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Organizing The Body of Your Organization: Literature Review

The document discusses different approaches for organizing a literature review by theme, methodology, or concept rather than presenting each source individually. It describes several common organizational approaches: (1) discussing subfields or topics one by one with possible critiques, (2) moving from more general to more relevant studies, (3) emphasizing debates between opposing models, (4) listing studies chronologically by development over time, and (5) beginning with a seminal study and organizing later work by another pattern. The organization chosen depends on characteristics of the literature such as presence of clear topics, methodologies, opposing views, or developmental progression.

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achraf kardoul
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51 views

Organizing The Body of Your Organization: Literature Review

The document discusses different approaches for organizing a literature review by theme, methodology, or concept rather than presenting each source individually. It describes several common organizational approaches: (1) discussing subfields or topics one by one with possible critiques, (2) moving from more general to more relevant studies, (3) emphasizing debates between opposing models, (4) listing studies chronologically by development over time, and (5) beginning with a seminal study and organizing later work by another pattern. The organization chosen depends on characteristics of the literature such as presence of clear topics, methodologies, opposing views, or developmental progression.

Uploaded by

achraf kardoul
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Organizing the Body of your

Literature Review
Organization One of the most difficult parts of drafting a literature review is
deciding how to organize the information you have accumulated. Organizing
your literature review according to themes, methodologies, and/or underlying
concepts is generally more effective than presenting each source one by one, as it
demonstrates your mastery of the topic and provides readers with a better sense of the
state of research in that field. Some common organizational approaches include:

Topic
al
Characteristics: This approach breaks the field into a number of subfields,
subject areas, or approaches, and discusses them one by one, sometimes
with critiques of each. (Most common pattern). Most useful for organizing
a large body of literature that does not have one or two studies that stand
out as most important or a clear chronological development. Typical
language: Three important areas of this field have received attention: A, B, and C. A
has been approached from two perspectives . . . . The most important
developments
s of B have been .... C has also been an important area of study in this field.
Distant to Close .
Characteristics: This is a variation of topical organization; studies are organized in terms of their
relevance to the current study. This approach starts by describing studies with general
similarities and ends with studies most relevant to the specific topic. Most
useful for reviews of methodologies or models. Typical language: Method/model M
(slightly similar to current research) addresses .... Drawing upon
method/model N (more similar to current research) can help .... This
study applies the procedure used in method/O (most similar to
current research) to Debate
Characteristics: Also a topical organization, with a chronological element. This
organization emphasizes various strands of research in which proponents
of various models openly criticize one another. Most useful when clear opposing
positions are
present in the
literature.
Typical language: There have been two (three, four, etc.) distinct approaches to this
problem. The first model posits ... The second model argues that the first model is
wrong for three reasons. Instead, the second model
claims ... Chronological
Characteristics: This approach lists studies in terms of chronological
development; it is most useful when a field shows clear development over time,
either linear progression of
thinking or a linear progression that is interrupted by a paradigm shift. .
Typical language: This subject was first studied by X, who
found .... In (date), Y
modified/extended/contradicted X's work by .... Today, research by Z
represents the
current state of the
field. Seminal Study
Characteristics: Begins with a detailed description of one extremely important study.
Later work is organized following another pattern (chronological, topical, etc.).
Most useful when one study is clearly most important or central in
laying the groundwork for future research. Typical language: The most
important research on this topic was the study by X in (date). Following X's
study, research fell into two camps (extended X's work, etc.).

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