A literature review is:
- A list of books and journal articles,
- on a specific topic,
- grouped by theme,
- and evaluated with regard to your research. This evaluation would identify connections, contradictions and gaps in the literature you have found.
The purpose of a literature review, therefore, is:
- To get a feel for the agreed academic opinion on the subject (the connections).
- To discover the disagreements on the subject (the contradictions).
- To find opportunities, (the gaps), for developing and expressing your own opinions.
Next topic: Thesis, antithesis, synthesis