How to Conduct a Critical Literature Review for a Thesis

Theoretical Review

Normally, thesis will be based on the research problem which you have identified in term 1. Since you are no longer required to gather and analyze primary data or conduct secondary data analysis, it may be the case that your topic will need to be reformulated in discussion with your supervisor. However, it is advisable that your topic remains as close as possible to the one originally formulated. In order to address your research problem, you will conduct a critical literature review. Your critical literature review will normally include the elements of: Theoretical review:examining the body of theory that has accumulated in regard to an issue, concept, theory or phenomenon. It is helpful to structure it according to the main themes (which you need to identify). Integrative review:critiquing and synthesizing the representative literature on a topic in an integrative way to generate new frameworks and perspectives on a topic Therefore, the critical literature review is not limited to identifying, arranging and discussing literature relevant to your topic (theoretical review), but it also asks you to: 1) synthesize the literatures – which conclusions can be drawn from combining two or more literature sources, do they agree/disagree with one another, do they complement each other, do they even use the terms in the same way 2) position your own inquiry against these literatures – if I am exploring the problem involving X, Y and Z, then how are X, Y and Z informed by the literature, and so how does my overall problem relate to what the literature is saying. 3) explain what have you learned from these literatures – which new perspectives on your topic has the literature review helped you develop, do you see your initial research problem in a new light, and ho