ITERATURE
R
EVIEW
P
APER
A
SSIGNMENT
I
NSTRUCTIONS
O
VERVIEW
The purpose of the
Literature Review Paper Assignment
is to have you explore a topic
addressed in this course in greater detail, help you develop the ability to think critically, integrate
materials from a variety of sources, and write clearly about theoretical and/or practical issues.
Accordingly, this
Literature Review Paper Assignment
consists of the following major
sections. The minimum length of the
Literature Review Paper Assignment
is 13 pages long,
including a title page.
I
NSTRUCTIONS
You will choose one of the following topics for your
Literature Review Paper Assignment
:
1. Personality
2. Job characteristics
3. Organizational justice
4. Work relationships
5. Stress.
You may recall these are also the same topics covered in the
Mini Research Proposal Outline
Assignments
. You will use the
Mini Research Proposal Outline Assignment
you wrote on
your chosen topic to write your
Literature Review Paper Assignment
.
Note: You don’t need to get approval from your professor, but if you are doing a topic that is
later in this course that you need feedback on earlier please email your professor two weeks
before the
Literature Review Paper Assignment
is due.
Please do not think that you could write a
Literature Review Paper Assignment
in two weeks.
Reviewing literature is time-consuming. It is a process. You need to identify the topic you are
interested in. Once you identify it, you need to search for articles and this search could be
ongoing. After you search enough articles, you need to read them and write the
Literature
Review Paper Assignment
by integrating these articles. This whole process usually takes more
than a month. You need to start thinking about your topic early in the semester and keep working
on the
Literature Review Paper Assignment
continuously throughout the semester.
Include the following components in your
Literature Review Paper Assignment
:
1.
Title Page
(1 page)
2.
Introduction & Literature Review
(10–15 pages or more)
a. The introduction serves to provide the rationale for your topic, as well as to
introduce the background information necessary for the reader to follow and
believe your rationale. As you outline your introduction, keep your Literature
Review section in mind.
b. In your Literature Review section, you should consider the four objectives below
(Creswell, 2003) and critically evaluate how well you are achieving each with
your words, content, and organization.
i.
State and introduce the research problem (1 – 2 pages)
1. Write an opening sentence that will stimulate the reader’s interest
as well as convey an issue to which a broad audience can relate.
PSYC 850
Page 2 of 2
2. Stay away from idiomatic expressions or trite phrases
3. Consider numeric information for impact (like statistical
information).
4. Clearly identify the research problem.
5. Indicate why the problem is important by citing references that
justify the need, so by the end of the second or third page, readers
will know what you are proposing to review and why it is
important to review.
ii.
Review the studies that have addressed the problem/variables
1. The review of the literature provides the background and context
for the research problem. It should establish the need for research.
2. Find recent literature to summarize (e.g., published within the last
10 years or so) unless an older study exists that is very relevant
and/or heavily cited by others.
3. This section should summarize existing writings about your topic.
Your
Literature Review Paper Assignment
should
not
be a
series of ‘mini-book reports’ in which you discuss the series of
articles one after another. Rather, you should focus on similarities
(e.g., common findings, themes) and differences (e.g., conflicting
findings, different focus) among the articles.
iii.
Discuss the deficiencies and/or importance of these studies (Gap analysis)
1. If possible, cite several deficiencies (or limitations) to make the
case even stronger for your study.
2. Identify specifically the deficiencies of other studies (e.g.,
methodological flaws, overlooked variables).
3. Write about areas overlooked by past studies, including topics.
iv.
Summary
1. Based on your literature review, what do we know about the topic
and what needs to be addressed in future research?
3.
References
(2–4 pages)
a. You should read a representative sample of articles, enough to allow you to feel
that you have adequately covered your topic. In other words, there is no minimum
or ‘right’ number of articles to read. However, there should be enough references
to fill 2–4 Reference pages.
Be sure to review the criteria on the
Literature Review Paper Grading Rubric
before
beginning this
Literature Review Paper Assignment
.
Be sure to view the
Literature Review Paper resources
under the
Literature Review Paper
Assignment page
.
Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.
PSYC 850
Page 2 of 2
2. Stay away from idiomatic expressions or trite phrases
3. Consider numeric information for impact (like statistical
information).
4. Clearly identify the research problem.
5. Indicate why the problem is important by citing references that
justify the need, so by the end of the second or third page, readers
will know what you are proposing to review and why it is
important to review.
ii.
Review the studies that have addressed the problem/variables
1. The review of the literature provides the background and context
for the research problem. It should establish the need for research.
2. Find recent literature to summarize (e.g., published within the last
10 years or so) unless an older study exists that is very relevant
and/or heavily cited by others.
3. This section should summarize existing writings about your topic.
Your
Literature Review Paper Assignment
should
not
be a
series of ‘mini-book reports’ in which you discuss the series of
articles one after another. Rather, you should focus on similarities
(e.g., common findings, themes) and differences (e.g., conflicting
findings, different focus) among the articles.
iii.
Discuss the deficiencies and/or importance of these studies (Gap analysis)
1. If possible, cite several deficiencies (or limitations) to make the
case even stronger for your study.
2. Identify specifically the deficiencies of other studies (e.g.,
methodological flaws, overlooked variables).
3. Write about areas overlooked by past studies, including topics.
iv.
Summary
1. Based on your literature review, what do we know about the topic
and what needs to be addressed in future research?
3.
References
(2–4 pages)
a. You should read a representative sample of articles, enough to allow you to feel
that you have adequately covered your topic. In other words, there is no minimum
or ‘right’ number of articles to read. However, there should be enough references
to fill 2–4 Reference pages.
Be sure to review the criteria on the
Literature Review Paper Grading Rubric
before
beginning this
Literature Review Paper Assignment
.
Be sure to view the
Literature Review Paper resources
under the
Literature Review Paper
Assignment page
.
Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool
