GUIDELINES FOR WRITING
THE LITERATURE REVIEW
The Literature Review has a number of important functions:
Reference to Published Sources of Information When writing the Literature Review, frequent reference to the work of other authors will be made. The two main methods to refer to the work of published sources are: to use a direct, verbatim (word-for-word) quotation, and to summarize or paraphrase an autho's work, using your own words. Click here to view guidelines for quoting and summarizing/paraphrasing
References (citations) to published work can be presented in two ways: Information Prominent Author Prominent Information Prominent, as the name implies, focuses on the information first, followed by a reference to the author.
Author Prominent refers to the author first, followed by the information.
Note that whenever the author
is referred to, the surname only should be used. Author Name versus Numbering System There is an alternative method for referring to sources which does not use the author's name. This alternative method simply allocates a number to the source and the number then refers the reader to the bibliography at the end of the FYP. This method is frequently used in science-based disciplines. If using this system, the reference number is allocated chronologically, starting with [1] and with the number placed within square brackets. Should a reference be made later in the FYP to a source previously referred to, the earlier number is used. Note that if the numbering system is used to refer to authors, the bibliography will list the references numerically and not alphabetically.
(Note that the numbers in the above example are not fully chronological because many of the references had been referred to in earlier sections/chapters of the FYP.) Click here to view examples of references taken from student FYPs. The exercises will familiarize you with the use of 'author prominent' versus 'information prominent' references, as well as the use of the 'author name' versus the 'numbering system'.
When reading academic texts, you may notice that several tenses are used to refer to the work of other authors. The tenses often used are simple past, present perfect and simple present. Such a range is perfectly acceptable and there are several reasons that influence the choice of tense. Simple Past Tense tends to be the most frequently used tense to refer to the findings of another author's research. The past tense is also most commonly used when the writer uses the 'author prominent' style.
Present Perfect Tense may also be used when you want to refer to how much or how little research has been carried out on a particular topic.
Present Tense is often used to refer to generally accepted scientific facts.
Modal Verbs may be used if you wish to introduce a degree of tentativeness into your comments about the work of an author. In this situation the reporting verb will be in the passive voice and the addition of a modal verb will indicate the degree of confidence attributed to the information.
Other modal
verbs that can be used, ranging from rather weak in meaning to quite
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