Writing a perfect literature review for your dissertation is not a piece of cake.

But UK Academic Help has made it easy for you with a brief structure and examples in this article.

What Is A Literature Review?

A literature review, as its name demonstrates, is a review of the work done on a specific topic by other researchers. You have to search for relevant sources and give an overview of the available knowledge, theories, methodologies, and possible gaps in the existing literature. 

In a dissertation, a literature review comes after the introduction chapter. However, it is preferably the first chapter that the students write for their dissertation.

How To Structure A Literature Review For Your Dissertation?

Although, writing a dissertation literature review is not an easy task. But a good dissertation literature review structure can help you alot in your journey. Let’s have a look at the 5 steps of writing a perfect dissertation literature review;

  1. Finding Relevant Sources

What is the most important thing you need before writing your literature review dissertation?

It is finding the relevant sources according to your research topic. Finding good and authentic sources is important because you have to make sure the data you put in your dissertation is authentic.

But how to find authentic and relevant sources?

The best way is to use keywords related to your topic. You can make a list of the relevant keywords and search them on the search engine. Make sure to use only published research articles and do not use any random article on any website. You have to cite the sources so only use authentic sources related to your research.

  1. Analysing The Sources

Gather all the sources in a folder to analyse them individually. Do not start analysing until you have enough sources to help you stay focused and stay on track.

It is obvious that you can not study every research article in detail. It will make you lose focus and you may miss some important information by mistake. So it is better to first analyse which source is the most relevant to your research.

But how would you know if it is relevant or not?

You can certainly find it with these few simple questions rather than taking the long and difficult approach. Ask yourself;

  • Is the topic relevant to your research?
  • What methodologies and procedures are done in the research?
  • What are the results of the research?

The easiest way is to study the abstract of the research paper. Make notes of all the important information and do not forget to keep a track of the citations to avoid plagiarism in your dissertation.

  • Searching Required Information

After analysing all the sources the next step is to search for the required information in them. Of course you do not need to take everything from every article. You just have to pick the most relevant information.

Organise all the collected information according to segments. This may include segments like;

  • Trends
  • Themes
  • Gaps

Note them separately and then you can edit the draft according to your dissertation requirements.

  • Making An Outline 

By now, you would have systematically arranged data with you. With this data you will then make an outline of your dissertation literature review.

There are multiple approaches to outline your data but most of the people use more than one approach in their literature review. It depends on your dissertation and its requirements.

You can either choose chronological, methodological, theoretical, or thematic approaches. Decide what suits best with your research topic.

  1. Writing The Literature Review 

Finally, comes the writing part. Now you have well prepared to start writing your literature review. Start putting everything together.

Like any other academic writing project, literature review also has 3 important parts. These are; introduction, body, and conclusion. 

Write your data in a way that all the information is divided into these parts. It will make it look more presentable and professional.

Remember that a strong literature review analyses, synthesises, and evaluates the data from the sources rather than copying data. 

Literature Review Example 

To demonstrate how to write a literature review dissertation? Here are some examples, have a look at them;

  • If your topic is related to the use of technology in learning places then you can use thematic literature review to show the effects of technology on learning abilities of students.
  • If the topic is about historical changes then you can use theoretical literature review about that particular event and its trend till date.
  • If the topic demands explanation of the methods used in research then you can use methodological literature review explaining all the aspects related to methodology
  • If the topic is about difficulties or changes over the years then you can use chronological literature review explaining the changes over the years

Conclusion 

No matter how difficult it is to write a dissertation literature review, you can achieve excellence in it by systematically writing it with one step at a time. Do not rush to complete it, rather take short and slow steps to avoid any confusion. 

If you need any guidance or want help for your literature review then you can always contact us because we are available 24/7 at your service. 

FAQs

What is the purpose of writing a literature review in a dissertation?

A literature review is a must chapter in your dissertation. There are numerous purposes of writing it in a dissertation. Some of them are;

  • To show the reader that you are familiar with the existing knowledge on the topic
  • To make sure you have not repeated what others have already done
  • To make sure that you have identified and covered the gaps in the research 
  • To show that your topic is relevant and the research is needed in that area

What should be the length of the literature review?

In the UK, the recommended length of a dissertation literature review is from 2000 – 3000. Although, it is a standard word count but it may vary according to the institutions. So do check your institute requirements before writing it.

What should be the format of a literature review?

A literature review follows the same format as many of the other writing tasks do. There shall be 3 major parts of a literature review that are; introduction, body, and conclusion.

How many sources should I include in my literature review?

You can use as many sources as you like but all of them shall be relevant to your research topic. However, you must use at least 10 sources to write a good literature review. Irrelevant and unnecessary sources are discouraged and they will not bring you good grades. 

Can I write the literature review without citing any source?

No! You can never write a literature review without citing the sources. If you would do so it would be considered as academic misconduct and you may face consequences for that. To know more about academic misconduct read academic integrity vs academic dishonesty and you will get a clear idea of why to avoid it.