State a specific problem or issue to investigate" (in the scoring guide) refers to the latest version of your problem statement.
- ook at the results of your reading (or your Capellapillar, if you used that approach). After analyzing the various points of view, synthesize the ideas to create as clear a picture as possible of what you believe to be the current status of knowledge in your topic and problem area. Be clear about what is known and what questions remain.
- Write your draft literature review. Begin with a clear problem statement. As you work through the ideas involved, describe each of the major viewpoints that you encountered in the literature. Compare and contrast the differing viewpoints, pointing out ideas that appear to be shared, as well as those areas in which different authors took differing approaches. Finally, synthesize a summary of the state of knowledge on your topic by using critical thinking approaches you have learned in this course. A few notes to clarify what should be included in the assignment that you submit:
- “State a specific problem or issue to investigate” (in the scoring guide) refers to the latest version of your problem statement.
- Your conclusion, in this case, is only a statement of what is not yet known—sometimes referred to as a “gap in our knowledge on the topic.” Your literature review comes before research is conducted, so you do not yet have any conclusion from your own research, only a statement of what is, and is not known, based on past research. In addition, this conclusion needs to include an explanation of why it is important to study this topic.
- The draft literature review does not contain a Methods section, since no research has yet been conducted.