Literature Review: Getting started

I suggest starting your proposal with Chapter 2, the Literature Review. It often feels overwhelming to think about writing the literature review. Let's begin by checking the dissertation template and appropriate checklist (quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods), available in the research center. These documents indicate that there are the following headings in chapter 2: Introduction, Literature Search Strategy, Theoretical Foundation, Conceptual Framework (as appropriate), Literature Review, and Summary and Conclusions. So I suggest starting by writing those in your draft. 

Save the Introduction for later, since you are not sure where you are going yet. The search strategy means in which database did you look for articles, and what terms did you enter, to do so. Keep track of those as you go. I suggest starting with an outline; list the theories you have found in the literature that are relevant to your study. If there are philosophical or theoretical concepts list those.  

Next time, we will do an example outline of Chapter 2. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Send me an email with your ideas. leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu