Questions to help you identify themes in your literature reviewQuestions to help you identify themes in your literature review
The following questions are very useful to help you identify key themes that you might want to explore in your literature review:
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What do I already know?
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What are the key concepts and definitions within this area of study?
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What are the political standpoints and historical context?
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What are the beliefs underpinning this area of study?
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Why is it important to study this research problem and how does it relate to the current national/international priorities within education?
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What are the key questions asked by other researchers in this area and how can these help me to develop my own research focus and questions?
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What research strategies and methods have been used by other researchers in this area of study?
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Can I learn from mistakes that have been made by other researchers?
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What are the key theoretical perspectives in this area?
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What are the key research findings?
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How do these existing ideas from theory and research link together?
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How can the literature help me to interpret my findings? E.g. Are there analytical frameworks that have been used by other researchers that I could use to analyse my findings?
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Are there any conflicting research findings or areas of controversy?
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Are there any gaps in the existing research?
(Adapted from Langdridge and Hagger-Johnson (2009); Bryman (2008); and Hart, cited in Punch, 2009)
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