Exploring the Significance and Impact of a Literature Review in the Research Process

Importance of conducting a literature review in research

Select one of the research topics introduced for your strand (Tourism, Hospitality, Events and Food and Nutrition) as indicated on Blackboard and within your workshops in Block 1. Identify 10-15 journal articles, no more than 5 years old to base this assignment upon as indicated on Blackboard/in workshops.

 -Evaluate the significance of a literature review in the research journey.

-What type of literature review would you undertake and why?

-Summarise the process of your selection of articles (databases used, key words)

-Briefly outline the main themes and research focus to emerge from your literature search

-Reflect upon how the above would shape your dissertation

-Support your work with citations throughout

Yes – unless you course is accredited by the Association for Nutrition where it is a requirement that each task is passed.

For non-accredited courses you may be able to re-attempt the work for some tasks. This is called in-module retrieval (IMR). If you wish to use IMR after receiving a mark below the pass mark you should inform your module tutor immediately, in particular you should let them know which course you are on as some courses are not elibible for IMR due to professional body restrictions (e.g. courses accredited by the Association for Nutrition), even so it may be possible to provide formative feedback on the work you have produced for the referral task. IMR is not always well suited or appropriate and as such is not available on every module. Please approach the module leader to enquire about IMR if you would like to make use of it.

IMR Submission deadline for Task 1: TBC This will be two weeks after the date of the release of marks of assessment 1.

Depending on your overall module grade you may need to resit a task if you do not pass it on your first attempt (if you are referred). This will  certainly be the case if your course is accredited by the Association for Nutrition where it is a requirement that every task is passed. Referrals usually take place in the resit period at the end of a module.

-What is an essay?

-What experience (if any) have you got of writing essays?

-What type of assessments are you used to?

The different stages of essay writing:

Before you actually start writing your essay, you will need to:

-work out what your essay is about - break down the title and think about what it means;

-generate ideas for your essay topic - these need to be directly relevant to your essay topic (don't be tempted to write everything you know about the topic);

-read around the topic of your essay - ensure you read widely around the topic using a range of information sources, particularly academic sources.

Preparing an essay plan can help you to organise what you want to write in your essay.  Your essay plan should have:

-An introduction - explain what the essay asks you to do.  What are the main themes of the essay?

-Main body - develop the main themes of the essay; use plenty of supportive evidence; use academic resources.  Although it is tempting to use web sites in your academic work, please ensure that your essays contain mainly academic references, e.g. text books and journal articles.

-Conclusion - what have you discussed in your essay?  Link up the key themes you have written about and summarise these in one or two paragraphs.

-Read widely around the topic area;

-use quality journals, text books, reports, online sources etc.

-keep a record of references - you will need to reference other people's work throughout your essay and also in the reference list at the end of the essay;

-choose and organise the relevant theories and information;

-give your critical opinion based on the information you present.

This is the stage at which you start writing your essay:

-Produce a rough draft of your essay - don't worry about writing the perfect essay in this first attempt; focus on developing your ideas and using supportive evidence.

-Use your critical analysis/evaluation skills - most essays will require you to critically analyse a statement or quotation.  Critical analysisis a way of looking at an essay statement or quotation and examining the evidence in favour of it or against it.  To do this well, you will need to show that you understand the topic through introducing theory.    

-Read through your draft and think about ways to improve your draft and structure;

-Edit your essay for spelling, grammar, punctuation and sentence structure errors;

-Make use of the English language support service here at SHU.

-Ensure that you have met ALL the assessment criteria (see module handbooks for further details);

-Ensure that you hand in your essay on time.