In a Word document, please submit a sentence draft outline of your review of the literature.
Put your research question(s) at the top of the outline. The outline should include all major headings and sub-headings.
–Every heading should include at least two sub-headings.
–These headings and sub-headings will eventually lead your reader through the document in an orderly manner. See a sample and additional information below:
This is intended to be an overview of your own future review. You may not have all of the sources yet (you need at least 20 by the end of this course), but you know what you want to cover in general. For instance, for a study on reader response in a junior high classroom, the outline might look similar to the one below. I have inserted a few sentences, but you would want to try to write sentences for each of the points. The more you can write in this outline, the better prepared you will be to expand it when needed in the future.
below is the example of an outline mine may look different
I. Intro
II. Background/History of Reader Response
A. The theoretical beginnings of reader response were dominated by two major researchers (Rosenblatt, Barnes).
1. Rosenblatt (1938) identified two major stances that students take when reading, the efferent and the aesthetic stances.
2. Barnes conducted defining research on memory (1938).
B. Early research (list authors here)
1. The early research was conducted primarily with adults, the majority of whom were college students. The results of the studies are discussed below.
2. While the foci of the studies moved between reading and responding through interviews or written work, there were several themes that emerged from the research.
3. Major findings
a. Approaches vary (describe and cite in sentence form)
b. Stances of readers (describe and cite in sentence form)
C. Use in Classrooms
1. Early practice and research studies with findings (describe and cite in sentence form)
2. Current practice (describe and cite in sentence form)
D. Gifted students and Reader Response
1. Overview of studies which included gifted students (describe and cite in sentence form)
2. Findings: Gifted students process in unique ways (describe and cite in sentence form)
E. Gap in Literature: Junior High Gifted Students
1. Similar studies
a. Jones (2015) studied high IQ college student response and found….
b. Mercy (2014) studied response in high school science classrooms and found…
c. Many (1996;2003;2010) conducted several studies across elementary grade levels. Along with Joyce (1990), she found the following:
2. Significance of current study
a. Few studies, if any, that focus on junior high students (cite any)
b. Few studies that focus on gifted readers (cite any)
c. Current study will add to the research on gifted junior readers and possibly help classroom teachers differentiate for the needs of these students
In all cases, you’ll be synthesizing the research for the TOPIC/Category/concept of your heading, so it won’t be describing one study, then another, then another. You’ll focus on the major topic and then describe major studies only as necessary to explain the topic; otherwise, you are just citing several at the end of the sentence or paragraph to support your point. In my sample above, you would add as much information as you have under each heading or subheading to help you make sense of the studies you have read. You will likely change this outline a bit as you begin to write the study, but it’s your best understanding of what is known about your area based upon what you’ve read to date. You have two more semesters to refine and complete your review for the final project.
You can find all sorts of additional resources on the Internet that explain literature reviews or provide helpful guidance on how to organize and synthesize information. All are not equal. Here is a useful one: Write a Literature Review . Just remember that, ultimately, your review needs to meet the guidelines of PLNU for the master’s project in terms of length, number of resources, etc. Hope this helps! As always, reading actual samples in your area will be the best way to get a feel for what a review actually is!
Topic: What is the effect of daily read-aloud sessions on the vocabulary acquisition of middle school students?
I included my sources if you need them for the outline as well.
