The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for Students

by Diana Ridley

The Literature Review is a concise step-by-step guide to conducting a literature search and writing up the literature review chapter in graduate dissertations and in professional doctorate theses. Diana Ridley describes how to carry out a literature review in a systematic, methodical way, providing useful strategies for efficient reading, conducting searches, organizing information, and writing the review itself.

Genres: Academic, Writing, Reference, Research, Nonfiction, Education, Textbooks

184 pages, Paperback

First published February 18, 2008

Reviews

[Whitney Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a book I would typically read or finish, but it was quick and easy to read. Full of practical tips and guidelines. Required read for EDU 593.

[Aqyas Dini · Rating 3 out of 5]

A helpful book for a beginner in research world like me. I like the way it's structured because it is clear and easy to be understood. It also helps me with all of the exercises and examples--yeah!

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

At this point I've read so many books about writing literature reviews that this one had very little to offer. Written by a British author, it doesn't really conform to American norms, and so I'm not entirely sure why it was chosen for one of my classes. The one thing I did find useful, something I hadn't read about before, was a chapter on intentionally choosing verbs throughout your writing to convey a particular purpose. I do this a lot unconsciously, but having it specifically pointed out gave me some new things to think about in my writing. I tagged that chapter for future reference.

[Immanythings · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title of this book explains it all this is a student level guide to literature review. As a second year PhD student this book has been a great help along my journey. This book used regular tones to assist the student in better understanding what you are actually doing and what literature review really is.

[Titus Hjelm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basic stuff, but accessibly presented for beginners. Includes some very interesting disciplinary comparisons.

[MG · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's for my grad class...

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very useful for MA students. This has helped me a lot! :)

[Danial Farooq · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book on how to write a literature review. Great examples on different extracts however, I believe that the book has too many examples which makes it difficult to read at times. Quite general, and some things may be quite different for instance for scientific literature reviews in comparison to humanities. However, this is a good book to get an insight into how to write generally.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very simple to follow and comprehensive guide to the literature review - 4*

The only reason I didn't give it 5* is because I knew some of the sections previously (and most uni undergrads would too).

[Onur Bilgin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kitapta adım adım literatür araştırmasının ve yazımının nasıl yapılacağı ve dikkat edilmesi gerekenler anlatılıyor. Tez veya makale yazacak öğrencilerin, çalışmalarına başlamadan önce bu kitabı okumaları ve araştırma süreçlerini kitapta gösterildiği şekilde organize etmeleri, daha verimli bir süreç geçirmelerini sağlayacaktır.

[Vanessa Mozayani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly recommended if you need to write a literature review!

[Anne Pugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seemed very clear: helpfully, answered some "silly questions" that I feared were too obvious to ask.

[Katheryn Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A useful read to skim through at the start of your PhD, to help you gain a better understanding of the literature review. Ridley's writing style is nice and accessible without being condescending.

[Huongnguyen9696 · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a great book for a starter in scientific writing.

[Kate Roessler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dated regarding technology, but still useful!

[Monique · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good reference tool for starting the research process. Great ideas in the reading and note taking strategies chapter. The relationship between the introduction and the lit review provided the insight I need to forge ahead.

[Roymichael]

pls can someone send me a copy to my email box : roy_michael_devis@yahoo.fr

[Najla · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was not realy helpful for me in the middle of my PhD. But i think it may be benefecial more for master students who did not undergo a project involve in writing thesis before.

[Serjious Tsiulinsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Your first literature review. You use it once and then forget about its existence. Just like a condom.