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- Brandel Library
- Research Guides
- COMM 3450: Media and Society
- Understanding the Literature Review
COMM 3450: Media and Society
Understanding the Literature Review
Why Do a Literature Review?
Think of academic research as a conversation among scholars. There is already an ongoing dialogue or conversation about your topic. In order to contribute to that conversation, you must first catch up with what's already been said by engaging with the known literature and experts in the field.
What is a Literature Review?
The purpose of the literature review is to:
- Set the background on what has been researched on a topic.
- Show why a topic is significant to a subject area.
- Discover relationships between ideas.
- Identify major themes & concepts.
- Identify critical gaps & points of disagreement.
- Help the researcher turn a network of articles into a coherent view of the literature.