Literature Reviews for Education & Behavioral Sciences: Draft your review

Organize your Literature Review Thematically

Your professor will probably want you to organize your literature review thematically, as that is the default for literature reviews. Double-check with your professor if you are unsure.

So instead of writing your paper like this:

Section 1: Everything about Article 1

Section 2: Everything about Article 2

Section 3: Everything about Article 3

what you want to do is write your paper in sections organized by themes. 

Example Literature Review

Check out this example Literature Review: Paraprofessionals in Inclusive Schools by Giangreco et al. (2010). We've broken it down into their themed sections and the number of sources they referenced in each:

Topic: "Paraprofessionals in Inclusive Schools: A Review of Recent Research" 

Section 1: "Hiring and Retaining Paraprofessionals" references three sources' findings on this topic.

Section 2: "Training" references thirteen sources' findings on this topic.

Section 3: "Paraprofessional Roles and Responsibilities" references thirteen sources' findings on this topic.

But how do you get to the point where you can write your literature thematically? 

1. Critically read and take notes on the sources you find.
   • Note the major points of the article. 
   • Note any positives or flaws about the research. For example, one article might reference a really well-designed and implemented study while another article might come to a flawed conclusion about the data it uses. Other considerations may be:
     • How was the study conducted?
     • Are the study's findings "generalizable"?
     • On what points do researchers disagree?
     • What else needs to be explored that the articles you've read have not explored? (Kumar, 2011, p. 38)

2. As you read and take notes, your sources will start to "talk" with one another. Organize your notes by theme, for example, using North Carolina State University's University Tutorial Center's handout: Writing a Literature Review and Using a Synthesis Matrix.

References

Giangreco, M. F., Suter, J. C., & Doyle, M. (2010). Paraprofessionals in inclusive schools: A review of

recent research. Journal Of Educational & Psychological Consultation, 20(1), 41-57.

Kumar, R. (2011). Research methodology: A step-by-step guide for beginners (3rd ed.). Sage.

After all the great info you gathered from the Libraries and other places, you often need to synthesize it in writing!