Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Due Date
st
5:00 p.m.
v.
Literature Review
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 short description, summary, and critical evaluation of each work. The literature review itself,
however, does not present new primary scholarship. The purpose is to offer an overview of significant
literature published on a topic. The literature review incorporates four types of items:
Conceptual or theoretical sources that provide a framework for approaching the problem;
Empirical research relevant to the topic;
Primary sources that you will use;
Methodological literature.
The idea of the literature review is not to incorporate everything you have ever read on the topic, but to
elaborate the basis for your research questions, to highlight the assumptions you are bringing to the research
and the reasons for them, and to point out what research has already been done on the topic so you can show
how your project fits into the wider scheme of the field. The format of this literature review is similar to an
annotated bibliographya listing entry with a short description after it. These typically range from 20-40
items of all typesincluding websites, newspaper articles, and other thesesdepending on subject and
existing literature, however, the final length of your list of references should be determined in consultation
with your adviser.
Instructions: Fill out the first section of the form below, and obtain your advisers signature approval
for your thesis proposal/literature review. Turn in the form and proposal to CEAS no later than the dates
listed below:
Intended Graduation Quarter
st
Due Date
st
5:00 p.m.
5:00 p.m.
Student Name:
Adviser Name:
Region of focus:
Tentative Thesis Title:
Intended Graduation Quarter and Year:
____________________________________________
Adviser Signature
____________________
Date