The Literature Review is considered by many doctoral students to be the most rigorous and demanding section of the entire dissertation. Due to arduous length requirements and the lack of structuring guidelines provided by most committees and universities, students are often confused about how to organize this section of the work. The main purpose of Thesis Research for the Literature Review is to clearly demonstrate that the research gap identified by your study does in fact exist. The Literature Review not only synthesizes the existing peer-reviewed sources but also provides a critical analysis of the relevant scholarly literature, including a deep exploration of all the key themes related to your topic.  In addition, the Literature Review includes a discussion of the motivations for your chosen research methodology, incorporating the appropriate scholarly studies to justify your selection.

 

The Literature Review process normally begins with an academic literature search for recent scholarly sources published within the past 3-5 years. ARC has complete access to many different scholarly databases, enabling us to incorporate the most current developments pertaining to your research topic into your Literature Review.  By focusing on predominantly current sources and accurately reflecting your research gap, we can clearly demonstrate your objectives and motivations – whether you intend to effect positive social change, influence the conventional methodology or theory, or something else – for your choice of topic.

 

Many universities require students to utilize 75-100 peer-reviewed sources, with at least 85 percent of these sources dated within the past five years. Sources older than five years should be carefully chosen seminal works that help to synthesize the conceptual or theoretical foundations of your study. Most Literature Reviews are required to be 40 or more pages in length; combined with the arduous source requirements and in-depth synthesis objectives, this makes the Literature Review a serious and important doctoral research undertaking!