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Common Assignments: Literature Reviews
Basics of literature reviews.
A literature review is a written approach to examining published information on a particular topic or field. Authors use this review of literature to create a foundation and justification for their research or to demonstrate knowledge on the current state of a field. This review can take the form of a course assignment or a section of a longer capstone project. Read on for more information about writing a strong literature review!
Students often misinterpret the term "literature review" to mean merely a collection of source summaries, similar to annotations or article abstracts. Although summarizing is an element of a literature review, the purpose is to create a comprehensive representation of your understanding of a topic or area of research, such as what has already been done or what has been found. Then, also using these sources, you can demonstrate the need for future research, specifically, your future research.
There is usually no required format or template for a literature review. However, there are some actions to keep in mind when constructing a literature review:
- Include an introduction and conclusion . Even if the literature review will be part of a longer document, introductory and concluding paragraphs can act as bookends to your material. Provide background information for your reader, such as including references to the pioneers in the field in the beginning and offering closure in the end by discussing the implications of future research to the field.
- Avoid direct quotations . Just like in an annotated bibliography, you will want to paraphrase all of the material you present in a literature review. This assignment is a chance for you to demonstrate your knowledge on a topic, and putting ideas into your own words will ensure that you are interpreting the found material for your reader. Paraphrasing will also ensure your review of literature is in your authorial voice.
- Organize by topic or theme rather than by author. When compiling multiple sources, a tendency can be to summarize each source and then compare and contrast the sources at the end. Instead, organize your source information by your identified themes and patterns. This organization helps demonstrate your synthesis of the material and inhibits you from creating a series of book reports.
- Use headings . APA encourages the use of headings within longer pieces of text to display a shift in topic and create a visual break for the reader. Headings in a literature review can also help you as the writer organize your material by theme and note any layers, or subtopics, within the field.
- Show relationships and consider the flow of ideas. A literature review can be lengthy and dense, so you will want to make your text appealing to your reader. Transitions and comparison terms will allow you to demonstrate where authors agree or disagree on a topic and highlight your interpretation of the literature.
Related Multimedia, Social Media, and Other Resources
Randolph, J. J. (2009). A guide to writing the dissertation literature review. Practical Assessment, Research and Evaluation , 14 (13), 1–13. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1219&context=pare
Didn't find what you need? Email us at [email protected] .
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Study Skills
Literature review assignments
All scholars refer to the work of other scholars in their writing. In this way, they participate in a type of academic conversation that helps to build knowledge in their discipline. As a student, you also participate in this conversation by referencing the experts in your field. Literature reviews are one type of assignment that develops your ability to do this.
This material aims to help undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students who need to write a short literature review as a university assignment. If you are a research student, visit Writing a literature review in Research Communication.
This page will help you to meet your lecturers'expectations by:
self-evaluating your current strengths and weaknesses
considering the purpose of literature review assignments
following logical steps to write the review
asking questions to evaluate the literature
organising notes for literature review assignments
structuring your literature review assignment effectively
choosing appropriate language to report on and critique literature.
Download this summary sheet for your own reference.
Introduction to literature review assignments
This section gives a simple overview of literature review assignments. It includes their purpose, a process for writing a review, questions for evaluating literature, and a method for organising your notes.
Before you continue, reflect on your previous writing experiences and the feedback you have received. How would you rate your ability in the following skills? Rate your ability from ‘good’ to ‘needs development’.
Reflect on your answers. Congratulations if you feel confident about your skills. You may find it helpful to review the materials on this page to confirm your knowledge and possibly learn more. Don't worry if you don't feel confident. Work through these materials to build your skills.
Learn more about literature reviews as an assignment by watching this video:
Reflect on what you have learned in the video about literature reviews as an assignment. Select the best sentence out of each pair to create a summary of the main points.
What's the difference between an essay and a literature review?
An essay examines a topic : you discuss the topic and the literature is used as evidence to support your ideas.
A literature review examines the literature of a topic : you discuss what has been published on that topic. In fact, we can say that the literature is the topic.
Before you begin your literature review, you should try to understand the purpose of the task.
Read the instructions carefully.
Consider how the task helps you meet the unit learning outcomes.
Consider how the task might help you to build your knowledge or complete later assessments.
Reflect: Why do you think your lecturer has set the literature review task? Is it:
a stand-alone assignment? Lecturers create these tasks to help you get to know the important literature in your field.
a step in a long project? Lecturers create these tasks to ensure you have understood the literature that you will need for a longer or more complex project later.
In brief, when writing a literature review, you must show your understanding of the literature.
The following steps can guide you through the process of writing a literature review. You could download this PDF so you can tick off each step as you finish it.
| Read the instructions very carefully to ensure you understand task requirements. You should check, for example: |
| very carefully to ensure you understand the scope of the task. |
| Conduct research to find potentially useful texts. The in the library can help you get started. |
| Select appropriate sources. Visit the on evaluating sources to help you. |
| Record the bibliographic details of the sources you find. Use the required to do this. If you are not sure which style is needed, ask your lecturer. |
| Create a spreadsheet or matrix for your notes, so you can retrieve and compare your sources easily later. |
| and the sources you have found. |
| into your spreadsheet of the key points, the strengths, and the weaknesses of each source. |
| Reflect on what you are learning from your reading. Ask yourself: |
| Use your learning and your reflection to categorise your notes under headings and sub-headings and write a plan for your literature review. |
| Put the original sources away and use your plan and notes to write your first draft. |
|
Organising your notes
One key to writing an effective literature review is to store and organise your notes effectively. This section will look at spreadsheets and visual organisers.
One way to organise your notes is to use a spreadsheet. The advantages of spreadsheets are that you can:
- choose your headings and refine them as you learn more about the topic
- use the search function to identify key words from common ideas in the texts
- include hyperlinks to the original documents.
Read these notes on a student spreadsheet for a literature review on attitudes to bottled water. Click on the hotspots to identify where the student has:
included the citations for each source
created columns to note important information such as method, findings and conclusions
included initial critiques of sources
noted where references share similar or contradictory ideas
started to note common concepts that can be used to categorise the references
Note-taking is quite personal; that is, you need to devise a method that works best for you. If you use spreadsheets, you may adapt your spreadsheet to the requirements of each assignment. Here is a spreadsheet that you can download and adapt:
When you are storing your notes, you could also experiment with visual organisers. These can help you to categorise and compare the literature. For example, you could use:
Venn diagrams
Notice how some of the citations from the spreadsheet for the literature review on bottled water are categorised in this venn diagram.
Tree charts
Notice how some of the citations from the spreadsheet for the literature review on bottled water are categorised in this tree chart.
Imagine you have found another source for a literature review on bottled water. Where would you put this source in the visual organisers?
Other visual organisers include flowcharts, time lines and mind maps.
Visual organisers are quite personal; that is, you need to devise a method that works best for you. If you use visual organisers, you should adapt them for each assignment.
One way to find links between the papers you read is to make notes in a table or matrix. You can learn more about using a note-taking matrix from The Thesis Whisperer.
One student has researched the topic of success in post-graduate studies . They have created a matrix for storing their notes. A matrix is organised in this way:
- Each column is for an article that the student has read.
- Each row is for a sub-topic or idea.
In this matrix, the student has put notes about attrition (drop out rates) in row one. In row two, the student has put notes on peer support for students.
When the student wrote about attrition, they first read along the row. They compared the information, and noted how the different sources agreed or disagreed with each other. Then, they synthesised this information to create their paragraphs.
Over to you:
Here is a matrix that you can download and adapt:
Note taking matrix spreadsheet.xlsx
Structuring your literature review
Like essays, your literature review will follow a standard thee-part structure: introduction, body and conclusion. The following section will help you organise each part.
What do you know about writing introductions? Test your knowledge here:
Now, analyse this sample introduction.
If you need to review effective introductions, visit the Essays page.
Students who are new to literature reviews may write the body like a list of summaries. A list of summaries makes your review look like a shopping list of sources.
Remember: a literature review is not a list of summaries! You need to categorise, organise and synthesise the literature to write a coherent text that draws links between the research.
If you would like to learn more about this, visit the blog patter by Pat Thomson.
Some common organisational methods include:
Remember: these are not the only ways you can organise your literature review. You may combine these organisational methods or create a new method of your own.
This task contains images of content pages used in longer literature reviews, such as a thesis chapter. Your assignments will be shorter, but these images provide examples of different ways you could categorise and organise the literature in your review.
When you write the body of your literature review, you will use a range of skills and techniques.
| |
| Like essays, the body of your literature review is divided into paragraphs that focus on one main idea presented in the same order as the introduction outline. If you need to review effective paragraphing, visit the page. |
| To use your notes to discuss the literature, you will need to put them in your own words when you |
| Be very careful with The referencing style that you use depends on the expectations of your lecturer, so always check first. |
What do you know about writing conclusions? Test your knowledge here:
Now read this sample conclusion to identify the elements.
If you need to review effective conclusions, visit the Essays page.
Language for commenting on literature
If assignments that require you to comment on research (like literature reviews or annotated bibliographies ) are new to you, you may be unsure how to express yourself. The following materials focus on clear and appropriate language choices.
An important skill for writing literature reviews is the ability to critically evaluate sources. If you are unsure how to do this, ask yourself a series of questions to guide your thinking.
| The CRAAP test offers a series of questions about urrency, elevance, uthority, ccuracy and urpose to help you choose good quality sources. Download and print this useful document from the CDU library so you can refer to the questions while you are researching.
| |
| Introduction and literature review Method Results Discussion and conclusions |
Review a text you have selected for your own literature review.
- Does it pass the CRAAP test?
- How would you evaluate the quality of the research?
Some students feel concerned about critiquing literature. They confuse critique with criticism and think they don’t know enough to criticise published experts.
However, critiquing the literature is more than criticism. It involves strategies such as:
identifying important researchers or research papers
comparing and contrasting the research
identifying research with similar findings (or generalising )
identifying strengths or limitations in the research
showing how a research paper contributes to our knowledge
identifying gaps in our knowledge of a topic.
Read these literature review extracts and identify the critique strategy the student has used. Drag the number of the critique strategy next to the most appropriate extract.
This document has some useful language that may help you express these strategies in your own literature review. Download it and put it on the wall near your desk while you are writing.
When you are describing the strengths and limitations of a research paper, you must use appropriate adjectives and verbs. You should also consider their strength.
Imagine you want to select an adjective to complete this sentence:
In this ________ study on dolphins, Smith (2022) attempted to...
Categorise these adjectives according to their strength.
Now, imagine you want to select a verb to complete this sentence:
However, Smith’s study __________ the link between dolphin mortality and pollution (2022).
Categorise these verbs according to their strength.
Remember, you may make strong language choices, but you must:
- be careful to match the strength of the language with the strength of the praise or criticism
- always maintain a respectful tone.
Pay close attention to the language choices in published literature reviews in your discipline.
When you cite the research in your literature review, you may use two citation types:
| Humpback dolphins are generally shy and avoid boats (Johnson, 2018). |
| Johnson (2018) states that humpback dolphins are generally shy and avoid boats. |
- In general, research prominent citations are most used. This is because our focus is on the research, not on who did the research.
- We use researcher prominent citations when we wish to mention the researcher. This may be because their work is particularly noteworthy, or it is important for your assignment. Researcher prominent citations are more common in the Humanities and Social Sciences than in the STEM disciplines.
If you use researcher prominent citations, you will use a reporting verb. These verbs describe:
|
|
|
| aim, intend, attempt | Van Dam and Cook (2001a) aimed to establish a link between vessel noise and acoustic communication between humpback dolphins. |
| discuss, investigate, study, focus on, explain, theorise | Van Dam and Cook (2001a) investigated the link between vessel noise and acoustic communication between humpback dolphins. |
| show, reveal, demonstrate, indicate, suggest, state | Van Dam and Cook (2001a) have shown that vessel noise can have a negative impact on acoustic communication between humpback dolphins. |
| argue, posit, believe emphasise, suggest, state | Van Dam and Cook (2001a) argue that vessel noise should be reduced in humpback dolphin territory. |
You may notice that some of the example verbs (like state ) perform more than one function.
Your choice of reporting verbs can help you demonstrate your critique of the research. Read these two sentences. Which one shows most confidence in the results of the research?
The study by Anderson et al. (2017b) suggests the reduced distribution of humpback dolphins is due to habitat degradation.
Anderson et al. (2017b) state that the reduced distribution of humpback dolphins is due to habitat degradation.
Many readers would feel that b. shows the most confidence.
Read the following sentences and pay attention to the verb in bold. Can you identify the function and the level of confidence?
If you want more revision on reporting verbing, visit Useful language for annotated bibliographies .
Writing literature reviews and generative AI
While generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) can offer valuable assistance in the research and writing process of a literature review—such as helping with summarising articles, identifying key themes, and organising references—students must ensure that the analysis and synthesis of the literature reflect their own critical thinking. Over-reliance on AI-generated content can undermine the purpose of a literature review, which is to engage deeply with existing research and contribute original insights. Submitting work that does not authentically represent the student's own academic engagement not only violates academic honesty policies but also weakens the potential for developing a strong, critical understanding of the subject matter.
GenAI has several limitations when used for writing literature reviews, which require careful analysis, synthesis, and critical engagement with existing research. Unlike more straightforward writing tasks, literature reviews demand an in-depth understanding of the research context, methodologies, and scholarly debates—areas where AI may fall short. While GenAI can generate text that appears coherent, it often lacks the nuanced critical analysis and scholarly judgement needed to produce a meaningful literature review. This can result in reviews that feel superficial or disconnected from the current academic discourse, potentially leading to a misrepresentation of the field and the student's own academic voice.
Have a look at the task below, its marking rubric, and the sample provided. Do you think the sample addresses the task requirements and the elements in the rubric?
Now answer questions 1-4 below.
Click on the hotspots below to see all the issues with the AI-generated essay. Then compare it with a sample written by a student.
Prompt engineering is a pivotal skill in leveraging AI effectively for academic and professional purposes. Clear and specific prompts, such as those focusing on outlines or research plans rather than final products, foster deeper engagement with the subject matter and uphold academic integrity.
See below some prompts to help you get started with your next literature review.
We also encourage you to review our study skills page “Using AI tools at university” and download the GenAI Quick Tips sheet to learn more about how to use GenAI effectively and ethically.
Applying your learning
Reflect on what you have learned in this material and consider how you can use it in your own work.
When you write a literature review assignment, you may have some challenges. Common challenges include:
not knowing how to get started
feeling overwhelmed by the amount of reading you need to do
finding too much or not enough literature in your searches.
keeping track of the literature you find
not knowing how broad or how narrow to make your review
knowing which texts are relevant to the topic
knowing which researchers and texts are important in the field
not knowing how to organise the literature review
not understanding complex research articles.
Read this advice to help you manage your literature review successfully.
Advice for success
- Review the task instructions and reread your lecture notes.
- Visit the relevant subject guides in the library website.
- Consult a librarian about search techniques.
- Start by reading tertiary sources (like textbooks) for an overview before searching for primary sources (like journal articles).
- Create a spreadsheet to store notes and categorise the literature.
- Create an online filing system to store the articles you download.
- Create an organisation plan or mind map and then refine it as you learn more.
- Use a bibliographic management tool, like Endnote .
- Review texts by reading the abstract, key words and headings before deciding to read them.
- Use appropriate reading skills, like skimming and scanning, before reading intensively.
- Check how often the research articles you find have been cited by others.
- Write the aim and scope of the review, put it on the wall near your desk and refer to it often to keep yourself on track
- Remember that while you do the literature review, your understanding will improve and change; as your knowledge grows, it is normal to reread articles for new understanding.
Now, imagine you are facing these challenges. Match each challenge with the most helpful strategies.
1 | Develop your skills by reading widely. . Ask yourself a series of questions to guide your thinking while you read. Remember, you usually need to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the texts you read. |
2 | To develop your language, you could: which is one useful source of language to help you express yourself when you or sources in your literature review. |
3 | Exchange a draft literature review with a peer and give each other feedback. |
4 | Be very careful with The referencing style that you use depends on the expectations of your lecturer, so always check first. |
1 | Revisit the self-analysis quiz at the top of the page. How would you rate your skills now? |
2 | Remember that writing is a process and mistakes aren't a bad thing. They are a normal part of learning and can help you to improve. |
If you would like more support, visit the Language and Learning Advisors page.
Did you know CDU Language and Learning Advisors offer a range of study support options?
https://www.cdu.edu.au/library/language-and-learning-support
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SOWK 391: Literature Reviews: Social Sciences (Jarvis): The Assignment
- The Assignment
- Finding Information
Assignment description
Methods of Social Research
SOWK 391-02
Literature Review Paper
The purpose of this assignment is to conduct a review of the literature that currently exists on the topic you have chosen. The review must include at least four research articles from peer-reviewed journals that pertain to your topic. You will likely need to supplement your literature review with additional materials (i.e., other journal articles on your topic). This assignment also provides you an opportunity to continue mastering your use of the American Psychological Association (APA) publication guidelines for proper citation of sources.
Basic outline for the literature review:
- Introduction to the topic (about two paragraphs in length)
- What is the area of interest?
- Describe the scope of the problem (i.e., How many individuals are affected by the problem?).
- Why is this an important problem to study? Why is this an important area of research for the social work profession?
- Review of the journal articles
In this section, you should synthesize and evaluate the information you have gained from reading the journal articles you chose. You must include a minimum of four research articles , but you can supplement with other peer-reviewed research. Articles should be published within the last five years and never more than 10 years old. Research studies should always be referred to in the past tense as they have already been completed.
Based on your research into the current literature about your topic, what is known about this topic? Where is the research on your topic weak? What is still unknown about this topic?
- Summary of material across the articles (about one paragraph in length):
Overall, what can you say is known about this topic? Summarize and integrate the knowledge in brief. Is there general agreement among the authors of these journal articles? If there is disagreement, what were some possible reasons for this? What is still unknown about your topic; how does this lead to your proposed study?
- Formatting requirements:
- Your paper should be double-spaced , in a 12-point size , using Times New Roman font with pages numbered . Your paper should be 1,000 – 1,750 words in length, excluding your reference page and title page .
- Follow the American Psychological Association (APA) publication guidelines (6 th edition) for this assignment. Using the APA publication guide, include a reference page for all of the journal articles used in your literature review.
- See information on the Good Library website on APA citation - http://goshen.libguides.com/content.php?pid=160312&sid=1355879 and the free APA tutorial (slides 13-26) found at http://www.apastyle.org/learn/tutorials/basics-tutorial.aspx
- Points will be deducted for citation, punctuation, spelling, or grammatical errors.
- Papers submitted after the deadline will have a grade reduction. Submit your paper via Word document attachment on the Moodle course page under Turnitin, a tool that checks submitted papers against other papers and common websites as a plagiarism deterrent.
- Resources :
- Information about how to submit an assignment through Turnitin can be found at http://www.it.umass.edu/support/moodle/submit-a-turnitin-assignment-moodle
- Additional information about APA citation of sources can be found on the Purdue OWL Writing Lab: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ .
- A good resource to use to avoid plagiarism is Goshen College’s Good Library website, Writing Tools:Plagiarism found at http://libraryguides.goshen.edu/c.php?g=35743&p=227111 .
- Article Summaries:
For four of the research articles you are using in your literature review, you will complete a summary that requires you to summarize in your own words the most important parts of the articles. Make sure the research articles you are using are full-length articles and not just abstracts. If a required item for the summary is not stated in the journal article, state this in your summary (but double-check this to make sure you are right). Your marked-up journal articles must be turned in along with your summaries.
For each of the journal articles, write a summary sheet with the following information. Head the summary sheet with the APA citation for that article.
Required information :
- State the purpose of the journal article (i.e., hypothesis, objective, or research question)
- What type of research design was used? (i.e., qualitative, quantitative, survey, evaluative, single-subject)
- What are the IV’s and DV’s? If it is not an explanatory study, identify/name the variables.
- How were the variables measured?
- Date data were collected (should not be more than 10 years previous)
- What type of sampling method did the authors use? From what group did they get their sample? How many people participated in the study? What type of people were they?
- What were the study’s findings?
- What were the study problems or limitations? What did you see? Which ones did the authors mention?
- Next: Finding Information >>
- Last Updated: Jun 12, 2024 12:20 PM
- URL: https://libraryguides.goshen.edu/litreviewsoc
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2024 Honest Review of Course Hero: Benefits, Features, And Costs
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- Best Apps And Tools , Reviews
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- Updated on May, 2024
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To gain access to all of these features, there Is a system that works with “unlock points.” But how does this work? Let’s find out!
The unlock system allows you to read and download complete documents and access other features from the sites, such as the 24/7 Expert Tutor assistance.
There are three ways to obtain unlock points :
- Post your own content
- Rate other people’s submissions
- Subscribing to Course Hero
This is how an average document looks on Course Hero before you unlock it.
The first two methods are totally free and only depend on how many documents you submit or rate on the platform.
The process of unlocking works by sharing 10 educational resources you’ve created so you can access any 5 files in the library . Keep in mind that your resources will need to be reviewed before gaining access.
However, keep in mind that this process can get tedious.
Yes, the more content you share and the more ratings you give, the more unlocks you get, but rewards are not proportional to your effort in getting them. This system will definitely be a turn-off when you are in a hurry and out of unlock points.
You can also rate any document in Course Hero like this and get unlock points to see other people’s contributions.
On the other hand , paid subscriptions offer you a more unlimited experience that doesn’t require you to meet any of the conditions mentioned above .
You can get, see, and download as many documents as you want for a price. You’ll also get between 10 to 40 questions for a 24/7 Expert Tutor.
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How Much Does Course Hero Cost?
You can use Course Hero and all its features for free as long as you meet the requirements to get unlocks. Still, it’s a tiresome process, and if you are a regular user, you will get tired of submitting content and ratings at some point.
When this happens, there is always the option of a paid subscription that offers the following benefits:
- 24/7 homework help from tutors
- Count with course-specific resources
- Access Course Hero's library
- Unlimited access to textbooks
- Upload to study
They offer three types of subscriptions:
- Annual: $9.95 /month or $119.40 charged yearly
- Quarterly: $19.95 /month or $59.85 charged quarterly
- Monthly: $24.95 /month or $24.95 charged monthly
Online tutoring is not available for free users.
While premier members can unlock up to 30 documents per month , you can unlock user questions, access all Textbook Solutions and Explanations from the library, and receive up to 40 tutor questions.
There is no free trial, but there is a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Course Hero also offers a $5.000 Student Scholarship to help you until graduation.
Scribd, Quizlet, and Course Hero: How Similar Are They?
Are the other online learning resources, Scribd and Quizlet , similar to Course Hero? The answer is yes, and no. Let us explain better!
While both have things in common, the levels of content curation and usage vary between each other.
Quizlet is a sharing platform, but users here share their study materials like flashcards, guides, and memory games created through the website.
In a way, Quizlet and Course Hero can complement their best features but are not a replacement for each other.
It also offers study activities related to the content for specific classes but not documents such as essays or notes.
Scribd is a document-sharing platform that works with some sort of unlock system.
However, it’s not explicitly designed to host content related to college classes.
If a document, PDF, or book passes the screening process guidelines, you will get a free unlock. This brings a quality problem since you will find valuable study guides and completely unrelated content in equal parts.
For example, as long as you have words in a document, no matter if they make sense or are valuable for someone else, they will be approved as “content” by Scribd, and you will get a free unlock.
While on Course Hero, only college-related content is approved for sharing, in Scribd could be any type of content.
Scribd has quite a similar interface and system as Course Hero, but the quality of the content is debatable.
If you want more websites like Course Hero, you can check out our list of Course Hero alternatives .
Our Verdict
So, is it worthwhile to use Course Hero for class materials?
Whether you want the free option or the paid subscription, we believe this website is usually worth your time.
As mentioned before, Course Hero has a free membership, and you can access “unlocks” by adding new content yourself or rating the content of others.
Unfortunately, this system might not be too convenient if you are struggling with a class or semester and need constant access to new content.
If you are in this position, you might want to opt for memberships that provide the most value, according to Course Hero helpful rating reviews made by students.
You can also count on step-by-step explanations and get answers to any difficult questions with their online tutors.
Does that sound good? I bet it does, but sometimes, you don’t have enough time to look for other classmates’ notes, summarize them, and make them look coherent.
If you are definitely and utterly overwhelmed or just want to plan ahead, you can always look for other options.
Often, Course Hero resources are compared with Chegg Study Pack . So if you want to see alternative options, you can check our Chegg review .
We recommend thinking carefully about it and deciding if Course Hero will be a tool that might help you during your entire degree or just for a challenging class.
An online learning platform is only good as long as it is comfortable to use . If it is too convoluted or requires a high learning curve, students may feel they waste precious time just learning how to access the service.
Luckily, the Course Hero interface and reward system is intuitive, so even the less tech-savvy users will feel at ease.
Course Hero: Taking Your College Assignments To The Next Level
We hope our detailed Course Hero review helped you see whether a study assistance service like this is helpful for you.
In case you are looking for other types of services, platforms like Gradehacker offer you help with your classes or even help to accelerate your degree . If you need a single essay or stand out on your discussion boards , we are here for you too!
If you want to continue learning more tips on how to make your college life easier , you can read these articles:
7 Best Websites to Find Free College Textbooks in 2024
Best Sites For Scholarly Sources | Websites To Find The Best Academic Sources
Edubirdie Honest Review 2023 | Everything You Need To Know
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Javiera Vega is a Study Consultant and Content Creator for Gradehacker. She has a degree in Education and Literature and is currently working on getting a master’s degree in Linguistics. Even though words, languages, and books are her thing, science and psychology were her hidden passion for many years. Luckily, Gradehacker has allowed her to use all that knowledge by helping many clients with everything they need. Javiera considers herself a proud nerd who likes to learn and read about everything she can find. From movies and comics to microbiology and genetics, every topic is interesting for her. Her curiosity has no limits. Find her on LinkedIn
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EDUC 850 Literature Review for Applied Research
- Course Description
This course provides education practitioners in the doctoral program with research skills and strategies for conducting a literature review for applied research. Critical thinking skills, synthesis of information, and application of the literature are emphasized to support the feasibility and relevance of a capstone project.
For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog .
Course Guide
View this course’s outcomes, policies, schedule, and more.*
*The information contained in our Course Guides is provided as a sample. Specific course curriculum and requirements for each course are provided by individual instructors each semester. Students should not use Course Guides to find and complete assignments, class prerequisites, or order books.
Selecting a capstone research topic early in the doctoral journey is essential for timely completion. It is also important for the doctoral candidate to be able to show the practical contribution his/her research will make to the field. This course will help the candidate narrow and refine his/her research focus through developing an argument for his/her proposed research that is grounded in a literature review.
Course Assignment
Textbook readings and presentations.
No details available.
Course Requirements Checklist
After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations , the candidate will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.
Discussions (2)
Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the candidate will answer two Discussion prompts. Each initial post must be between 400 and 600 words and demonstrate course-related knowledge. In addition to the thread, the candidate will reply to at least two classmates’ threads. Each reply must be 150–250 words. Where applicable, use references to support assertions, using citations in current APA format. (CLO: A, F)
Evidence of Approved Research Topic Assignment
The candidate will upload either a screenshot of the research topic approved in EDUC 816 or a PDF of a downloaded email chain in which an instructor has granted approval. The evidence submitted for this assignment requires specific core elements and the instructor’s approval statement be clearly apparent. (CLO: A)
Literature Review Outline Assignment
The candidate will develop an outline for their research topic. The outline must include Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 headings. The outline should include at least 12 empirical, scholarly sources. An example is provided. (CLO: C, E)
Theory Review Form Assignment
The candidate will use two peer-reviewed articles or books to complete a form regarding a theory related to their research topic. An example is provided. (CLO: A, B, E)
Scholarly Works Synthesis Assignment
For this assignment, the candidate will locate two current (published within the past five years) peer- reviewed journal articles related to their research topic. The candidate will complete the Individual Scholarly Works Template for each article. Then, the candidate will complete the Comparative Scholarly Works Template using the two articles. A 1,000- word minimum must be written for each article. This comparison is where the candidate will write using their voice, as the researcher. (CLO: D)
Narrative Review Assignments (2)
The candidate will write a narrative review portion of the literature review on their research topic. The narrative review will follow the basic structure of the textbook example and will be three pages, excluding the title and reference pages. The narrative review must follow current APA format and 12 scholarly sources that were published within the last five years must be cited. A full complete draft will be submitted first. Candidates will have the opportunity to implement instructor feedback before making their final submission. (CLO: B, E)
Theoretical Framework Assignment
The candidate will develop a 1-2 page theoretical framework utilizing one prominent theory related to their research topic. This paper must include Level 1 and Level 2 headings. (CLO: B, E)
Quizzes (4)
The candidate will complete four quizzes. The first quiz will be 10 questions regarding APA format from the text reading and study information. The remaining three quizzes will be 10 questions from chapters three, four, and five in the Claxton and Dolan (2022) textbook. The candidate will have 2-hours to complete each quiz. (CLO: B, D, E)
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COMMENTS
Writing a Literature Review. A literature review is a document or section of a document that collects key sources on a topic and discusses those sources in conversation with each other (also called synthesis ). The lit review is an important genre in many disciplines, not just literature (i.e., the study of works of literature such as novels ...
Consult your assignment guidelines and instructor about the scope and purpose of your review. Step 1: Understand the assignment and genre and gather your resources. Read the instructions carefully, highlighting the major questions being asked and goals of the assignment. provides a list of questions to consider about your assignment.
A literature review is a written approach to examining published information on a particular topic or field. Authors use this review of literature to create a foundation and justification for their research or to demonstrate knowledge on the current state of a field. This review can take the form of a course assignment or a section of a longer ...
A literature review is a review or discussion of the current published material available on a particular topic. It attempts to synthesizeand evaluatethe material and information according to the research question(s), thesis, and central theme(s). In other words, instead of supporting an argument, or simply making a list of summarized research ...
This section gives a simple overview of literature review assignments. It includes their purpose, a process for writing a review, questions for evaluating literature, and a method for organising your notes. Self evaluation. An overview of literature reviews as an assignment. The purpose of literature review assignments.
he simplest thing of all—structure. Everything you write has three components: a beginning, a middle and an e. d and each serves a different purpose. In practice, this means your review will have an introduction, a main body where you review the literature an. a conclusion where you tie things up.
Course Hero reviews. Course Hero has a 4.6-star rating from more than 34,000 reviewers on the Apple App Store and a 4.3-star rating from more than 7,000 reviewers on Google Play. It's also an A+ BBB accredited business and has a 4.3-star rating from more than 1,500 Trustpilot reviewers (70% of which rate Course Hero as "excellent").
Literature Review Paper . The purpose of this assignment is to conduct a review of the literature that currently exists on the topic you have chosen. The review must include at least four research articles from peer-reviewed journals that pertain to your topic. ... Submit your paper via Word document attachment on the Moodle course page under ...
Course Hero is an online learning platform where you can access over 20 million course-specific study resources contributed by a community of students and educators. Students can find practice problems, study guides, videos, class notes, and step-by-step explanations for every subject they're studying — from economics to literature, biology ...
Literature Review Karianne DeVilbiss. Grand Canyon University: PSY-February 6, 2021. Literature Review Throughout history, men and women have fought for America's independence and peace. Because of the trauma they have undergone as a result of this struggle, the men and women's lives will be forever affected.
There are 6 modules in this course. We will introduce methods to perform systematic reviews and meta-analysis of clinical trials. We will cover how to formulate an answerable research question, define inclusion and exclusion criteria, search for the evidence, extract data, assess the risk of bias in clinical trials, and perform a meta-analysis.
EVALUATION: This project is worth 60% of your course grade (10% Proposal; 10% Draft 1; 40% Final draft). A successful literature review will synthesize new ideas that are organized around a central claim. The authors will have chosen the best possible evidence to support their claims and will make strong interpretive use of that evidence.
Course Hero is an American education technology website company based in Redwood City, California which operates an online learning platform for students to access course-specific study resources and online tutors.. Subscription or content contribution is required for students to use the platform. [2]The crowdsourced learning platform contains practice problems, study guides, infographics ...
The third feature we have is one of their latest: an AI-powered homework helper that gives you instant answers and explanations and recommends resources. All done in as fast as 30 seconds! You only need to upload your study document, and Course Hero's AI will answer the questions, highlight the concepts, and give you step-by-step explanations about the subject.
Literature Review Outline Assignment The candidate will develop an outline for their research topic. The outline must include Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 headings.