PR Chapter 2

• Literature review


  A survey of scholarly sources on a specific topic that provides an overview of current knowledge, allowing you to identify relevant theories, methods, and gaps in the existing research
• Five key steps to writing a literature review


  1. Search for relevant literature

  2. Evaluate sources

  3. Identify themes, debates, and gaps

  4. Outline the structure

  5. Write your literature review
• "A good literature review doesn't just summarize sources—it analyzes, synthesizes, and critically evaluates to give a clear picture of the state of knowledge on the subject."
• Purpose of a literature review

  • Demonstrate your familiarity with the topic and its scholarly context
  • Develop a theoretical framework and methodology for your research
  • Position your work in relation to other researchers and theorists
  • Show how your research addresses a gap or contributes to a debate
  • Evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your knowledge of the scholarly debates around your topic
• Annotated bibliography


  A compilation of full citation information and a paragraph of summary and analysis for each source
• You can use Scribbr's free APA citation generator or MLA citation generator to quickly create correct and consistent citations.
• Citation


  A reference to a source, an abbreviated alphanumeric expression embedded in the body of an intellectual work that denotes an entry in the bibliographic references section of the work for the purpose of acknowledging the relevance of the works of others to the topic of discussion at the spot where the citation appears
• Primary sources of information


  • Own experiences/opinion
  • Others experiences/opinion
  • Interview
  • Questionnaire
  • Observation
  • Experiment
• Secondary sources


  • Books
  • Magazines
  • Journals
  • Thesis
  • Dissertation
  • Newspaper
  • Newsletter
  • Manual pamphlets
  • Brochures
  • Electronic references/resources
• In academic culture, plagiarism is a serious offense and committing plagiarism can result in being expelled from school/university
• Types of plagiarism


  • Copying
  • Quoting
  • Summarising
  • Paraphrasing
  • Evaluating
• Quoting


  Reproducing the exact words of an author and enclosing them in quotation marks, indicating the exact page reference
• Quoting guide for less than 40 words


  Incorporate into the text
• Quoting guide for more than 40 words


  Use a separate block quotation, do not use quotation marks, start the quote on a new line, indent the entire quote 0.5 inches, double-space the entire quote
• Parenthetical citation


  Placing the entire citation in parentheses directly after the quote and before the period
• Narrative citation


  The author(s) appear as part of your sentence, with the year in parentheses directly after the author's name, and the page number in parentheses directly after the quote
• Signal phrases to begin discussion of literature

  • Analyze
  • Argue
  • Assert
  • Assume
  • Claim
  • Compare
  • Contrast
  • Conclude
  • Criticize
  • Reveal
  • Exhibit
  • Disclose
  • Posit
  • Define
  • Discuss
  • Distinguish
  • Differentiate
  • Evaluate
  • Examine
  • Emphasize
  • Expand
  • Explain
  • Identify
  • Illustrate
  • Imply
  • Indicate
  • Justify
  • Narrate
  • Outline
  • Propose
  • Question
  • Report
  • Review
  • Suggest
  • Summarize
• Transitional devices


  • Also
  • Moreover
  • In addition
  • Furthermore
  • Similarly
  • Likewise
  • However
  • Conversely
  • On the other hand
  • Nevertheless
  • Meanwhile
  • Thus
• Paraphrasing


  Restating the author's thoughts in your own words
• Summarizing


  Restating in condensed form the contents of an article
• Evaluating


  Recording your reaction indicating agreement or disagreement or interpreting the point of view of the writer