不少英國留學生碰到Literature Review的時候總會傻乎乎的和其他dissertation混淆，或是根本無從下筆。Literature Review，其實并不是對參考文獻的簡單羅列，而是對參考文獻的整理與分析，有著自己的格式和要求。那么英國dissertationLiterature Review該怎么寫呢？下面就給大家講解一下Literature Review的寫作方法。

 

 

首先需要將“文獻綜述（Literature Review）”與“背景描述（Backupground Description）”區分開來。我們在選擇研究問題的時候，需要了解該問題產生的背景和來龍去脈，如“中國半導體產業的發展歷程”、“國外政府發展半導體產業的政策和問題”等等，這些內容屬于“背景描述”，關注的是現實層面的問題，嚴格講不是“文獻綜述”，關注的是現實層面問題，嚴格講不是“文獻綜述”。“文獻綜述”是對學術觀點和理論方法的整理。

 

其次，文獻綜述是評論性的（Review就是“評論”的意思），因此要帶著作者本人批判的眼光（critical thinking）來歸納和評dissertation獻，而不僅僅是相關領域學術研究的“堆砌”。評論的主線，要按照問題展開，也就是說，別的學者是如何看待和解決你提出的問題的，他們的方法和理論是否有什么缺陷？要是別的學者已經很完美地解決了你提出的問題，那就沒有重復研究的必要了。清楚了文獻綜述的意涵，現來說說怎么做文獻綜述。雖說，盡可能廣泛地收集資料是負責任的研究態度，但如果缺乏標準，就極易將人引入文獻的泥沼。

 

技巧一：瞄準主流。主流文獻，如該領域的核心期刊、經典著作、專職部門的研究報告、重要化合物的觀點和論述等，是做文獻綜述的“必修課”。而多數大眾媒體上的相關報道或言論，雖然多少有點價值，但時間精力所限，可以從簡。怎樣摸清該領域的主流呢？建議從以下幾條途徑入手：一是圖書館的中外學術期刊，找到一兩篇“經典”的文章后“順藤摸瓜”，留意它們的參考文獻。質量較高的學術文章，通常是不會忽略該領域的主流、經典文獻的。二是利用學校圖書館的“期刊數據庫檢索”，能夠查到一些較為早期的經典文獻。三是國家圖書館，有些上世紀七八十年代甚至更早出版的社科圖書，學校圖書館往往沒有收藏，但是國圖卻是一本不少。

 

技巧二：隨時整理，如對文獻進行分類，記錄文獻信息和藏書地點。做dissertation的時間很長，有的文獻看過了當時不一定有用，事后想起來卻找不著了，所以有時記錄是很有必要的。同時，對于特別重要的文獻，不妨做一個讀書筆記，摘錄其中的重要觀點和論述。這樣一步一個腳印，到真正開始寫dissertation時就積累了大量“干貨”，可以隨時享用。#p#分頁標題#e#

 

技巧三：要按照問題來組織文獻綜述。看過一些文獻以后，我們有很強烈的愿望要把自己看到的東西都陳述出來，像“竹筒倒豆子”一樣，洋洋灑灑，蔚為壯觀。仿佛一定要向讀者證明自己勞苦功高。我寫過十多萬字的文獻綜述，后來發覺真正有意義的不過數千字。文獻綜述就像是在文獻的叢林中開辟道路，這條道路本來就是要指向我們所要解決的問題，當然是直線距離最短、最省事，但是一路上風景頗多，迷戀風景的人便往往繞行于迤邐的叢林中，反面“亂花漸欲迷人眼”，“曲徑通幽”不知所終了。因此，在做文獻綜述時，頭腦時刻要清醒：我要解決什么問題，人家是怎么解決問題的，說的有沒有道理，就行了。

 

A literature review is an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers. Occasionally you will be asked to write one as a separate assignment (sometimes in the form of an annotated bibliography--see the bottom of the next page), but more often it is part of the introduction to an essay, research report, or thesis. In writing the literature review, your purpose is to convey to your reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. As a piece of writing, the literature review must be defined by a guiding concept (e.g., your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries.

 

Besides enlarging your knowledge about the topic, writing a literature review lets you gain and demonstrate skills in two areas:

 

information seeking: the ability to scan the literature efficiently, using manual or computerized methods, to identify a set of useful articles and books

 

critical appraisal: the ability to apply principles of analysis to identify unbiased and valid studies.

 

A literature review must do these things:

 

be organized around and related directly to the thesis or research question you are developing

 

synthesize results into a summary of what is and is not known

 

identify areas of controversy in the literature

 

formulate questions that need further research

 

1. Introduction

 

Not to be confused with a book review, a literature review surveys scholarly articles, books and other sources (e.g. dissertations, conference proceedings) relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, providing a description, summary, and critical evaluation of each work. The purpose is to offer an overview of significant literature published on a topic.#p#分頁標題#e#

 

2. Components

 

Similar to primary research, development of the literature review requires four stages:

 

Problem formulation—which topic or field is being examined and what are its component issues?

 

Literature search—finding materials relevant to the subject being explored

 

Data evaluation—determining which literature makes a significant contribution to the understanding of the topic

 

Analysis and interpretation—discussing the findings and conclusions of pertinent literature

 

Literature reviews should comprise the following elements:

 

An overview of the subject, issue or theory under consideration, along with the objectives of the literature review

 

Division of works under review into categories (e.g. those in support of a particular position, those against, and those offering alternative theses entirely)

 

Explanation of how each work is similar to and how it varies from the others

 

Conclusions as to which pieces are best considered in their argument, are most convincing of their opinions, and make the greatest contribution to the understanding and development of their area of research

 

In assessing each piece, consideration should be given to:

 

Provenance—What are the author's credentials? Are the author's arguments supported by evidence (e.g. primary historical material, case studies, narratives, statistics, recent scientific findings)?

 

Objectivity—Is the author's perspective even-handed or prejudicial? Is contrary data considered or is certain pertinent information ignored to prove the author's point?

 

Persuasiveness—Which of the author's theses are most/least convincing?

 

Value—Are the author's arguments and conclusions convincing? Does the work ultimately contribute in any significant way to an understanding of the subject?

 

3. Definition and Use/Purpose

 

A literature review may constitute an essential chapter of a thesis or dissertation, or may be a self-contained review of writings on a subject. In either case, its purpose is to:

 

Place each work in the context of its contribution to the understanding of the subject under review

 

Describe the relationship of each work to the others under consideration

 

Identify new ways to interpret, and shed light on any gaps in, previous research

 #p#分頁標題#e#

Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies

 

Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of effort

 

Point the way forward for further research

 

Place one's original work (in the case of theses or dissertations) in the context of existing literature

 

以上就是關于Literature Review的寫作方法講解，不熟悉Literature Review的同學們一定要仔細研究，爭取盡快掌握Literature Review的寫作方法，那就什么都不用怕了。