Purpose

The purpose of this book is to help you write your next literature review.   This is true whether you are crafting one for an undergraduate midterm paper, a doctoral dissertation, or working on your first manuscript for a peer review publication.   For years, as professors we have read the best and worst of what students have written in our classes.  We have witnessed in a handful of instances, undergraduate writers write more masterfully than doctoral students.   We have witnessed doctoral students write first year papers which were ready for publication.   And of course, the opposite is true.   This begs, the question – what makes a student a good writing.   Our hope is to answer that question in our textbook designed for you the student.  Good writing comes down to practice, but having a guiding framework will be helpful as you begin your next paper.

This book serves as a guide for how literature reviews are written in upper-level business courses, but the core advice and direction applies to most other disciplines.   We organize the book into several sections designed to walk with you every step of the way as you write your next literature review.    Importantly, we begin by describing the purpose of the literature review, and provide its use in the greater historical context of the scientific process.   Second, we provide a guide on how to conduct the literature review itself, followed by detailed dissections of two types of literature reviews.   Finally, we close with how to improve your command of academic writing and practical tips on how to evolve into a more complete writer.