Your library search engine is the best source for recent or classic work. If your topic is the effect of racism on hiring, try searching keywords like “employment,” “discrimination,” “racism,” and “United States. ” The librarians in your library are there to help, so don’t hesitate to ask if you need any assistance finding work to read. Remember that newer publications aren’t necessarily better than older ones. But it’s important to find new work so your review is up-to-date. You could also check the bibliographies in the work you’re already using or ask your professor for reading suggestions if you need more ideas. [2] X Trustworthy Source University of North Carolina Writing Center UNC’s on-campus and online instructional service that provides assistance to students, faculty, and others during the writing process Go to source
Try to state each argument as simply as possible. Sum up the author’s point in a sentence, if you can. In most cases, you won’t have to read the entire work to understand the author’s argument. Some state their arguments at the beginning very clearly. Only read enough so you can identify that argument so you don’t make too much work for yourself.
One way you could evaluate a source on employment discrimination is by looking at the evidence. One source might use mostly newspaper articles for evidence, which aren’t always reliable. Another might use statistical data and government studies, which are usually more reliable, and therefore this source is more convincing. The evidence that the author uses should also be easy to find, and they should provide clear citations and links if possible. If you can’t track down the sources the author is using, then their argument is suspect. [5] X Research source
If you’re researching music in 20th-century Europe, for example, a musician might say that they had a huge impact on the scene. The fact that this person was a musician at the time could make their opinion biased. Remember that all people have bias, so a biased work isn’t necessarily useless. But it’s something to note in your lit review to show that you’ve evaluated all your sources carefully. Personal bias is another important part of evaluating sources.
It’s best to take notes while you’re reading and jot down each author’s argument, sources, bias, and your own thoughts on the work. This keeps all of your information in a nice, compact place.
Sticking with the employment discrimination topic, you might come across some authors who say this is a big problem, and others who don’t think it’s so severe. You might also see some authors acknowledging discrimination but attributing it to different causes.
If you need help organizing your thoughts, you could always start with a bullet-point list. This is great to get started. However, you’ll need to polish this into an actual essay. Generally the lit review doesn’t need a different format from the rest of the paper, so don’t change anything unless your professor tells you to.
Use section headings like “Introduction” and “Literature Review” to keep yourself organized. You can leave these in if your professor tells you it’s okay. Some professors may give you a specific outline to base your review or paper around. Always follow their instructions so you get full credit.
Try to make some larger statements as you write chronologically. You could say, “Prior to the 1950s, scholars didn’t take employment discrimination seriously. In the 1960s and 1970s, new work emerged arguing that it was a major problem that millions of people experience. ” This helps move your reader along. If you can, tie a chronological lit review to larger historical developments. For example, you could note that the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s led scholars to analyze discrimination more closely.
A thematic approach might work better for medical or scientific topics, since there is often a lot of disagreement going on at the same time within these fields. Your topic could be different approaches to the treatment of cancer, with a section on each proposed treatment regimen. You could still work chronologically within a thematic organization. When you move on to a new theme, for example, start with the author who first introduced that concept or conclusion.
There are also systematic reviews, or article-length literature reviews that analyze all the relevant work in a topic. Journals periodically publish pieces like this. These can be great resources for more sources and ideas.
Your research might show you that most writers agree that employment discrimination is a problem, but aren’t united on what the causes are. Your opening statement could be, “Scholars are in widespread agreement that African-Americans face discrimination on the job. However, they are divided on the causes. The most common explanations they give are racism among hiring managers, a lack of educational opportunity, and structural disadvantages that produce less past work experience. ” Your statement doesn’t have to show agreement. It’s perfectly fine to say something like “Child psychologists are currently divided on how homework influences grade-schoolers’ development. Some see it as a crucial intellectual exercise, while others criticize it as busywork that has no real benefit. ”
If you’re organizing your essay chronologically, you could break down paragraphs by decade. The first paragraph could explain how authors discussed a problem in the 1960s, then your second one moves to the 1970s, and so on. This also works if you’re proceeding thematically. You could have a paragraph about authors who support one conclusion and another about authors who disagree.
Remember to show how each work fits in your main narrative as well. If it’s not clear why a work fits the theme you’ve placed it in, you might lose credit. Quotes are always good to demonstrate a point, but make sure you don’t overuse them. 1 or 2 quotes per work is plenty. Stick with your own words for the analysis.
You could say, “This author overall concludes that racism is not a major component of employment discrimination. This might be true on the job, but it ignores systemic racism, which could lead to disparate outcomes for those who experience it. ” Be fair when you’re criticizing authors. They’ve probably researched the topic, and though you don’t agree with their conclusions, it’s not fair to act like they don’t know what they’re talking about.
You can make suggestions no matter what the review shows. If the field is divided, you could say “We clearly need more research to solve these disagreements. ” If a field is united, you could say “Perhaps some more diverse voices or perspectives could complicate this field and drive it in new directions. ” If this lit review is part of a larger research paper, then conclude by stating how your research solves some of these problems.
For a 10-20-page paper, the lit review can be a few pages. Try not to go over 2-3 unless your professor tells you to. In an MA thesis or PhD dissertation, the lit review might make up a whole chapter of over 20 pages.
