Assignment Instructions: Write a four- to five-page literature review on a topic of interest in
social work practice. In your literature review include:
1. A very brief background (context) for the issue you’ve chosen. This should contain
information about the issue, statistics about any relevant populations or the topic/issue,
information about the size and scope of the issue, or other fact-based or evidence-based
analysis that provides a supporting rationale for the literature review.
2. Provide a discussion about what is known about the issue, citing at least 10 peer-reviewed
research articles in this section of the paper. You may also use gray literature reports,
briefs, etc. as additional sources. In this section, you should synthesize the literature,
identifying key themes and issues.
3. Indicate what is missing from the knowledge base—that is, what needs to be known,
what do we need more evidence on and why. This section should link directly back to the
literature review (question 2) and may include additional citations and sources as needed.
Revision April 2024 (C. Sellers)
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4. Present an analysis/critique of the literature within the framework of the core values of
the Code of Ethics (select 2 of the core values) to apply and analyze —to what degree
does the literature reflect those values? Specifically, based on your synthesis of the
literature, what is important for social work researchers to reflect on as they engage in
further research in this area?
5. End the literature review by articulating a potential research question based on this
knowledge need that would help to fill the knowledge gap. This section should
summarize and draw conclusions and provide a research question that can be used for
your Research Study Design assignment.
