Literature Review – Political Science
Single-Spaced, 1” Margins
Include in-text citations or Footnote
Indicate citation style
Late Reviews accepted with grade point penalty (2 points per diem)
INCLUDE AT LEAST 10 SOURCES FROM THE ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY WE WILL REVIEW YOUR GRADED REVIEW IN CLASS.
The purpose of the literature review is to explain to the reader where your original research fits in with the existing literature and identify which theoretical discussions exist in relation to your topic.
You need to carefully think through and organize your thoughts and decide how you want to organize your literature review. Think about the general research questions coming from the literature. What questions are scholars addressing in their research? What factors/variables do they focus on?
The review will be a part of the final paper assignment. It will follow the introduction (to be discussed later in class). All quotations/paraphrasing must be documented (either with a parenthetical notation and or footnote).
DISCUSS THE LITERATURE FROM YOUR ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY IN YOUR REVIEW. IF YOU HAVE ADDED OR DELETED SOURCES—NO WORRIES! YOU MUST HAVE AT LEAST 10 SOURCES IN THE REVIEW. THE LITERATURE REVIEW IS NOT AN EXTENDED ANNOATED BIB. IT SHOULD READ LIKE A PAPER.A THOROUGH LITERATURE REVIEW SHOULD BE AT LEAST 5-6 PAGES LONG, MAYBE MORE (SINGLE SPACED)
MAKE SURE TO MAKE (THEME) HEADINGS IN YOUR REVIEW.YOU SHOULD INTRODUCE THE LITERATURE UNDER THE HEADINGS (MAKE A GENERAL STATEMENT AND THEN DISCUSS THE LITERATURE).
Organize your review in the following manner (you may have more than three themes, this is just an example). Make sure to clearly identify your themes:
Follow outline below (or similar structure)
Introduction-Introduce the literature. How have you organized this review? What themes will you be discussing in your review?
(Body of Literature Review-You will need to discuss the nature of the research as in the annotated bibliography).
II. Identify Theme #1—discuss theme, go into literature that addresses that theme (unpack the theme below identifying the dimensions)
Subtheme?
Subtheme?
III. Identify Theme #2– discuss theme, go into literature that addresses that theme
Subtheme?
Subtheme?
IV. Identify Theme #3, etc.
Subtheme?
Subtheme?
Conclusion— What conclusions can you make about the literature written on your topic? What other observations can you make? Are there any gaps in the literature? Where does your research topic fit in with the existing literature?
VI. References
Note: The literature review should help you with three important items related to your research paper: 1) You will find the theoretical framework that you will use in your own analysis/research; 2) You may find the method/types of sources you wish to employ in your own analysis; and 3) It will enable you to rework/fine tune your hypotheses/research questions.
