How To Write A Thesis Literature Review In 4 Simple Steps

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Are you gearing up to write your thesis? The thesis literature review is a critical component of your academic work and involves a considerable amount of time and effort. Literature review tools will help you effectively scan, analyze, and synthesize significant scholarly literature, strengthening your foundation. By incorporating best practices, you can craft a well-structured literature review that aligns with your research objectives. Ready to dive deep into the world of thesis literature review? Let's get started!

What Is A Thesis Literature Review

Establishing Context

It provides background information and context for your research topic, demonstrating your understanding of the broader scholarly conversation in your field.

Identifying Gaps

It helps you identify gaps or areas where further research is needed. By reviewing existing literature, you can pinpoint areas where previous studies may have overlooked important aspects or where contradictory findings exist.

Building a Theoretical Framework

It assists in developing a theoretical framework for your study by highlighting key theories, concepts, and models that have been used in previous research.

Informing Methodology

It informs your research methodology by identifying research methods and approaches that have been used successfully in previous studies and discussing their strengths and limitations.

Supporting Your Argument

It provides evidence to support your argument or hypothesis. By synthesizing and analyzing existing research findings, you can strengthen the rationale for your own study.

Demonstrating Scholarly Engagement

It demonstrates your engagement with the scholarly literature in your field, showcasing your ability to critically evaluate and synthesize existing research.

What Is The Structure Of A Literature Review Thesis?

Introduction to a Literature Review

In the introduction segment of a literature review, explain the type of literature review you have performed, outline the reasons for selecting this particular type of literature review, and establish the criteria you used for selecting the sources. The main purpose of this section is to provide an initial overview of the literature review and establish a framework for subsequent discussions.

The Body of a Literature Review

The body of your literature review provides the main argument and analysis for your thesis. After reviewing the literature, organizing sources and taking notes, you are ready to begin structuring your literature review. The introduction and conclusion of a literature review are essential components.

Hence, you should guide the reader through the reviewed literature and offer your analysis of the sources. Arrange your analysis chronologically, thematically, methodologically, or theoretically depending on your research objectives.To include comparative analyses and critique the existing literature.

Concluding a Literature Review

The conclusion of your literature review should summarize the primary arguments highlighted in the review and position your research within the context of the literature. The primary aim of this section is to explain the necessity of your research study based on the gaps it fills in the existing literature.The conclusion should align your research study with the upcoming thesis chapters. This section acts as a bridge connecting the literature review to the next phase of your research study.

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How To Write A Literature Review For A Thesis?

1. Define your research scope

Your literature review should help to define the specific research question of your thesis. It should give you a precise idea of what you want to research and what you’re going to find. The literature review also helps to define the working parameters of your research. There are no maximum or minimum sources for a literature review. The amount of sources you use depends on the research you’re doing and your university’s requirements.

2. Identify the literature

I start with a broad Google search to identify the main literature for your review. Literature for your review will typically be acquired through scholarly books, journal articles, and/or dissertations.

3. Critically analyze the literature

I try to read and summarize each source with an eye toward analyzing authority, currency, coverage, methodology, and relationship to other works. Key to your literature review is a critical analysis of the literature collected around your topic. The analysis will explore relationships, major themes, and any critical gaps in the research expressed in the work.

4. Categorize your resources

You can divide the sources that pertain to your research into categories reflecting their roles in addressing your research question. You can categorize resources by chronology, theme, methodology, and theoretical/philosophical approach.

Complete Step-by-Step Guide On How To Use Unriddle's AI Research Tool

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to use Unriddle. I’ve also copied it below :)

From here, it's pretty simple.

Unriddle helps you read, write and learn faster.

Interact with documents via AI so you can quickly find and understand info.

Then start writing in a new Note and Unriddle will show you relevant content from your library as you type.

Get started by uploading a document.

Or read on for the full rundown.

Interact with documents

When you upload a document, Unriddle generates an AI assistant on top of this data.

Click 'New' in the right sidebar and then select 'Upload' to get started.

Use this assistant to answer specific questions about the text, summarize content and simplify jargon.

The trick is to be super clear about what you want.

If you're summarizing a research paper, for example, instead of saying “Summarize” or “Summarize this research paper”, say something like “Explain this research paper to me in simple terms. What method did the researchers use? What did they find? Why does it matter?”.

The second prompt will produce a much better overview of the paper because we're giving the AI more hints about what we want.

Automatic relations

Unriddle grasps the context behind each Note and Document in your library and automatically links them based on meaning.

Let's say you have a collection of nuclear physics papers in your library.

When you start writing a note about The Manhattan Project, simply mentioning "The Manhattan Project" will prompt Unriddle to find the connection between this note and the nuclear physics papers.

Even if you didn't explicitly mention the research papers, Unriddle's knowledge of Oppenheimer, his work, and the significant relevance of these papers means it understands the connection and automatically links them together.

In short, Unriddle shows you relevant content from your library at the exact moment you need it, even if you haven't explicitly mentioned it.

Citing your sources

Writing is hard when you have a ton of sources to track.

So we made it easy.

Highlight some text, click ‘Cite’ and you’ll see items from your library that contain information related to the selection of text you just highlighted as determined by our AI.

When you select an item Unriddle inserts a link into highlighted text that, when clicked, takes you to the referenced item.

Writing with AI

Click ‘New’ in the sidebar and hit ‘Note’ to open up a new note.

Here you’ll find all the text formatting options you’re used to and more.

Type ‘++’ to generate text based on the context of what’s already written.

Highlight text and click ‘Ask AI’ to open up the AI menu where you’ll find options to improve, expand, summarize and explain.

You can type custom prompts too!

Finally, you can open any note in a pane on the right side of the screen while interacting with documents. Just click the orange pencil icon at the top of the chat window.

Chat Settings

Adjust the model, temperature and response length in the Setting sidebar.

Click the cog icon in the top right corner of the screen and look for "Chat Settings".

These apply across all documents but you can easily flip between them regardless of settings at the time of upload.

Model: the machine learning model used to generate responses.

Temperature: the amount of creative license you give to the AI.

Max length: the maximum number of words generated in a response.

Got feedback or questions? Send us an email and we'll get back to you within a day.

— Naveed

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Checklist For Writing A Literature Review For Your Thesis

1. Thorough Review of Relevant Sources

When writing your literature review for a thesis, the first step involves conducting a rigorous review of sources in your field that are directly relevant to your thesis topic. This entails looking at a variety of sources to get a comprehensive understanding of your research area.

2. Focus on Reliable and High-Quality Sources

Ensure that the sources you choose for your literature review are trustworthy and high-quality. This will not only strengthen the credibility of your thesis but also add weight to your arguments and findings.

3. Detailed Notes and Organized List

Maintain detailed notes as you go through each source, summarizing key points, main arguments, and important findings. Organize your list of sources meticulously to make referencing and citing easier when writing the literature review chapter in your thesis.

4. Cover a Wide Variety of Viewpoints

Include a diverse range of perspectives in your literature review, not just those that support your thesis argument. By incorporating contrasting viewpoints, you showcase a more comprehensive understanding of the topic, as well as highlight controversies and unsettled points of view.

5. Structure with Introduction, Main Body, and Conclusion

An effective literature review chapter in your thesis should follow a clear structure: introduction, main body, and conclusion. Begin with an introduction that sets the stage for your review, followed by the main body where you analyze and synthesize the sources, and end with a conclusion that summarizes the key findings and identifies gaps in research.

6. Use Quotes Sparingly

While it is important to include evidence from your sources, avoid overusing quotes in your literature review. Instead, aim to paraphrase and summarize information from the sources to demonstrate your understanding of the material and maintain the flow of your writing.

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Unriddle is a game-changer when it comes to a literature review, especially in the context of writing your thesis. As you work on your thesis literature review, you need to be as efficient and effective as possible. This is where Unriddle comes in, offering you the opportunity to read faster and write better. The power of AI makes it easier to find relevant information in documents, simplify complex topics, and take notes with ease.

Efficient Information Retrieval with AI Assistance

Unriddle offers a unique feature where an AI assistant is generated on top of any document. This assistant helps you quickly find, summarize, and understand information, thereby eliminating the need for endless skimming. Unriddle has the remarkable ability to comprehend the meaning behind your writing and automatically link you to relevant materials you've previously read or written about.

AI Autocomplete for Enhanced Writing and Citation Management

When conducting a literature review for your thesis, it's crucial not to lose any citations. Unriddle ensures that this never happens by helping you generate text with AI autocomplete. This feature aids in improving and expanding your writing, offering suggestions based on the context you're working on.

Real-Time Collaborative Workspace for Seamless Teamwork

Unriddle provides a collaborative workspace where everyone can contribute and chat with the same documents in real-time. This feature is invaluable when working on a thesis, as it enables seamless collaboration with peers, supervisors, or mentors.

Comprehensive Thesis Literature Review Support with Unriddle

Unriddle is a comprehensive tool that can significantly enhance your thesis literature review process. With features like AI assistance, simplified complex topics, efficient note-taking, and real-time collaboration, Unriddle is a must-try for anyone working on a thesis. Give Unriddle a try today to experience the benefits firsthand.