Full Instructions:

Scope:

Most literature reviews address at least one major controversy or question in the specific topic area and explain this disagreement from at least two competing vantage points. Given how infrequently researchers agree on the same basic topic, finding this area of contention will probably flow naturally from your review of the literature. This controversy could be as simple as “Are college costs increasing because of institutional costs increasing or because of lack of federal and state funding?” to “Is college cost effective because it leads to higher lifelong income or do the costs outweigh the benefits?” Many times the controversy may not be explicitly stated, but instead could be a common difference in approach (i.e., always quantitative versus always qualitative research), or methodology (i.e., using the Big 5 Personality assessment, versus using a Freud’s Psychosexual Stages) that you notice. Whatever the controversy is, point it out and tell the reader what conclusions you have been able to draw through your reading. Be sure to use your approved Research Topic (attached) from earlier in the course. 

References:

You will be expected to incorporate information from at least 6 peer-reviewed resources. A literature review paper is a great source if one is available related to your topic. You should be reading individual articles as well. Please cite only one literature review article or book chapter in your paper. You may have as many more references as you like, including materials put out by the popular press for laypeople. Just remember that you must adhere to the minimums stated in order to receive credit for that portion of the assignment. In order to receive the maximum points, you need to make sure that you have all the resources that you need. If something needs to be cited, but you do not have a resource for it, then go and find a resource! It will not be enough to have four resources if you actually need 10. For help finding peer-reviewed references, view this lecture (Links to an external site.) or view the library guide (Links to an external site.).

Length:

Although there is no absolute length requirement, a fair estimate of length for the introduction and the literature review section of your paper would be approximately 2 – 4 pages

Technical requirements:

• All papers must meet (and preferably exceed) general college level writing standards. Papers that are poorly written, edited or that do not adhere to proper APA formatting may be penalized up to a full letter grade. 
• Papers should comply with APA (American Psychological Association) citation style throughout. If you do not already have an APA manual, you can find APA resources on-line (for example at: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ (Links to an external site.)) or through the Writing Center (Links to an external site.). Hint: If you use the template from earlier in the course, all of the major formatting will be correct.
• This literature review is different than other papers you've written in your academic career. Please be sure to watch the lectures to get a sense of what is different. Most notably: 
  • This paper should NOT include any opinions. Base your arguments on previous research, not how you think or what you've experienced (think back to Chapter 2--what kind of evidence would this be, and why don't we use it in a scientific paper?)
  • Because it is not based on opinion, there should be no mention of you in the paper. Do not use "I", "me", or any other reference to yourself except when describing what your hypothesis will be (as this is where you are adding to the research). Let the research do the work. If you could say something like "The current research will..." or "Current investigators will...." or "I hypothesized ...."
  • Do NOT include quotes. Instead, read the research and provide a summary in your own words. A major goal of this course is to get students to read, understand, and summarize published research. Tossing in a quote does not build this, or any, skill. Use of quotes will result in a one-grade letter deduction.Over reliance on quotes will result in failure of this assignment. 

Submit: APA formatted introduction section with title page, running head, page numbers, etc—but no abstract (yet). Please submit .doc or .docx 

 

Finally, this Example Literature Review may help you out as well. (attached)

Attachments:

• 1511080905-Example Literature Review.pdf
• 1511080917-Research topic.doc