Review of the Literature Section
The second section of part 1 of your paper should have the title—Literature
Review. In this section you will use the published research from your literature
synthesis matrix related to the purpose and objectives described in the statement
of the problem above. Begin by reviewing the themes from each paper and
combining (synthesizing) those relating to the same theme. Review their
methodologies, etc. and look for similarities or differences. The review of the
literature should summarize the results of the previous studies that have reported
relationships among the variables included in the proposed research
An important function of the literature review is to provide a theoretical
explanation of the relationships among variables of interest. It is most important
that the review explain what mechanisms link the variables. The review can also
provide descriptive information about related problems, intervention programs,
and target populations.
This section should be about 4-5 double-spaced, typed pages, excluding the list of
references and appendices. The paper must conform to American Psychological
Association (APA) format.
a. Use the synthesis matrix you created from the eight (8) research articles you
located on your topic to write your literature review. This section should have
4-5 references-empirical articles.
b. This section should cover:
Topic or problem area: This part of the literature review covers material
directly related to the problem being studied. There will usually be at least
two substantive areas reviewed because most research involves variables
that have been studied in separate substantive areas (eg. a study on
juvenile antisocial behavior suggests a review of the literature on anti-
social behavior, adolescent development and families at risk (3 substantive
areas of research).
Summary and critique of the selected research. Your synthesis matrix have
already grouped your research studies. Choose minimum of 4 of your
studies and discuss why these studies were conducted, what research
questions or hypotheses were posed, what concepts were used, what
research method was selected to answer the research question, what were
the major findings, the cultural competence demonstrated in the study, any
presenting ethical issues, and the strengths and limitations of this set of
research investigations. Please remember that this overview should be
more than just a list of article summaries, but a synthesis/integration of
multiple sources of knowledge and practice wisdom. In other words,
review the topic areas found in your matrix and synthesize your review.
Topic Analysis and need for further study. Summarize the findings and
provide a justification for why your study should be conducted.
