Episode 009 - The literature review: a text and a process
Welcome back to the LSE LIFE podcasts series! I'm Helen Green, and I’ll be sharing some ideas on one particular aspect of studying at LSE.
In this series of podcasts about your dissertation, we’re considering the dissertation in terms of the finished, written product, but also in terms of the process of developing and creating that product. Today I’d like to focus on the literature review.
So we know that the literature review is part of your dissertation, maybe a couple thousand words, a few thousand words – depending on how you choose to structure your dissertation. But what else is there to know? I’ve got three main ideas in mind with respect to your literature review. First I’d like to talk about what a literature review is, and what it does – what functions it should fulfill. Then I have some advice on how to go about reviewing the literature and writing this part of your dissertation. Finally, I’d like to reflect on some qualities of a good literature review, and some common problems to try to avoid.
Related documentation
Episode 009 - Podcast transcript
Episode 009 - Key points
Episode 009 - Worksheet: Assess your own literature review – a check list
We'd like your feedback on the podcasts!
Would you like to see other topics covered? This selection of episodes in the 2015-16 series was shaped by students’ feedback and comments about their experience. We will be creating a new, updated series soon and invite your feedback on these episodes and your ideas for future episodes. Please get in touch, via e-mail to lselife@lse.ac.uk, or by using the feedback form below.