PSYC 465 (Reppond): Experimental Psychology

Literature reviews survey research done in a particular area. Their main emphasis is on bringing together theories and results from a number of studies to describe the "big picture" of your area of research and provide the context for your research study.

Writing Tips

• Decide on the literature review's main research topic/question first
• Write the body of the research paper first and then write the introduction and conclusion
• Everything in your research paper should point back to your research topic/question

Prioritize and organize your main points and paragraphs:

• Identify the information you want to use from your sources
• Identify relationships between this information and synthesize them into common themes/answers to your research question you can build from this information
• Arrange themes and arguments so that they logically build towards evidence-based conclusions about your research topic/question

Dr. Reppond's Literature Review Format

1. Introduction (1-2 paragraphs):

   • Provide an overview of your research topic.
   • Explain the importance of the topic and how it fits into the broader field of study.
   • End your introduction by stating the purpose of your literature review and summarizing the main themes or areas that will be covered.

2. Body (3-5 pages):

   • Organize your literature review around major themes or trends identified in your annotated bibliographies. Use headings to separate each theme or section.
   • For each theme, summarize key findings from the relevant studies. Compare and contrast the methodologies, results, and conclusions of the studies.
   • Highlight any gaps in the research, inconsistencies between studies, or areas that require further investigation.
   • Use transitions to clearly connect different sections and show how the studies build on or challenge one another.

3. Conclusion (1-2 paragraphs):

   • Summarize the main takeaways from the body of the literature review.
   • Discuss how this review supports the need for your proposed research study. What are the specific gaps or questions that your research will address?
   • Provide a brief overview of how your research will contribute to the existing literature.

4. References:

   • Include a properly formatted APA reference list of all the articles you reviewed in your literature review.

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