文献回顾 
THE LITERATURE REVIEW

     我们知道(做）些什么呢？
What do (and don’t) we know?
 
Purpose 目的

文献综述是一个关键的“关于公认的学者和研究员已经发表了什么样的课题？”
A literature review is a critical “account of what has been published on a topic by accredited
scholars and researchers".http://www.ukthesis.org/Thesis_Tips/Reference/Literature_Review/  (Taylor and Proctor, 2001) 
 
•  What are its strengths and weaknesses? (critique) 它的长处和弱点是什么？ （批判）
•  What is the current state of knowledge? (describe) 知识的当前状态是什么？ （详细说明）
•  How is this knowledge structured? (structure)  这方面的知识是如何构成的？ （结构）

这个表明如何选择你熟悉的工作， 并且进入适合你的领域。它不应该是描述性的。其目的是为了：
It shows that you are familiar with your chosen field and how your work fits into this field. It
should not be descriptive. Its purpose is to: 

•  Relate the boundary of your topic to previous research 
•  Identify to the reader what theories and practice have been developed on a topic
•  Explain how past research and ideas have developed over time 
•  Explain what their respective strengths and weaknesses are
•  Assess the significance of such developments 
 

回顾文献，还可以帮助您通过自己的建议实际的模型进行研究设计。
Reviewing the literature can also help you by suggesting practical models for your own
research design. 
 
It should be a critical review.
•  Your literature review should not be simply a set of summaries or a report but rather
an integrated prose document
•  Critical does not mean finding fault but rather it means providing a balanced account
of the strengths and weaknesses, and competing views, of your chosen field of
literature
•  It is necessary but not sufficient simply to summarise and describe the literature - you
also need to critique it. Include literature that opposes your position – as well as that
which supports it.
•   You need to build your argument and explain it – ‘I believe x because of y and
therefore I conclude z’. Have a narrative – what story are you telling?
•  It needs a guiding purpose (assignment, research project, thesis) – why are you
writing it?
 
"The Literature Review should give the reader the sense that you have
examined some material on your topic and are familiar with contrasting#p#分页标题#e#
perspectives and viewpoints. In this sense it builds your authority to speak
about the issues you are dealing with". (California State University, 2002) 
 
N.B. A literature review is based on literature you have directly consulted, wherever 
possible in full. Do not rely on other authors' paraphrasing. 
 

Questions to ask yourself.  要问自己的问题：

•  Why am I doing this literature review?
•  What type of literature am I looking at (theoretical/empirical/policy/practice)
•  What is its scope (timeframe/disciplinary/industry/types of publications)
•  What search process should I undertake
•  How am I going to cite my sources
 

Stages of the literature review  文献回顾的阶段
•  Clarify your purpose for the literature review and what you want to achieve
•  Literature search
•  Classifying/sorting your literature
•  Review #1 – making sense of the literature
•  Review #2 – presenting your literature review for your chosen audience
 

认真审视（从2006年华莱士和WRAY的概列）
Critically reviewing (Summarised from Wallace and Wray, 2006)
 
Is what I’ve read convincing and if not why not?
•  Does the evidence sound true?
•  Do the conclusions flow from the evidence?
•  Is the evidence dated or too narrow?
•  Are assumptions made that you find questionable?
•  Are claims to being new or original over-stated?
•  Can the conclusions be generalised as the author(s) suggest?
 
Does what I’ve written show a mature appreciation of evidence?
•  Will the reader be clear what I am arguing?
•  Is it clear why I’m reviewing this particular set of literature?
•  How/what logically structures the literature review e.g. using research questions?
•  Are conclusions (the use I’m going to make of this literature) clearly stated?
•  Have key terms been defined and consistency employed?
•  Are the conclusions convincing?
•  Is the literature properly (Harvard) referenced?
 

Critically selecting literature  选择批判性文献
•  Are all the relevant authors cited?
•  Are peer-reviewed papers cited?
•  Internet citations should only be from reputable organisations/people.

Language and formatting  语言和格式
•  Does my work pass UK-English grammar and spell checks?
•  Is the language tight and purposeful rather than verbose and rambling?#p#分页标题#e#
•  Does the formatting look right e.g. spaces between paragraphs, left aligned and numbered
headings?
•  Are tables and charts numbered, headed and cited?

BIBLIOGRAPHY 参考书目
 
WALLACE, Mike. and WRAY, Alison (2006) Critical reading and writing for
postgraduates. London, Sage.