Research Writing: How to Do a Literature Review (FutureLearn)

Research Writing: How to Do a Literature Review (FutureLearn)

Learn how to write a strong literature review with this course designed for research students, at any level, in any discipline. Improve your ability in a fundamental part of research: a literature review. Many students are required to write a critical review of current academic literature in their area of interest - researchers, postgraduates and undergraduates. Developing a great critical review is vital, but not always taught.

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In this course, you will be guided through this complex process step-by-step, seeing examples, finding information and developing useful questions that will help you plan, draft and refine a critical discussion of what is and is not yet known about your topic.

What topics will you cover?

  • Understanding the literature review as a genre, and its fundamental role in all serious investigations and research projects
  • Developing a useful list of search terms and understanding where to use them to find the most relevant literature available
  • Developing a professional bibliography and annotating it with critical evaluations of readings
  • Asking good questions to guide the reading and writing process
  • Planning a critical discussion in response to specific questions and based on evidence from the published literature

What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

  • Explore and identify different types of literature review
  • Develop an annotated bibliography
  • Develop questions to drive a literature review
  • Reflect on your academic writing style
  • Collaborate with other research writers
  • Improve your research potential
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