Literature Reviews

This useful guide educates students in the preparation of literature reviews for term projects, theses, and dissertations. The authors provide numerous examples from published reviews that illustrate the guidelines discussed throughout the book. Each chapter breaks down the larger holistic review of literature exercise into a series of smaller, manageable steps.

Illustrates all the steps in preparing qualitative and quantitative literature reviews. Emphasizes topic selection, locating literature, and avoiding major pitfalls in evaluating and synthesizing literature. Shows how to improve literature reviews through the judicious inclusion of statistical results found in the literature. Provides easy-to-follow advice on how to avoid misrepresenting the results of published research in literature reviews. The numerous examples throughout the text and the nine model literature reviews clarify the process of following the guidelines for writing solid, state-of-the-art literature reviews.

Creating a successful literature review can be a daunting task, which is why so many researchers have relied on previous editions of this book to make the process more manageable. Using the six-step model, you'll work seamlessly to narrow your research topic, focus your literature search, negotiate the myriad of books, periodicals, and reports about your topic--and, of course, write the review.

Health Sciences Literature Review Made Easy is the ultimate 'how to' guide for learning the practical and useful methods for reviewing scientific literature in the health sciences. This text is an outstanding resource for students who need a practical, step-by-step set of instructions for how to organize, conduct, and write a synthesis of literature on a topic of their choice. The hallmark of this text is the inclusion of the Matrix Method developed by the author which outlines one of the many ways to approach a literature review. This method is a practical, easy-to-use structure and process for reviewing research literature, particularly in the health sciences and nursing.

This volume progresses from general to specific issues in the writing of literature reviews. It opens with some orientations that raise awareness of the issues that surround the telling of a research story. Issues of structure and matters of language, style, and rhetoric are then discussed. Sections on metadiscourse, citation, and paraphrasing and summarizing are included.

Providing readers with an accessible, in-depth look at how to synthesize research literature, this book is perfect for students, researchers, marketers, planners, and policymakers who design and manage public and private agencies, conduct research studies, and prepare strategic plans and grant proposals.