Literature Review Instructions
Title of Study: Identity Shifting of working-class African American Women
Method: Qualitative qualitative-descriptive
Theoretical Framework: Theory of Intersectionality
Subheadings: Intersectional Analysis of the African American Women’s Experiences
Race
Gender
Class
Visibility & Hypervisibility
Racial Microagression
Mental Health Impact
(please note- subtopics of race and gender can be combined if the studies found utilize
both)
Checklist of how to help structure the document-
Introduction-
- Begin with the purpose statement and problem statement that leads to a brief explanation of the organization of the literature review.
- Purpose Statement- explore working-class African American women’s identity shifting and the influence of identity shifting on their careers and mental health well-being
- Problem Statement- identity shifting due to racism and gender inequality for African American women in the workplace
- Provide an overview of the sub-headings in the literature that will be discussed. (listed above)
- At the end of this section, indicate the databases accessed and the search engines used. Discuss all the search parameters, including the search terms and their combinations range of years, and types of literature.
Theoretical Framework- Theory of Intersectionality
- Describe the guiding theoretical framework of the study, including the definitions of all the concepts, an explanation of the relationships among the concepts, and a presentation of all the assumptions and propositions.
- Explain the origin and development of the framework. Demonstrate detailed knowledge of and familiarity with both the historical and the current literature on the framework.
- Identify existing research studies that used this framework in a similar way.
- Describe how and why the selected framework relates to the present study and how it guided the development of the problem statement, purpose statement, and research questions.
Sub-topics (listed above)
- Critically analyze (i.e., note the strengths and weaknesses) and synthesize (i.e., integrate) the existing research. Rather than reporting on each study independently, describe everything known on the topic by reviewing the entire body of work.
- Present a balanced integrative critical review of the literature, ensuring all points of view are included. Cover all the important issues with a discussion of areas of convergence (i.e., agreement) and divergence (i.e., disagreement). Provide potential explanations for areas of divergence. Each subtopic must include this and only studies within the last 5 years may be used. Identify the # of participants, method of analysis, and findings of each study used. Keep the studies within the United States.
- Address issues of authority, audience, and/or bias/point of view in the sources used.
- Do not introduce new concepts within the literature review such as transgenderism, homosexuality, etc. to integrate the theory.
- Dissertations cannot be used as a source/reference.
Summary
- Briefly restate the key points discussed in the chapter. Review the headings and/or table of contents to ensure all key points are covered.
- Highlight areas of convergence and divergence as well as gaps in the literature that support the need for the study. (please note- the gap on the research was information regarding working-class black women)
Things to remember:
- Do not simply describe the opinions of the writers- utilize the info about the synthesis and analysis provided
- Leave out opinions.
- Only use quotes to emphasize a point
- APA references/citations
Synthesizing and Analyzing Research: The Types of Articles
| Type of Article | Characteristics *Note: There are other articles (i.e., perspectives, commentaries, or opinions), but the below are the main types of scholarly literature. | |||
| Original Research | Original research studies or works. Classified as primary literature. | Often includes: hypothesis, background, methods, results, interpretation of findings, and discussion of possible implications. | Examples: dissertations, conference papers, research results, patents, technical reports, diaries/journals, laboratory notebooks. | Thought to ponder: Should you include in your own research (i.e., literature review)? |
| Review Article | Provides an overview of existing literature in the field. Often identifies specific problems or issues within published literature. Secondary literature. 3 types: 1) Literature Reviews, 2) Systematic Reviews, and 3) Meta-analyses | 1) Literature Reviews: published research with a different point of view. The researcher/writer often analyzes gaps, limitations or problems. | 2) Systematic Reviews: structured, addresses a specific formulated question about the literature, and may include multiple sources both published and unpublished. | 3) Meta-analyses Reviews: Statistical methods are used to collect measures, and effects from independent, but similar studies and to summarize multiple similar studies instead of relying on the single study. |
| Clinical Case Study | Presents patient cases from clinical or medical practice. | Includes a detailed discussion of signs, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. | The author/researcher has practical experience. Often an expert in his/her field. | Thought to ponder: As you work on the template are you noting the expertise of the researchers. What are any similarities/differences? |
| Clinical Trial | Specific to the field of medicine. | Includes methodology, implementation, and results of controlled studies, usually with large patient groups. | Observational (observation of participants) or interventional (participants given a treatment or intervention). | Thought to ponder: Will you be using any articles that are clinical trials, and if so for what purpose? |
Synthesizing and Analyzing Research Matrix Template (Just to help you keep them in order)
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| *Type of article below | Methodology below | Future Research below | Similarities/Differences below | Additional notes below | |
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