Assignment 3: Literature Review (no more than 20 pages excluding title and reference
page)
You must provide an in-depth and comprehensive literature review related to your topic of
research study. This is a professional paper; it should be at least 15-20 pages in length (not
including the cover page or references), typewritten, with one-inch margins on all sides and in
APA style of writing. You need to at least use 20 articles as part of your literature review;
essentially, in your literature review, you’re seeking information about what’s known about your
topic and why is it worthy to be studied (e.g., do we not have enough information on the
topic/problem?). Please address the following issues in your literature review:
• What is the research problem and how does it relate to practice, policy, education or
research?
• Conceptualization of the research topic including literature, census information if
applicable, policy and previous research studies in your literature review and theoretical
framework.
• Based on the conceptualization – what are the major concepts which set the parameters
for the research? A concept is a definition of the specific issue you will address in your
research. These must be linked to the conceptualization.
• Your literature review must end with the problem formulation, research questions and
hypotheses (in the case of quantitative research) or open questions (qualitative research).
You will use the research questions to guide the development of the research purpose and
objectives for assignment 2. Ultimately your research question will be answered through
your research.
• Provide a synthesis of the literature review.
1. It shows that you understand the most current and central issues related to the general topic of your study.
2. It points to how your study will be similar to or different from other studies
3. It describes how the results of your proposed study will contribute to the larger body
of knowledge
4. It introduces and conceptually defines all variables that will be examined throughout
the study.
• Review recent research findings on the topic.
• Note limitations of methods in addressing the complexities or nuances of the issue or
situation under study.
• Summarize both the strengths and limitations of previous studies.
Review various theses/dissertations, as they may help one to understand how to write and
summarize previous research. When writing the literature review, it is wise to separate the
various studies one finds into different categories. Under these categories, create “Level 2
subheadings” in APA style.
Theoretical Framework
This section will detail the theory that is guiding the proposed study. From this theory, the
researcher is able to inform the statement of the problem, the purpose of the study, the questions
and hypothesis, the choice of instruments, and methodology of the study. In this section, explain
the major tenants of the theory as well as how the theory relates to the proposed study.
Remember that the eventual findings of the experiment will be discussed in terms of how they
relate to the theory. It should be a brief explanation of the theory, as the details of particular
experiments will be discussed later in the Literature Review.
