Literature critique: Students often misunderstand the reasons for critiquing sourced literature review material. A literature critique helps you examine the leading theories, and prior research, which have influenced your topic. To do this, you first analyse what is already known about your topic. Next you establish the gaps to research from the existing body of literature. Then you highlight why and how you intend to close these gaps. Finally, you apply your new knowledge so that you can build an argument that supports the rationale behind your study.
How textbook helps: Our book is a useful resource about critiquing sourced literature review material. It describes how to use your literature so you can construct a case to justify the reasons for conducting your research. The publication explains how to achieve this in four steps. Step one is developing suitable theoretical and conceptual frameworks. The next step is mapping your literature. This is followed by creating a knowledge base. Last, but not least, step four is writing a coherent review section. What’s more, the book offers jargon free advice on how to reference your literature.
Student story: Will was struggling with critiquing his literature. His supervisor advised him he had produced a literature summary, not a critical review. Will was told he had summarised what was written by others, but he had not critiqued their work. Following the guidance from our book, Will established his own perspective on the work of previous scholars. Consequently, he applied the concepts from prior academic research to substantiate the basis for his study. As a result, he critiqued his literature review and thus developed unique arguments and positions on the material.
“The textbook helped me apply the right frameworks to critique my topic. In class, I constantly struggled with understanding the reason for using theoretical and conceptual frameworks. After using Thesis Upgrade’s book, it now makes sense to me!” Will McAlpine, MBA.