ECON-3490-70 Field Experiments

A literature review compiles and examines scholarly articles, books, and other relevant sources within a specific area or sub-area to comprehensively summarize the key findings and discussions on a subject. This review can either stand as an independent document or form a section or chapter of a thesis or research paper related to the subject. The objectives of conducting a literature review include:

• Concisely summarizing the existing research within the field.
• Assessing the credibility of the evidence and the claims' validity.
• Demonstrating the relationships between various published works.
• Situating your own research amongst the broader scholarly conversations in the field.

A literature review merges the summarization and synthesis of the discussed literature. It outlines the key points from sources relevant to your topic and identifies any potential gaps in the literature.

Question to Consider

1. How does my literature review contribute to clarifying the specific thesis, problem, or research question under investigation?
2. What kind of literature review am I undertaking? Is it focused on theoretical issues, methodologies, policy analysis, quantitative evidence (for example, evaluating the efficacy of a new intervention), or qualitative insights (such as examining the experiences of loneliness among migrant workers)?
3. What is the extent of my literature review's coverage?
4. What kinds of sources am I incorporating in my review (for instance, academic journals, books, government reports, or mass media)?
5. How effective was my approach to gathering information? Was my search comprehensive enough to capture all pertinent material? Was it sufficiently focused on omitting irrelevant information? Is the volume of sources I've consulted appropriate for the length of my paper?
6. Have I engaged in a critical analysis of the sources I've reviewed? Do I approach the literature with a specific set of concepts and questions, making comparisons across different sources based on how they address these issues? Rather than merely listing and summarizing sources, have I evaluated them, highlighting their strengths and limitations?
7. Have I acknowledged and discussed research findings that challenge my own viewpoint?
8. Will readers find my literature review to be relevant, appropriate, and beneficial?

Online Resources to get started