Background Overview
In academic research, a literature review is an effective means of synthesising and summarising existing literature, analysing and summarising it in depth through collating, summarising and comparing it to the outside world, as well as elaborating on it with one’s own views and experiences. The article points out three major steps to cope with the task of literature review, including literature search, reading and digesting, and review writing.
Literature search skills
1. Keyword extraction: Explore the key words involved in the paper, so as to make a comprehensive consideration of the search results.
2. Database tracking: Use various authoritative databases to download the required literature, which is an easy way to screen the literature.
Organising reading strategies
Experts suggest, firstly, to read the review papers in related fields within two years to fully understand the research dynamics; secondly, to read the documents related to one’s own research, and to determine the reading target according to the backtracking priority of the title. In the process of reading, it is important to take notes to prevent forgetting what you have read and to improve the efficiency of the review.
Guidelines for writing a literature review
The process of writing a literature review is broadly divided into four parts: the major field, the minor field, the history of research and the innovative highlights. Discussions of the broad area should lead to the importance of the subject of the study, provide an in-depth explanation of the characteristics of the small area, and describe in detail the results of previous research; and mention the new research that you are conducting to demonstrate its importance. In addition, the article emphasises that the review should be written in a logical manner around the theme, and that previous studies should be integrated into the framework of one’s own research, rather than blindly adding to the literature.
