literature review 113
Your paper must include 3 sections: (1) A cover page, (2) typed text (must be between 3 pages [minimum] and 6 pages [maximum] in length), and (3) a References page. Your paper must be typed in APA format on a Microsoft Word document (Note: Do NOT use programs that format your citations!!! These programs do NOT format correctly!). This means that your paper must: (1) have cover page with running head, title for paper, your first/last name(s), course title, centered on cover page (2) page numbers in upper-right hand corner [each page should have page number in upper-right hand corner], (Note: Do NOT include an abstract page), (3) double-spaced, (4) typed in 12-point font, (5) paragraph construction [Note: Paragraphs must be at least 3 sentences in length to stand alone as paragraph], (6) complete sentences, (7) good grammar.You must cite your sources of information in correct APA format .Note: You can use no more than TWO direct quotes in your paper!!! This means you must the majority of information from other sources in YOUR OWN WORDS (paraphrase). Cite your source of information correctly! SOCW 360/ Spring, 2018 – 13 – You must select a minimum of 6 peer-reviewed journal articles that are exploratory, quasi-experimental and/or experimental research studies (only one of your six articles can be qualitative research articles). ALL OF YOUR ARTICLES MUST HAVE A “METHODS†SECTION.
A literature review requires a synthesis of the research articles you have reviewed- you should not discuss each article separately! In the literature review, you should critically analyze and synthesize the literature of a topical area of interest. Use the following outline to format your paper. Use the below headings in your paper, and address each item within each heading, in the order presented below: INTRODUCTION *Introduction of the topic/problem *Provide a brief explanation about why this issue is important *Provide a brief description of what your paper is going to address SCOPE OF PROBLEM *Describe the breadth (who/what is affected) and depth (measureable impact) of the problem *Discuss the population(s) affected most by this problem *Describe how the population(s) are affected *Define your variables of interest *Explain why this problem is important to explore and address
PREVIOUS FINDINGS *Describe previous studies about your chosen problem – research designs – sampling methods SOCW 360/ Spring, 2018 – 14 – – participants utilized in studies – operationalization of independent and dependent variables – theories used – hypotheses tested – major findings
CRITIQUE OF LITERATURE *Describe the strengths and weaknesses of previous studies methodology (i.e, generalizability, measurement, cultural sensitivity, research design, threats to validity, etc…) CONCLUSION *In general, describe what previous research has contributed to this topic of interest *Based on limitations of previous studies, describe how future studies can address the weaknesses you identified *Describe possible suggestions for future research by identifying potential research questions, or relationships between variables that need further exploration *Close the literature review with a discussion of implications: Why is your suggestion for future research important?