What is Library Search

Reviewing the literature helps students to build knowledge in their areas of study. An effective review must critically evaluate—not just summarize—the literature, which presents a significant challenge to students undertaking a literature review. This chapter describes a sequence of assignments for students in an education research methods course in a master's degree program as an example of an effective approach for teaching students how to write a good standalone literature review. This approach consists of four distinct yet interconnected phases: (1) establishing a topic together with developing a plan of action, (2) searching the literature using databases, (3) writing a review with APA style, and (4) reflecting on the review process. The purpose of a literature review is, in effect, to guide one's own research. Helping students complete their reviews in the phases described herein may increase the quality of their reviews, and, simultaneously, it may decrease their frustration in writing reviews for their research in the future.