• Post category:StudyBullet-15
  • Reading time:10 mins read


Everything you need to craft a comprehensive, engaging literature review – including templates, tools and more.

What you will learn

WHAT exactly a literature review is (and isn’t) and how this fits into the bigger picture of the research process.

WHAT different types of literature reviews exist (systematic, unsystematic, standalone, etc.) and how they vary.

WHAT you need to have in place before you even start your literature review, so that you don’t waste time rewriting.

WHAT the three critically important components of a literature review are and how to develop them.

WHAT the reviewers/assessors are typically looking for in a literature review and what they focus on in each section.

HOW to write a high-quality literature review that lays a rock-solid foundation for your dissertation or thesis.

FREE access to our comprehensive literature cataloguing tool (XLS) and literature review chapter template (DOC).

FREE access to our Resource Master List, unlocking access too 100s of additional videos, templates and tools.

Description

Whether you’re a first-time researcher, just starting out and feeling a little overwhelmed by the literature review process – or you’re already knee-deep in the writing process but need a little guidance to ensure you’re on the right path – this online course is for you.

Designed and presented by the award-winning team of research specialists at Grad Coach, this course provides you with a step-by-step practical guide to help develop your literature review. Together, we’ll work through loads of practical examples to illustrate each point and review actual successful literature review, so that you can see exactly what it takes to write a high-quality literature review. Along the way, you can test your understanding with interactive pop quizzes and ask questions about each lesson as you work through the course.

This online course is designed for both undergrad and postgrad students who are new to the academic research process. You don’t need to have any prior research experience, as we unpack each concept from the ground up. While this course is geared towards literature reviews within the sciences (especially the social sciences), the principles and concepts we’ll cover apply to the vast majority of research areas.


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Within the course, you can use the carefully designed practical exercises to build your actual literature review as you work through the course. In other words, by the end of the course, you won’t just have a certificate – you’ll have a foundation for your own literature review. All that said, if you’d prefer to just focus on specific lessons, you’re most welcome to do so, as each lesson works perfectly well on a standalone basis.

But it doesn’t stop there. By joining the course, you’ll get full, unrestricted access to our meaty collection of additional literature review-related resources. This includes a comprehensive literature review chapter template, hours upon hours of additional video lessons and webinars, as well as practical tools and resources.

In short, this course gives you everything you need to start writing your literature review. Best of all, you can easily work through it over a weekend or even a few weeknights – so you’re not signing up for a huge commitment.

English
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Content

Introduction

Welcome to Literature Review Bootcamp!
How to get the most from this course
Resource Master List

Literature Review Basics

Section overview: Literature review basics
What (exactly) is a literature review?
What is the literature review?
The function and purpose (the “why”) of the literature review
What is the purpose of a literature review?
Different types of literature reviews (systematic, unsystematic, etc.)
Different types of literature reviews
The literature review process
The literature review process
Before you start…
Additional resources
Practical Exercise: Section 2

Stage 1: Sourcing & synthesising the literature

Section overview: Sourcing & synthesising
Understanding the different types of literature/resources
Literature sources
How to use “grey” literature
Using “grey” literature
How to find high-quality academic literature
Finding academic literature
How to (quickly) assess the relevance of any journal article
How to critically evaluate the quality of a journal article
Evaluating the quality of a journal article
How to create a literature review catalogue
The literature catalogue
How to use Mendeley to manage your sources
How to synthesise all of the literature you’ve read
How to synthesise the literature
Revisiting your research aims
Tips & tricks for this stage
What do you think?
Additional resources
Practical Exercise: Section 3

Stage 2: Planning the literature review chapter/section

Section overview: Planning the chapter
The “Big 3” core components of a literature review
Components of a literature review
The theoretical framework (foundation of theory)
The theoretical framework
The empirical research
Empirical research
The research gap
Research gaps
Example of a literature review (full walkthrough)
How to structure your literature review (3 options)
Literature review structure
Tips & tricks for this stage
Additional resources
Practical Exercise: Section 4

Stage 3: Writing Your Literature Review

Section overview: Writing up your lit review
Understanding the (real) writing process
The writing process
How to craft strong arguments (simple structure)
How to write critically (vs descriptively)
Critical writing
How to avoid plagiarism in your literature review
Plagiarism
How to reference and cite correctly
Writing with references
How to create smooth transitions and connections
Connections and transitions
How to craft a good introduction and conclusion
How to edit your literature review
Editing and proofreading
Tips & tricks for this stage
Additional resources

Wrapping Up

Section overview: Wrapping up
What reviewers are looking for in a literature review
What reviewers are looking for
Common mistakes to avoid
Conclusion