How To build a Literature Review:

The Bones, Meat, and Potatoes

Bones

Unlike the Methodology and Results chapters of your dissertation, there is no defined outline for the Literature Review. It’s simply a matter of three main headings: Introduction; Main body; Conclusion. The meat is what counts, and we’re here to walk you through it. If you get stuck at any point, just know that the folks here at Dissertation Editor are here to help, so don’t hesitate to pick up the phone or email us. 

Meat

And now to the flesh:

Introduction

The Introduction opens with a restatement of your research problem or research question(s) with a summary of the sources you will review (in the main body). As you briefly sum these sources that will be reviewed in greater detail in the main body of the Literature Review chapter, you should highlight the gaps that exist in the body of knowledge, bringing this back to your research problem and research question(s). This supports the need and purpose of your research and, therefore, the contribution your research will make in the field.

The Main Body

The goal of the literature review is to effectively summarize and combine your review of the literature in your field. This summary may be organized by theme, methodology, or theoretical approach, but we highly recommend a chronological organization for simplicity; that is, organize your summary chronologically, with an overview of the themes, theoretical frameworks, and methodological approaches. Of course, it’s easy to say, “summarize without losing coherence,” but this is key to a well structured literature review. Before you start hyperventilating at the thought, however, slow down and remember to begin by outlining the conflicts, differences, and similarities between the literature you review.  After you have outlined each source included in your review:

• Summarize and Combine: Highlight the main findings from each academic source and organize them into one whole piece without losing coherence.
• Evaluate and interpret: Make sure that you are giving opinions and arguments of your own rather than simply rephrasing what others have said. Therefore, you should avoid excessive quoting. After all, you will be expected to debate and discuss other studies’ results about your own research questions or research aim, so it’s important that you can go beyond merely summarizing. In order to accomplish this goal, we recommend you read each piece of literature at least twice. 
• Analytical Evaluation: It is also important to review the merits and weaknesses of the literature.

As you write, do pay attention to citation and referencing style. Find out what academic style your university requires prior to starting, as this will save you a lot of headaches later. Find out your institutions style guidelines; i.e., some commonly used academic styles for referencing and citations: APA, CMS, Harvard, MLA, or some other hybrid. That being said, do not get stalled by formatting your citations and references, as that will slow down the writing process. Instead, just make sure to add the citations (however inappropriately it may be formatted) where necessary. As for academic styles, we can help you with this at DE; we don’t just edit, we format too. In fact, we’d be very happy to format each and every citation and cross-check them with your list of references too! But your responsibility is to make sure you have the correct citation beside the information you are discussing. 

Conclusion

The conclusion should include a summary of the key findings and their relevance and significance to your research problem and research question(s). In doing so, you will demonstrate how your research helps to fill the gap(s) in your field and, therefore, increased our understanding of the problem by making a contribution to the current body of knowledge in the field.

& Potatoes

The essence of a literature review is to find, read, and digest the main body of knowledge on your topic. Once you’ve done that, you’ll then be ready to flesh out the bones. I know we make it sound easy, but we know it’s not. That being said, we know you can do this. And on the day(s) when you don’t think you can — and you probably will have those days because that’s the nature of writing a dissertation or thesis — we’re the experts and here to help. Everyone who works at DE has a PhD and we’ve all written (many) a literature review, so bring it on, as we live for this stuff. You have a burning (research) question, a passion to find answers and contribute to the body of knowledge in your field, and we celebrate that at DE, so check us out, call, or email.  

NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, started in 1999 as a challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days in November. Over the years, it has developed into a nonprofit organization and website that also hosts a Camp NaNoWriMo in April and July, and other programs as well. Here’s a tip, though: even if you’re not a novel writer, NaNoWriMo can still be a valuable tool for you.

If you harbor dreams of writing a novel, by all means, utilize NaNoWriMo to light a fire under you and churn out the pages. But even if you just want to kickstart your academic or professional writing, you can use the goals of NaNoWriMo to start your creative process. Do you have a literature review you’d like to have done soon? Or a section of your dissertation? Even if you’re done with your thesis or dissertation, maybe you have some ideas for journal articles or want to turn your dissertation into a book. Great – use this month to your advantage.  Remember: you can’t edit or revise what you don’t have, so getting words down on the page for your thesis, dissertation, or journal articles is important.

Here are some tips to keep in mind to help you make the most out of your NaNoWriMo experience, however you choose to apply it.

Let go of perfection. Trust us on this one: there will be plenty of time for revisions and editing later on. You need to get words on the page first. Once you have a plan of what you want to achieve, just write. Write anything that comes to mind, and then come back to it later.

Keep track of your word count. Every day, set a word count goal and note the actual word count that was achieved. Once you see the numbers adding up, it will give you added motivation. Setting small goals within the larger month’s goal is a good way to give yourself positive reinforcement.

Plan to write. Set aside a time each day to write: in the early morning before work, late at night after the kids go to bed – whatever works for you and your schedule. Treat it like a job – in many ways, it is your job right now. Put it in your calendar, your planner, let your friends and family know you’ll be writing – and then hold yourself accountable.

Be intentional about unplugging. You might think you can bang out some words while watching television, but how many times do you plan to write and watch reruns, and before you know it, you’re catching up on your favorite old episodes, you only have two sentences written, and it’s time to go to bed? Use this month to turn the television off, silence your cell phone, use an Internet blocker for periods of time if necessary, and focus on writing.

Once the month is over, take a look at what you’ve written and start cleaning it up. When you’re ready to have it edited, Dissertation Editor can help! Whether it’s your thesis or dissertation, journal articles, or a book project, our editors have experience with all kinds of projects, and we’d love to be of assistance. Contact us today to learn more about our range of services and how we can help you reach your goals.

Nothing Scarier: Defending Your Dissertation

It might be Halloween, but at Dissertation Editor we know there’s (perhaps) nothing scarier than defending your dissertation. And there’s no one more experienced and prepared to help you get through it than the folks at Dissertation Editor. Everyone who works here has defended and passed their dissertation defense (or maybe I should say, lived through the experience), so we know exactly what you need to do to get ready. In other words, we’ve got your back, plus we understand the utter despair (and empathize like no one else can). Get in touch to find out how we can help!  

In the meantime, have a fun Halloween, then let us take care of the scary stuff (like editing, formatting, and getting you ready to defend your dissertation).

To get the fun started, we’ve put together our top ten list of favorite frightful movies and books

Terrifying Reads                               

Hound of the Baskervilles, by Arthur Conan Doyle                                             

The Shining, by Stephen King  

Dark Places, by Gillian Flynn

Dracula, by Bram Stoker 

Mexican Gothic, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia 

                    Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley 

Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier 

                    The Hunger, by Alma Katsu         

A Headful of Ghosts, by Paul Tremblay

                   The Tell-Tale Heart, by Edgar Allen Poe

Horrifying Movies

Poltergeist

The Shining

The Exorcist

Hereditary

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Halloween

Carrie

A Quiet Place

Us

The Conjuring

And now, back to the scary business of your dissertation defense.

Who ya gonna call?

Dissertation Editor

Four Facts From the Pew Research Center on U.S. Latinx Communities

It’s National Hispanic Heritage Month, 2021! Between September 15th and October 15th, the team here at Dissertation Editor is participating in celebrating the Resilience and Hope of our Latinx and Hispanic communities with weekly blog posts. You can check them all out here. This week, we’re showcasing a few facts from the Pew Research Center that shine a white hot light on the resilience of our U.S. Latinx communities. 

Population Growth

The largest non-white population in U.S, our Hispanic communities grew to just over 60 million in 2020. But the population could not be more diverse. Here are a few things to note:

• Growth Rates Across Different Populations: Some With a population drawn from many different countries, some Hispanic/Latin American regions are growing faster than others. Specifically, Venezuelans, Guatemalans, and Dominicans have the fastest growth rate (since 2010). 
• Decline in Immigrants: The Hispanic/Latinx population is no longer the biggest immigrant group entering the U.S. Added to that, growth among the population is attributable to people of Hispanic/Latinx origin who are already living in the U.S. and not to those immigrating to the country.
• Youth Defines the Population: With 6 in 10 people in our Hispanic/Latinx communities being under the age of 35, the group is defined by youth.  

College Enrollment

College enrollment rates for our Hispanic/Latinx communities is around 35%, increasing by 13% since 1993 when 22% of people aged between 18-24 were enrolled. While the percentage increase since 1993 is more dramatic for Hispanic/Latinx communities than for the Black community (i.e., 13% and 8%, respectively), the White community saw a 42% increase in enrollment for this age group. Clearly improvements can be made! Shameless plug for us here, as the folks at Dissertation Editor not only offer services to help students succeed in college, but we are both passionate about and dedicated to that goal. Our services range from editing, formatting, coaching, and feedback, to statistical analysis, and transcript coding, so please get in touch. We would be delighted to speak with you and review your work and offer a free quote (including a detailed order of service, price, and turnaround time). 

Importance of Heritage

Education and familiarity with our origins is ranked as more important to self-identity for Hispanic/Latinx and Black adult than for White adults. Since we know from social theory that a sense of belonging to community is integral to wellbeing, this strong self-identification with community and heritage bode well for the emotional health of our Black and Hispanic/Latinx groups.     

Growing use of the Term Latinx Versus Hispanic

Hispanic is a term that refers to people of Spanish origin (who also speak Spanish) and so excludes Brazilians (who speak predominantly Portuguese). Latino/Latina refers to men and women, respectively, of Latin origin, and therefore includes Brazilians, although it does exclude Hispanic. The growing use of the term Latinx (i.e., a gender neutral term that encompasses both Latino and Latina) is a rejection of the term Hispanic, which for many has become associated with Spanish colonialism of South and Central America.     

Resilience and Hope

I’ll end where I started on the theme of this year’s National Hispanic Heritage Month. Nothing says resilience and hope like pursuing a PhD, right? All the folks at Dissertation Editor have earned PhD’s (in a diverse range of fields), and we are committed to helping the next generation of scholars achieve their dreams of earning a doctorate. Get in touch with us, tell us your story, let us know how we can help move you forward in that dream. We’d be delighted to work with you!