A ‘Literature Review’ can mean many different things to many different people. It is essential to clarify what are the expectations of supervisors, examiners, departments (sometimes more than one) and whole research communities. Here are some questions to consider:
- What type of literature review do you need for your PhD thesis?
- Will you also need to write an interim literature review? What are the requirements for this?
- Will there be a separate literature review for your research methodology?
- What steps will you follow to assemble the relevant literature?
- How will you record what you have read?
- How will you integrate your reading notes into the literature review?
- What will be your preferred structure?
the phd writer 