposal.

How many pages is the literature review?

           A minimum of 7 - 10 pages should allow you to develop the literature review.  The final length of the paper depends on the articles you choose to review and how well you summarize and synthesize the information.  You have a minimum of 12 sources.  However, there are three main components of the paper itself.  The first part of the literature review is the introduction, where you provide a general topic idea.  The second part is the body, where you present your discussion of the sources in the organizational format you have chosen (you may decide headings and subheadings are appropriate for your content). The third part of the review is a conclusion where you summarize the review. 

How can I get help?

            First, the APA manual is your best friend.   Look at other literature reviews online or in completed research projects, theses, and dissertations.