EPQ- Dafq is a Literature review???

Okay so I am REALLY confused on what a literature review actually is.

My topic is about why Ebola fears were so prevalent during the outbreak so in my literature review would I contain explanations of psychological theories e.g social contagion?

Also how do I structure it? A paragraph for each theory I am reviewing? Or in a table?

Thanks in advance! :smile:

Reply 1

username3482002

12

Literature review is where you have to talk about your sources. Is it a credible? Why did you choose it? etc

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 2

username3489684

19

basically a literature review is a compilation of key sources that you are going to use in your discussion. For your investigation you might use academic journals, essays, maybe bbc articles and news reports. Choose a couple of good sources that will help your write your discussion and in the literature review, you have to evaluate them. This means that you have to discuss why this source is useful for your investigation and whether it is reliable or not, if it's biased, the perspective of the source etc.
You can write a paragraph or a couple of paragraphs for each.
A really good literature review will connect the sources together and compare it to eachother as well as discuss why they are useful to use together.

Reply 3

emx_eco

OP

13

Original post by justanotherchica

basically a literature review is a compilation of key sources that you are going to use in your discussion. For your investigation you might use academic journals, essays, maybe bbc articles and news reports. Choose a couple of good sources that will help your write your discussion and in the literature review, you have to evaluate them. This means that you have to discuss why this source is useful for your investigation and whether it is reliable or not, if it's biased, the perspective of the source etc.
You can write a paragraph or a couple of paragraphs for each.
A really good literature review will connect the sources together and compare it to eachother as well as discuss why they are useful to use together.

Hmmm okay. Sorry, I'm still a bit confused :/

How do I know which sources to pick? I have quite a lot of sources in my bibliography (around 50) , mostly online articles and books.

Also I contacted 6 professors, do I need evaluate what each of them said? Then should I compare what they said to some of my articles?

Reply 4

username3489684

19

Original post by emx_eco

Hmmm okay. Sorry, I'm still a bit confused :/

How do I know which sources to pick? I have quite a lot of sources in my bibliography (around 50) , mostly online articles and books.

Also I contacted 6 professors, do I need evaluate what each of them said? Then should I compare what they said to some of my articles?

no, choose up to 10 sources that will form the basis of your argument. Up to 10 meaning you can choose less but I wouldn't recommend less than 4. The 50 sources that you mentioned, I'm sure not all of them have been completely useful. You need to narrow it down, out of the 50 which sources will contribute most significantly to your investigation. Once you've chosen those, they should be evaluated in your lit review.

The other sources that you found should be mentioned in your bibliography and if you have quoted them mention it in your reference list.

Don't evaluate what the professor's said that doesn't count as sources but I think you can mention their opinions in your discussion. You should ask your teacher about that one because I'm not too sure.

Reply 5

username3489684

19

Original post by emx_eco

Hmmm okay. Sorry, I'm still a bit confused :/

How do I know which sources to pick? I have quite a lot of sources in my bibliography (around 50) , mostly online articles and books.

Also I contacted 6 professors, do I need evaluate what each of them said? Then should I compare what they said to some of my articles?

when deciding which sources to pick, choose the ones that will contribute most to your investigation. Perspective is important if you want to have a well rounded discussion. Try to pick sources from different perspectives, maybe different cultural or academic perspectives. That way you can compare the two sources in your lit review and discussion. Try to choose sources that are academic and professional. I wouldn't recommend using a random article or blog post but an article from BBC or the Guardian or a new report will make good sources. Academic journals, books or dissertations by scholars and lecturers are also very valued sources.

Reply 6

username3489684

19

https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4846922#primary_content

this is useful check it out

Reply 7

emx_eco

OP

13

Original post by justanotherchica

https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4846922#primary_content

this is useful check it out

Okay so this is my plan, could you check if my understanding is right:

-I'll choose 5 sources (some less useful than others)
-I'll have 5 paragraphs talking briefly about what each source discusses
-I'll evaluate each source in each paragraph
-Within each paragraph I'll compare the source to other sources to evaluate its usefulness and reliability

Does this sound right?

Reply 8

carrotstar

21

Original post by emx_eco

Okay so I am REALLY confused on what a literature review actually is.

My topic is about why Ebola fears were so prevalent during the outbreak so in my literature review would I contain explanations of psychological theories e.g social contagion?

Also how do I structure it? A paragraph for each theory I am reviewing? Or in a table?

Thanks in advance! :smile:

In its most simple terms, a literature review is a gathering of all the previous and up-to-date research on your topic which has already been done. If you write it well enough, you should be able to use parts of your lit review to write your introduction.

It is exactly that; an introduction to your topic based on current research. You don’t need to do any comparisons or credibility, purely gathering information from other studies.
Although my description seems to vary quite dramatically from other people’s posts, this is the guidance I have been given for research on my dissertation relating to the scientific field. It may differ in other fields.

TLDR: People’s opinions of what a literature review should consist of will always differ. As long as you follow your supervisors guidance so you please them (as I’m sure they will be marking) then you’ll be just fine.

Reply 9

username3489684

19

Original post by emx_eco

Okay so this is my plan, could you check if my understanding is right:

-I'll choose 5 sources (some less useful than others)
-I'll have 5 paragraphs talking briefly about what each source discusses
-I'll evaluate each source in each paragraph
-Within each paragraph I'll compare the source to other sources to evaluate its usefulness and reliability

Does this sound right?

all your sources should be reliable
yes everything else is correct but you will possibly write more than 5 paragraphs and you might need more than 5 sources but that's totally dependent on your approach to the question.

Also the advice I'm giving you is based on the EPQ we do at A-Level which counts as half an AS so it's slightly different from doing a dissertation at university. basically its dependent on your academic level and I assumed you were talking about EPQs that you do in year 12 and 13.

Reply 10

user071190

1

Original post by username3489684

all your sources should be reliable
yes everything else is correct but you will possibly write more than 5 paragraphs and you might need more than 5 sources but that's totally dependent on your approach to the question.

Also the advice I'm giving you is based on the EPQ we do at A-Level which counts as half an AS so it's slightly different from doing a dissertation at university. basically its dependent on your academic level and I assumed you were talking about EPQs that you do in year 12 and 13.