Conducting and Writing a Literature Review
Chapter purpose. By the end of this chapter, you should be able to apply the central concepts to a real assignment, research paper, thesis, or article in your own discipline.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Search, evaluate, organize, and synthesize literature.
- Differentiate a source list from a literature review.
- Use citations to construct a scholarly position.
KEY TERMS
Purpose of the review
A literature review explains what a field knows, how it knows it, where findings converge or conflict, and what remains unresolved. It should establish the intellectual context for the present project. A sequence of article summaries does not accomplish this purpose because it leaves relationships among sources implicit.
Search transparently
Translate the research problem into concepts and search terms, including relevant synonyms. Search appropriate databases, follow reference lists, and examine later works that cite influential studies. Record databases, terms, dates, and inclusion decisions so the search can be explained and updated. Language and database access may shape what becomes visible; acknowledge those limits.
Evaluate and organize
Assess relevance, methodological quality, context, and contribution rather than relying on publication prestige alone. A literature matrix can record purpose, theory, method, sample or materials, findings, limitations, and relevance. Organize the review by themes, debates, methods, chronology, or conceptual relationships, as appropriate to the argument.
Synthesize
Synthesis places multiple sources in relation to one another. Use citations to support a claim about the literature, then explain patterns, contradictions, or limitations. Distinguish the cited authors' conclusions from your evaluation. Conclude by showing how the review leads to the present question and contribution.
Systematic, scoping, and narrative reviews
Choose a review type according to the question. A narrative review can interpret and connect a body of scholarship, but it should still explain the scope and selection. A systematic review uses prespecified, reproducible methods to answer a focused question. A scoping review maps concepts, evidence types, and gaps in a field when it is broad or heterogeneous. PRISMA 2020 provides a reporting framework for systematic reviews, while the PRISMA-ScR extension addresses scoping reviews (Page et al., 2021; Tricco et al., 2018). For Korean and international literature, search across multiple ecosystems when the topic warrants it. RISS International indexes Korean journal articles, theses, books, and serials and supports searches in Korean or English (Korea Education and Research Information Service [KERIS], 2026). Pair it with discipline-appropriate international databases, and record the database, platform, date, complete search string, filters, and result count for each. Search Korean synonyms, romanized variants, and official English institutional terms. A literature review must synthesize rather than inventory. Organize evidence by problem, concept, method, result pattern, or debate—not by a sequence of article summaries. Use a synthesis matrix to compare population, setting, design, evidence, limitations, and relevance. Cite the primary source for a substantive claim whenever possible.
WORKED REVISION
Source-by-source reporting Synthesis Research on institutional support emphasizes three Kim studied advising. Lee access points - advising, mentoring, and orientation studied mentoring. Park studied - but the studies differ in whether students are orientation. treated as recipients of information or active interpreters of institutional norms.
원본은 이 부분을 Weak / Stronger 2단 표로 조판했습니다. 여기서는 원문 텍스트를 그대로 이어 실었습니다.
APPLICATIONS
- Undergraduate application: Create a six-source literature matrix and write one synthesis paragraph from two columns. Graduate application: Document a reproducible search strategy and write a gap statement grounded in the resulting body of literature.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
- Which idea in this chapter changes how you understand your current writing or research task?
- Which expectation may differ from your previous educational experience?
- What specific action will you complete next?