Writing a Literature Review and in Need of Help Consider These Tips from our Experts - Phdassistance.com
                     Writing a Literature Review and in Need  
of Help? Consider These Tips From our  
Experts at PhD Assistance.
Ph.D.dissertationhelp | PhDliteraturereview  
dissertation literature review | research on your topic
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Contemplating a literature review? Remember these sage tips  
from Ph.D. dissertation help guides.
“What do researchers know? What do they not know? What has been  
researched and what has not been researched? Is the research reliable 
 and trustworthy? Where are the gaps in the knowledge? When you  
compile all that together, you have yourself a literature review.”
― Jim Ollhoff, How to Write a Literature Review.
Follow these tips to portray your ideas while doing a 
PhD  literature review (Jensen):
 Juxtapose the views of different authors, i.e., compare and  
contrast.
 Appraise previous research work.
 Divulge gaps in existing research.
 Elucidate the relationship between your work and those of  
the bygone.
 state problems, conflicts, debates, gaps;
 define a research area in a new way;
 Scrutinize earlier studies’ results.
Structuring your PhD literature review properly is paramount for  
a fair reading experience to your readers. One of the ways you  
can structure the review is chronologically listing the sources in  
the order of their time of publication. Or you can follow a  
thematic structure wherein the sources are clubbed based on  
various criteria like concepts, topics, significance, and relationship 
 to the work in progress, etc.
Sections in literature review
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Include the following in your writing:
 Summary of the subject, issue, or theory in investigation.
 Categorization of sources based on
agreement or  contradiction to a position.
 connections between the sources;
 Conclusions on significant contributions;
 Development of the subject.
A literature review is a comprehensive study of existing   
knowledge in a field of study. For a scientific and academic  
writing, an analytical overview of the significant literature related  
to your topic is what is expected from you. Your objective for  
your review will depend on your readers. Your review can be  
instructional if your readers are not experts in the topic. But,  
since you are doing a PhD literature review, you will be required  
to do a demonstrative review, portraying your familiarity,  
expertise, and intelligence on the topic as your review will be a  
part of the dissertation that will be subjected to scrutiny by the  
experts in your subject.
When writing a dissertationliteraturereview, consider
the  following to elucidate a concise and clear vision to your 
readers:
 juxtapose your original work in the context of
current  literature;
 analyze and explain the major issues surrounding
your  topic;
 Portray the interconnectivity among each of the research   
publications;
 ascertain novel ways to interpret;
 clarify and address any gaps in previous research;
 clear the air on contradictory erstwhile studies;
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 sort out literature that has a major contribution to your  
research; and finally,
 draw a roadmap for further research on your topic.
The substance of the literature review
In order to structure your literature review prudently, consider  
the flow of ideas logically from point to point. Cite only current  
and relevant sources. Ensure your references are appropriate to
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your discipline.
Present terminology and viewpoints on the topic in an unbiased  
and comprehensive manner
 Provide an overview of the subject, issue, or theory under  
discussion;
 split outside works into categories and concepts (in favor or  
contrary to a particular standpoint).
 link the works to what has come prior to your work and  
ideas;
 give conclusions about those works;
 mention those that provide significant contribution.
Make the following considerations before including or not  
including a work
 Value: The credibility and value of the author’s conclusion
 Convincing: The credibility of each thesis and
its  persuasiveness.
 Unbiased: Neutrality of the arguments
 Credentials: the qualification and credibility of the source  
and the author.
Use transition words between points to analyze, synthesize, and  
assess external opinions. And use reporting verbs to  
communicate clearly; see the following examples:

o To attack, condemn, object, and refute,
use critical  assessment;
o To allude, believe, hypothesize, suggest, use tentative  
evaluation;
o To advocate, argue, hold, and see,
use positive  evaluation;
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o To address, cite, comment, look at, use neutral  
evaluation.
Citations in Ph.D. literature review
Your presentation of the evidence or material in the literature  
review needs to show that you are
1) selecting and mentioning only the most relevant material;
2) explaining the quotation in light of your
argument;
3) introducing and integrating only relevant
quotations;
4) focusing on the language of quotations in the interpretations.
Use citations to locate your research in a larger narrative. The  
meticulous use of citations reveals your decisions to give greater  
emphasis to either the reported author/message. Integral  
citations (non-parenthetical citations) are those where the name  
of the cited author occurs in the citing sentence. Non-integral  
citations make reference to the author within parenthesis or  
through end or footnotes.
Your ideas are the focal point of your writing; But in scientific  
writing aligning your work with previous research is necessary to  
illustrate its relevance and gravity to the topic.
To conclude, the following is a summary of the key tips
 summarize key research by stating arguments and main  
points;
 analyze by examining the elements or structure
of the  research;
 synthesize or combine ideas to form an integrated theory via 
 critical evaluation, comparing and contrasting;,
 evaluate and apply to topic based on the criteria
you  choose;
© 2019-2020 All Rights Reserved, No part of this document should be modified/used without prior consent
UK: The Portergate, Ecclesall Road, Sheffield, S11 8NX.
Email:[email protected], Web:www.phdassistance.com.