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Literature Reviews in Adult Education

What is in this guide?

This guide will help you with your literature review assignment. You can use the list of tabs at the top to hop around as you wish. 

What is a literature review?

A literature review is: 

  • A place to make connections between what you are investigating and what has already been investigated in your subject area
  • A place to engage in a type of conversation with other researchers in your subject area
  • A place to identify previous research on the topic
  • A place to show there is a gap in the literature which your study can fill
  • A place from which to begin your own investigation

Simply put, a literature review helps you and your readers understand:

  • What you know about  your topic
  • What other people know about your topic
  • What research has been done
  • How research was done
  • Where are the gaps?
Ridley, D. (2008). The literature review: A step-by-step guide for students. London: Sage   Publications, p. 2.

A literature review is NOT...

Literature Reviews: Websites