Sociology

[Adapted from: USC Libraries Research Guides: 5: The Literature Review (this is an excellent, in-depth treatment of Social Science Research and the Literature Review):  https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/literaturereview ]

What is the Purpose of a Literature Review?

A literature review is an important way of providing an overview and context for your paper topic and can encompass many types of publications, such as books, scholarly journal articles,  or surveys & datasets.  In the Social Sciences in particular, literature reviews usually are not merely lists and descriptions of relevant sources but  also a synthesis, often with reorganization,  around themes and trends in the literature.  Thus, a literature review represents a critical analysis of sources related to your topic and where it fits into a larger field of study.

You might use a literature review to do the following:

• bring a new interpretation to a topic or subject category;
• contrast similarities and differences/conflicts among studies; 
• trace the history of trends and developments (themes)  in a field; or
• identify where gaps in research exist in the literature.

Review Articles

As you may recall from the Types of Periodicals/Articles tutorial, one excellent way of getting an overview of issues, concepts, and theories in a field over time is through  review articles. You can use the Discover Advanced Search to focus in on these articles. Click the link above to review the characteristics of Review Articles.

One excellent way of getting an overview of issues, concepts, and theories in Sociology over time is through an annual publication known as the Annual Review of Sociology. This publication, which began in 1975,  "... covers the significant developments in the field of sociology. Topics covered in the journal include major theoretical and methodological developments as well as current research in the major subfields. " (https://www.annualreviews.org/journal/soc).   

The GS University Libraries provide online access to ARS via JSTOR, ProQuest Central and EBSCO EJS.  See also the Types of Articles section in this guide for a more through description of Review Articles.

ADDITIONAL FEATURES OF LITERATURE REVIEWS:

Not all literature Reviews are the same!  Here are a few different types:

• Argumentative, Integrative, Historical, Methodological, Systematic & Theoretical.
• Integrative Literature Reviews involve the overview, critique and synthesis of literature on a topic; sources can be integrated to allow the creation of new frameworks or perspectives.

Four Stages of a Literature Review

1.  Problem formulation -- which topic or field is being examined and what are its component issues?
2.  Literature search -- finding materials relevant to the subject being explored.
3.  Data evaluation -- determining which literature makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the topic.
4.  Analysis and interpretation -- discussing the findings and conclusions of pertinent literature.

Organization: There are also numerous ways you can organize your Literature Review- here are a few

• Publication Chronology
• Themes/Categories
• Methodologies

[The above was adapted from: USC Libraries Research Guides: 5: The Literature Review, https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/literaturereview.  It is an excellent, in-depth treatment of Social Science Research and the Literature Review. ]

Other considerations:  What types of sources do you need?  do you need theoretical overviews, study findings,  or methodologies? how current does the information need to be?  The answers to those questions will determine where you need to look for information in the articles/books and what sort of databases or repositories to consult.   

• See the box entitled: What Type of Article Do You Need? for  a tutorial on types of publications/articles and tips for reading academic articles.

If you have questions about finding or evaluating sources, please don't hesitate to contact me: rbaker@georgiasouthern.edu or make an appointment to meet with me--click  here.