EDF 5481
Literature Review Assignment Guidelines
Purpose
The Literature Review Assignment requires students to produce a narrative literature review based on at least three primary research journal articles published after 2000. To accomplish this, students must identify a suitable research topic within their fields of study, identify and read primary research journal articles about that topic, and create a narrative literature review of those research articles. This assignment is an extension of the Literature Search Assignment. Be sure you have completed Module 3, especially reading the supplemental article on writing literature reviews.
Timely Submission
See the schedule in the syllabus for assignment due dates. The submission deadline is midnight on the due date. Penalties for late submissions are discussed in the syllabus.
The assignment should be submitted via the Assignments in Canvas as a Microsoft Word file. If you need to select new articles because some of your Literature Search articles were not acceptable, PDF copies of the new articles should be uploaded to the Assignments as separate files. Do not re-submit articles submitted with the previous assignment.
Format
The paper should be standard letter size (8.5 x 11 inches) portrait orientation with 1-inch margins and 12-point font size. The length of the Literature Review will be 3-5 double-spaced pages long.
Sections
Use the following sections (with the underlined text as the heading for each section) in your assignment.
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Assignment Information— Include your name, the name of the assignment (Literature Review Assignment), the course number (EDF 5481), and the semester.
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Introduction— Identify the topic addressed by the literature review, provide a context to demonstrate the importance of the focus of the review, provide a problem statement addressed by the literature review, describe the method through which the review was conducted, and present the organizing theoretical framework.
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Literature Review— Summarize information presented in at least three primary research articles and integrate the results of the studies in the context of the organizing theoretical framework Citations should be provided for all articles discussed. Students should use one of two strategies for reviewing the articles:
· Review each study sequentially, showing how each is related to the organizing theoretical framework adopted (
do not simply describe the method and results of each study)
· Or present a logically flowing argument that explains the organizing theoretical framework, citing studies that support each assertion made and providing relevant details of the method and results of articles as needed to support those assertations.
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Conclusions— Summarize the important conclusions that can be drawn from the existing literature, discuss their implications for practice and research, briefly discuss the quality of the body of literature, and identify future directions for research on the chosen topic.
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References—Using APA format, present bibliographic information for all sources cited in the literature review. Arrange the citations in order by the first author’s last name. Direct quotes or paraphrased text that originated elsewhere must be cited in the text of the paper in APA format (See an example format at www.evc.edu/AcademicAffairs/Documents/APAFormatTemplate.doc). Failure to acknowledge original sources of information obtained from other sources constitutes plagiarism and may be subject to Graduate Honor System review.
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Primary Articles—Please upload a copy of any primary research articles discussed in the literature review that was not submitted with the previous assignment (This should only apply to you if the articles submitted with your Literature Search assignment were not acceptable.) Do not submit copies of any sources that are not primary research. Note that you may cite articles in your paper that are not primary research, but do not submit copies of these.
Assessment
· The primary emphasis in the assessment of the Literature Review will be based on the completeness with which the various elements of the guidelines are addressed. Secondary emphasis will be placed on the level of sophistication of the discussion provided and the general readability of the text. The list below may help you evaluate the degree to which your assignment is complete.
· Format the assignment as specified.
· Introduce the topic, identify its importance, and state the problem addressed by the literature review.
· Include a summary of, a reference to, and bibliographic information for at least four primary research articles that are related to a single, narrowly-defined topic.
· Integrate the summary of the articles within an organizing theoretical framework to show the logical connections between the ideas presented in those articles.
· Draw conclusions about the research articles and what they say about the chosen topic, and identify future directions for research about the topic.
· Satisfy the purposes of a narrative literature review.
· Satisfy the guidelines for a narrative literature review as presented in Module
