How to Organize Sections of a Literature Review

After conducting a thorough literature review search, one must understand how to organize sections of a literature review to present the information in a logical and effective manner. The sections should be organized in a manner that clearly demonstrates the most relevant topics, subtopics, or themes derived from the review.

Our company provides professional assistance to organize the sections of literature review for clients locally and globally. We are efficient and effective in summarizing and using a synthesis matrix among other strategies to organize the information on a specific topic for ease of comprehension.

When hired to organize sections of a literature review, we ensure that:

• The relevant research conducted on the topic of interest is well-defined.
• The common methodologies/theories used in previous research on the topic are identified.
• The available gaps that the client seeks to address through a specific research question are highlighted.
• Any contradictions, challenges, unexpected results, or controversies are revealed.
• The major experts and researchers in the specific field are acknowledged.

A literature review may be conducted as a stand-alone paper, a section of a research paper, a project, or a master's degree thesis, or as a foundation for a doctoral dissertation. This article contains information on some of the factors we consider when organizing sections of a literature review.

Factors to Consider When Organizing Sections of a Literature Review

In our literature review writing process, we assist students and researchers in organizing the sections and presenting the information in an orderly manner to make sense in the context of their research questions/objectives. Having summarized and synthesized different academic articles published on a particular topic, we ensure that the information is logically organized, comprising an introduction, the body, and a conclusion. Some of the factors we consider when organizing literature reviews include:

1. The overall structure of the literature review

Like other academic papers, a literature review should comprise:

• An introduction that provides the general idea of the topic of the literature review/central theme; defines and identifies the subject area to create a context for reviewing the literature.
• The body of the literature review, where we provide readers with an evaluative, summative, and comparative discussion of sources and materials related to the topic of interest.
• The conclusion contains a summary of the main agreements, disagreements, major findings, and inferences drawn from the reviewed sources.

2. Organizing the body of a literature review

The main text/body of the literature review can be organized using various approaches including thematic, methodological, and chronological focus as discussed below.

• Chronological literature reviews

In chronological reviews, materials are arranged on the basis of when they were published. The approach is appropriate for topics that have been discussed and changed over time. The historical/chronological method of organizing literature review helps in arranging the sources from the earliest publication; proceeding over time to the most current ones. Moreover, a chronological review can be categorized by publication or trend to maintain its focus.

• Thematic review of literature

Organizing literature review thematically entails arranging sources on the basis of themes, topics, subtopics, or issues instead of focusing on the progression revealed over time. The point of most emphasis is the only difference between a chronological and a thematic review of the literature. However, more authentic thematic reviews tend to split from the chronological order to focus on the themes identified within the study topic/question/problem.

A review organized thematically can be effective in fitting separate ideas on the basis of their relevance to the topic on which the study focuses. Our literature writers help in organizing the review into paragraphs representing the identified themes and trends of relevance to the study topic. We ensure that each paragraph represents a unique theme while maintaining a clear linkage between the sources used in the review.

• Methodological approach

The fact that the methodological approach does not focus mainly on the content of the sources differentiates it from the chronological and thematic approaches. The approach is concerned with the methods that were used by researchers or authors of the sources. The British biological studies performed a sperm whale project where the methodological approach was used to examine whaling and the cultural differences between how whales are portrayed in different nations.

The scope of a methodological approach to organizing literature reviews may affect the document types used/the manner in which the discussion proceeds regarding such documents. The organizational framework is concerned with the manner in which the author/study administrator adopted methods that are similar to those used in another study.

• Broad-to specific approach to literature review

The approach begins with a section demonstrating the overall issue being reviewed and narrows to specific topics/issues. The literature review is narrowed down to find articles that are most appropriate and specific to the research question/thesis statement/hypothesis of the study. The approach helps in relating relevant articles that can be used to provide background information and contextualize the topic of study.

• Organization of sources by prominent authors/writers

When reviewing literature on a particular topic, one may group the famous authors and researchers who developed the source and what each contributed to the topic. The approach can be helpful in citation management for sources and finding out if a particular author appears frequently among the reviewed articles

• Major models/theories

The approach may be used when several models or prominent theories seem to have been applied frequently in most of the reviewed articles. It helps in grouping the reviewed sources based on the theoretical framework preferred in each to create an excellent overview of the best and most prominent approaches to studying a particular concept.

3. Additional sections of the literature review

Additional sections may be included based on the unique needs of a study to provide more information to the readers. These include:

• The current situation of the subject matter to provide necessary information for readers to understand the focus of the review or the research question/topic better.
• Historical/chronological progression of events in the field that are relevant to the scope, purpose, and objective of the literature review.
• The standards/methods/criteria used to identify, select, include, and exclude sources in the literature review; clarify whether the review includes only peer-reviewed articles and scholarly journals, biology articles, or the latest versions of cultural documents.
• The concerns/questions for further research that may have arisen from the concluded literature review.

After including the basic elements of the structure of a literature review, we consider whether the overall organizational framework:

• Clearly defines the purpose of the review.
• Portrays logic in the organization of sources.
• Puts emphasis on recent articles and developments on the subject matter.
• Includes only what is relevant and significant to the topic, theme, or issue under study.
• Provides logic for the design and methodological scope of the literature review.
• Contains a clear discussion of any unexpected/conflicting results drawn from the review.
• Summarizes how the articles written recently that were reviewed align with one's own research question and help readers to gain a better understanding of the problem.

When hired to provide professional assistance on how to organize sections of a literature review, we ensure that the sections featured in the document align with the organization approach chosen. If the strategy used is a chronological review, for instance, we must ensure that topics and subtopics in each section match each vital time period within which the sources were published. Moreover, we ensure technical accuracy throughout the writing process to deliver high-quality content to our clients.

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